Yes, these are initials. Initials for what? You might think that you have the answer, but I’m fairly certain that you don’t. Maybe the most obvious, especially among sports fans, is a part of the knee that is prone to fail on the star player from your favorite team at the worst time. The MCL is closely related. Apparently, at least according to the interweb, both connect your shin bone to the thigh bone, via the knee bone as the Delta Rhythm Boys instructed us in song. “A dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around…I hear the word of the Lord!” Even without the orthopedic lesson in song, we could assume that it is somewhat important to have our leg bones connected. Only one other ACL showed up on the first page of Google results; they are the initials of a music festival in Austin, Texas (Austin City Limits). Given the choice, I’d sooner attend the music festival in Austin than have surgery to repair a torn knee ligament, but that’s assuming Austin isn’t overrun with more commies anytime soon. I kid, lighten up!
The ACL to which I refer is the “American Cornhole League”. This is a gathering of words that wouldn’t have been imagined in the not-so-distant past. In fact, my spellcheck doesn’t recognize cornhole as a real word. Similarly, we should not regard it as a real sport, even if it is on ESPN, or maybe even because it’s on ESPN. What, you scoff? ESPN has televised poker, dog shows, spelling bees, and soccer, none of which are actual sporting contests, at least in this great country. What started as an activity mainly practiced while tailgating before a real sport has become organized and televised. It should be relegated to backyard barbecues or family reunions in a park with badminton, whiffleball, and lawn darts. Am I the only one that has equated the downfall of our once proud nation with the criminalization of lawn dart sales? Do the math, skeptics. I’m not saying that bowling is akin to summiting Mt. Everest, but at least there is a modicum of coordination and physicality involved. Stephen Hawking could have played a decent round of cornhole on a good day, IMHO. What, too soon? If your ne’er-do-well neighbor can invent a sport with craft items and leftover plywood, it is not a sport.
Don’t get me wrong. If you are good at a thing, by all means do it, unless you are good at serial killings, car jackings, or scratching lottery tickets on the quickie mart counter with productive members of society waiting impatiently behind you. These and other nefarious endeavors should be avoided at all costs, regardless of your particular prowess or acumen. And can you imagine getting paid to throw a beanbag at a hole? Come to think of it, making money by playing soccer is no more ridiculous. Can I get an amen? Ultimately, that in which we engage should have a bigger purpose, beyond killing time, our own amusement, or earning a paycheck.
(Click “Stand on Firmer Ground” for a deeper look into ACL)