COLUMBIA, SC – NOVEMBER 02: A general view of the kickoff between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 2, 2013 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Football, despite all that might divide and hurt us is an universal language in this country, can still bring the best out of us in dark times. That was never more apparent than recently in Columbia, South Carolina — home of the Gamecocks — where a local cop talked a man out of suicide with a conversation about Will Muschamp’s squad.

Master Patrol Officer Michael Blackmore took eight minutes and thirty seconds to talk a man out of jumping off a bridge into oncoming traffic Saturday morning, and he did so by talking about football. Thanks to body camera footage worn by the Columbia Police Department, we can all see the video of the conversation as it happened. While it’s not clear as to why the 35-year-old man wanted to end his life, that didn’t matter to Blackmore.

“I have bad nights, too, sometimes,” Blackmore told him after the man said he was tired of living.

“I just wanted to get his mind off of what was bothering him,” Blackmore told The State in an interview Thursday.

After a little more conversation, he found that the man was a fan of Washington’s NFL team and the Gamecocks. So Blackmore decided to diffuse the tension by talking about his two favorite teams.
“You’re just having a bad night tonight,” Blackmore told him. “But tomorrow night, when you’re sitting around and you’re watching the Gamecocks – or on Sunday when you’re watching the Redskins play or whatever – you’ll look back (like), ‘Man, what was I thinking Friday night?’ You’re just having a bad night.”
Avoiding the easy jokes about how bad both South Carolina and Washington ended up looking that weekend, Blackmore was able to grab the man’s wrists and after assuring him he wasn’t in any trouble, helped him into an ambulance with the help of some fellow officers. One EMS worker high-fived Blackmore before the ambulance doors closed.
Amazingly, this isn’t the first time Blackmore has talked a man out of suicide by diffusing the tension with some football.
“It was pretty much the same exact thing,” Blackmore said. “I ended up talking to the guy about football. He told me he was a Notre Dame fan.”
Football and sports are a common language that crosses divides, personal situations and life, even if someone roots for bad teams. Michael Blackmore’s two experiences within a month show that.

About Matt Lichtenstadter

Recent Maryland graduate. I've written for many sites including World Soccer Talk, GianlucaDiMarzio.com, Testudo Times, Yahoo's Puck Daddy Blog and more. Houndstooth is still cool, at least to me. Follow me @MattsMusings1 on Twitter, e-mail me about life and potential jobs at matthewaaron9 at Yahoo dot com.