Bad sports, good sports: Randall Cunningham suffers a huge loss

Posted on July 5th, 2010 by Alan Spoll

I became a football fan at an early age. As much as I like baseball, basketball, and hockey, nothing could ever match the excitement of a football game. College or pro, football has something the other games do not have, even if I could not tell you exactly what that is. One of the things that contributed to my love of football was the quarterback for the Eagles during my teenage and college years. Randall Cunningham could do things no other quarterback could do. He could throw the ball the length of the field, run with incredible speed and agility, and avoid tacklers like no one I had ever seen. He was Michael Vick with a brain and a lack of criminal tendencies and cruelty. If Randall had played for a coach who had any interest in the offensive side of the ball, he would be in the Hall of Fame. I loved Buddy Ryan, but no one ever accused him of being a genius in the passing game.

This week, Randall experienced my (and most other parents’) worst nightmare: the loss of a child. This is not really a sports story, other than the fact that it happened to the family of a former NFL quarterback, but I wanted to talk about it here because of the respect I have for Randall and the sadness I feel for the loss of his son. Cunningham’s two-year-old son Christian died when he drowned in the family’s hot tub. As a father, I simply can not fathom what a parent must go through when dealing with the loss of a child. The details of how the tragedy occurred have not yet been revealed, aside from the fact that the child was alone in the backyard and found his way into the hot tub.

The public service message opportunity here is obvious. Parents can not be careful enough with their pools and hot tubs. We have a hot tub, but did not have one when my girls were little. The cover is always on and is too heavy for a small child to lift. I am not blaming Randall and his wife here, as I have no idea what the circumstances were. Regardless, no one deserves to experience what they have experienced this week. I am not the praying type, but I wish them strength.

Bad sports, continued:

2) As if losing weren’t bad enough, the Nigerian World Cup team had to experience an interesting form of loss this week. After being eliminated in the first round of the tournament, the entire team was suspended from international competition by the country’s president, Goodluck Jonathan (what a name!). The suspension will last for two years.

3) It’s been a bad year for home run hitters. Luke Scott, first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, pulled his hamstring while rounding the bases after hitting a home run on Wednesday. Apparently, the trot was too much for him. Scott is now on the disabled list.

4) Friday was not Felipe Melo’s day. The Brazilian midfielder had a day to forget, as he made a number of huge mistakes during Brazil’s World Cup loss to the Netherlands. Melo was credited with a goal against his own team during the match, while also committing several other very serious mistakes.

5) Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson, a guy who should be grateful simply to still be in the NFL, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with assault after an incident in Texas. Benson had several legal issues in the past, both in college and after, and was written off by the Bears after underachieving in his first few years in the league after being a first-round pick. He resurrected his career with the Bengals, but his good fortune has clearly not gone to his head.

Good Sports:

1) My only Good Sports story for the week is centered around Wimbledon. Serena Williams won her third Wimbledon championship and her 13th major championship overall with a win over Vera Zvonareva of Russia, while Rafael Nadal won his second Wimbledon and his eighth major. Both played extremely well throughout the tournament, and proved to be very deserving of their top seedings.

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02