The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

This last weekend was the start of the NFL Playoffs. Wins by the Chiefs, Seahawks, Steelers and Packers set things up for an action-packed football weekend coming up. But I want to talk about the game between the Bengals and the Steelers and the absolute disgust I felt at the end of that game, which in some ways might reflect America today.

It was a good game. Players were leaving their mark and making big plays to help their team, but none of that will be remembered because of the selfish play of a few.

Players from both sides are guilty and I won’t name names, but there were flagrant late hits, character flaws and over-aggressiveness that time and time again set their teams back. The Bengals were in a position to win and get their first playoff victory in over 20 years, but two players who had made big plays all game sent their own team home with out-of-control selfishness in the end.

It had been a good game. Lots of big hits and big plays. As the game wore on, we saw the true character of some emerge. There was a celebration on the sideline after one player, with a clean hit, hurt another player. The antics on the sidelines while the hurt player was being attended to on the field made me sick to my stomach. The next two quarters were filled with yellow flags and fighting after almost every play. The officials did their best to keep order, but it was obvious that these two teams did not like each other and they were out to hurt people.

As the game wore on and the little post-play fights continued, the inevitable happened. A good hard sack of the quarterback with a little extra aggressiveness at the end caused Big Ben to be hurt. He went to the locker room with an obvious injury. He would return later, but his throwing arm was hurt. As the game wound down, it looked like the Bengals had the game under control. Then, ugly human character showed its head again. A vicious, illegal hit on a wide receiver left him unconscious on the ground. A shoving match ensued, another player pushed some others, and a coach and referee both got hit. This cost the Bengals the game. The crowd was also disgraceful as they booed and threw garbage and debris on an injured player as he was carted off the field.

The sad part is this might be a glimpse of America today. Sometimes the people doing so well just can’t control themselves in high-pressure situations. We live our lives with aggressiveness that sometimes backfires on us and leaves us wondering, “Why did I do that?” We think we can say or do anything we want and there will be no consequences. We live our lives walking a fine line between moral values and entitlement. When the truth shows us that we are wrong we defend ourselves with a blind fury that hurts the others around us.

This cost the Bengals the game and it more than likely will cost the Steelers the next one, due to injuries. It hurt the NFL as well. But if this is a true reflection of the issues happening in our country today then we all need to take a step back and reevaluate the way we look at ourselves and what motivates us to do better, to play harder. If we look in the mirror and don’t like what we see on an issue, then we must be the first to admit wrongness and sideline ourselves until we are ready to play with a whole nation in mind. Not just ourselves and a selfish attitude.

I don’t know if you will agree or disagree with me, but I think we can be better. If we come together and play this thing called life as a team and let each other check our moral compass, then we can not just be better, we can be great. I’m Jess saying.