Not football, but I found this rather, ah, dramatic:
Following a dispute over stolen “gold” in an online video game, Trevor Lucas devised an incredibly detailed and disturbing plan over the course of a year and a half to get revenge on the would-be “thief,” CG, a minor living with his mother in Wisconsin. Lucas discovered CG’s home address, drove twenty hours to CG’s home, and impersonated a law enforcement officer in an attempt to lure CG out of the house and kidnap him. When CG’s mother refused to allow Lucas into the house, he attempted to gain entry by pointing a handgun directly at her face. But CG’s mother quickly slammed the front door before he could react, and Lucas fled while she called police. He was eventually arrested in his home state of Massachusetts. Lucas pled guilty to brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and the district court sentenced him to 210 months’ imprisonment. He now appeals his sentence, presenting a barrage of arguments claiming the district court committed error at sentencing and the sentence was substantively unreasonable. We find none of these contentions meritorious, and accordingly affirm Lucas’s sentence.
You can find the entire opinion here. The whole thing is troubling:
Lucas became acquainted with CG while playing an online video game, World of Warcraft. While playing the game, Lucas began sending sexual messages to the minor asking CG to send naked pictures of himself. CG refused, and placed Lucas on a World of Warcraft “ignore list.” But Lucas became fixated on CG, and found other means to contact him. He offered CG $5,000 in online “currency” if CG would remove him from the ignore list. CG agreed, but soon after Lucas again began sending him sexual messages. CG again placed Lucas on the ignore list, but this only served to infuriate Lucas. Lucas began sending threatening messages, telling others that he intended to kill CG, and demanding the return of his “gold.” Although CG reported Lucas’s online threats to the Madison Police Department, no charges were brought against Lucas.
Lucas concocted a detailed plan to kidnap CG. He began by building a massive arsenal of weapons rivaling that of a local police department, including rifles, handguns, stun guns, canisters of pepper spray, handcuffs, restraints, and other various law enforcement and military equipment. He then learned CG’s home address by contacting another minor in Madison, whom he had also met while playing video games online. The minor was willing to divulge the address in exchange for $500 (in actual, rather than virtual, currency). Finally, Lucas took steps to prepare his vehicle for the kidnapping. Lucas had his car outfitted to resemble a police vehicle, with large antennas in the rear and a pullbar in the front of the vehicle. Lucas then attempted to have an automotive shop remove the emergency release latch from the trunk of his car, presumably so that he could transport CG without fear of his escape. When he examined the car, the shop employee noticed that the inside of the trunk had been lined with a clear plastic cover.[FN1] The employee then refused to remove the release latch from the trunk because doing so was illegal. Nevertheless, Lucas managed to do so himself, and he moved on to executing his plan to kidnap CG. . . .
[FN1]: At sentencing, both sides vehemently disputed the significance of the plastic lining. The government argued that the plastic lining was evidence that Lucas intended to transport a body, while the defense argued that Lucas placed the lining in his car because he helped his mother carry groceries to centers for the homeless. The district court expressly did not factor the presence of the plastic lining into its decision.
And:
Lucas was arrested two days later in Massachusetts. Officers recovered two loaded handguns, ammunition, two stun guns, three canisters of pepper spray, seven pairs of handcuffs, twenty-eight flex restraints, three rolls of duct tape, one box of latex gloves, three military style knives, and other miscellaneous items from the trunk of his car. In a wooded area outside of Lucas’s home, officers discovered a cave where Lucas had stockpiled even more weapons. Inside the cave, officers also found two holes Lucas had dug measuring five-feet by ten-feet by two-feet.[FN2]
[FN2]: Both sides also disputed the significance of the holes. The government argued that the holes were meant to be used as a grave, while the defense maintained the purpose of the holes was to conceal the weapons hidden in the cave. Again, the district court expressly did not factor the presence of the holes into its decision.