In more ways than one, the last week of football has shown us how it’s much more than a game.

The week started on a high for college football fans who rang in the new year while watching the playoff game between UGA and Ohio State. Even Alabama fans couldn’t help but enjoy this game.

Ohio State kept the No. 1 team on its toes, with the Dawgs having to come back from behind more than once during the game. As the clock struck midnight, an Ohio State field goal was kicked wide left and a collective gasp came from the crowd. UGA fans screamed with delight as the realization sunk in that they would be returning to the national championship once again.

Earlier in the day it felt like everyone in the whole country was rooting for the Horned Frogs of TCU who beat Michigan for their spot in the title game. With their win, many are calling the program the one true Cinderella in college football. But even the great joy of a program’s first time in the national championship is not a reason for the reminder that football is not just a game.

Following the highs of college football, the game was rocked during Monday night’s NFL game between the Bills and Bengals. The Bills’ Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field after a hit. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he is currently in critical condition, according to the Bills. This is serious: It’s more than your typical injury that delays a game. This is the reason for the reminder that football is not just a game. It’s real people on the field with lives and families outside of the stadium.

The game was postponed by the NFL after Hamlin was taken away by an ambulance. The postponement was unprecedented, and rightfully so as Hamlin’s condition has been described as ”remarkably rare” by CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus. CBS reported: “Only about 30 of these cases happen in the United States each year, predominantly in children, according to Agus.”

Most people have rallied in support of Hamlin, his family, and the players who were there for the tragic incident. The NFL Players Association says their focus is on Hamlin and will ”ensure that Bills and Bengals players have every resource” for support.

There is no way we as fans of the game could have expected those men to get back on that field and finish the game. Watching Hamlin collapse, it wasn’t hard to know immediately that this was no normal injury, and that was via video from hundreds of miles away.

Put yourself in the shoes of the men who were there only feet away from him in person. It’s a stark reminder of the humanity behind the game. These men will never forget that moment, not because the game was postponed, that will only be a blip in the story, but because their teammate and friend collapsed right before their eyes in what was up until that point a normal game.

The fallout of moving the game will be determined later, it is an interesting point as the the game did have large implications going into the last week of the regular season. But at the end of the day, none of those implications are more important than Hamlin’s life and the well-being of people who were on that field with him. We must always remember when we watch these athletes that they are people doing a job, and that is their life – not just a game.