FanHouse Pat McAfee

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

For most franchises, 12 wins is a banner year; one they can hang their proverbial hats upon. For the Colts, 12 wins is a certainly. They have won at least 12 games in each of the last six seasons. They have also had Tony Dungy as their head coach for the past seven years, but now he's gone. In 2009, the Colts will look for some continuity. Can it be provided by the Jim Caldwell administration?

Saturday, Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton became the latest college athlete to acknowledge receiving death threats. This adds Crompton's name to a growing list of players who have received death threats for on-field actions. You don't even have to be that famous anymore to draw fan ire. From West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee to Ohio State tight end Ryan Hamby, the past several years have seen a scary increase in threats of violence. Even though they might not have been publicized if you're a fan of a major college football team, chances are one of your players has received a death threat. And it's high time this ends. I mean, now, immediately. How? By prosecuting one of the boneheads who sends a threat to the fullest extent of the law.

For West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee, Morgantown is a very bad place to miss field goals. (ht:BSPM)

The verbal abuse and vandalism against McAfee had already tapered off when his father, Tim, spoke out yesterday on West Virginia MetroNews Talkline.

He told the state-wide radio network that in addition to vehicle damage, his son had been threatened online, and via text and phone messages. He said fans gathered outside his son's off-campus residence following the game to voice their frustration.

Memories of the Bobby Bowden era come flashing back after reading that. I've heard a thousand times this week, "these are just kids." And I couldn't agree more. There is a line that shouldn't be crossed and a rule we should all follow. Don't make them into Gods and they will never disappoint you.

Thankfully, things are a little different this time around. We didn't have the mass communication technology in the Bowden era that we enjoy today. Today with message boards, you can get a finger on the pulse of the fans real quick. The support for McAfee and outrage that anyone would do this is there. And these actions seem to have been taken by a few, rather than an ongoing harassment. It would be nice to think that this was the result of a cross section of society mixed with alcohol. Where you're bound to get one every once in a while. For all we know, it could have been this guy.

The point is that this kind of stupid needs to stop. There's a million ways to get wild and crazy without causing a stir. Surely more positive ways are available to vent your frustration. Maybe remember that your team has been in the top 25 nearly three years straight now. I'm not going to look it up, but I bet that hasn't happened too many times before for this program.