[Note: I am foregoing the defensive portion of “The Movie Bulls” in order to address some clearly more pressing issues.]

I am, by nearly every conceivable measure, a completely irrational sports fan. So much so that I have made the conscious decision to forget objectivity in my writing, and damn myself as a credible journalist in order to infuse passion and “head-on-fire” enthusiasm because it just didn’t feel right to do it the conventional way. It never fit. It never made sense to try and duck behind a false veil of objectivity just to pretend to be something that I clearly am not. I’m irrational. I’m loud-mouthed. I view my sports world through tinted glasses that allow me to see all the hopeful potential of championships and undefeated seasons while ignoring the prevailing “what ifs.” It’s why fan is short for fanatic. It’s why my ex-girlfriend may never watch another sporting event again: because we’re crazy and selfish in our love for our teams.

It’s also why this is probably the greatest deviation from what I’ve done in quite some time…

Undoubtedly, Turner Gill, Danny Barrett and nearly every other member of the powers that be at the University at Buffalo are tinkering, adjusting and retooling a UB offense that will never again know the excitement of a backfield starring James Starks thanks to a torn labrum. I don’t blame them. It’s their job.

But as a fan, upon hearing the demise of what was supposed to be the crown jewel in a historic college career, I was crushed and it wasn’t for the stereotypical irrational fan reasons. It wasn’t because I was watching the 2009 season slowly swirl down the emotional toilet bowl. It wasn’t because the offense now rests on the shoulders of a sophomore quarterback that has 3 career pass attempts.

It was because it isn’t fair.

It isn’t fair to take away the senior season of a young man that has brought all of us so much joy; to rip away the potential of the Doak Walker Trophy. It just isn’t right to deprive him of a season that could have made him a first day NFL draft pick. To potentially strip him of millions of dollars, of celebrity–it has to be larceny, or grand theft, or some kind of punishable crime, doesn’t it?

I can’t say for sure if James Starks ever wanted any of that, but I can definitively say that he sure ran like he did.

Even still…

It isn’t fair to do that to a young man that when I first saw him touch a ball in a Bulls uniform, my eyes grew, my jaw dropped, I pointed and said out loud “That’s the kind of athlete we need here! We need more of him!”

It isn’t fair to do it to a guy that took the hope of an entire university, strapped it on his back, and turned it into unabashed joy and belief with one long run up the middle in an overtime game against Bowling Green last year.

You just don’t do that to a record breaker. Not to someone responsible for so much.

But life isn’t fair…

It doesn’t hand out all good things to all good people. It doesn’t treat us all the same. It doles out fortune and misfortune alike, regardless of how good, bad, or indifferent the person may be.

James Starks wasn’t good, bad or indifferent, on the football field or off of it. He was simply great.

Because of that, I’m not upset about the 2009 season. I’m not worried about how the team will do. We’ve got a great coach and a stable of capable running backs to step in. The responsibility will spread more evenly to those left to play the season and I believe that UB will do just fine.  

I’m not upset because of what James Starks could’ve given to us as fans for one last year. I think that we can all safely agree that the young man did enough for all of us and this school already.

It’s not fair because we don’t have the chance to give anything back to him. To give him a stadium full of people saying “thank you for the memories. Thank you for making us realize why such fierce loyalty comes with such amazing rewards. Thank you for each one of your 3,140 yards and all 34 of your touchdowns. Thank you for all of the hope you have brought without once casting an ounce of shame or doubt on our school.”

So I guess I’m taking a moment out to say it now and be a little selfless in my irrational fandom…

It just really hurts because I don’t want to. I don’t think anyone does. Starks has done too much to deserve a quiet, unfortunate exit from his career at UB. Here’s to hoping he recovers to make us all proud in his undoubtedly successful NFL career. Rest assured, every UB fan he helped create will be there and incredibly vocal to let him know about it.

…That would make life fair…

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