65,515 went silent.

 

“A pictures worth a thousand words

But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered

You should've seen it in color.”

For many last night, the game between the Bills and Bengals was a “want to see and say you saw.” That was until there was 5:58 remaining in the first quarter. If you don’t know what I am talking about, look it up, if you do, you realize how horrific it was to watch. (It’s actually not worth watching.)

The closest I have gotten to playing competitive football was being on the sidelines with a camera. I used to play pick-up football when I was a kid, but once when I got stiff armed, I thought, “What was that? Is that part of this game?” I walked off and really never went back. So what did I do instead? I started playing hockey. I still see that as a brilliant move although I couldn’t skate, dodge pucks very well, and even today have a partial hearing loss from a slap shot I took to the good ol’ noggin. 

For many, hard hits are part of the game of football. I have been shooting from the sidelines for 13 years and I still wince when I hear the grunts, pounding of two forces coming together, and occasional screams of pain. Deep in my brain I know this is part of the game, but also…these are humans playing, not robots. But, fortunately I have never been a part of anything close to what we witnessed on TV last night.

It was so unexpected, the play-by-play callers were silenced so they sent it back to “command” center for more analysis. What could they say? They couldn’t, and it was hard to watch. One of the analysts had played the game and you knew this was stunning moment he was grasping to understand. The other two, I believe they are for commentary and other reasons, but to discuss what was going on right in front of millions of people, “live”… was not in their contract.

Football is a violent game, and one of the things I have witnessed over the years I have been photographing, are the number of players who now play or don’t play. I call that, “the Mom factor.” Many Mom’s (sorry Dad’s) say, “He’s not playing after a certain grade and that’s it.” Mom’s decision sticks. If you think I am kidding, the U.S. Army has had a campaign which targeted Mom’s. They wanted to let them know their sons should be proud to enlist in the armed forces and to please support them. In many respects, it worked. Mom’s have power.

This morning as of 6:09 AM, Demar Hamlin is sedated and in critical condition resting in a Cincinnati hospital. Our prayers are that he will fully recover. Beyond that, I have no opinion on what he should do, but if it were my son, I believe I would encourage him to walk away from the game. Life is too precious.

The photo above was taken several years ago. The initials, KJ, were for a school secretary who had passed away at the school. In many sports, these are part of the memories provided to those who touched our lives.. I am really hoping “DH”is not waiting to find a place on any helmets, jerseys, or cleats. 

Thanks for stopping by.