Some things that have been on my mind this week as I prepare for the stretch run of finals preparations:
Pat McAfee is the West Virginia University kicker. He has been for a few seasons now and its perhaps one of the more accurate kickers in the nation. However, against Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago, McAfee missed two field goals that had they gone through possibly would’ve changed the outcome in the game.
Sadly, McAfee has been the victim of the horrible side of athletics. Several media outlets this week have reported on death threats that McAfee has received as a result of the miss field goals. Here is the lead paragraph from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Coach Rich Rodriguez declined to criticize West Virginia fans or address the issue after it was revealed Wednesday that his Pittsburgh-area kicker, Pat McAfee of Plum, had his car vandalized and received death threats following Pitt’s Backyard Brawl upset.
First, this is a horrible situation. So what if McAfee missed two, chip-shot field goals. It’s a game. Nothing more, nothing less. Sending death threats to a kid in college is simply idiotic and perhaps shows how some get too involved in the game. I’ll admit to being upset at the loss, but there is a difference in being upset that your college lost a big game and being stupid in how you react to that loss.
McAfee doesn’t deserve this, nor does his family.
Sports can be a great learning experience and build character for young athletes. Sadly, too many people take it too far with their support and can’t find something else to fill their times.
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Every time it rains here in Kentucky, I feel a little sad for my friends back in North Carolina, suffering through one of the worst droughts in recent history.
Here today they are issuing flood advisories. In North Carolina, most of the state is in a D-4 or exceptional drought conditions. I hope soon that rain will flow in the Tar Heel State.
Maybe next Sunday.
