It's good to reflect periodically that beneath all the helmets, padding, bravado, face paint and cheering, we're dealing with a bunch of kids playing a hard, and physical, game. Coaches, spectators, announcers, sportswritersand others can forget about who's actually under all that "stuff", but we shouldn't. We are there to protect the players, as best we can and not get caught up and carried away in all the excitement.
The best possible result of a game is real simple; everyone involved in the game is able to walk off the field under their own power, and nothing happened in that game that will prevent anyone who played in it, from being able to walk up stairs, unassisted, when they're 35. Anything more than that is gravy.
