A Little Bit of Light

It is ugly. It is a billion-dollar behemoth that rolls, unimpeded, over everything. A cash spigot that seemingly will not be turned off. It fills cup after cup of generational wealth for all who can crowd close enough.

Those lucky souls consume multi-million-dollar homes and Lamborghini SUVs like you and I do water and bagels. In this exalted income bracket, vast, unimaginable amounts of money become de rigueur, their new normal.

Money can buy anything. And everything.

With the exception of happiness.

We have only to consider the parade of misshapen personalities that have emerged in the first half of this NFL season: Jon Gruden, Henry Ruggs III, Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham, Jr. and now, Dalvin Cook. Despite the ocean of riches offered them and the bounty of benefits that accompanies being rich and famous, it's just not enough.

Beauty, it is said, is skin-deep. But ugly goes all the way to the bone.

The riches aren't enough to wash away their hatred or their arrogance. Ditto their selfishness. The immersion course in entitlement and impunity works so very, very well.

But there is a break in the display of racism, sexism, battery and the flaunting of privilege. There are people who, despite the mountains of cash and (in this case at least) less-than-ideal professional circumstances, manage to act like grown-ups.

I speak of former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.

I don't know him. I don't even live in Detroit. But even without close-in access to either the team or Detroit's media, will hazard the opinion that Stafford is an okay guy. He persevered for a dozen years with mostly not-so-great Lion teams, rarely throwing an undue number of interceptions much less petulant, trade-me-now tantrums.

In a sea of ineptness and futility, Stafford was a island of ability. A player who produced at a high level regardless of whomever he was surrounded with.

So I was happy when I learned he'd been traded to the Los Angeles Rams. If anyone deserved a shot with a contender, it was (and is) Stafford. And even with my moderate interest in professional football, can see he is making the most of it.

As of this writing, Stafford stands as the highest-rated quarterback in the NFL. Not Patrick Mahomes. Not Tom Brady. Not (eyeroll) Aaron Rodgers. Nope. It's the dude from Detroit. Playing with actual NFL-quality personnel, Stafford has the Rams in the thick of the highly-competitive race for the NFC bye.

I'm no Rams fan, but am thrilled that Stafford has at last been given a platform from which to shine. With a multitude of character-free personalities being handed a disproportionate amount of life's riches, it is a relief to see a fully-developed, mature human being get some.

Rock it, Matthew.