The last Monday night of the 2022 NFL season was supposed to be a big event, with a matchup between two of the best teams of the season. Unfortunately, a shocking event changed the landscape in a few moments: what happened to the Buffalo Bills player, damar hamlin.
During the first quarter, the second-year safety made a tackle and got up after the play, only to collapse seconds later. Nobody imagined what was about to happen, the broadcast went to commercials and, when it returned, we saw images that we did not expect, players and coaching staff of the Bills, were in shock, several even cried, despair and fear in their faces were obvious. Colleagues in the broadcast booth reported that Hamlin he had been given CPR and an ambulance was already in the field, ready to rush him to the hospital.
They were moments of anguish for everyone present in the stadium, as well as for the members of both teams, who could not believe what had just happened; I imagine the same thing happened with people in front of a television.
Amid concerns for the 24-year-old’s health, the league, incredibly, intended to go ahead with the game. I understand the importance of the result and its implications for the playoffs, but I don’t understand how they could even consider resuming the duel, ask those involved to erase what had just happened from their heads, stop thinking about their fallen teammate and play as if nothing had happened. It would have happened, it was a mistake, which is why the coaches of both teams decided to suspend the match.
The pressure exerted by them led to Roger Godell upon the decision to suspend the match, the commissioner was forced to choose the best course of action; it was illogical to continue with the show, while a man was fighting for his life. The show does not always have to go on, with all that the suspension implies, the NFL will find the best opportunity for both the Bills and the Bengals to return to the gridiron.
What happened on Monday serves to demonstrate how fragile life is and how things can change in an instant; it also showed us how brutal football is, and that while it is true that many of these men make a lot of money, their bodies are subjected to enormous punishment.
That is why we should never think that they are lucky to dedicate themselves to playing a child’s game, without considering the risks involved in choosing to dedicate themselves to football and entertain ourselves; adding that, in addition, the professional life of the majority is very short and the rewards do not always correspond to what they sacrifice in return.
