Sunday, the Ravens' Billy Cundiff and 49ers' Kyle Williams joined the likes of Scott Norwood, Bill Buckner and Greg Norman in the club of infamous chokes in big moments. Cundiff's missed 32-yard FG at the end of regulation and Williams' punt handling issues cost their respective teams trips to the most hallowed of sports stages, the Super Bowl. No doubt they missed up -- and did it with a lot of people watching.
But Cundiff and Williams receiving death threats -- tweets so filled with vitriol they sound more like something to be spewed at a dictator than professional football player -- are absolutely uncalled for.
Diehard fans devote a lot of time and energy to their teams. They're passionate and that's a good thing. You should care about your team and want to see them win championships. I love rooting for my teams and get angry when they mess up. It's natural. When Doug Brien missed two potential game-winning field goals in the 2004 playoffs against the Steelers I never wanted to see him in a Jets uniform again. I also didn't have a need to send him a death threat.
In the aftermath of Sunday's Championship games, some fans were so compelled to take to Twitter and post wildly outrageous threats, stuff like this:
@KyleWilliams_10 I hope you, youre wife, kids and family die, you deserve it - @javpasquel
BreakingNews: Death warrant for Billy Cundiff, wanted Dead or alive... - @IAMDJBUNKI'm not naive enough to say it's 'just a football game' and totally discount these games as meaningless. Sports mean a lot to many people. When 50 million people are all watching the same thing in this age of segmented viewing, as they were the Giants/49ers game Sunday night, it takes on a great cultural significance.
The problem is that some people push it too far, go to extremes that are absolutely unnecessary. Too often in many spheres, not just sports, we get caught in the moment, unable to grasp the bigger picture. Perspective is lost in the heat of emotions, which is natural, but somewhere along the way it needs to be gained again.
Sports bringing out emotions in people is nothing new. Players and coaches have brawled, bawled and balled for centuries. It just seems like lately fans are pushing it too far.
Fans like those in San Francisco who weren't just cheering on their teams in a preseason game between the 49ers and Raiders but shooting in the parking lot and brawling in the stands. Three were hospitalized following the incidents.
Then there's the case of Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan, a father of two, beaten so badly by a couple Dodgers fans he ended up in a coma. Stow suffered a traumatic brain injury and couldn't speak for months.
That's disturbing action, unacceptable no matter the issue. Sports should be getting people excited, acting as an escape from some of life's greater problems, not creating life-threatening ones.
Getting riled up, taunting players, vehemently cheering is all part of being a fan. Threatening others and being violent is not.
Being angry about the Ravens or 49ers missing the Super Bowl is fine. So is not wanting to see Billy Cundiff or Kyle Williams' face for a few months. Sports change people's lives, many times for the better, but in the case of goats, for the worse. There's no stopping that. Let's just keep it in perspective.
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