Monday Night Nightmare

What many thought could be the game of the year in the National Football League turned into a night of prayer for one player on the Buffalo Bills. Every sports fan in the country watched Damar Hamlin collapse on the field at Cincinnati in a moment that will be talked about for years.

The game of the year was postponed and will likely not be resumed. Hamlin was rushed to hospital in Cincinnati and has stayed there since the game. Updates on Hamlin’s health have been encouraging from what I have seen.

Monday night went from football to medical updates. Analysts on ESPN went from discussing the playoff picture to the safety of the game.

Hamlin is now this generation’s Joe Theismann, who suffered a broken leg during Monday Night Football in 1985. With Hamlin going down on a primetime game, his health became a national subject in seconds.

Sure, people get hurt in the NFL but this is the first time in my life where fans were wondering if a player was dead on the field. This event changes our perspective on the sport. The only comparison is in auto racing where drivers have died in my lifetime. In each case it takes time for the sport to get back to where it was.

The NFL will march on like it always does. Maybe that is the problem. Football does not need an 18-week season and expanded playoff. When the Super Bowl is played the girls basketball season for most teams in our state will be over. That’s too long for football. Too long for a brutal sport. It is a reason while I do not like the college football playoff being expanded either.

I hope Monday night causes the NFL to rethink things instead of following money. Though I know that will never happen.

Nathan Pace is the Sports Editor of the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at npace@gcdailyworld.com. His “Low Budget Sports Show” airs weekly on Facebook Live.