Should Cheveldayoff Shove Off? (I'll get there)
I can tell you that when I attended Jets games at home, it appeared to me that Buff had the best work ethic on the ice, during the pre-game skate. I might have been deceived but I really liked Byfuglien and the team seems a little lost without him.
My husband is the biggest sports fan ever. He is usually occupied watching everything soccer and basketball. He is also a US College Football fan. But, he also watches curling, hockey, golf, rugby, football, horse-racing, tennis, darts, and bowling. Basically, if it is sports, he is watching.
About a month into the COVID19 shut-down, he realized that he was experiencing a malaise. Certainly, there was a lot to feel down about, but, he realized he just missed watching sports. I missed it, too. I like watching most sports, as well, but I don't share his love of soccer. I just prefer watching sports where something happens.
Now, sports are back, somewhat and I have noticed something. First of all, as a society, we are no longer having the deep sense of reckoning that we were experiencing. We were having deep conversations about the great racial divide. Now, we have sports back so those conversations seem to have moved to the back burner while society is being distracted by sports again.
In my home, my husband and I had gotten into the habit on hunkering down after work and watching documentaries and then having deep existential conversations about it. Now, we typically are in two different rooms; him watching sports and me doing something else.
Now, that sports is back, we are back to high-lighting the differences in how we treat people. We hear stories in America about lack of testing to those who want/need them. Yet, we are able to do same day tests of athletes just because they are athletes. We are seeing lots of examples in baseball of privilege. Players still feel that they can break curfew or go out in restaurants with friends. These athletes have a megaphone in society and they haven't been using it, instead only focusing on their personal wants.
It is different in basketball. Lebron James has said it best. Basketball has always been bigger than 10 players, a ball, and a couple of nets. The WNBA and the NBA have been using their megaphones to bring attention to the racial divide and the call for social justice.
As for the NHL, I don't know why they bothered coming back. I think Lord Stanley would have approved of his Cup not being awarded. Hockey in August? They will just finish and then have a break and then another season not starting on time and it will go in perpetuity. I think it was very short-sighted for the NHL to resume. I think it will have long-term negative effects on their fan base.
I'm relieved the Jets are out. I don't have to pretend to be interested. I have been led to believe that the General Manager position may be vacant soon. The media commented extensively on this after Cheveldayoff's end of year press scum. Personally, I think the media was just so happy to be covering sports that they made this a bigger thing that it actually is. I asked my husband, He has nothing against the current GM but feels it is time for a change. I really don't have an opinion, but, I do think that no one should be judged on the basis of this last season.
The guy has been the exclusive GM of Jets 2.0. If it is his time to go, I think the least we can do is allow him to shove off on his own terms.
In the meantime, I hope the organization reflects before the next season. Sports franchises do have a megaphone. The Jets should decide to use it.
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