Sport Shines Once Again

For the past week, scandal has dominated the sports headlines.  Tonight, sports showed that it is capable of rising above.

I, like most of America, have been sickened by the recent reports of lewd, indecent and immoral alleged actions by the Penn State football program.  This story has dominated headlines and has turned ESPN into a tabloid.  

Along with the ongoing NBA basketball lockout and reports of Wilson Ramos being kidnapped at gunpoint from his Venezuelan home, the Penn State scandal has overtaken the airwaves and threatened to overtake what we fans hold most dear: the sanctity of sport.

On November 10th, while celebrating the Marine Corps' birthday, we were inundated with salacious reports of coaches' neglect, pompous professional basketball players and a professional baseball player being kidnapped from his own driveway in Venezuela.

We were reminded of the worst of sports.  On Veterans Day, we remembered the reason why we care—more importantly, why we CAN care, about a football game, a baseball game or a basketball game.

There is nothing I can mention about the Penn State scandal that hasn't already been said.  

The step made by the Penn State community to hold a candlelight vigil for the victims of this awful tragedy is a necessary step towards the healing that needs to take place at State College from now on. While there is still much cleaning to be done, the Penn State students moved towards renewing the ideals that they, and the university, hold dear.  

The next step, as reported by The Guardian, is to honor the victims by wearing blue ribbons to support child abuse victims.  We should all buy blue ribbons.  We should pursue the firing of Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley.  We should remember, and never forget, the victims in this terrible tragedy.  And then, we should move on.

We should remember the good in sport.  

I am not a college basketball writer, nor do I claim to be.  Truth be told, college basketball has always been at the back of my sports mind, until March Madness sweeps me in.  Today, I found myself searching for an out for what has been the dominant news story, and I found it tonight in the the Carrier Classic.

The Carrier Classic, a simple basketball game played between the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels and the unranked Michigan State Spartans, reminded me of why I watch sports in the first place.

It reminded me of the good that sports can do.

I will never remember the final score, how many blocked shots there were or who out-rebounded whom.  I will remember that, for two hours and change, I was given a reprieve from a story that belongs on the cover of a tabloid magazine.  I will remember the pomp and circumstance, the unique jerseys and the respite from the last week. 

I will not remember greedy, professional basketball players but young college players, humbled by the opportunity to play in front of their Commander-in-Chief, and thousands of young men and women who embody the best in us.  I will remember these players taking off their jerseys after the game and throwing them to the crowd.  

I will not remember sordid details of sexual abuse.  

I will remember the rescue of Wilson Ramos, a Venezuelan national and member of the Washington (D.C.) Nationals.  He was rescued after being kidnapped from his home in another country following a baseball game.  

I will boo him with a vengeance on his second appearance to the plate when his Washington Nationals play my Atlanta Braves this upcoming spring.  But, in case you are wondering, I will also rise to give him a standing ovation on his first plate appearance for enduring an ordeal that 99.9 percent of the population never deals with.

I will not remember the details of the Sandusky Grand Jury Report.  

I will remember the Belmont Bruins of Nashville, TN.  These Bruins took the mighty Duke Blue Devils to the brink of defeat in their home opener in Cameron Indoor Arena.

I will not remember misguided campus riots in downtown State College, PA.  I will look towards the rematch between the Stanford Cardinals and the Oregon Ducks.  

I will also remember that the Penn State football team never sexually assaulted anyone, and will try my best to remember that they are still playing for a Big Ten Championship berth.  These players came to a university that they believed stood for moral values and excellence.  They deserve their Senior Day.

There are plenty of good sports stories out there for the taking.  None, unfortunately, can trump the beast that is the Penn State Football Scandal.  

The victims of this tragedy should never be forgotten.  We should continue for grieve for them and pray that they find peace.  However, at some point, we must move on.  Penn State has appointed a council to investigate these actions, and they will ultimately prove who, and what, is to blame.

The world of sports must move forward.  Moving on doesn't mean we forget.  It simply means that we, and they, have a life to lead after this ordeal plays out.

The victims in this case must still forge a life in spite of the hand that they have been dealt.  There is good in sports.  A candlelight vigil is a start.  Blue ribbons are a step.  There is good in sports all around us.  Maybe, for now, we just have to search to find it.