On the Pat McAfee Death Threats
According to his dad, WVU kicker Pat McAfee has been receiving death threats as a result of two missed field goals in the December 1st game against the Pitt Panthers. Apparently, some “fans” have chosen to single out Pat for Saturday’s loss, and they feel that, for the crime of causing that loss, he should be terrorized.
Yes, Saturday’s loss was a huge disappointment. Yes, one could say, “if only Pat McAfee hadn’t missed those field goals, we could have won.” That might even be true[a]. One could also say, “if only Jarrett Brown hadn’t fumbled that ball,” “if only Pat White hadn’t been injured,” “if only Steve Slaton had been given the ball more often,” “if only Owen Schmitt had been given the ball more often,” “if only Reynaud had caught that pass,” “if only the offensive line had been stronger,” or a thousand other “if onlies” that every WVU fan has had playing through his or her head since the end of that game. While saying that, though, one might also say, “if only pigs had wings and I’d won the lottery last night,” because it would be just as effective.
So the Mountaineers are only going to the Fiesta Bowl, not the national championship game. While disappointing, that’s definitely not something that someone deserves to die (or to be threatened with death) over, especially not a young man who has played very well all season (not to mention previous seasons) and just happened to have a poor performance on Saturday. Keep in mind that McAfee’s missed field goals were far from the only things going wrong on a Saturday in which the Mountaineers lost a game that we were favored to win by 28 points.
If your biggest problem in your life today is that your favorite football team has lost a game[b], then you can count yourself extremely lucky. Get a little perspective and grow up, people.