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Yesterday was historic for this fractured country.

The Big 10, founded in 1896, has never postponed or canceled an entire football season. Its schools have played through two world wars and the 1918 flu pandemic.  But, the Big 10 Conference won’t be kicking off this fall for the first time ever.

For the first time ever, a woman who identifies as African American (her father is Jamaican born and her mother is Indian born) accepted the offer to be the VP running mate for the presumptive Democrat candidate for President, Joe Biden.

Oh, and the PAC 12, with four of its teams from California, which is the home of Senator Kamala Harris, opted out as well.

What do these decisions have in common?  Maybe nothing.  Or, maybe they reflect the mood of the nation.  If so, Donald Trump’s future as our President is in trouble.  But, it seems, isn’t it always?

Biden said during the debates that if he were nominated he would select a woman as his VP choice.  He one-upped that along the way saying he would select a black woman.  Voila!

So Black Lives Matter to him.  Or, at the very least, black votes matter to him.  Or, the female vote matters to him.   Or, Ms. Harris is the best-qualified candidate to lead our nation should something happen to 76-year-old Sleepy Joe along the way.  Maybe it already has.

As for the Big 10 and PAC 12, young lives must matter to them.  Or, avoiding litigation matters to them.  What happened to “follow the science?”  It will tell you that student-athletes are safest while being isolated on campus and the practice field.

Biden delayed his decision time and again.  The conferences delayed their fall season, then yesterday postponed it until the spring.

Did they all make good decisions?  By November 3rd of 2020, the most challenging year of the 21st century, we’ll know.

If the SEC, Big 12, and ACC have successful seasons, measured by health, fan perception, and TV ratings, the Big 10 and PAC 12 will surely regret their choice.  For now, that choice is perceived by some as the right one and the safe one.

Is the choice of Harris, perceived by some as a safe one given the mood of the nation, the right one?

One dissenter voiced his opinion yesterday.

President Donald Trump’s campaign swiftly responded to Biden’s selection of Harris, branding the pair: “Slow Joe and Phony Kamala.”

“Kamala Harris ran for president by rushing to the radical left, embracing Bernie’s plan for socialized medicine, calling for trillions in new taxes, attacking Joe Biden for racist policies,” the Trump campaign said in a video tweeted by President Trump. “They smartly spotted a phony — but not Joe Biden. He’s not that smart,” the ad continues, before adding Biden “is handing over the reins to Kamala” if the two win in November.

A reduced number of teams NCAA football season kicks off next month.  We think.

The political football is always getting kicked around.  We know.

And we will know if the right decisions were made soon enough.