Only the loyal deserve loyalty

I’ve watched one video clip over and over again since last Sunday night. It is not any… I’ve watched one video clip over and over again since last Sunday night. It is not any celebrity sex tape or a Soulja Boy-dubbed cartoon. It’s Adam Vinatieri’s missed 29-yard field goal at the end of the Colt’s loss to the Chargers this weekend.

Vinatieri, who left my beloved Patriots two years ago for the greener grass – and paychecks – of Indianapolis, also missed a 42-yarder at the end of the first half, denying his new team some much needed points in their 2-point defeat.

Vinatieri used to be a New England legend. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, kicking the winning field goal with seconds remaining in the first two, against a heavily favored Rams team in Super Bowl XXXVI and a scrappy Carolina squad in Super Bowl XXXVIII. He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and has brought me more happiness then most of the women I have ever known.

So why am I so happy that he failed? Why am I basking in his defeat? It’s not as if they were playing the Pats, against whom Adam has missed three kicks in the last two regular season games. Did all that time we had together mean nothing? Have I completely forgotten all the things he’s done for me over the years?

The second he went to the hated Colts, the home of the commercial actor formerly known as Peyton Manning and a coach who thinks Jesus wants him to pipe artificial crowd noise into his stadium, I had to completely cut him off emotionally. Like when Benedict Arnold hopped over to the British, sometimes people do things, such bad things, that we must force ourselves to forget and deny any of their good.

This kind of enemy hopping has been going on a lot lately. Jerry Rice, after cementing his place among the all-time greats in San Francisco, rode the bridge to the other side of the bay to play for the Raiders.

Ben Wallace, a cornerstone of an NBA Champion Piston’s team, left Detroit for the Chicago Bulls, reigniting a rivalry that traces itself back to the days before Michael Jordan camped out in casinos and Isiah Thomas was found guilty of harassment.

And the list of players who’ve switched in and out of Yankee Stadium – Wade Boggs, David Cone, Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens, etc. – is longer than A-Rod’s neatly manicured fingernails.

Should these people be demonized by the cities they left? Should fans block out the prior achievements of athletes who have broken their hearts? Can’t we all just get along?

I’ve always tried to consider myself a fiercely loyal person. I wouldn’t eat Reese’s Pieces for years because I thought that would compromise my relationship with M’Ms. I grew up using the word “soda” and over my dead body will I ever refer to a thirst-quenching beverage as “pop.”

But why does this all change when it comes to sports? If I can forgive John Lennon after ditching Paul, George and Ringo for team Yoko, then why shouldn’t I give Bill Parcells and Curtis Martin a second chance? Is there any reason not to be loyal to these people who have brought us so much happiness?

Um, the answer to that is a big, fat yes. I’m supposed to be loyal to the players? I’m supposed to feel bad for them when they go to a different team because those guys were offering them two or three million dollars more? Fans pay to watch games and wear jerseys, while the athletes get paid more than most educators to do something that other people do in their free time?

I don’t think so. Maybe it is mean for me to revel in the misfortunes of someone for whom I used to cheer, but the players should show some loyalty once in a while, too.

Some of them do – Padre great Tony Gwynn constantly refused to leave San Diego throughout his career and Jazz legend John Stockton never left Salt Lake City for richer pastures. But, more often than not, athletes care more about the dead presidents in their wallets than the living fans in the seats.

So, if athletes aren’t going to be loyal to me, why should I be loyal to them? If they want to play for the rival team, go ahead – just be ready for what you hear from the stands whenever you come back for games. And if you want to go over to the Colts and lose them games by missing field goals while the Patriots are gunning for the top seed in the AFC, then even better.

Through nine games, Adam Vinatieri has missed four field goals and two extra points, with a long of 39 yards. His replacement in New England, Stephen Gostkowski, has only missed one kick all year, early in a blowout win against – guess who – San Diego.

So maybe I’m not so bitter about Vinatieri going to the Colts. If he keeps playing like this, they can have him.

E-mail Sam at seg23@pitt.edu. Just don’t miss.