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October 27, 2009

What is an unforgivable sin in sports?

Anonymous The Herald Bulletin Tue Oct 27, 2009, 08:01 AM EDT

What is an unforgivable sin in sports? And we’re talking only in the competition sense of that question, not in terms of things where the legal system gets involved.

Losing doesn’t fall into this category. Why? Sports is predicated on the fact that there will always be one winner and one loser. You can’t have one without the other.

But effort, or the lack thereof, does fall into this category.

Let’s look at some of the NFL’s Week 7 games and identify just who is guilty of not playing up to their potential. Or for the more jaded of us out there, let’s talk about who didn’t earn one cent of their ridiculous contract.

First up, the Chicago Bears.

One of the main reasons I’m a Bears fan is that they usually play tough physical football from opening kickoff to final gun regardless of whether they’re winning or losing.

But what was left on the turf of Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati wasn’t effort; it was a rotting corpse where intensity and pride once resided.

We’ve all seen teams get run over both figuratively speaking and literally when viewing the game film. Then we’ve seen teams that trot out the same miserable excuses week after week after they are beaten again by a different team.

But I’m begging the Cleveland Browns here: Please, for the love of George S. Halas and Vince Lombardi, please keep stinking up the field for another week. After you host the Bears, then you can find a backbone and remember how to play the game of football.

What else can one say about the Oakland Raiders? A once proud franchise that coined terms like “A commitment to excellence” and “Just win baby” may as well be printing up signs that read “Mediocrity, here we come” or “Just beat the spread.”

Colts fans should be proud of their team’s 6-0 start this season. But is anyone really bragging about beating up the junior varsity team in St. Louis?

What St. Louis has right now barely qualifies for a foundation. There’s one or two NFL quality players on either offense or defense there, but sadly for Marc Bulger, none reside on the offensive line.

Thankfully, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in England and the Colts game knocked the Patriots’ beating of the Yucks out of the picture.

All of these games on Sunday had the following in common:

1. A penchant for turning the ball over.

2. A lot of lip service about “we’re still a good team” despite the immediate evidence to the contrary.

3. Poor play in every phase of the game but especially from the offensive line.

So what’s the ultimate unforgivable sin in sports? To me, it’s going through the motions.

Everyone has a bad day and gets beat. But, there’s something to be said for going down fighting and competing.

Maybe that’s the basics that some teams need to get back to.

Contact Quintin Harlan: 640-4835, quintin.harlan@heraldbulletin.com.

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