Bounties and Bad Intentions

By Grin and Barrett

I have a particular routine I adhere to in my morning commute to work.  I start the day with a prayer for wisdom, grace and strength, and I thank God for the majesty of those beautiful Alaskan mountains I pass through on the way in.  After my moments of thanksgiving, and my morning ritual of counting moose on the Palmer flats, I get my morning fix of ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the morning.

Today, as I carried out this daily routine, I heard something that really troubled me.  Chris Carter, the studtastic wide receiver for the Vikings who torched NFC North defensive backs for so many years, spoke of his need to put “bounties” on opposing team’s defensive players that he felt threatened him and his well-being; that harbored him bad intentions.  Specifically, he mentioned the threat he felt from then Denver Bronco’s player Bill Romanowski, and his contention that Romanowski vowed to end Carter’s career.  Carter, in turn, put a bounty on Romanowski, offering team-mates an unspecified reward for keeping Romanowski in check.  The thing that bothered me with this whole situation isn’t the fact that Carter felt he needed to be protected, but the fact that Carter felt he needed to pay his teammates to have his back.

As a Soldier, this confuses me.  In an earlier post I wrote, “Grammatical Retirement – Going to War,” I wrote of my disdain for athletes who wax poetically about being a Soldier, going to war, and dying for their brothers/sisters.  The differences between a professional athlete and professional Soldier are both narrow and wide at the same time.  When it comes to going to war, that gulf could not be wider, and evidently this also applies to protecting our own.  Why on earth would Carter feel he needed to pay his teammates to do what every Soldier, Marine, Airmen and Sailor would do without even thinking about it?  Brothers and sisters in law enforcement and emergency services understand this as well.  What is that thing we do without thinking about it?  We protect our own!  I don’t go into a hostile situation with the promise of reward.  This, to me, isn’t even fathomable!

“Hey bro, we’re seriously hitting the shit today.”

“Yeah, I know man.”

“Well, brother, can I ask you something?”

“Sure man, anything.”

“If it all goes to shit, would you do me a favor and watch my back?”

“Weeeellllllll….”

“There’s a cool hundred dollar bill in it for you…”

“Ah, hell yeah then!  You got it bro!”

“And if some Taliban scumbag gets a bead on me, if you take him out, I’ll throw you another hundred.”

“Bet!  You got it man.”

Never seen that exchange?  Yeah, me neither.  Cause that’s not how we do things.  We automatically have each other’s backs.  I’d like to think we model our protective instincts on that of Sparta.  Spartan culture was one of protecting your brother before yourself.  When the Spartan mother told her son, “Come back with your shield, or on it,” it was because to lose your shield meant you exposed the man on your left to peril.  That same ideal of protecting your own is alive and well today in our military, seen every day in Afghanistan and other hot spots around the world.

We don’t offer rewards; No Rolex, no new SUV, no trip to Hawaii.   But what we do offer is so much more precious, so much better; the camaraderie of kindred spirits who would lay down their lives for each other, with no other reward than knowing that your brothers and sisters would do the same for you.  Carter and Romanowski can occupy the media with bounties and bad intentions, while we continue to keep watch over our brothers and sisters, and over you.

4 Comments

1. 

   Logan F. Crooks

   May 12, 2012 at 1:01 pm

   Great Post! There is way to much drama in Athletics today and it is shameful, I only pay attention to Water Polo, Swimming, Running, MMA/Combatives and Military Academy/Intramural Sports (No drama there!).
   Oh, and you left out Coast Guardsmen.

   Reply
2. 

   Grin and Barrett

   May 12, 2012 at 5:08 pm

   Good catch on the Coast Guard….

   G&B

   Reply
3. 

   J.Jordan

   May 15, 2012 at 4:39 pm

   The divide is one of motivation, we who have served in one of the above mentioned services do so for the good of our fellow countrymen, and that of our country. While we are are paid for our services, no sane individual joins any of those services with any inclination of gaining a fortune. The same can not be said of all professional athletes. Mind you I would not begrudge them of their earnings, that is between them and the management of the teams they work for, this is not about envy. We few who serve do so for the good of others, professional athletes play for themselves.

   This is not true of all though, there are some amazing athletes who would shock you with the depth of their generosity, unfortunately they are the silent few.

   I really enjoyed your post. Keep it up, you guys do a wonderful job.

   Reply
4. 

   Snuffydaman

   May 15, 2012 at 7:48 pm

   Nice post. Don’t forget about sitting out on your teamates. How many times are our fellow service members out there with their pay jacked up, overdue bonuses etc. and they still show up and get it done. Can you imagine what would happen in the sports world if they missed a paycheck or heaven forbid thought they “outperformed” their contract?

   Reply