Chris Townsend

MUSIC CITY BLUES

Some days you just don’t want to get out of bed and go to work. Okay, perhaps many days are like that.

But it would be hard pressed to say that the majority of workdays in the life of a professional athlete begin with that occupational hesitance in the back of the mind.

However, Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young might have encountered what we peasants of the world call “a case of the Mondays” after the opening week of the 2009 National Football League season.

The versatile signal caller out of Texas suffered a strained MCL during the Titans Week 1 victory over the Jaguars and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks. Here is where the drama begins.

Shortly after the news was released about Young on Monday, he apparently left his home in Nashville “emotionally unstable” which prompted a call from his family to Tennessee Head Coach Jeff Fisher. Fisher then attempted to reach out to Young via cellular transmit but was unable to contact him. This led to a call by Fisher to the local authorities in hopes of tracking Young down.

When they located the 25-year old, he was just chillin’ at a buddy’s house, watching the Monday Night Football game. So why all the commotion?

What was relayed by family, friends and doctors to the police earlier that day and after the incident was reason for concern. Apparently his mother had stated that Young was depressed about the game, his injury and football in general.

The official police report also included a questioning of Young’s therapist, Dr. Sheila Peters, who said that she had met with Young earlier on Monday and he had mentioned suicide several times. Whether or not they had already known about this, the members of his household were quite alarmed when he left their house with a handgun.

All of this talk points back to the offseason of Young’s rookie year when he contemplated walking away from the game.

So my question is, other than his emotional and psychological well-being, what is wrong with this? Why can’t he just walk away from football? Just because Young is a superstar athlete and has the ability to play one of the most coveted sports in the universe for money doesn’t mean he has to.

Arizona Cardinals player Pat Tillman stripped off his helmet and pads to go and serve his country in the war. Ricky Williams, another Texas Longhorn, took a leave of absence to study holistic medicine and perhaps the cultivating of cannabis sativa. And we all know what Michael Vick would rather be doing than throwing around the pigskin…fighting dogs.

Obviously these cases are somewhat different than someone just losing interest in the game, but don’t we all do that with our jobs at some point in our lives? I have had some jobs that I grew tired of and wanted something new and fresh. Perhaps Young is in the same boat.

Nashville is the home of the Country Music Hall of Fame but these hillbilly blues might be too much for the confused Titan. Only time will tell if Young will continue to dazzle the football world with his uncanny athleticism, but let’s not outcast him if he decides not to.

On another NFL note, raise your hand if you drafted Tom Brady in the first round of your fantasy football draft. Mine is up in the air, but only one finger is projected from my fist and that is directed right at Kansas City Chiefs’ safety Bernard Pollard who lunged at Brady’s left knee and ended his season. Nothing against you Pollard personally, but you can send me my 50 bucks in the mail for a fantasy season down the drain.

Week 2 of NFL action supplies a bevy of tantalizing games. You’ve got the Jets and Patriots where the hometown New York fans haven’t witnessed a victory over New England in eight years. They are favored in the game and without Brady at the helm, might pull this one out. Of course the game of the week presents itself on Monday Night Football as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC East bout. Both teams looked dominant in Week 1 but were tested against vastly inferior teams.