Sports fans like me can’t wait for fall football

I would like to dedicate this week’s column to Jacqueline Towns, 59, and Tarvaris Jackson, 36. Towns, the mother of Minnesota Timberwolves allstar forward Karl-Anthony Towns, lost her battle with COVID-19 Monday. While Jackson, a former NFL quarterback who played for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills during his nine-year career, passed away in a car accident last Sunday.

Because the coronavirus pandemic has placed spring sports in a frozen state, the focus now turns to fall sports and the almighty king of the south known as football. I had dreams of playing for the Atlanta Falcons until I learned how genetics worked.

I knew my chances were pretty slim, because my Mom is five-foot, five-inches tall and my Dad is five-foot, eight-inches tall on a good day. This is why, I am sitting in a chair, writing about sports, looking up football roosters and schedules and wondering if this will be the year that the Georgia Bulldogs break through to win the NCAA Football Championship or if my beloved Atlanta Falcons will disappoint me this year as they always do.

I couldn’t imagine not being able to see Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence try to win another national championship. In the pros, it would hurt not being able to watch Tom Brady in his new Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform go up against my Atlanta Falcons twice a year.

Many people voiced strong opinions on YouTube about what should be done about football season. Some people said, play the games by any means necessary and others spoke about postponing or even canceling the season.

Former Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith said he still didn’t consider the idea of playing games to be safe with or without fans.

“If we play the games without fans that means that we’ve determined it’s not safe for them, so why would it be safe for the players?” Smith said.

On the other hand, Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy said he just wanted to get back to playing football.

“They’re (players) in good shape. They’re 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 years old. They’re healthy. A lot of them can fight it off with their natural body...” Gundy said.

Even though I would be crushed if no football was played this season, I have to agree with Smith. The safety of the players must be taken into account. We must remember that athletes are human beings first.

Whether it’s high school, college or pro level, we must protect these young men from any form of danger that may exist. Watching these young men grow up and become men of class and good health far exceeds any touchdown they will ever score. If it were up to me, I would argue to postpone the season as a first step rather than cancel it altogether. I believe that football will be played this season, but I would rather be on the side of caution than have more people become infected with the COVID-19 virus.

In a time when we need sports more than ever, it would be the ultimate heartbreaker if this COVID-19 pandemic ended the sport that me and millions of others love the most. It would hurt to see another Tiger team unable to finish their careers the way track, tennis, soccer, softball and baseball players did.

I am looking forward to getting my first dose of Texas football, as the Rockdale Tigers look to bring back a talented team for the 2020- 2021 school year.

RHS football has a class with elite talents like Cam’ron Valdez and Kesean Raven. Both young men are gifted and have good heads on their shoulders.