Commentary by Robert Carter

The North Jefferson News



It had to happen.

Well, actually, it’s probably already happened in the past, maybe several times. But this time, our state’s love for all things football — and how that love is sometimes carried to tragic extremes — made worldwide news.

I’ll quote from reporter Connie Baggett’s story in The Press-Register of Mobile:

“An Escambia County couple died Saturday after an argument over the Alabama/LSU football game ended in shotgun blasts, according to Conecuh County authorities.”

The story goes on to say that one victim was a fan of the Tigers, and the accused was a Crimson Tide supporter. Apparently during or after Bama’s 27-21 overtime win over LSU on Saturday, the two men got into an argument over the game, the teams, the coaches, the officials, the cheerleaders, the announcers or who knows what. One guy got his pistol, and the other got his shotgun.

The man with the pistol is dead from a shotgun blast. His ex-wife then threatened the shooter, whom police say fired his shotgun again, killing her.

The accused, one David Williams, is lodged in the Conecuh County jail charged with two counts of murder. Dennis and Donna Smith, the victims, knew Williams because Donna Smith was related to Williams’ girlfriend, Baggett writes.

And in a revelation that should surprise absolutely no one, “Investigators said alcohol was believed to have been a factor in the killings.”

Duh.

This incident would probably be relegated to the front page of The Brewton Standard or an inside page of The Press-Register, had it not attracted the attention of Matt Drudge.

The world’s most famous Internet muckraker, best known for breaking the story of the Monica Lewinsky affair with then-President Bill Clinton, posted a link to the Press-Register story. And as anyone who maintains a news-media website will attest, when the Drudge Report links to your story, everyone takes notice.

This means that Fox News and CNN, when they aren’t obsessing over Barack Obama’s choice for Deputy Assistant Undersecretary of State in Charge of Widgets in Upper Mongolia, will use this story 1) to fill time, and 2) as yet another excuse tell the world how Alabama is still so backward that its society has barely evolved above third-world cultures like Rwanda or Mississippi.

The international press will have a good time with it as well. I can just imagine some London tabloid having a good time bashing us Yanks, while they conveniently gloss over some donnybrook in a pub between fans of Manchester United and Arsenal, Britain’s version of Alabama vs. Auburn.

Sadly, we deserve to get slammed for this.

Most of us in these parts are pretty passionate about our sports, especially football. And the vast majority of us don’t let things get out of hand like these folks. Unfortunately, we have just enough of these gene-pool polluters around to make the rest of us look bad.

Hey, maybe they were planted here. I think I smell a mainstream media conspiracy here. Yeah, it’s The New York Times’ fault. That’s the ticket.

I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but in case I’m not, just remember this one thing: No matter what level the game is played on, it’s still just that — a game. When all is said and done, the outcome of any athletic contest will not have any bearing on our livelihood. Save the shooting for where it matters, like the Middle East or Afghanistan. Or better yet, a field with deer.

And while a gunfight is an extreme example of a dispute over a game, there are too many examples of fans or parents (often both) letting things get out of hand over an official’s call or a coach’s decision. The worst incidents seem to come at the lowest levels of youth sports, which is exactly the place where adults should be setting their best examples for the children.

My friend and former pastor, The Right Rev. Rodney Dukes, puts it best.

“Y’all just behave.”