BobcatHawk":3oja2hgi said:
McG":3oja2hgi said:
He's letting everyone know that he's not putting blame on the game for why he almost died, he's letting us it was ultimately his fault.
Lockette doesn't want someone to change the game for his mistake on the field.
[youtube]JvJMso0rPjg[/youtube]
From my perspective at the time and still today, I think Ricardo was targeted by the Cowboys to get taken out. He's led into the middle of the field by 31 and setup for the big hit by 38.
That's not to suggest that they were trying to kill him or anything, but I think the blowup was intentional. As far as mistakes go, not sure there was much he could do except have a little more awareness of where 38 was on the field.
I believe the same thing and that to me is what's so crazy about this entire topic, or at least his stance on the situation. When other pretty well-known, high profile, star-status types in the NFL (no names, but just use your imagination) get the chance blame and/or backtrack in regards to what their actions on the field have produced, these days they do in the blink of an eye. Then, on the other hand, you have a guy like Lockette. A guy with what could easily be considered a legitimate beef with NFL or even the game of football in general. It's basic situation where players now use, what I call the "it's not my fault, the game is too (enter reason of choice here against pro football)" stance. Instead, he decides to turn the other cheek, to me that's a real eye opener.
It really just brings me back to the days of old. When guy like Montana could get destroyed and have his career sent to a screaming halt by blindside hit, that comes a couple of steps after the ball was thrown. Or when players would leave the field after a game with more red on their jersey from blood, than green from grass or brown from mud. Was the game safe? Hell no, but I knew it. You knew it. Hell, 10 year old Jessica from down the street, who probably couldn't tell you what a football looked like, even if she was holding it in her hands, knew that football was a dangerous game. Also, You know damn well that every player from high school to the pros was well aware of it. Getting seriously hurt was part of the game of football, it was expected and the other team was going everything in their power to try to make it happen to you. I don't think it was right, not at all, but it's football. Plus, look at it from this perspective, you or I know damn well if we jump into pool full of sharks, then we're probably not walking out on our own... if at all. It's just how football was perceived for the longest time.
My point being, Lockette is acting like a football player or at least what most of grew up thinking a football player acted like. He is getting up and starting over from what most of us would consider a life altering event, even for a pro football player, much less what an everyday regular Joe would think. He's not trying to a blindfold on us, feed us shit, then trying to tell us it's a $50 ribeye. You know, like what the NFL has been doing over the several last years with it's "safety measures". With their meager "attempt(s)" to make a game like football be considered "safe", when we all know, no matter what they do (other than turn it into a game other than football), that it will never be considered safe. The game is what it is, danger is in it's DNA, with people who are basically athletic monsters doing everything in their power to stop each other on each down. People are going to get hurt from playing it, plain and simple. We know this. It's why some of us tune in every weekend (not me personally, but you know that guy, the one who watches NASCAR for the wrecks...). It's just refreshing to see a football player acting like a damn football player. No matter if I like him as a player or not, it's just nice to see these days, a guy who is acting like an actual professional football player. Good for him and I hope he comes back, just because of his attitude towards the game.
