“Dear Kaepernick,
Thank you for reminding me that I’m surrounded by racists…and bleeding heart liberals. That’s about as American as it gets.
Signed,
The Middle”

Some of you are picking up the paper this day specifically to see the words of a man with “Good Portuguese Hair.”
Well, I have bad news for you.
He isn’t writing that column anymore.
But fear not – the spirit of one Chris Teicheira will live on here on these pages, and while some of his hilarious antics and personal stories will be missing (which you could argue was the core component of what he wrote about) I can honestly say that he’ll still have influence on what appears in this spot every week.
It’s amazing how much information you can squeeze out of somebody during a three minute phone call that’s overshadowed by a noisy tractor.
The quote that appears of the top of this column, in fact, comes from him – it’s something that he posted on his Facebook page, and it was cleaned up to make it appropriate for this “family” newspaper.
And, well, he’s right.
Last week it came to the attention of the general public that Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco’s 49er franchise quarterback, was opting out of standing for the National Anthem this season in order to protest what he sees as oppression of certain minority groups at the hands of the larger population.
Naturally, torches and pitchforks came out.
And as Chris pointed out in his comical but all too topical Facebook post, the comments and reaction from people has run the gamut from outright racist to hyper-liberal. Allow me to share some of my own experiences when foolishly trying to engage on this topic.
One woman in a group I happen to be a part of pointed that since Colin Kaepernick has converted to Islam (he hasn’t) he therefore must be sympathetic to terrorists (he isn’t) and the Federal government should keep tabs on where he sends his money because obviously – obviously – he’s funding ISIS terrorist camps in South Sudan right now (they shouldn’t).
I don’t really think that I need to point out the lunacy of such a platform, but it’s important to do so because she wasn’t the only one who jumped on the “He’s a Muslim and he hates America” bandwagon in response to this.
Is it classless for Kaepernick not to stand for the National Anthem? Absolutely. I cover no less than 12 high school football games a year, and each week despite the fact that forced patriotism bugs me, I stand up and cross my arms in front of me and pay the song and what it represents the due respect it deserves.
If I’m wearing a ball cap, which is quite common for me, I take it off. I have my own issues with some aspects of American society but I’ve also learned – quite late in life – that there’s a time and a place to pick your battles. Deciding not to particulate in what has become, for better or worse, a participatory event that proclaims your allegiance to your country, isn’t the time or the place to do so.
With that said, Kaepernick is free to do or say whatever it is that he wants to do. He is an American and he has the right to choose to participate or not. People like to point out that there are soldiers that died for what that flag represents – which, whether you like it or not, is the right for overpaid and underperforming NFL quarterbacks to make political statements.
Why can’t it just be left at that? To use a sports analogy, Kaepernick proved that he’s a “me first” player that cared more about stealing the spotlight and deflecting from the “team” game that he plays for a living than he did the impact that it would have on the other players who are inexplicably linked to his actions. To say nothing of a multi-millionaire trying to lecture the rest of the country on what it means to be oppressed, he put himself above the team and that sends a horrible message.
I used to ask my father why certain sports celebrities did certain things, and he always came back with the same response – “because he thinks he’s more important than the team.”
That’s exactly what Colin Kaepernick chose to do when making his political stand. And that’s the part that can’t be excused.

Chris Teicheira’s Pigskin Pics
This column won’t be all politics and trending current events. I hope to supply a healthy dose of freshly-discovered parenting knowledge – like this fresh nugget of truth that has suddenly become crystal clear: referring to your dog as your “child” is a slap in the face to parents everywhere.
I know that “fur babies” are cute, but when a new parent is talking about the things that they’ve learned about the joys of parenthood and you dispense an analogy about when your Maltese was little, it comes off as clueless and detached.
It’ll also serve as a chance for Mr. Teicheira and I to converse about the joys of sports and share with the world who he thinks will come out on top on this weekend’s upcoming games (he’s a Raiders’ fan so I don’t really trust his NFL insights so we’re going to keep it just Manteca high school football and the top college football games of the weekend.
Here they are, in all of their glory. Call your bookie (don’t – that’s a terrible idea):
uManteca vs. Christian Brothers – “Manteca. Is that even a question. I’ve been reading up about the talent that Christian Brothers has, but I’m going to have to go with the green on this one.”
uSierra vs. Central Valley – “Didn’t Manteca play Central Valley in the playoffs last year? I’m still going to have to go with Sierra here because it’s their first home game and they’ll be riding the wave of the State championship.”
uEast Union vs. Ceres – “My good friend and former roommate Anthony K went to Ceres for two years before he got sent to Argus, so I have to pick the old VOL team here. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror.”
Alabama vs. USC – “Where is the game at? Neutral site? I’m going to take USC in the upset here. Plus that’s going to make it that much better later in the year when the Cal Bears beat them.”
Oklahoma vs. Houston – “I have to go with Bob Stoops and the Sooners here. Mostly because I like his hair and he wears a visor on the sidelines.”
Stanford vs. Kansas State – “Kansas State. I can’t root for Stanford. Ever.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.