It should never be a day of fanfare because a gay football player gets drafted into the NFL. What if he didn’t get drafted would we be saying it was because he was gay and the league is still homophobic? Hardly, considering the number of straight (that we know of) players who didn’t get drafted or didn’t get calls asking them to sign with a team. Allegedly there were tweets one of them from a Miami Dolphins player of disgust that ESPN would show Michael Sam and his partner enjoying his exciting moment. The lot of us who watch the draft usually watch to see who our own teams are drafting. Unless you fervently follow college football the draft is pretty boring to watch.

How far Manziel fell shouldn’t be that much news either. Aaron Rodgers didn’t get picked high in the draft the year he came out of Cal. Look at what he’s doing now. Tearing out Bears fans hearts every year. I believe “Johnny Football” will have a successful career with a young and up and coming team in Cleveland. Not the pretty pick as far as places to play but it is in one of the toughest divisions in the AFC. If you’re a bit of old school like myself and my friend Bob you like to see the Browns competitive. At least when the two of us get together to watch football. Donald Sterling was right about one thing, the media does its best to stir things up. Journalism school tells you to report the news not make it. And certainly not make it up, create storylines as you go along.

In a society that seems increasingly bored and in need of ways to take people away from their hand held devices unless it is to make some regrettable comment and then delete your account the very minute it hits the airwaves.

Now the Rams are known for two firsts in football history, the first black player and now the first gay player. The poor guy hasn’t played a minute yet for the team and people cannot get enough of it whichever side of it you’re on. So if he either doesn’t make the team or doesn’t have a stellar career is it back the old way of thinking as with black players, it was because he was gay. Let’s give the man kudos for getting this far and getting an education in the process. So if he walked away from football tomorrow he would still be better off than many of us who cannot bounce a ball or run through a hole where a big fellow like Michael Sam will be waiting for us.

Being that I’m from Chicago I wish nothing good for any ST. Louis sports figures. Same for Michael Sam. And I hope to never see Johnny Manziel beat the Bears but both of these individuals as well as many of the other stars who were signed or drafted to teams will be good for the sport once we get past the hype.