So Suh Me: Ndamukong's Taunts to Matt Ryan No Big Deal

As each new generation takes its turn at the forefront of our culture, there are those from the old school who will complain that these kids just don't get it, that it was so much better back in their day. Go ahead and ask your grandpa about the world back when he was your age. He'll tell you that it was safer to walk the streets, that fellas were gentlemen and ladies were, well, ladies.

The world is always rosier in hindsight, and the end forever nigh.

The reason for this is that our lives were simpler when we were young, and as adults, with our memories growing longer and our futures shorter, it's easy to idealize those good old days as Good Ol' Days and join the endless procession of old-timers who think the country, and everything in it, has gone to hell.

This is never true, of course. If you are a woman or a minority, chances are you're better off today than you would have been even 30 years ago.

The same applies to sports. Professional athletes have access to the best medical care money can buy, and the days of players' interests taking a backseat to that of the owners are in the past. Unions rule now, and even if you're of the anti-union political bent, it's impossible to argue that these organizations haven't done well by the players.

The world is a different place, yes, but it's a better one, too. Which is why I scoff when I hear retired NFL players and coaches talking about sportsmanship as it pertains to N'damukong Suh's alleged comments this past Sunday.

For those living under a rock, Suh is accused of saying “Go get the cart for him. Get him out of here,” of Matt Ryan after the Falcons QB was injured when his own lineman stepped on his ankle.

The main complaint of the graybeards is that taunting an injured player is a step too far. Putting aside the fact that this particular smack talk is soft enough for a Sunday in Salt Lake City, the notion that NFL players don't or shouldn't taunt each other when injured smacks of my Grandpa Jack's stories about how great America was in the 50s.

There has been too much “when I played the game...” nonsense from analysts over this, and no one there to remind them that they never adhered to the same standards they hold today's players to. Modern scrums are brutal events, to be sure, but they pale in comparison to the ones Dick Butkus dove into. Gouged eyes, chomped fingers and fish hooks were part and parcel with the old NFL.

Was that sportsmanship? Of course not. But it was their game, and they've chosen to remember it that way. 

And wasn't it just a few weeks ago that these same has-beens were applauding Redskins CB DeAngelo Hall for telling the media he would target Tony Romo's fractured ribs? I seem to recall the same television analysts saying they had no issue with Hall's remarks, except that he was drawing attention to himself, and therefore making it harder for him to actually accomplish his goal of re-injuring Romo.

That was OK, but Suh mockingly calling for a stretcher for Matt Ryan—whose hurt ankle pales in comparison to Romo's punctured lung—isn't?

N'damukong Suh's only crime was being young in a game that is analyzed and commented on by old men who wish they were in his shoes.