Football has a storied tradition in the South and Georgia is no exception. This particular story goes back to the days when football was young, back before Southern towns doubled their population on Saturdays in the fall.
On October 30, 1897 the University of Georgia, before they were known as the Bulldogs, played the University of Virginia. Sometime during the game, a young man from Rome named Von Gammon was carrying the ball when he was reportedly tackled "by the entire Virginia team." This, of course, is understandable as it would take 11Virginians to tackle a Georgia boy. But but that's beside the point.
When the pile unfolded, Von Gammon remained motionless on the ground. Doctors at the game determined he had a serious head injury. He was carried to Grady Hospital where he died early the next morning. He would be buried in Myrtle Hill Cemetery a literal stone's throw from the well travelled naval officer from the last entry.
The legislature was in session at that time and as the news spread across the state the government did what it does best. It initiated a knee jerk overreaction and passed a bill that would ban the sport of football in Georgia. It was said to be too dangerous. No football. No "Between the Hedges". No "Ramblin' Wreck". No tailgating. Nothing.
But football had an unlikely ally.
Rosalind Burns Gammon, Von's mother, wrote the local representative to the legislature. (I'm hesitant to call him "her legislator" as in 1897 she couldn't legally register to vote.) She lobbied for the sport her son and his friends loved. She didn't want Von's death to be the reason his friends were barred from playing. She begged them to stop the bill. The letter found its way to the governor - the last step the bill needed to become law. Part of Mrs. Gammon's argument was that Von had two friends die, one rock climbing and one skating, and their sports had not been banned from the state.
In the end, the governor vetoed the bill. Georgia Football was saved. It was all because a mom stood up, refused to be a victim and kept the government's meddling out of football.
115+ years have passed since that sad Saturday. Football has changed greatly. But two things remained the same. It still takes 11 Virginians to tackle one Georgian, and the government still can't mind its own business.
President Barack Obama recently opined about the safety of football, the likelihood he would have let his theoretical son play football and the changes that need to be made to deal with "the violence" in football.
Football without violence is like chocolate cake without the chocolate and broccoli substituted for the cake. Football without the violence is like...well...frankly it's like baseball. How dreadful.
But now that I think about it if you count those catcher/runner collisions, hit batters, Robin Ventura's ill-advised mound charges and the Braves tripping over each other in the post-season, baseball is rather violent.
Think of every sport you have heard an instance about someone getting a concussion. That leaves us with what?
If you're keeping score at home, that leaves us with nothing. Not even golf.
So what does Mr. Obama propose little boys do with their spare time? What would his theoretical son be allowed to play?
I'm hoping that somewhere along the way Mr. Obama runs across a old letter from a Mrs. Gammon and he learns what football is really all about. I'm hoping he stays far away from the gridiron and allows self-governance and personal responsibility govern football. Mrs Gammon understood that it wasn't the role of government to protect us from football. Hopefully, Mr Obama will concur.
