By Staff
Scot Beard
Sports fans are passionate; there is no getting around that fact.
In the state of Indiana basketball is king while hockey rules in Minnesota.
Here in Alabama football stands head and shoulders above any other sport on Earth.
It does not matter if it is high school, college or professional football – everything comes to a stop in this state when it is time to start the game.
While there is nothing wrong with enjoying sports and picking a favorite team to root for, sometimes fans take it a little too seriously.
Unfortunately over this past weekend, a group of fans took it seriously way too much.
It started in the small community of Owassa, which is located in Conecuh County. One of the town's residents, Michael W. Williams, was hosting a party for the Alabama-LSU game.
Williams', a 28-year old Alabama fan had plenty to celebrate after the game as the Crimson Tide survived overtime to win 27-21. With the victory, Alabama clinched a spot in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game.
The celebration was ruined when LSU fan Dennis James Smith, 41, called Williams after the game. The conversation apparently got out of hand so Smith and his wife, Donna Kaye Hall Smith, 39, decided to pay Williams a visit.
After the Smiths arrived, a confrontation began. According to witnesses and investigators, Williams pulled out a shotgun and killed the Smiths. Dennis Smith had a pistol in his possession.
Now Williams is facing a pair of murder charges instead of trying to find tickets to the SEC title game.
I understand the passion involved with athletics. I have a lucky shirt I wear every time my favorite football team plays. I have done it every game for almost eight years now and, even though my wife hates the shirt because it is beginning to get holes in it, I will continue to wear it for several more years to come.
But I have never shot anybody because they rooted for a different team than the one I choose to root for.
While I hate to see my team lose, I get over it pretty quick. Sports are supposed to be an escape mechanism to help you get away from the pressures of everyday life for a few hours. There are bigger problems in the world for me to deal with.
If my team loses, it is not the end of the world. They will play again next week or next year.
Yes, my team has suffered some disappointing losses over the years and some of those losses came in very important games.
Guess what? Those losses had no effect on my life other than some mild disappointment for a few days after the game.
Calm down and relax. There is no reason to get so upset over a loss – or in Williams' case, a win.