Call me un-patriotic, but...

[JSU/99]

I think the games should be played. My reasons aren't because I feel we need to return to normalcy or a need for nation healing, my reasons are pretty selfish. I was looking forward to watching and attending the games this weekend. What happened this past week was a very tragic and sad act, but I still want to see the games played.

I have a hard time understanding the rationale for canceling games. First the SEC, and other major conferences, after talking with Bush, agreed that playing these games was the best thing to do. Then the next day, they reversed themselves strictly because the NFL chose not to. Afterwards the SWAC followed suit. How can you be so strongly for something one day and then change your mind the next?? Personally, I don't consider it a noble and patriotic act for the colleges to not play simply because the NFL won't.

Finally, according to reports, things will resume in the sports world, with MLB playing Monday and football following suit during the week. If we are truly serious about football not being important in a time like this, Then why aren't we suspending the season indefinately?? The same threats that are there now will still be there next week. As far as national mourning is concerned, if anything things will be sadder next week when the recorvery of bodies starts giving us hard numbers on the death toll.

I know this was long winded, but again, I say let's play football.

[Olde Hornet]

There are things more important than sports. We can wait another week for football!

I could not disagree with you more...

[JSU/99]

Of course, but the issue isn't about the importance of sports in our country. Like I said before, what's gonna be different on monday when games resume that's not the case on saturday and sunday? If this Saturday isn't the right time for football, then next saturday certainly won't be, especially since that when the real work as far as recovery and mourning will be in full swing. And I still haven't heard a true explanation for the 24 hour about-face for the SWAC, SEC and other conferences.

This is just my opinion, and I certainly hope others will respect it as much as I respect theirs.

[PLOW DOG]

Kool! It's all good. "The more things change, the more they stay the same.":rolleyes:

[TSU/BAMA]

Kool-Aid, I totally disagree with you. But I do respect your opinion. Heck, If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking at all.

[Robber]

kool aid,

For some reason, these people equate playing the games with a lack of respect. Cancelling serves no purpose other than to give us less things to do. Families will be no less sad. The dead will be no more alive. The risks will be no less period. It'll just be boring because we won't have a thing to do. But I'm sure movie sales and rentals will go up as folk find some alternate forms of entertainment.

NOTHING compares to the loss of the lives on Tuesday. But we only wanna trivialize sports because it's PC. Tragic even occurs, cancel sports. That'll show we care.:rolleyes:

Like you said, nothing will have changed next week, but the number of days. But then these same folk will be all gong ho and feel good because they can say, we waited one week. :rolleyes: Then they'll completely forget about it.:rolleyes:

I guess we finally found a situation where the "week later" theory is appropriate.:D

Tigerpride send help.

[Robber]

And for all you, football ain't that important fans, I just wanted y'all to know that I went to a game tonight and had dayum good time, along with about 4000 other fans. I didn't see nobody out there moping about Tuesday's events.

Thank goodness the high school associations had the courage to not succumb to the public sentiment.

[mjl43]

I can't agree with you more...my reason yes it's is sad but like with spoke on so many occasion on this thread white people are only concern with us when it suit their purpose.
Now they want us to be patriotic.....yeah right we're treated less then second class citizens now here they come rah,rah,rah,rah.
All of you know just as well as i as soon as this is over they will go back to their same routine......oh and by the way where all is this patriotism when our children are being murdered by the gun's from the Iran-Contra affair or the drugs they allow to come in this country from columbia.
The only that is really tragic is that we as black people are caught up in this bulls...

[JSU/99]

While I certainly understand the emotion involved with what's going on now, I do have a disdain for these "instant patriots" I'm seeing now. I personally feel the same way about america, the governmnet, etc today as I did before these tragic events. My sympathy lies soley with the victims, families and others whose lives were tragically altered by these events. I have no sympathy for a corrupt system that should have been better prepared for these attacks. I know suicide missions such as these are difficult to prepare for, but to high-level intelligence and military personal, this should have come as no shock. Its pretty naive for Americans to believe that we are immune to the tragic events that plague other parts of the world on a daily basis.

[Robber]

kool aid,

The U.S. intelligence knew for 2 years that the two brothers training in Florida were here training. And these two guys were on the list of terrorists to watch. But nothing was done. The Canadian border patrol is so lax about allowing folk to sneak in from Canada it's ridiculous. All we ever hear about is the Mexican border, but so many white skinned folk creep in from the North it's ridiculous. Them Arabs knew it and did the same.

It's funny how easy it has been for them to make all these arrests so soon after this tragic event, when it came as a total surprise. They had been watching them Arabs BUT DID NOT A DAYUM THANG!!!

[BIFF]

Well said Robber.

Why do we as a nation place so much emphasis on sport when CRISIS occurs? The president said...."we will continue to go about our normal lives. If not, the terrorist win." We are giving the terrorist nothing but SATISFACTION by these cancellations.

Dont get me wrong, but the damage has been done. Didn't the REST OF AMERICA clock in at work the VERY NEXT DAY? Nobody seemed to call THAT unpatriotic. Why sport? Is sport not a business? Why take food out of people's mouths who DEPEND on these sporting events to make an honest living?

If this terrible event took place in say.......BIRMINGHAM, would the entire nation (or the city of NEW YORK for that matter) have come to a stand-still? Would the METS, YANKEES, GIANTS, or JETS found it unbearable to play? I wonder.

[EB]

On Wednesday I was at 50-50 on whether the games should be cancelled. As the week went on I leaned toward cancellation. The players hearts are not into playing.

However, I understood those who said that we should play the games and tell the terrorists that we will not be intimidated. For instance after the bomb exploded killed two and injured many others at the Atlanta Olympics, I felt that the right response was for people to come right back to the events. Those acts showed that people were not going to stand back and act scared from a pipe bomb. But I can understand the NFL taking its time to make a decision and understand both sides of the situation here. I am not being hot headed about the situation like Mark McGwire has been. He felt that baseball took to long to decide and was "ashamed." But then again McGwire is hot headed about a few things.

However in the case of security, I can understand not playing. Understand that these folks do not necessarily go by the same rules when it comes to war.

Robber, I know you mentioned intelligence and am wondering about the same things. But I have asked questions about airport security. We had four hijackings from Northern Virginia to Boston, and two of them were at the Boston airport. I think that we need to look at the European model. Their model is more strict than the U.S. I heard people talking about nationalizing airport security. Then for one thing minimum wage workers will not be manning the security booths at U.S. airports, but very well trained professionals who must meet federal guidelines will be doing it. Security will be tighter.


Originally posted by Kool-Aid2K1
While I certainly understand the emotion involved with what's going on now, I do have a disdain for these "instant patriots" I'm seeing now. I personally feel the same way about america, the governmnet, etc today as I did before these tragic events. My sympathy lies soley with the victims, families and others whose lives were tragically altered by these events. I have no sympathy for a corrupt system that should have been better prepared for these attacks. I know suicide missions such as these are difficult to prepare for, but to high-level intelligence and military personal, this should have come as no shock. Its pretty naive for Americans to believe that we are immune to the tragic events that plague other parts of the world on a daily basis.

First let me say that my heart goes out to the families and souls of the victims. There was no justification for these acts.

Kool-Aid2K1 and mlj43, watch for the slings and arrows that will come your way. If one asks questions about past U.S. foriegn policy and/or actions or does not favor bombing places like Afghanistan, that person might be attacked on the message boards. Yes, I am talking about ones that have a lot of Black users. When this is finished, things for us will be business as usual.

[mjl43]

SAD BUT TRUE EB AND WE SET AROUND AND ALLOW IT.
WHEN WE SHOULD AS AFRICAN-AMERICANS REMIND THEM EVERY DAY ABOUT THEIR HYPOCRISY

:redhot: :redhot: :redhot:

[Get Ready]

Originally posted by Robber
kool aid,

For some reason, these people equate playing the games with a lack of respect. Cancelling serves no purpose other than to give us less things to do. Families will be no less sad. The dead will be no more alive. The risks will be no less period. It'll just be boring because we won't have a thing to do. But I'm sure movie sales and rentals will go up as folk find some alternate forms of entertainment.

NOTHING compares to the loss of the lives on Tuesday. But we only wanna trivialize sports because it's PC. Tragic even occurs, cancel sports. That'll show we care.:rolleyes:

Like you said, nothing will have changed next week, but the number of days. But then these same folk will be all gong ho and feel good because they can say, we waited one week. :rolleyes: Then they'll completely forget about it.:rolleyes:

I guess we finally found a situation where the "week later" theory is appropriate.:D

Tigerpride send help.

You shole is right Robber

[Robber]

Originally posted by Get Ready


You shole is right Robber

I wonder if the "Watcher" is reading this.

[Olde Hornet]

For those of you who wanted to have the games played this weekend. Does that mean that you would go to a sporting event during your personal time of mourning? If you lost a family member or a friend, would you still spend Saturday at the game? If the answers to those to questions with a yes, then I do understand your wanting to see football played on Saturday.

The terror did not strike where you live, but it did hit the country where you exist. A lot of people died this week and a lot of people feel threaten and are angry. People need time to grieve the loss of security, safety, family, friends, lovers, jobs, buildings etc....

I know many of you feel safe in you part of the world, but you are not. This could have happened at the very sporting event that you wanted to attend this weekend.

I hope that you think about others and pray for the families, victims and love ones that are affected by the terrorism that struck the Northeast this past Tuesday.

Enjoy the games next weekend!

[HBCUs]

I was wondering the same thing about all of these arm-chair patriots that have come out of the woodwork during the past few days. Of course, all I received was prayers and scripture references after I had the nerve to question the logic of game cancellations this week. I guess next weekend will be aaaaaaall gravy, huh folks? :rolleyes:

Why do Black folks always feel the need to bear the AmeriKKKa's cross? Why are we always more than willing to share in her heartaches, despite long being discouraged to share in her riches? The events of Tuesday were horrible to say the least, but has anyone bothered to question America's role in provoking it? How many times have we stood by and watched (unaffected) as the U.S. bombed and econonmically dominated people of color all around the globe? Was anyone concerned about innocent lives lost in Grenada, Panama, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, etc., when this country decided to test its weapons on those folk--- all in the name of capitalism? Recall what Malcolm X said about chickens coming home to roost....

Sometimes the battle ain't ours to fight.

Black people, we are not specific targets of terrorism at hands of other people of color who have been harassed by the same system that has harassed us. But if you must believe otherwise... :(

[JSU/99]

Originally posted by Olde Hornet
For those of you who wanted to have the games played this weekend. Does that mean that you would go to a sporting event during your personal time of mourning? If you lost a family member or a friend, would you still spend Saturday at the game? If the answers to those to questions with a yes, then I do understand your wanting to see football played on Saturday.



Mourning, even when shared amongst many people is still a very personal thing. Personally, I wouldn't go to an event during my time of mourning. However, I wouldn't expect others to do the same. I wouldn't be offended if my the rest of the world chose to go on with their lives. I doubt if I'd even care about what others do. A lot of people who are for cancelling the game are doing so for political correctness reasons, not respectful ones.

[HBCUs]

As far as outrage about loss of life is concerned, where was all this outrage in our community in back '93, when some 400,000 (or some astounding number of) people were massacred in Rwanda while the U.S. simply watched--- all because there was no economic or strategic interest in the region at that time? And those people looked like us! Where were all the heavy hearts then?

Sadly, many of us are quite gung ho about possibly retaliating against some country out of sheer speculation of unknown attackers residing within its borders. WTF???

The thing that truely appalls me is to watch many of my own people buy into all the instant patroitism and self-righteousness of this past week.

[HBCUs]

Deuce, JSTUS, or whoever feels the need,

You can officially pray for me now.
:(

[Robber]

Originally posted by Olde Hornet
For those of you who wanted to have the games played this weekend. Does that mean that you would go to a sporting event during your personal time of mourning? If you lost a family member or a friend, would you still spend Saturday at the game? If the answers to those to questions with a yes, then I do understand your wanting to see football played on Saturday.

The terror did not strike where you live, but it did hit the country where you exist. A lot of people died this week and a lot of people feel threaten and are angry. People need time to grieve the loss of security, safety, family, friends, lovers, jobs, buildings etc....

I know many of you feel safe in you part of the world, but you are not. This could have happened at the very sporting event that you wanted to attend this weekend.

I hope that you think about others and pray for the families, victims and love ones that are affected by the terrorism that struck the Northeast this past Tuesday.

Enjoy the games next weekend!

I don't recall the sporting world shutting down when my father passed in 1999. I don't think the NBA stopped one game. No, if it hit that close to home, I wouldn't go to a game, but I damn sure wouldn't mount a crusade to get the world to stand still. I wouldn't be offended if they played on. People die all the time. Every day. Millions a day. But we don't give it a second thought. Families are always in mourning somewhere. And what happened at the WTC happens all the time in the Middle East. Do we stop and mourn for them??? And those folk who are grieving and didn't feel like a game didn't have to go to the game. My grief wasn't so severe that I couldn't enjoy a good game. As such, I was stuck trying to find something to do. I survived.

As for being safe this weekend had they played the games, see I ain't so naive to think that next weekend or next year is gonna be any different. The risk will be the same next month as it was yesterday. It could happen again. Even at the Turkey Day Classic that I'm sure you'll attend. Take the blinders off. Ain't nothing changed because the took this weekend off.

[MightyDog]

Looking in the papers today, many teams played on Saturday. I think those teams who fly are the ones who couod not make their trips. Those of us who ride busses did not have a transportation problem.

I am happy the SWAC followed suit and did not play this past weekend.

[J-State Tiger]

I dont have a problem with the games getting canceld. Its not about respect, it my book, but it was about safety. Theres nothing wrong with taking a week and letting things calm down. What would happen if a bomb threat was called into a stadium with 90,000 people in it? You cant compare a high school game to a NFL game or a major Division 1 game.

[Robber]

Originally posted by J-State Tiger
I dont have a problem with the games getting canceld. Its not about respect, it my book, but it was about safety. Theres nothing wrong with taking a week and letting things calm down. What would happen if a bomb threat was called into a stadium with 90,000 people in it? You cant compare a high school game to a NFL game or a major Division 1 game.

And what's going to happen when a bomb threat is called in next weekend??? The same thing. You are still making arguments about things that will still exist as time passes.

And you can compare football to football. Going to a football game is going to a football game. It is very hypocritical to endorse playing high school ball and demonizing playing major colleg and professional ball. These cancellations had nothing to do with safety and EVERYTHING to do with political correctness and image. Nobody wanted to appear to be insensitive.

[Olde Hornet]

HBCUs - Wake UP!!!! I think the Black People who died in that building would disagree with you. Most Blacks in America are Americans - Terrorist do not distinguish. Its not about patriotism, its about Americans under attack.

Kool-Aid2K1 - Mourning is very different for each situation. Be careful about throwing around the ?Political Correctness? terminology. PC is often used to describe lot of things that should be done, but are not. Like putting people of non-European decent in movies or in appointed political positions. Of course people were concerned about those people who died in those countries, but its like when a member of your family dies versus someone in your city that you don?t know.

Robber ? but if 5,000 members of your community would have died in the same day ? things would have stopped. Its not about change, its about respect for your fellow Americans ? Atheist, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhist etc? America will survive, but the country needs to mourn it losses.

I know that this is a shock to most of you, but most of you are Americans too! You can complain about injustice or anything else, but you are Americans. The freedom of speech is guaranteed by the constitution on this country. Its allows us to have this discussion. I am just asking you to look beyond your own needs ? I realize I am physically and mentally closer to this situation than most of you on this board, so I am asking you to THINK about others!

Don?t forget, some of you might get drafted to serve this country if this thing spins out of control. This could be the beginning of World War III or just another minor page in the history of the world, only time will tell.


:bawling: :redhot: :eek:

[HBCUs]

Naw bruh,

It's about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens everyday. People get killed as innocent bystanders everyday..... in night clubs, on crowded streets, etc. That doesn't mean you or I should be afraid to go outside and live our lives.

Can you honestly tell me of an instance in which Black people were specifically targeted (by non-whites) in a terrorist activity?

-----------------
Muhammed Ali once stated in response to America's involvement in Vietnam, "I ain't got no problem with them Viet-cong. They ain't never called me ******."

:still waiting on an explanation of why we stand in unquestioning support of a government we know is guilty of numerous atrocities in the recent past:

[TSU/BAMA]

Originally posted by J-State Tiger
I dont have a problem with the games getting canceld. Its not about respect, it my book, but it was about safety. Theres nothing wrong with taking a week and letting things calm down. What would happen if a bomb threat was called into a stadium with 90,000 people in it? You cant compare a high school game to a NFL game or a major Division 1 game.


I am in agreement with J-State Tiger on this issue. Although I do think that respect was a factor in the cancellations, but I think the main issue was safety.

[Robber]

If y'all folk are naive enough to believe that the main reason for those cancellations was safety, then I got some prime oceanfront property in Kansas to sell y'all. This was political correctness and image concern at its best. Nothing more.

SMH @ the naive.

S _ _.:(

[Robber]

Originally posted by Olde Hornet
Robber ? but if 5,000 members of your community would have died in the same day ? things would have stopped. Its not about change, its about respect for your fellow Americans ? Atheist, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhist etc? America will survive, but the country needs to mourn it losses.

If 5000 people from my community died in a similar manner, I would care less if the sports world stopped. I'm smart enough to understand that grieving and mourning does not require the sports world to do so. And I could really give a dayum about whether they wanna appear respectful. Unlike you, I don't think the world has to shut down to mourn. Let me ask you this. What did you do this weekend??? If your answer is not, "I prayed, mourned and grieved every hour on the hour," then you obviously did something else. For me, that something else shoulda been watching football. Live or on TV.

When I've lost loved ones, I didn't pack up my TV. I watched it still. I still surfed the web. I watched the NBA games, because I needed to take my mind off the deaths. But I'm sure you did no such things this weekend. TV is to trivial and doesn't compare to the loss of lives. You didn't go to a movie because it woulda been no different than going to a game. How could you enjoy a movie when so many people are gone??? Right??? All you did was mourn, right???

[Hey Que]

In case any of you have forgotten, the Liberty Bowl is in the direct flight path of the Memphis airport. Can you imagine the reaction of the players and the crowd every time a plane flew over. I wouldn't be nice.

Cancelling the game was the best thing.

[Robber]

Originally posted by Hey Que
In case any of you have forgotten, the Liberty Bowl is in the direct flight path of the Memphis airport. Can you imagine the reaction of the players and the crowd every time a plane flew over. I wouldn't be nice.

Cancelling the game was the best thing.

I guess they should demolish the Liberty Bowl, then. Because it will always be in the direct path to the airport and the crowd might react adversely everytime a plane flies over. One week, month, year or however long won't change that. Every game played there will have a plane flying over and it's just too risky to put fans through that. :rolleyes: No more games at the Liberty Bowl.

[Hey Que]

Originally posted by Robber


I guess they should demolish the Liberty Bowl, then. Because it will always be in the direct path to the airport and the crowd might react adversely everytime a plane flies over. One week, month, year or however long won't change that. Every game played there will have a plane flying over and it's just too risky to put fans through that. :rolleyes: No more games at the Liberty Bowl.

No they shouldn't stop playing games at the Liberty Bowl. I just forgot about all you macho people. But for some of us it takes more than a week for us to recover from 5,000+ people being killed by 4 jet planes.

[MACKG]

This isn't a white thing or a black thing. This is a war set on principles. You think those Arabs give a ish if you attended an HBCU or a lilly white college....if you live on capital hill or if you live in the Magnolia projects? Those fundamentalists are against everything we stand for in the modern free Western civilization. I too hope that we can move past this moment this weekend. But actually...how could we have pulled off a weekend of sports when airlines were shut down??? You had to get equipment there...players...news crews...it couldn't have been pulled off. I'm not even going to mention the human emotion factor.

Opinions are like azzholes. Everyone has one...you know the rest!!!

[HornetsNest84]

I agree with J-STATE TIGER. I think it was more a safety issue . The week off definately gave some of the major capacity playing arenas time to review their security policies. I don't think Security issues could be resolved 4 Days after the attack. Who's to say a terrorist wouldn't enter a game strap and loaded with C-4 or some biological chemical agent to make another statement of our vunerability?

[mjl43]

Why is it we always have to step up and show that we support things we have no control over or had nothing to do with.
I don't remember any football games or anyother games for that matter being cancel with Dr. King was murder,but here we go again follow suit behind issue that aren't really clear.
I say that when this country start showing the respect that we deserved for our abuse than talk to me about following them blind,you wouldn't do that for your own parents if you weren't sure or knew of some pass deeds that may have cause a certain situation.

[Olde Hornet]

This is my last word on this subject.

I am happy that the games were cancelled. I hope and pray that Americans never have to grieve over the loss of 5,000 + people in a single day, many jobs, buildings and security.

I hope that all of you can get beyond your own needs.

I LOVE NY! :D :D :D I will miss the city as it was prior to this terrorist attack.

Many people will lose their jobs because on this attack and this could bring on a deep recession. It will reach far beyond the Northeast of the USA. :redhot:

To Shrub ? Nuke em!

[Robber]

Originally posted by NASTYNUPE
But actually...how could we have pulled off a weekend of sports when airlines were shut down??? You had to get equipment there...players...news crews...it couldn't have been pulled off. I'm not even going to mention the human emotion factor.

Opinions are like azzholes. Everyone has one...you know the rest!!!

Last time I checked not a dayum one of this conference's teams had to fly but Gram. And Gram took a bus as an alternative. Also, the last time I checked not a single news crew was needed to play a football game.

The NFL and MLB, I can understand. But the SWAC and SEC??? They cancelled only because the NFL did. They ain't gave a dayum about no safety issues. Otherwise, they wouldna decided to play on Wednesday.

[TSU/BAMA]

Well, I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this issue.

[JSUII]

Did America stop when Byrd was dragged behind that truck in Arkansas ? Did America think about the injustice of the young man that had a plunger inserted in his rectum, and the young man that was shot at forty nine times and hit nineteen for removing his wallet from his pocket? What about the young lady in California that was shot while sitting in her car having a seizure, and the police called her a threat? No we did not lose Five thousands souls in these incidents, but I am thinking about some of the recent issues that have faced our people of color over the last few years. America is not as innocent as they proclaim, and as they want us to believe. This country is very hypocritcal, and we are getting our payback for all the injustices that this country has bestowed upon every person of color and other nations. I am not saying that terroism is right, but I am saying that whatever we sow, we are going to reap, even if it means that innocent people might lose their lives in the process. Until this country profess and repent their sins about all the injustices that they have caused others, we are going to have these type of problems.