I've long considered Bob Costas to be the poet of Sportscasting. I actually prefer listening to him during the months that entertain the boys of summer. He describes my favorite sport with lyrical brilliance and when I hear his voice I know it's time to "play ball."
Many years ago I was at County Stadium in Milwaukee (now a parking lot that serves "Miller Park") As I strolled through the crowd I passed someone with a face so familiar I just lit up with joy and said "Hey, how ya doing?" I was struggling to come up with his name but couldn't. He, in turn, grinned as if he'd known me forever and said, "Great! Beautiful day." I walked about 10 feet and stopped dead in my tracks. I'd just said hello to Bob Costas.
Yes, he's an icon and has long been on my list of highest favor. But never have I been so impressed with a sportscaster as I was Sunday night, December 2nd, during halftime. Knowing full well the blow-back that would ensue, Bob Costas spoke out about the tragedy of the Jovan Belcher murder/ suicide. He stated the triteness of the "bringing it all into perspective" commentary and showed no fear in expressing what he knew was going to be a very controversial opinion. (Why this opinion is controversial will always be beyond my grasp of reason and common sense.)
True to form, the right slammed him, misquoted him and even called for his immediate termination. What's ironic is that Bob Costas, while expressing an opinion, was actually quoting a Kansas City Fox Sports writer - Jason Whitlock - whose commentary went much further than Costas' and whose article deserves a read. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/jovan-belcher-kansas-city-chiefs-murder-suicide-tragedy-girlfriend-self-leave-orphan-daughter-why-still-playing-sunday-120112
We need to make a serious assessment of our priorities and our attitudes. Greed, misplaced hero worship, compassion deprivation, and our overall lack of sensitivity to violence is beyond disturbing. We need to stand for something more. We need to stand for one another. And that's precisely what Bob Costas did last night. Yes, it takes courage to go out there and face those defenders on the football field. It takes a lot more courage to take a stand, knowing full well that the repercussions could last for years to come and may well affect your career.
I'm proud of Bob Costas. I'm proud of Jason Whitlock. Seems to me that maybe these are the guys we should be emulating.
