How We Treat Death

After watching a young 23-year-old, incredibly fit, and presumably very healthy athlete like Fabrice Muamba collapse on the pitch last Saturday from a cardiac arrest, I knew I needed to write about it.
The intensely emotional and terrifying scene happened during the 42nd minute of an FACup Match between Muamba's Bolton Wanderers squad versus hosts Tottenham Hotspur. Muamba, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo showed no signs of illness or fatigue until suddenly he collapsed, face first, onto the pitch. His heart had stopped. In effect, Muamba had died on the pitch, for nearly two hours his heart was not beating.

In my most recent article for MyHOFS.com, I discuss this horrific scene in detail but overall discuss the way that society treats death within sports. I touch upon our subconscious (or parasocial) relationships with famous people and how we feel more connected with them thanks to Twitter, Facebook, etc. But when something like this happens, a life is jeopardized in front of thousands (or millions), people must step back and reflect on life as a whole.
I quote His Holinesss the Dalai Lama at the end of my piece stating "If from the beginning your attitude is "Yes, death is part of our lives,"then it may be easier to face."
I feel that we hold movie stars, musicians, actors, athletes, and myriad of other famous people on such high pedestals that we feel they are invincible. They are finely tuned machines that produce entertainment for us, not just some "typical" human being that we all are. But when it all boils down to it, we are all human. We are all living, breathing, heart-pumping beings. Though when that stops, people take notice.
Touching upon our society, our sports fandom, and the overall idea of violence in the name of sport are subjects I talk about in this piece which revolves mostly around death. I hope that it opens people's eyes but also their hearts and minds to the idea that life is fragile and there is absolutely no reason to lose it over (in, during, or about) a sport.
Give my newest article a read and let me know what you think. It's a subject that, as the Dalai Lama's quote indicates, is sensitive but necessary to discuss, as we all face an impending death sooner or later.
Click here for the article...

New Sports Writing Gig at MYHOFS.com

I've had the honor of writing for many different websites, but I must say that having the opportunity to join a website that is SURE to create a buzz in the sports field is one I'm extremely excited about.

My good friend Mike and former roommate has taken the reigns at MYHOFS.com and he has asked for me to write for the site. It is like a collaboration between Facebook, sports, and ESPN's user-interface with polls, questions, Hall of Fame votes, and plenty of great written articles.

I just recently had the fortune to write a point-counterpoint friend and fellow-mortal enemy, Matt on our two passions, football and soccer. The debate? Who has the better celebrations...

I would attach the written part, but I post this because I need your votes! The best part about this website is that you vote for athletes, authors, questions, etc. It's similar to the Facebook "Likes" but with more banter and debate. So as a great favor, I would appreciate you clicking here and voting for my article titled "Point-Counterpoint: You Can Dance If You Want To".

Soccer celebrations are simply more entertaining than football.

Each vote gets me closer to victory and perhaps an even more constant gig at MYHOFS.com. Enjoy the piece, I find it humorous yet very well disputed (although soccer clearly takes the title). But take a look around the site and my other articles and remember to sign up for myhofs.com and see the next big thing in sports social media.

The Tale of Two Matches ~ Travelog Thursday

Have you ever had a profound experience in your life that returns in smaller pieces later on in your life, almost continuing to remind you of that first initially amazing experience? Not de ja vu. Not anything abnormal, but just a moment in time that brings you back. I’m almost certain people have these occur to them quite often, because let’s face it, our mind makes connections with images, sounds, tastes, smells, and other stimuli with prior experiential things.

I’ve wanted to write a blog about all the different and specific places or moments in my life that a song reminds me of.  It’s a common thing for some people to write about as it is quite personal but yet interesting. But I am going to hold off with that topic and talk about an experience I had last weekend.

But instead of telling you both stories from most recent to longer ago, I’m going to splice it, going back and forth between last weekend and eight months ago where I had an incredibly similar experience.

Last weekend: I had gotten tickets to a soccer match between the USA men’s national team and Argentina at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. My girlfriend and I went with her two friends, and their boyfriends. 

Lionel Messi, World's Best Player two years running, takes the kickoff for Argentina.

In June: I had gotten tickets to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with my good friend Colin, his girlfriend Kelsey and her best friend Emily.

Last weekend: Before the Saturday match, I decided to head up to Hoboken to visit my best friend Drew and hang out for a handful of days, catch up with friends in New York City and have a good time going out and seeing parts of the city. I was to start work the next week, so I wanted to take advantage of my last few free weekdays I had.

New Meadowlands jumbo screen with Landon.

Our emotional captain Landon, versus Argentina's great Lionel.