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<\/a><\/p>\nThe following essay was previously published in the Prairie Progressive<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Three feral cats have adopted our backyard natural habitat. One is an old tiger-striped tom that\u2019s been wandering the neighborhood for years. The other two showed up last summer as adorable The instinct to hunt, the challenge of outsmarting your prey isn\u2019t reserved for wildlife. Sports is where we can observe the culture of the wild played out by civilized men. Football even has a wildcat formation. It\u2019s designed to confuse the defense by replacing the traditional quarterback lineup with a different positional player to take the snap from the center. It isn\u2019t used much, because savvy defenses have learned how to defend against it. But that\u2019s the intriguing part of football, the quest to figure out a way to win by outsmarting your opponents, without breaking the rules or at least not getting caught.<\/p>\n Coach Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots has won six Super Bowl rings; more than any other coach. He said he thought he was within the rules when operation Spygate was exposed. During a game with the New York Jets on September 9, 2007, New England Quarterback Tom Brady has won seven Super Bowls, yet he was suspended four games for being the mastermind behind Deflategate. He allegedly ordered the deflation of footballs before the 2014 American Football Conference against the Indianapolis Colts, thereby giving the Patriots an edge and winning the game. The team was fined $1 million dollars and lost 2 draft picks.<\/p>\n Please, don\u2019t bring up Bountygate to a Minnesota Vikings fan. The New Orleans Saints were punished for paying out bounties to intentionally injure opposing players. It reportedly took place from 2009 to 2011. Minnesota fans continue to stew over the 2009 NFC Championship game, where Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was repeatedly targeted and eventually seriously injured by the Saints players. New Orleans went on to win the Super Bowl that year. Upon discovery of the numerous premeditated assaults, the NFL commissioner doled out punishment to the coaching staff: Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the 2012 season; defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was suspended indefinitely, but this would be overturned the next year; and general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for the first eight games in 2012. The team was fined and gave up a couple draft picks. The Super Bowl win still stands.<\/p>\n In comparison to these other Super Bowl champions, Aaron Rodgers\u2019 behavior is strikingly mild. He could be dubbed the king of winning games by drawing the opposing team into penalties. Rodgers is known for tricking the defense to jump off sides, catching twelve men on the field during substitutions and the infamous Hail Mary throw down the field to draw a pass interference call. It wins games and it doesn\u2019t break the rules.<\/p>\n Rodgers drew heavy criticism by bucking against the NFL vaccination policies. After testing positive for COVID, it surfaced that he wasn\u2019t vaccinated but had earlier told reporters who asked about his vaccination status, \u201cYeah, I\u2019m immunized.\u201d Last summer, Rodgers brought a holistic approach as an alternative to vaccination to the NFL. He was turned down.<\/p>\n Some players will remain vaccine hesitant; their bodies are their livelihoods. When NFL players aren\u2019t the only organisms looking for loopholes. COVID continues to mutate as its survival competes against vaccines. Wouldn\u2019t it make more sense to learn from the pandemic and develop policies that promote a healthy work environment that applies to everyone, so that players, coaches and staff can protect themselves from all illnesses, instead of being politically polarized by COVID? But who am I to judge? I\u2019m the one out there every morning doing my daily exercise in feral futility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The following essay was previously published in the Prairie Progressive.\u00a0 Three feral cats have adopted our backyard natural habitat. One is an old tiger-striped tom that\u2019s been wandering the neighborhood for years. The other two showed up last summer as … Continue reading
\nblack kittens, one male, one female, scrounging the ground for any leftover birdseed. Wild birds have flocked to our yard for ages and the cats upset the habitat\u2019s balance and my serenity. So
\nevery morning before sunrise, you\u2019ll find me feeding cats, followed by the birds, hoping that full stomachs deter the cats from attacking the birds. The two male cats get it, they eat and go off for naps. The female cat, like clockwork eats the soft food, leaps off the deck to partake of the bird seed course and then goes hunting for dessert. One morning, she gave me her yellow-eyed feline stare while gripping a dead sparrow in her mouth, clearly communicating, \u201cWhat did you expect? Cats will be cats.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nvideotaped the Jets defensive coaches\u2019 play signals from New England\u2019s sideline, which was considered an unauthorized location by the National Football League (NFL). Belichick was given the maximum fine ($500,000), the team was fined $250,000 and lost its first round draft pick.<\/p>\n
\nasymptomatic, unvaccinated Vikings safety Harrison Smith tested positive for COVID at the same time vaccinated Vikings offensive lineman Dakota Dozier wound up hospitalized, it doesn\u2019t help the vaccination argument.<\/p>\n