The arm’s not as important as the knee
Remember when people said Colin Kaepernick wasn’t a good enough player to kneel during the American national anthem? God, we were all so much younger then, back before all the things that have happened and keep happening, and which are piped directly into our brains not just by TV and radio but by the Internet, which if you want is never further away than your pocket. You can literally access almost anything, at any time. Much of it is terrible or boring or cats, but it’s always there.
Me, if I was into technology, I would invent an app that shuts down your Internet access, home and/or mobile, for a specified amount of time. You would set an alarm, and then it would be like you were on a plane, back before the Internet infiltrated planes, for however long you wanted.
Except, no seatbelt, no middle seat, and you would always be free to get up and walk around the cabin. Plus, nobody falls asleep on you or reclines their seat in front of you, forcing you to add them to your mental enemy list that you repeat name by name before you go to bed each night. And the food’s much better. Maybe someone has developed this app already, I don’t know. But it would feel like freedom.
Kaepernick, meanwhile, is back to being the starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, whatever that’s worth. The Niners are 1-4, and on merit. Football Outsiders has them as either the 26th- or 28th-worst team in the NFL, depending on whether you take pre-season projections into account. Blaine Gabbert has thrown up a 69.6 quarterback rating, a sliver below his career number of 71.6. Maybe Chip Kelly’s offence will fit Kaepernick as well as some people think.
Or not, whatever. Since Jim Harbaugh left to go wear sensible pants at Michigan, San Francisco has become, like, football Idaho: people know it’s there, but unless there’s a militia protest of some kind, nobody really cares. The 49ers don’t matter, and whatever unpleasantness occurs in the Bay Area is safely contained. Until Kaepernick protested. All he did was take a knee during the anthem to protect racial injustice in American policing and then refused to waver, and the movement bloomed across America.
And some people yelled and howled. But look at it this way: Kaepernick protested, he wore socks with pigs in police uniforms on them, he spoke out, and people up to and including a liberal-leaning Supreme Court Justice criticized him. But more people supported him, and now he’s back to being a starting quarterback. Again, for whatever that’s worth.
Now, he might get killed. Kaepernick is lighter than he used to be, had a tired arm in the pre-season, and was never the most accurate thrower before he had multiple surgeries. Pro Football Focus has the Niners’ offensive line as 28thbest in the league. Back in Kaepernick’s prime, they were first.
So, some people may cheer for Kaepernick to fail or get hurt, and both could happen. The Fraternal Order of Police, the biggest law enforcement union in America, has endorsed Donald Trump, and several San Antonio policemen wore Trump hats this week before being disciplined for it. Some criticism this weekend will probably make you want to turn off your Internet, to be honest.
But then, this thing started when he was the backup quarterback on a crap team. He might fail, but he’s an idea now, and what he started isn’t getting stopped by the Buffalo Bills. So, eh. It’s a football game. How Kaepernick does won’t truly matter, outside of San Francisco.
Wait, Buffalo coach Rex Ryan is a Trump man. This is a clash of civilizations.
Last week this space went 6-8. As always, all lines could change.