Matt Cassel: When Sports Just Don't Matter

As sports fans, many of us tend to feel that the win-loss record of the team(s) we root for is a matter of life and death.  That is, until we are delivered a sobering reminder of what really matters in life.

Last week, Greg Cassel, the father of New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassell, passed away.

The Patriots, scheduled to play the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, had stayed on the West Coast all week after winning their previous game in Seattle. 

Instead of concerning himself with safety blitzes and two deep zones, Cassel had to focus on funeral arrangements.  In a perfect world, that is something that no 26 year old should ever encounter.

But as everyone can attest to, life isn’t fair.  And no one knows that better right now than Cassell.

Far too often, average sports fans roll their eyes after reading stories about player arrests, contract hold outs, and millionaire players arguing with billionaire owners over how to divvy up the pot.

Many a fan feels that professional athletes don’t live in the real world.  And to some extent, they’re right.  When C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett signed contracts with the New York Yankees for over a combined 240 million dollars while the rest of the country hears words every day such as unemployment, layoffs, recession, and foreclosures, it is easy to see how resentment towards these athletes builds.

But in the end, we’re all human and we all feel the same emotions.  None of us are immune to life’s losses.  So whether you’re Michael Jordan (his father was murdered), Tiger Woods (lost his father to cancer), Magic Johnson (contracted HIV), or Lance Armstrong (almost lost his life to cancer), tragedy will find you.  It finds us all.

Just like it did to Cassel.

What we do in the face of such adversity is what defines us.

If Cassel chose to leave the team in order to mourn the loss of his father, is there anyone alive who would’ve criticized that decision?  Instead, Cassel made the choice to temporarily shelve his grief and play.  His team was counting on him and he had no intention of letting them down.

Back in December 2003, Brett Favre lost his father the day before a Monday night game against this same Oakland franchise.  Like Cassel, Favre chose to play.  And play he did as he lit up the Raider’s secondary to the tune of 399 yards and four touchdowns during a Packer victory.

Though Cassel only passed for 218 yards, he did match Favre’s four touchdowns while leading the Patriots to a crucial victory as they attempt to keep pace with the Jets and Dolphins in the AFC East.

Sports often serve as a great escape for many of us from the everyday tribulations of life.  On Sunday December 14, the football field was perhaps the one place Cassell could escape to. 

And with what’s happening in our world today, sports are more important than ever.  But let us never forget that sports are simply that.  They’re just sports.

So as the holiday season approaches, whether you are singing Christmas carols, lighting a Menorah, or holding the Airing of Grievances, (any Festivus fans out there), let us all remember what, or more importantly, who is really important in life.

I know Matt Cassel will.