Hard To Focus On NFL Sunday In America When Friends At War In Israel|Salguero
The NFL gleefully went about its business on Sunday.
And by the time about 14 hours of football was over we understood the Bills have issues, Bill Belichick might be losing his fastball, the Eagles are still undefeated, the Panthers are still winless, Joe Burrow's calf is getting better, and Travis Kelce's ankle is apparently made of rubber.
There were a lot of interesting storylines that America's most popular league that plays America's most popular sport served us up like a buffet of distractions for the entire country to consume.
Meanwhile, the world is burning.
People are dying.
And danger is threatening to come at us, maybe right in our very neighborhoods.
FOXBOROUGH, MA - OCTOBER 08: New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau (87) spikes the ball during an NFL game between the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints on October 8, 2023, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Day NFL Could Not Be The Focus
Midway through my work day on Sunday I found myself oddly unmoved by the NFL's games and focused the world's events.
I freely admit to you, I found myself not giving a rip about how Sunday's NFL action affected the standings or your fantasy team or my day.
Because I found myself instead thinking of my friends in Israel.
And it made me realize how utterly unimportant to the point of being embarrassment the NFL and all sports, really, are in times of crisis.
If you know anything beyond the team you cheer, the stadium you visit, or beer you pay entirely too much for, you know Hamas terrorists attacked Israel Saturday and thousands of people are now dead as a result of what people in the Israeli government are calling their 9/11.
Israel Declares War, Escalation On Horizon
Israel is officially at war now. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government made the announcement Saturday.
"Citizens of Israel, we are at war -- not an operation, not an escalation -- at war," Netanyahu said in an address to the country. "Hamas has to pay an unprecedented price."
And what this means on a global scale is obvious to anyone with eyes. Israel is going to plow through Gaza in retaliation for the murderous incursion into its territory by Hamas. And Hezbollah, located on the northern border, will then rain down rockets on Israel in support of Hamas.
Israel will then go on search and destroy missions and bombing runs into Lebanon to retaliate against Hezbollah. Then terrorists of other makes and models will try to leak into Israel through Jordan in the east.
And people all around the world will pick sides.
The United States is moving the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea as a result of Saturday’s attacks in Israel. Syria, Turkey, Iran and all their allies, including Russia, will undoubtedly dislike that and protest the move.
Turkey's president Tayyip Erdogan went so far as threatening the United States, saying, "America, stay away, we will defend Palestine at any price."
Imagine a world where a leader of a country named after your Thanksgiving dinner can threaten the United States of America. It's crazy.
But the world is crazy. It's becoming a chess board and the pieces of war are definitely in motion.
The Zeit brothers, Jesse and Ezra, along with their dad David and NFL Hall of Famer Zach Thomas at Dolphins camp in the early 2000s. (Photo courtesy David Zeit).
Israel Events That Affect Families
My friend David Zeit, an American living in Israel, was in the middle of it all over the weekend and wondering when, not if, the moves would affect his family.
Zeit's boys, you see, are Israeli special forces commandos.
You wouldn't know it from the photo with Hall of Famer Zach Thomas because that is from the early 2000s but Jesse is 23 and Ezra is 25 now. Like their father, both are Dolphins fans.
But rather than thinking about how the Dolphins did against the overmatched Giants on Sunday, the Zeit boys had other things on their minds.
"Jesse was called in for emergency reserve military duty," Zeit said Saturday. "He's currently on base in the south in full gear awaiting orders.
"Ezra's unit hasn't been called in yet. He's pacing around incredulously saying, 'This is what I trained for!' He feels helpless and wants to go in."
And my prayers are that both Ezra and Jesse accomplish whatever mission they're sent on and return to their family safe and victorious.
Israeli security forces on canon and infantry fighting vehicles move towards the border with Gaza utside Sderot, Israel, on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. Fighting continued in southern Israel for a second day as Israeli Defence Forces sought to regain control of areas infiltrated yesterday by militants from the Gaza Strip. Photographer: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images
World Outside America Mindful Of Israel War
Not the whole world feels that way. And I'm not here to debate that.
But I am here to inform you the rest of the world is watching the tinder box that is threatening to light a World War. This while so many in the United States are wondering if their team just got a freaking first down.
You might think that's the privilege of living in a super power. You can take your eyes off world events or even be completely ignorant of them if you want. Because, doggonit, this is America and they can't touch us.
Well friends, that's what the people at that music festival in Israel probably thought before at least 230 of them were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists.
People rally in support of Palestinians in Times Square in New York on October 8, 2023 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel. Israel, reeling from the deadliest attack on its territory in half a century, formally declared war on Hamas Sunday as the conflict's death toll surged close to 1,000 after the Palestinian militant group launched a massive surprise assault from Gaza. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP) (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Trouble Goes Unnoticed Until It Happens
That's what unarmed families in some areas of Sderot -- under Israel's stringent gun laws -- thought before terrorists broke into their homes and took them as hostages.
So go ahead and feel confident you're safe as thousands of military age males wearing buzzcuts pour in through our southern border.
America is generally too busy to notice.
Jets fan were too upset about another potential game-deciding pass interference call Sunday afternoon, even as some pretty radical people were parading around Times Square insisting the United States not side with Israel in this war.
Bears fans were still enjoying the recent improvement by Justin Fields to notice thousands of people on Chicago streets demanding Israel be wiped off the map, which is what the Jordan river to the Mediterranean sea banner is about.
Clashes As We Watch NFL
Bills fans in Toronto, meanwhile, were planning their Sunday BBQ parties to see how their team would play in London while convoys of men gathered in a nearby community to make sure Hamas is treated fairly.
Pro Israel and pro Palestinian protestors clashed in Kirkland Washington, a full 10 hours removed from the middle east. They spit at each other and threatened each other. They reportedly disengaged when tear gas was brought in by authorities.
So get the memo, folks: There are people here that want you to feel their conflict over there.
But many of you are too busy watching the 49ers beat the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football to notice. And I warn you, this is partly how Rome's republic fell after about 500 years.
First century Roman poet Juvenal called what he saw at the end of that republic, and we're seeing today in America, the of practice of "bread and circuses."
Traffic in front of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, on Monday, June 12, 2023. Italy may crack down on use of e-scooters, hailed as either the future of urban transport or considered to be a menace on city streets that terrorizes pedestrians and litters sidewalks across Rome, Milan and other metropolises Photographer: Gaia Squarci/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Games Distracted Roman Republic, Too
Juvenal noted how Rome's general population became so mesmerized by favors and games that they neglected social issues or civic welfare. They didn't see armies mustering or Caesars rising. And if they did see, they were happy enough to be provided food, services and entertainment to care
There are people in the NFL, actually working within the league right now, who understand the league is at times a harmful distraction to the American general population.
They understand a distraction from personal issues for maybe three hours a week is harmless and probably even good for you. But a distraction that overrides attention of civic duties is a problem for all of us.
And the truth is, there's probably more of the latter than the former. Just measure how many people attend games or concerts or buffets compared to school board meetings.
This is where I raise my hand. I'm probably as guilty as anyone on this because I focus on sports more than most.
But not Sunday. Not with my friends in the middle of a war.