I was into #TradeVonMiller before it was cool
“So why, after a confusing, erroneous report of him getting nailed for an outstanding ticket in California, does it appeal now? Apparently his simple (and numerous) traffic infractions will not impact his current six game suspension. And because of that, “Von Miller” and “trade” shouldn’t be uttered by anyone, anywhere.”
“I was into trading Von Miller before it was cool.” – That was me the other night when I realized a ridiculous, trolling hoax had turned into an actual living, breathing thing.
It all started with a drunken caller, phoning in to the Mile High Sports Patrol show, who introduced the idea to Broncos Country. I was filling in for Reed Marks and producer/host Zach Fogg put through a caller who had a unique take on the Von Miller situation.
This was of course right around the time that we had found out that Miller would be suspended for the yet unknown reasons that he would ultimately get a six game ban for. We all knew it was trouble, but as fans and analysts of the Broncos, it was just one of those things teams go through. Yet the caller had an interesting take.
I refer to him as a drunken caller because of the time of night and the absurdity of what he was proposing: TRADE VON MILLER. Fogg and I quickly poo-pooed the notion as a rash overreaction to a simple case of a talented player screwing up. But #TradeVonMiller was born the next day after I referenced the ridiculous notion as a hysteria charged backlash to Von’s suspension troubles. And it took off like an unlicensed NFL player down I-25.
It got an immediate reaction of course, so I naturally took it one step further and adopted it as my personal assertion that Von Miller should indeed be traded. Now, I don’t believe that Von Miller should be traded. It was great fun getting a rise out of the Twitterverse, but trading a once in a lifetime defensive player because of a suspension is beyond any sort of logical thought. It’s true Miller could get a year ban for further infractions, but it’s not like he killed anyone. It’s up to him whether he wants a career – a possible Hall of Fame career – in the NFL. So widespread was this farce that on an ESPN NFL podcast, the host was befuddled by an emailer’s assertion that the “trade Von Miller crowd” was overreacting. The emailer was right, but he was a few weeks early because the “trade Von Miller crowd” didn’t really exist then. But they do now.
#TradeVonMiller has taken on a life of its own. And people are actually entertaining the idea. Miller is a knucklehead, that’s for sure. But trading him is not an option. Teams would knock down a platoon of old ladies for a crack at him and the Broncos know this. They also know that you take a gamble on a player as talented as Miller: weathering the storm and getting him back on the field. Hoping he doesn’t go further off the rails.
I’m sure 99% of the people now calling for Miller to be traded never saw the TradeVonMiller hashtag, but when his problems started, it was nothing but an unthinkable option. So why, after a confusing, erroneous report of him getting nailed for an outstanding ticket in California, does it appeal now? Apparently his simple (and numerous) traffic infractions will not impact his current six game suspension. And because of that, “Von Miller” and “trade” shouldn’t be uttered by anyone, anywhere.
The professional athlete is exalted worldwide. We put them up on such a high pedestal that when they disappoint us, it’s very natural to want to shake the base of it to try and knock them off. They are understandably not accessible to us as humans, so we turn them into concepts and ideals. And when we decide they’ve done us wrong, there’s no way to bring the humanity back to it when we never recognized them as such. It’s like a dastardly soap opera actress who in real life is reviled by the fans of the show. Von Miller is a character we see on TV and if he does us wrong, we want him to feel our pain.
Miller has already been suspended, so wanting to trade him now is baffling because he hasn’t done anything else to impact that suspension. He’s a callow bonehead for sure, but thankfully he hasn’t done anything that can’t be corrected by some friendly guidance and good ol’ growing the fuck up. But now all of a sudden, fans have had enough. But they should have had enough and said so, when he got bounced for six games back in August – when it was cool.
