Are You Smarter than Kyle Shanahan? The Rules of Engagement for 49ers Discussion
Football is supposed to be a game of controlled violence. Bodies smash together. Fights take place. Still surprisingly, at times, debates about football become more violent. While the on-field entertainment remains within the bounds defined, hatred flows throughout social media platforms.
I recently listened to a weekly episode of "Mondays with Vish" hosted by Grant Cohn with Vish Kumaran as the guest. They were discussing when and why Trey Lance should start for the San Francisco 49ers. Vish Kumaran being the analytical mind, tried to explain why every rookie quarterback situation is unique and should be evaluated independently. When logical reasoning was presented before the audience, a comment came up.
"Are you smarter than Andy Ried?"
I was rolling around laughing.
I had a similar experience couple of days before that incident. I published an article questioning Kyle Shanahan's decision to use Trey Lance on special packages. Almost immediately, I got the following reply on Twitter.
The question, "When did you become a smarter person than Kyle Shanahan? " itself means that I should not voice an opinion unless I have better football credentials than him.
The truth is, for sports, you can not invoke that rule. There are indeed fields or areas that every Tom, Dick, and Harry should not step in. For example, I should not start a YouTube channel about mental health. I am not a qualified professional in that practice. Even if I do forget the legality around the matter, it is still not ethical for me to do that.
But sports are different. Sports belong to everyone. Nobody has exact predictions or answers in sports. Let me bring an example to explain that further.
If you put a piece of sodium into water, it gives an exothermic reaction. We do not have to run that experiment every time to be sure of the outcome. It is the nature of science. In contrast, a sport is not scientific. That is why we can not predict the result of a game 100 percent.
Therefore, it allows all of us to present individual narratives over sports. That is why fans argue over the NFL draft or some decision made in a game. The only concern we should have is whether the presenter of the opinion is respectful. My freedom to criticize Kyle Shanahan must be within the moral limits.
If we only want recognized individuals to make statements regarding sports, we can go back to the age of print media and television. Then you will be guaranteed not to hear a voice like mine out in public. But millions of people like me got fed up with that and embraced social media in a revolutionized way.
I understand that sometimes it can be hard to digest that your favorite team or coach is getting criticized. Still, it is up to you to decide whether you will engage in a civilized discussion or try to silence the other party.
The players, coaches, and professionals involved in the sport will run the main show. Beyond that, it is our responsibility to keep the conversation alive yet civil.
Finally, none of us are trying to exaggerate how smart we are. Instead, we're just voicing our opinions and questioning the events of the sport we love.
