I coach football at the high school level and I love the game. It teaches so much to young men about perseverance, toughness, and teamwork. Everything around the game, from the weight room to summer training, helps young men grow up.
I also get a kick out of the media types that don’t have any clue about the history of the game. “It’s become too violent” when the game has never been less violent than it is now.
Yes but it’s part of the school to prison pipeline so we have to get rid of it.
I mean it’s bad enough that, as a child, you’re placed in a pipe that goes directly into a prison; but on top of that we are also giving you concussions along the way?
I just watched a part of the super bowl half time show. There must have been 60 to 80 dancers and I though, where is the diversity , inclusion the left demands. Of all these performers there was not one white dancer. Do you think the Woke assholes will condemn the performance? Where is the racist comprof on this.
Given that African Americans make up 13% of our population, take a look at many commercials on TV and you will note that people of color are greatly and disproportionately represented in an example of virtue signalling that is highly discriminating. What about the white dancers and white actors who are necessarily excluded? Let us get back to hiring people based on ability.
According to the poll above 7.1% of the US population is gay yet almost every Movie and TV show coming out has gays. I have nothing against gays but I resent them being pushed on us at every turn.
I think sports is the only thing that keeps some young men OUT of prison. Worst country ever? I think countries with children soldiers are a little bit worse. I think countries that promote honor killings of their daughters are a little bit worse. But then I stop myself. America is the only country on earth that promotes, encourages and celebrates the killing of unborn children. Worst country on earth? You might be right.
Worst influence of leftist activists for sure. But we have made the world much better by being America. We just have to overcome the crazy mentality that has so much influence over our culture these days.
I like where you’re headed here. I just wish we could avoid the superlatives, the black and white. Notice the shades of gray, appreciate the progress we’ve made, and commit to doing better every day.
Killing unborn babies, killing unborn babies, killing unborn babies.... blah, blan , blah... I bet if you fathered an unwanted pregnancy with someone who was merely a one-night stand and was going to cost you for 18 years, you'd change your tune.
Wow! Are you on drugs because you sure went off the rails. Guess what - YOU have no idea what kind of personal relationship I have to the question of abortion. None whatsoever.
Resorting to a hateful immature temper tantrum certainly exposes you.
promotes encourages and celebrates. ?? I think not. I worked in a pregnancy termination clinic. NO ONE not one person "celebrated the killing of "unborn children" and we certainly did not "promote and encourage " it either. I also ran 5 PP clinics ( before the craziness they do now". )we dispensed birth control of all types and our mantra was.. "we run a business to put our other business out of business" you are wrong on your assumptions
True. Minnesota just enshrined the legality of full term, partial birth “abortions” at any point, in any facility, for any reason, and if the “mother” is under 18, her parents can not be notified. The supporters of the bill fought every single limitation to the death. Sure, it’s always a medical emergency. Sure.
However. This is an example of the Definition Problem that plagues all human communication and especially internet communication.
bestuvall speaks of a subset of those that Athena speaks of. And surely there are those who try to help pregnant girls by ending their pregnancies, and those who grift government money off the procedure, as well as those who are mentally ugly and freaking *celebrate* abortion. One person speaks only of the former group, one person lumps all of them together while reserving the greatest revulsion for the latter subsets. It is not a mystery how and why communication fails.
As a forinstance, my wife once worked for a Pregnancy Resource Center, providing assistance to women who were encouraged to decline abortion. When I once described her job to someone online, the response was that she was (not kidding) an "anti-choice terrorist", with the comment going on to reference The Handmaids' Tale".
I sometimes marvel that online communication EVER occurs.
Might you be able to speak from an insider's point of view about the ability of pregnant women to demand an abortion up to the moment of birth in states such as Vermont, New Jersey and New York? It sounds like a horror to actually carry out such a service, but it is legal and women who think that this kind of thing is actually just keeping control of their bodies do celebrate the supposed freedom they get from this law and service.
Over 90% of abortions are first-term. But yeah, I believe third-term abortions should be restricted to medical emergencies where the mother’s life is in danger, and I’d bet that in almost all cases they are. The anti-choice crowd has built a ton of straw men around abortions. Religion poisons everything.
I am not religious, and neither is my inclination to protect all life from destruction. I am human, and I don't expect that we do our humanity a service by ending the lives of soon to be fully fledged babies. Imagine a world where all pregnancies can be aborted on demand, like watching Netflix, for convenience, at will, on a whim. Ugly.
our clinic did procedures up to 15 weeks. that was our cut off I know of no one who has had an abortion at the time of birth..nor know of any woman who "demanded" one.. there are lots of things that are legal but are also rare. lat term abortions in one of them..
my comment was directed at ‘Athena’. I don’t think I missed any sarcasm. I interpreted the author’s view as an indictment of America as the worst country due to our killing of unborn children.
I am listening to a really good book by John Mortimer, who created the character and story of Rumpole of the Bailey. This book is the third in a series concerning the “Rapstone Valley.” Incredible plotting and well drawn characters. New to the storyline now are the warden of a prison for young offenders, and a brilliantly drawn inmate nicknamed “Slippy.”
In an interview the warden learns that Slippy finds living conditions better than he’s ever known, but has been fashioning a key in the metalworking workshop instead of jewelry. It’s a counterfeit of the back door key to the prison. Slippy wants to escape. Why? Because prison is boring.
This gives the warden reason to reflect about the joyriding, break-ins and all the other petty crimes that land his inmates in prison--they’re thrilling, the exact opposite of boring.
Be kind: let's increase the diameter of that pipe because we sure as hell are no where close to shutting it down. #DefundTheTeachersUnions for a start if we choose to shut 'er down.
School is part of the prison pipeline too, then. Saying football leads to prison is like saying music and sex lead to prison. Except that football is actually an effective path AWAY from prison for a lot of kids. And I guess for you baseball and basketball are pipelines to prison, too, then. How about track? How about not participating in organized sports at all, maybe being a loner? Is that your prescription for staying out of prison? Maybe you think joining a gang is a better path than joining a team. You will really need to explain this to us. And why you’re intimating that white kids are somehow immune to the prison precursive power of football. Sounds a bit racist to me.
When my son was contemplating playing junior high ball I told him ever man I know would sacrifice a body part to play one more game. It was, and, is the truth as I know it. Additionally it is a healthy outlet for the male aggression triggered by the flood of adolescent hormones. Organized combat by consent, if you will.
I mostly cannot stand pro sports because I would have given a body part to be able to play at that level and would imagine that I would bring a Cal Ripken attitude toward playing. Do anything asked everyday. I detest watching prima donnas whining and shilling for the Chinese Communists (looking at you LeBron).
In high school I knew a boy one year older than me who played football, snapped his neck and was rendered quadriplegic at age 17. He never had sex with a woman, couldn't go to the bathroom unassisted, couldn't do much of anything and died at the age of 42. Basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. don't do that to you.
While I sympathize with your loss, it is to trot out the old cliche anecdotal. How many people do you know who have suffered serious bodily injury or death in car wrecks? Do you espouse doing g away with cars? Do you take issue with the vaccine mandate? The truth is that there is good and bad, pro and con about every topic under the sun.
Don't get me wrong, I love football, but let's not pretend it doesn't result in injuries, many of which are permanently disabling and a few are fatal. I mentioned my friend, not as a typical example, but to show just how awful the results of playing football can be. Yes, the adults who made it to the NFL say that, despite their injuries, they'd do it all again. But they're the ones who gained a huge measure of success, fame and money by playing the sport. The other 99% gained little or none of that, but still risk/suffer the head and other injuries. And many of them were boys, not fully capable of appreciating the dangers and making an informed decision about whether or not to take them on. As to cars, they're necessary to the life we lead; football isn't.
I am a pediatric ICU doctor and I have seen horrible injuries resulting in permanent paralysis and death from jumping on trampolines, riding horses, water skiing, you name it (hula hoops seem an exception). And if you think football is dangerous, try the teenage bull riding circuits prevent in the mid to southwest states.
Also, I played some college small college football and even those players, who were only there for fun, gladly endure the aches and pains. The camaraderie and (if good enough) the thrill of making a great play are more than enough to guarantee participants.
My wife once told me that our kids (well, we have one son and a baby whose gender we don’t yet know on the way) wouldn’t be playing football. I calmly explained that the 5 horses we have are, uh, not exactly a safe hobby either.
I love football. I hated playing it, mostly because I don’t have the crazy aggressive mentality that is required to play that sport. A part of me hopes my kids choose different fall activities (such as the totally safe ice hockey that I played lol), but it is a tremendous sport that teaches tremendous lessons.
Of course young men and boys are injured playing football. I saw the Hamlin collapse. I just saw him on a pre- Super Bowl interview and IMO he does not look good. I continue to pray for him. I also disagree that cars are necessary to the life we lead and football is not. Nobody will die without either. But after the draconian covid lockdowns, which were harmful in a myriad of ways, the first sign of normalcy for me, and I think millions of others, was college football 2022. Seeing those packed stadiums of cheering fans lifted my spirits. That may not matter to you but it meant a lot to me.
"Nobody will die without either." So how would you, for example, get food if there were no trucks to deliver it, if you hadn't a car to go to the supermarket, etc.? I'm intrigued.
I knew a kid who rode a motorcycle and died. Another died in a car crash. A bunch of the older guys were killed in the waning Vietnam war Another was killed on a jog on a busy street.
Right, nothing is without risk, which is why sensible people need to pick and choose what they do and what the risk is. High school boys are generally not able to weigh the pros and cons of something like football. They have all sorts of influences telling them to play, but next to none informing them of the risks. The coaches urge them to play, the girls want a football star, their budding masculinity, that they only understand in a limited way, promotes their involvement, but where's the balance? Again, cars are necessary to functioning in today's society, motorcycles aren't. How did those guys get killed in the VN war. Did they volunteer or were they conscripted?
Anyone heard of the movie Woodlawn? It’s a true story set in the early 70’s about a high school football team whose racial tensions were bridged and healed...by God. It happened in Bham, AL in the early 70’s and proved that God can truly change the heart and mind. Great movie.
I started 9th grade in 1969, the first year that the Charleston, SC, public schools were integrated. There were tense moments such as when the police and dogs came. Rumors flew. It was a school for 9th and 10th graders, and experiment that failed, and next year a new high school was created.
It wasn’t as dramatic as the movie Woodlawn, but it was a similar experience. As our basketball team triumphed and went to state finals, we achieved a degree of unity that was unprecedented in the Low Country.
B.L.- in total agreement with you. I would add that the toughness you prove to yourself on the football field actually makes you more confident in being gentle off the field, because you don’t have anything about toughness to prove after you have proven it to yourself.
Also- so tired of people questioning why other people would play football despite its risks, as if it never occurred to the critics that maybe football is fun to play! That playing football is incredible and so many will keep doing it for as long as they can!
My dad used to say in the 80s when I was growing up that soccer was a communist plot to soften American boys...when you consider what is happening today and Jonathan Haidt’s “safetyism” diagnosis, my dad wasn’t too far off.
There was a time when our elites valued the idea of developing toughness in our youth. Not sure what kind of butt-kicking it is going to take before we wake up.
I think they hit the nail on the head with: “What he missed were those other guys looking back at him in the huddle. Those 11 guys, every one of them, seeing things the same way.”
Male bonding is the emotional tie that is so important, that women get in other ways, and don't relate to. It is the same thing you hear about men in war - the band of brothers mystique. It is why men who come back from war are often adrift, with suicide, drugs, etc. This was captured well in "The Best Days of Our Lives", the 1946 classic.
In order to get that there has to be a common goal, serious danger, and close coordination. The more serious the danger, the stronger the bond.
Aggression and fighting is what men do. It's baked into the neuronal cake and it won't change. The unique ability of men to cooperate and take risk for a common goal is what built the world. All of it.
And it's funny how after a man-on-man fight is over, often times respect and admiration for each other ensues. This is evolution and is far from toxic, although conflict resolution may be a useful skill to teach young men. In the firearm community, the saying goes that a fight avoided is a fight that has been won.
So true. One of my uncles was a WW2 combat vet in the Pacific theater who passed away 2 years ago at 102. He had kept in regular touch with his remaining "band of brothers" well into his mid-90's. We don't see a bond like that much anymore.
I think it's because a large portion of people in the military now just sit around. My nephew is in the Army and is stationed overseas. He talks often about how little they have to do. Don't get me wrong--it's great that he's not risking his life in a war zone--but I don't think the bonds will be the same when you view your military service as "just a job"
One of my all time favorite movies! My dad deployed to Cyprus, Vietnam and numerous other stuff. I can identify so well with the family, and the love story with Homer and the girl next door is making me tear up even now.
I have 3 sons: they all played at college and received a broad education thanks to football. They all tried out for the NFL, 1 played 7 years, 1 walked away from it. I have 5 grandsons playing the sport. It teaches them to be part of a whole, resilience, self discipline and a healthy testosterone release. Football has been a family affair and we are grateful for the heartfelt joy as we watch those who give it their best efforts every Sunday. It is not for everyone. Yet another reason to he thankful for many choices of which sports is just one that we have as Americans
I know all about being on a team. It wasn't a sports team. It was an A-Team. You cannot explain the bond you have with your teammates. You have to experience it.
I wish I had, Cat. One of the great regrets of my life. Not that I would have made it. Only a few select do. Just taking the chance. You have my admiration.
Not stupid, at all. What good is living if we don't test ourselves? And has been remarked sagely, we sleep safe and secure in our beds because a few hard men sacrifice and stand guard for us.
Damar Hamlin got tackled, not body slammed. I know his body was in fact slammed into the ground, but in football that is called tackling. Body slamming is a term from sham professional wrestling. Using it in this context implies that Tee Higgins did something improper, which he did not.
Just to clarify Hamlin got hit in the chest when Higgins lowered his shoulder and tried to drive him back. Hamlin suffered a cardiac episode. The same kind of thing happened to Chris Pronger of the St Louis Blues, but in his case Pronger suffered the cardiac episode when he was hit by a hundred mile an hour snapshot. It takes real courage to play these sports by athletes who are extremely talented and show why they are the best in the world at the top of the talent pool. The woke crowd are envious that they don't have the courage and talent.
I think the woke crowd feel threatened by people like that. Same for guns in the hands of law abiding citizens. Which is why they insist both are bad and need to go. Read that with a mental image of a little minion stomping their little feet from their little safe space.
I find that another big appeal of football is that it is a uniquely American sport. No other country in the world has a football fandom that rivals America. Baseball was called “America’s pastime”, but Japan and the Dominican Republic now love baseball much more than America does.
But football crosses race and political divides to unite Americans in something that is unique to us.
Certainly agree with you there, Sheluyang. You can have an entire stadium rooting for the same team, filled with people who, once you started talking politics, Presidents or culture, would probably hate each other. But here they are, cheering for the home team, drinking beers together.
Have you ever watched soccer games in Europe or South America? Their fandom makes ours look lackadaisical at times. I happened to be traveling around Italy and Germany during one of the World Cup sequences some years back. I've never seen anything like it here. But you're right about it being uniquely American.
Growing up in the ‘80 during football season, my mom would make snacks, we’d check the TV Guide to see what networks the Giants and Jets were on, and settle in for a great Sunday afternoon. My brother and I knew all the players. My dad had some sort of work football pool and he’d let us do his picks. Those were tough guys in the field, amazing athletes who got knocked around and got back up again week after week. Is there a ton of money involved? Yes. But an evenly matched football game is one of the most exciting sports events to watch. Lay off, Gladwell. As long as there are men willing to play football isn’t going anywhere.
After the Taibbi/Murray-Gladwell/Goldberg Munk Debate the thought of Gladwell makes my skin crawl. The entire snark industry where vacuous class war intellectuals step forward to make opinionated pronouncements about the live's and culture of those they obviously distain and loathe is a kind of poison.
Could not agree more... Gladwell's books are interesting but I lost all respect for him but on his childish antics during that debate... He exposed himself for the effete lefty he is....
Why do most of us love football? The truth is that there are men who refuse to be feminized and more than a few women who love and understand that.
I played football from high school up to a touch football league into my 60s. I still play in lacrosse tournaments. Nothing in life compares to the joy and exhilaration of physical competition. Or the camaraderie of the team - where race, ethnicity or political beliefs have no bearing. And where hard work and practice pay off and performance alone is the litmus test. I despise those who argue otherwise or seek to deprive young men and women of the ability to compete fairly and joyfully in physical, athletic contests.
Good stiff competition. I agree. Which sadly, is missing in todays culture as our kids mature. The affect is, they don’t learn dispute resolution skills. And when faced with a dispute, tend react terribly. A recipe for disaster later in life.
Agree. How many of them have even been in one fight? They seem either to bluster and threaten impotently or attack in gangs on some innocent victim. Whatever happened to a fair fight where you either took a beating or extended a helping hand to the loser?
Yes, the entire eco system that built strong and confident men has disintegrated. This is why young woman can’t find suitable men out there. I here it from my daughter’s girl friends all the time.
I disagree, that America needs Football (NFL) or any other professional sports.
NFL and NCAA Football have only one goal in mind and that is to make money. Plenty of American cities have been blackmailed by professional teams for enormous tax breaks and new sports arenas, that in the end just benefit rich owners, while average fan is in the and settled with higher taxes and no palpable benefits. We also had situations where owners moved teams that were in cities for decades (best example are Houston Oilers and San Diego Chargers).
Also with constant increase of ticket prices, we are slowly approaching situation where average fan (family of 4) can forget on going to the game, because visit with tickets and some snacks is simply not economicy viable.
Also with all Kaepernick charade (I have no problem with him sitting and protesting during anthem, it is his 1st amendment right), I have completely stoped following major US sports. Why? I don't want to be preached by bunch of millioners on how I am terrible human (for not agreeing with woke topics) all the while those same Leagues are racking money in China and other dictatorships.
Since quitting NFL, NBA, and college sports, I have started watching UFC, and I am much more entertained, it has everything, rags to riches stories (lots of fighters come for very little means), persistence, interesting characters and best of all, nobody is preaching me some BS.
And honestly, what America needs is to stop being "Nation of Watchers" of sports, and go back to be nation of people who do hobby sports more.
I myself after quitting watching pro sports, have joined gym and started running half marathons (both inspired by UFC fighters), best decision I made.
I think you may have missed the point of the article. The author was trying to explain how the “war” concept of football is what people love about football.
You did however prove the writer correct by admitting that you watch UFC. That sport is the ultimate “self-war” sport and fans watch UFC because of the violence.
I do agree with you that the woke stuff is being pushed. I’ve stopped watching hockey up here in Canada because the NHL is not what it used to be. The “violence and war” is gone. No more fighting and a lot less hitting. The game is faster with more scoring but there’s no more “wars” on the ice.
Also, the owner of the UFC is a billionaire himself so don’t kid yourself if you think you’re not supporting a wealthy billionaire owner.
I didn't miss the point of the article. I was exactly saying if I want war, Football is not only game in town (so America doesn't need football, it is other way arround Football needs America). UFC is much more entertaining and as bonus I don't get to be preached.
Also owner of UFC is publicly traded company called Endeavor (EDR symbol). And I have stocks in that company, which is much more that I will have in NFL or NBA. As you see I put my money where my mouth is :).
Since you were refering to Dana White, yes he is billionaire, but he is self-made one. He started UFC from zero and grown it to international business, now that is truly American.
In the areas where college hockey is a thing, like New England, the games are fast paced, hard-driving, and cleanly played. Plus the college crowd is more fun. We don't have that in the Philly area, else I'd go to more games.
Fights were the best part. Camera swings past goal mouth, then back. And there is Dave Schultz standing over the fallen Terry O’Reilly, passed out on the ice.
If you think the dump and chase of the old NHL was better you're missing out on some of the best hockey in history. Plus there's still fighting and you clearly missed Trouba's hit on Kadri.
Still nothing better in sports than the Stanley Cup finals. The level of play is most intense and pushing the series to 7 games makes it an endurance test too. The toughest team wins. I grew up a Broad Street Bully living in the suburbs of Philly. Several Flyers lived in my neighborhood and were always seen at local restaurants and were very friendly to the fans. We played street hockey most of the winter. Still my fav sport.
I found this article fell under "who gives a shit." You either watch football or you don't. There is always going to be some pseudo intellectual writing an article, over analyzing, pick a subject.
Love this guy. He does indeed nail it. I remember Morgan Freeman stating it just as well when he rejected the need for Black History Month. How to combat racism? “Stop talking about it”
I'm glad you liked it but this guy's comments mean nothing to the left. Racism, racism, racism is not only their ideological bread and butter, it is their pean.
But I get the feeling the pendulum is (very) slowly coming back to center. It may take a lot of time. There's been pushback, especially in the last few years. It's growing and getting louder. I believe that the extreme Left is slowly becoming marginalized. Call me crazy.
In other words, the voices against this aren't just in substacks like this, though it is in forums like this where the fire is lit.
Kinda my thought too. I mean it was a nice enough article but why do we constantly have to over analyze everything that’s fun? Just let us indulge in some hedonism without psychoanalysis.
Because I subscribe to Bari's site and if I don't read articles I disagree with, I don't grow. I am not like the woke left who wants to only read or hear radical left wing ideas. One of the father's of modern day liberalism said, "Read and listen to the opposition, they might have good ideas." BTW that father I paraphrased would not recognize today's tyrannical left. He was a strong supporter of free speech as am I. He was not PC or Woke.
Yes, but... America is a great nation, but totally beset by marxism that makes me despair. That doesn't undo the things that make me love my country. Football was the same sport it is now when it started; it has just been hijacked like our nation has been hijacked for some people's own purposes. The purity being corrupted doesn't remove the essence of things that people have a built-in love and desire for. That was the point of the article to me.
Hey Raz, you can do both. I work out twice a day and still have time for an NFL late game or, better yet, NHL. Plus the hockey fights are more fun than the bloody UFC offerings.
Good for you. My best thinking and clarity happen when I'm doing cardio. Mental and physical health, endurance, emotional/spiritual strength and centering all result from honoring the body. And the Soul loves it. I'd rather do than watch.
But it's not just football. So many people just sit in front of the TV watching other people do things they could be doing themselves. I'm not talking about escapist enjoyment in a comedy or drama, but stuff like cooking shows, travel shows, sports, etc. Get up off the couch and go out and DO something.
One point you missed is that the game requires a lot of INTELLIGENCE. There is vastly more strategy in this game, vastly more complexity, than any other game I know of. Soccer is not within a thousand miles.
What would have been a more interesting discussion to me is the political interconnection of Roger Goodell, American Leftism, and the extraordinarily corrupt refereeing that sidelined the 49'ers early, and which I read may have enabled the Chiefs to beat the Bengals. The conspiratorial part of me--which any more is a lot of me--wonders if we are being groomed to accept the corruption of even our most truly sacred institutions.
But you didn't watch either of those games, did you? Or see that bad call against the Saints that cost them a trip to the Super Bowl, most likely? Or the bad call against the Niners IN the Superbowl that quite possibly gave the Chiefs their win?
One last point: Japanese Sumo wrestlers also live shortened lives. I read on average they lose about a decade of life. But they live good lives. None of us live forever. I wonder how many people remember that sometimes. And it is quite reasonable for scientifically trained, informed, rational people to believe we all have a soul that goes on.
The history of the NFL is littered with chiseled athletes who tested well at the combine but couldn’t handle the speed and complexity of the professional game.
If you look at a Tom Brady or a Joe Montana, they were not particularly gifted specimens. Yes, they threw accurately, but much more importantly they were intelligent and kept their cool under pressure. Although it is less true for the linemen, every player on the field has to have some awareness of as much of the field as possible. And linebackers and safeties are ideally as smart as the quarterbacks.
I thought about this a bit after I posted, and I can't think of any team sport where everyone needs to be as aligned and working hard for a specific end as football. You think up a play, execute it as accurately as possible, rest, then think up another. Nothing else is like that that I can think of.
Contrarily, I’m stuck as a Washington fan, and I can’t help but think that if RGIII were wiser with his sliding and quicker with his reads, we would be playing today. He was that good, until he wasn’t.
I don't know if I'd call football sacred, but when I played in high school I discovered that I enjoyed the rough physical contact of running into someone trying to stop me, and learned that the secret of avoiding pain in most cases was to accelerate rather than hesitate. There's something in many young men that wants that contact. It feels great! Maybe that is the heightened consciousness Strauss is talking about.
I agree. I played all sports growing up but football was always the one I really looked forward to. And in spite of what I know about head injuries with football even now I would have loved to have been able to play in college and the pros. If only my body had grown to be as big as my desire to play the game then I might have had a chance.
And the comment about accelerating vs hesitating is right. Athletes will always get hurt no matter what sport but in football if you hesitate because you are afraid to hit someone (in a legal correct way of course) or because you are afraid to get hit, that’s when you will increase your chances of getting hurt. If you back off and let down your guard your body isn’t ready to accept and protect itself from the impact.
This is just me think out loud in my head but the high rate of male addiction to video games especially the ones more on the violent side is a way of getting that heightened consciousness in a cerebral way instead of a physical way. That dopamine release as they call it. Unfortunately this good feeling is not accompanied with the camaraderie and direct (face to face) social interaction you have when playing the actual sport which I feel is a missing element in a lot of boys development these days.
Sorry, took a turn off the topic at hand, didn’t mean to leave that last brain dropping on your doorstep. Anyway liked your comment and Merry Super Bowl.
Great comment. i will be watching! What you say about boys today is undeniable. I rarely see them in the streets or in parks playing pickup sports, other than for a few skateboarders. I spent endless days outside playing sports. The lack of physical activity has led boys to become more apathetic about school. Here in Ontario only one Phys Ed course is required in high school.
As one of those kids who knew he was going to do the military for a career at 13, I get it. Nothing else I ever wanted to do. Music, sports, business, boring, I wanted the military. Never looked back and have never come close to regretting it. Would do it again without thinking about it. Can’t explain it and so glad my wife stood right beside me.
I grow weary of the sad story it impacts blacks more. Stop while I wipe the tears for all of the black athletes who made millions when they had the choice of staying in the ghetto. How stupid are these so called elites making the claims. Do they realize the choice is a miserable life in poverty or become an athlete to escape the lousy schools, failed cities and no opportunities. Idiots one and all.
I don’t watch much NFL at all and the sheer amount paid for limited skills makes little sense to me. Think about what we pay athletes versus airline pilots, police, military, nurses, and other people we actually need. Although I can understand football costs versus the obscene amounts paid to shoot a basketball. Will not ever watch the National China Basketball League.
I don’t think we truly need football, as it would be better if people got off the couch to actually do something. But to each their own. I will agree with those crying blacks suffer more from football. The government should step in and mandate all teams in all sports have a racial makeup to reflect the population. That includes white, black, Asian, Latino, and of course 2 percent illegals. What say you critics?
I love American football, but the average career is 4 years and the income replacement plan for the average player who suffers a crippling injury is so completely inadequate it is not an exaggeration to say it is 3rd World. I would love to be corrected.
I went to college on an athletic scholarship (baseball, not football). I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend without it. I realized early that I was college good, but not professional good, so decided to take advantage of the opportunity and actually went to class, studied, and graduated - all while playing ball.
I’ve had a fairly productive career due to my degree, heck of a lot better than I would have without it. Most of the players (believe there is one player in the NFL that didn’t attend uni) have had the opportunity from football to acquire an education while playing. Taking advantage of that is another story
Yes, great observation. In football at least (which I know) the coaches of old would strive to churn out a more complete young man, mentally and physically. I attended Penn State and our coach (Joe Paterno) wouldn’t play kids if their grades were inadequate. They played ball and went to class and became outstanding citizens in their communities. Today is not like that at all. One who comes to mind, Pete Carroll while he was at USC. That school churned out more NFL candidates than most with little no other skills. And while Carroll can brag about his record their, many didn’t see it that way.
Exceptional writing - a pleasure to read something this well constructed and insightful. I recall a discussion years ago regarding why hazing still persists in some fraternities and how to stop it. A young man who was part of the discussion replied that they felt a desperate (primal?) need to be tested and earn their place. So the discussion pivoted to how that might be achieved in a safer way (e.g., outward bound style activities). Another young man spoke of a challenge activity (offered by a company) he sighed up for where ten of them were dropped off in the Arizona wilderness with minimal supplies and had to get to the designated pick-up location a week later, relying on each other, their wits and yes, physical strength. Then there are the Navy Seals. Point being: many men are still wired in the way men historically needed to be wired, and that instinctive courage can be a very good thing.
In 1910, prominent pacifist and psychologist William James wrote an essay, "The Moral Equivalent of War" in which he proposed a universal enlistment of young men in the pursuit of peaceful societal ends. He did not think contact sports were appropriate because they promoted brutality. His ideas wound up in programs like the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps and JFK's Peace Corps. Unfortunately, events like World War I and Vietnam overwhelmed James's thesis. Sports, especially contact sports, are important for the development of youth by teaching values of teamwork, self-sacrifice, work ethic, perseverance, loyalty, and good sportsmanship (well, at least at the high school level), but sports are not a substitution or moral equivalent to war. Sports teach values that make effective armies.
General Douglas MacArthur had this to say about sports: "Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that, upon other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory."
Amen to that. Men need to be allowed to be men and society should celebrate it. Life isn’t safe…whoever says they can or should make it so is either delusional or wants to control you. Also, we are all sick of the deconstructionists telling us everything we love is bad. Debbie Downers sit down. Go Chiefs!
As an outsider, and a (very long time ago) ex-rugby player, I’ve always felt the biggest problem with American football is the body armour - helmets, various pads and protectors - it just raises the stakes, weaponises the violence
I think that's just a silly thesis. They also found that, with the new sticks able to propel pucks at over 100 mph, the helmets stopped critical injuries. Helmets in some sports are critical to avoiding very serious injuries and deaths.
This discussion has shades of that "Economics in one lesson" facetious idea to strap knives to steering wheels as a way to incentivize safe driving - if you know a crash means a knife through your chest, you will drive more carefully.
Sometimes safety equipment just prevents injury, it doesn't necessarily incentivize riskier behavior.
Have really enjoyed watching rugby, less stoppage, constant action. I thing it’s a superior game!! Of course I’m a BIG lacrosse fan(GO BLUEJAYS) which I think is a FANTASTIC game. Going to the NCAA semifinals/finals in Philly Memorial Day!!
Yes but we wear helmets in men's lax, not because we use them as "weapons" but because the hard rubber ball travels at over 100 mph and the sticks have metal shafts. So there goes that thesis. And it keeps us from getting cauliflower ears like the rugby guys have.
Have played both sports (offensive/defensive tackle in football and prop in rugby), and I really don't think this is an actual issue. If there were a scrum every 30 seconds or so, ruggers would develop more robust helmets and shoulder pads too.
Oh my stars, now that IS a violent sport. My high school football playing son played some in college. I went to two games and watched peeking through my fingers on my hands covering my eyes. But I would never suggest anyone NOT play it. Cause I believe in freedom of choice, not groupthink.
I coach football at the high school level and I love the game. It teaches so much to young men about perseverance, toughness, and teamwork. Everything around the game, from the weight room to summer training, helps young men grow up.
I also get a kick out of the media types that don’t have any clue about the history of the game. “It’s become too violent” when the game has never been less violent than it is now.
Yes but it’s part of the school to prison pipeline so we have to get rid of it.
I mean it’s bad enough that, as a child, you’re placed in a pipe that goes directly into a prison; but on top of that we are also giving you concussions along the way?
Worst country ever.
You got traded to Phoenix?
I was chillin with Drake last night at the Super Bowl party too. On my way to the Phoenix Open to throw beers on the 16th green.
We really need a “lol” button here on Free Press, and not just the ❤️. 😂
I just watched a part of the super bowl half time show. There must have been 60 to 80 dancers and I though, where is the diversity , inclusion the left demands. Of all these performers there was not one white dancer. Do you think the Woke assholes will condemn the performance? Where is the racist comprof on this.
Given that African Americans make up 13% of our population, take a look at many commercials on TV and you will note that people of color are greatly and disproportionately represented in an example of virtue signalling that is highly discriminating. What about the white dancers and white actors who are necessarily excluded? Let us get back to hiring people based on ability.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/332522/percentage-americans-lgbt.aspx
According to the poll above 7.1% of the US population is gay yet almost every Movie and TV show coming out has gays. I have nothing against gays but I resent them being pushed on us at every turn.
How about including them in 7.1% of the shows?
Given how horrid those costumes were, it was hard to tell what color anyone was.
Oh did you get a close up on every single dancers face, under the glasses and the cinched hoods?
Well, I might have spotted a white dancer. It face it, shouted people generally cant dance that well. Truth.
I agree; I would definitely use it more often than the ❤! 😂
Or we could just go with emoticons: ꉂ (´∀｀)ʱªʱªʱª
(lol)
We'll look for you in the "Coliseum"!
I think sports is the only thing that keeps some young men OUT of prison. Worst country ever? I think countries with children soldiers are a little bit worse. I think countries that promote honor killings of their daughters are a little bit worse. But then I stop myself. America is the only country on earth that promotes, encourages and celebrates the killing of unborn children. Worst country on earth? You might be right.
Worst influence of leftist activists for sure. But we have made the world much better by being America. We just have to overcome the crazy mentality that has so much influence over our culture these days.
Agreed. We better hurry up before there is nothing left to save.
I like where you’re headed here. I just wish we could avoid the superlatives, the black and white. Notice the shades of gray, appreciate the progress we’ve made, and commit to doing better every day.
"But then I stop myself. America is the only country on earth that promotes, encourages and celebrates the killing of unborn children. "
Yeah, speaking of "violence"...football seems pretty tame compared to that.
Killing unborn babies, killing unborn babies, killing unborn babies.... blah, blan , blah... I bet if you fathered an unwanted pregnancy with someone who was merely a one-night stand and was going to cost you for 18 years, you'd change your tune.
Sophia, you have absolutely no idea what kind of personal relationship I have to the question of abortion. None whatsoever.
And you are arrogant and unfeeling to impose your hate on me in this way.
Wow! Are you on drugs because you sure went off the rails. Guess what - YOU have no idea what kind of personal relationship I have to the question of abortion. None whatsoever.
Resorting to a hateful immature temper tantrum certainly exposes you.
Athena, Kevin Durant ? Is being wonderfully sarcastic.
My bad, for sure. That line is getting blurrier by the day.
promotes encourages and celebrates. ?? I think not. I worked in a pregnancy termination clinic. NO ONE not one person "celebrated the killing of "unborn children" and we certainly did not "promote and encourage " it either. I also ran 5 PP clinics ( before the craziness they do now". )we dispensed birth control of all types and our mantra was.. "we run a business to put our other business out of business" you are wrong on your assumptions
Guess you've never heard of "shout your abortion." Sounds like a celebration to me. Or members of Congress wearing abortion pins to the SOTU. Ditto.
"Safe, legal, and rare" has become "Full Nine Months, No Restrictions."
True. Minnesota just enshrined the legality of full term, partial birth “abortions” at any point, in any facility, for any reason, and if the “mother” is under 18, her parents can not be notified. The supporters of the bill fought every single limitation to the death. Sure, it’s always a medical emergency. Sure.
Thoughtful Reader, that's kind of what happened in CA under the new Abortion Amendment to the state constitution.
I think people are beginning to realize that, far from ending abortion, the Dobbs decision, in many states, will greatly expand it.
However. This is an example of the Definition Problem that plagues all human communication and especially internet communication.
bestuvall speaks of a subset of those that Athena speaks of. And surely there are those who try to help pregnant girls by ending their pregnancies, and those who grift government money off the procedure, as well as those who are mentally ugly and freaking *celebrate* abortion. One person speaks only of the former group, one person lumps all of them together while reserving the greatest revulsion for the latter subsets. It is not a mystery how and why communication fails.
As a forinstance, my wife once worked for a Pregnancy Resource Center, providing assistance to women who were encouraged to decline abortion. When I once described her job to someone online, the response was that she was (not kidding) an "anti-choice terrorist", with the comment going on to reference The Handmaids' Tale".
I sometimes marvel that online communication EVER occurs.
Might you be able to speak from an insider's point of view about the ability of pregnant women to demand an abortion up to the moment of birth in states such as Vermont, New Jersey and New York? It sounds like a horror to actually carry out such a service, but it is legal and women who think that this kind of thing is actually just keeping control of their bodies do celebrate the supposed freedom they get from this law and service.
Over 90% of abortions are first-term. But yeah, I believe third-term abortions should be restricted to medical emergencies where the mother’s life is in danger, and I’d bet that in almost all cases they are. The anti-choice crowd has built a ton of straw men around abortions. Religion poisons everything.
I am not religious, and neither is my inclination to protect all life from destruction. I am human, and I don't expect that we do our humanity a service by ending the lives of soon to be fully fledged babies. Imagine a world where all pregnancies can be aborted on demand, like watching Netflix, for convenience, at will, on a whim. Ugly.
our clinic did procedures up to 15 weeks. that was our cut off I know of no one who has had an abortion at the time of birth..nor know of any woman who "demanded" one.. there are lots of things that are legal but are also rare. lat term abortions in one of them..
Abortion is safe and legal in more than 60 countries, not just the U.S.
He is well-known for sarcasm. You just missed it.
my comment was directed at ‘Athena’. I don’t think I missed any sarcasm. I interpreted the author’s view as an indictment of America as the worst country due to our killing of unborn children.
You’re right. I did miss it. It’s getting much harder to spot it these days.
I was not being b*&@%y. Sarcasm does not always come across in written communication. But he is well-known for it.
I am listening to a really good book by John Mortimer, who created the character and story of Rumpole of the Bailey. This book is the third in a series concerning the “Rapstone Valley.” Incredible plotting and well drawn characters. New to the storyline now are the warden of a prison for young offenders, and a brilliantly drawn inmate nicknamed “Slippy.”
In an interview the warden learns that Slippy finds living conditions better than he’s ever known, but has been fashioning a key in the metalworking workshop instead of jewelry. It’s a counterfeit of the back door key to the prison. Slippy wants to escape. Why? Because prison is boring.
This gives the warden reason to reflect about the joyriding, break-ins and all the other petty crimes that land his inmates in prison--they’re thrilling, the exact opposite of boring.
Love the Rumpole books and the TV series. Leo McKern became Horace Rumpole. I found out just recently that McKern was Australian.
Clearly you’ve not met Kevin before. It’s called sarcasm.
Huh?!?
It's sarcasm.
🤣🤣
Some quantification of this pipeline to prison hypothesis is in order.
Well what you do is you build a pipe that spans the distance between the school and the prison and then you shove non-white children into the pipe.
Be kind: let's increase the diameter of that pipe because we sure as hell are no where close to shutting it down. #DefundTheTeachersUnions for a start if we choose to shut 'er down.
Yeah wouldn’t that be the inner city public school system?
You misspelled Democrat Schools.
"We need to ensure that the people whose children are most affected are in charge of the school systems! That will fix these problems."
~Winner, "This Will Not Age Well" Award, 1978
I doubt it.
You nuts.
Can confirm, I went to school one time- now Im in prison
School is part of the prison pipeline too, then. Saying football leads to prison is like saying music and sex lead to prison. Except that football is actually an effective path AWAY from prison for a lot of kids. And I guess for you baseball and basketball are pipelines to prison, too, then. How about track? How about not participating in organized sports at all, maybe being a loner? Is that your prescription for staying out of prison? Maybe you think joining a gang is a better path than joining a team. You will really need to explain this to us. And why you’re intimating that white kids are somehow immune to the prison precursive power of football. Sounds a bit racist to me.
When my son was contemplating playing junior high ball I told him ever man I know would sacrifice a body part to play one more game. It was, and, is the truth as I know it. Additionally it is a healthy outlet for the male aggression triggered by the flood of adolescent hormones. Organized combat by consent, if you will.
I mostly cannot stand pro sports because I would have given a body part to be able to play at that level and would imagine that I would bring a Cal Ripken attitude toward playing. Do anything asked everyday. I detest watching prima donnas whining and shilling for the Chinese Communists (looking at you LeBron).
I do not favor the NBA with my patronage. But that young man pushing back against "King" James is pretty impressive.
In high school I knew a boy one year older than me who played football, snapped his neck and was rendered quadriplegic at age 17. He never had sex with a woman, couldn't go to the bathroom unassisted, couldn't do much of anything and died at the age of 42. Basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. don't do that to you.
While I sympathize with your loss, it is to trot out the old cliche anecdotal. How many people do you know who have suffered serious bodily injury or death in car wrecks? Do you espouse doing g away with cars? Do you take issue with the vaccine mandate? The truth is that there is good and bad, pro and con about every topic under the sun.
Don't get me wrong, I love football, but let's not pretend it doesn't result in injuries, many of which are permanently disabling and a few are fatal. I mentioned my friend, not as a typical example, but to show just how awful the results of playing football can be. Yes, the adults who made it to the NFL say that, despite their injuries, they'd do it all again. But they're the ones who gained a huge measure of success, fame and money by playing the sport. The other 99% gained little or none of that, but still risk/suffer the head and other injuries. And many of them were boys, not fully capable of appreciating the dangers and making an informed decision about whether or not to take them on. As to cars, they're necessary to the life we lead; football isn't.
I am a pediatric ICU doctor and I have seen horrible injuries resulting in permanent paralysis and death from jumping on trampolines, riding horses, water skiing, you name it (hula hoops seem an exception). And if you think football is dangerous, try the teenage bull riding circuits prevent in the mid to southwest states.
Also, I played some college small college football and even those players, who were only there for fun, gladly endure the aches and pains. The camaraderie and (if good enough) the thrill of making a great play are more than enough to guarantee participants.
My wife once told me that our kids (well, we have one son and a baby whose gender we don’t yet know on the way) wouldn’t be playing football. I calmly explained that the 5 horses we have are, uh, not exactly a safe hobby either.
I love football. I hated playing it, mostly because I don’t have the crazy aggressive mentality that is required to play that sport. A part of me hopes my kids choose different fall activities (such as the totally safe ice hockey that I played lol), but it is a tremendous sport that teaches tremendous lessons.
Of course young men and boys are injured playing football. I saw the Hamlin collapse. I just saw him on a pre- Super Bowl interview and IMO he does not look good. I continue to pray for him. I also disagree that cars are necessary to the life we lead and football is not. Nobody will die without either. But after the draconian covid lockdowns, which were harmful in a myriad of ways, the first sign of normalcy for me, and I think millions of others, was college football 2022. Seeing those packed stadiums of cheering fans lifted my spirits. That may not matter to you but it meant a lot to me.
And do not forget the memorable "Let's Go Brandon" cheers!!!
"Nobody will die without either." So how would you, for example, get food if there were no trucks to deliver it, if you hadn't a car to go to the supermarket, etc.? I'm intrigued.
Oh good Lord.
I knew a kid who rode a motorcycle and died. Another died in a car crash. A bunch of the older guys were killed in the waning Vietnam war Another was killed on a jog on a busy street.
Nothing is without risk. Man up.
Right, nothing is without risk, which is why sensible people need to pick and choose what they do and what the risk is. High school boys are generally not able to weigh the pros and cons of something like football. They have all sorts of influences telling them to play, but next to none informing them of the risks. The coaches urge them to play, the girls want a football star, their budding masculinity, that they only understand in a limited way, promotes their involvement, but where's the balance? Again, cars are necessary to functioning in today's society, motorcycles aren't. How did those guys get killed in the VN war. Did they volunteer or were they conscripted?
Anyone heard of the movie Woodlawn? It’s a true story set in the early 70’s about a high school football team whose racial tensions were bridged and healed...by God. It happened in Bham, AL in the early 70’s and proved that God can truly change the heart and mind. Great movie.
I started 9th grade in 1969, the first year that the Charleston, SC, public schools were integrated. There were tense moments such as when the police and dogs came. Rumors flew. It was a school for 9th and 10th graders, and experiment that failed, and next year a new high school was created.
It wasn’t as dramatic as the movie Woodlawn, but it was a similar experience. As our basketball team triumphed and went to state finals, we achieved a degree of unity that was unprecedented in the Low Country.
B.L.- in total agreement with you. I would add that the toughness you prove to yourself on the football field actually makes you more confident in being gentle off the field, because you don’t have anything about toughness to prove after you have proven it to yourself.
Also- so tired of people questioning why other people would play football despite its risks, as if it never occurred to the critics that maybe football is fun to play! That playing football is incredible and so many will keep doing it for as long as they can!
My dad used to say in the 80s when I was growing up that soccer was a communist plot to soften American boys...when you consider what is happening today and Jonathan Haidt’s “safetyism” diagnosis, my dad wasn’t too far off.
There was a time when our elites valued the idea of developing toughness in our youth. Not sure what kind of butt-kicking it is going to take before we wake up.
Long live football.
I think they hit the nail on the head with: “What he missed were those other guys looking back at him in the huddle. Those 11 guys, every one of them, seeing things the same way.”
Male bonding is the emotional tie that is so important, that women get in other ways, and don't relate to. It is the same thing you hear about men in war - the band of brothers mystique. It is why men who come back from war are often adrift, with suicide, drugs, etc. This was captured well in "The Best Days of Our Lives", the 1946 classic.
In order to get that there has to be a common goal, serious danger, and close coordination. The more serious the danger, the stronger the bond.
But toxic masculinity!
Aggression and fighting is what men do. It's baked into the neuronal cake and it won't change. The unique ability of men to cooperate and take risk for a common goal is what built the world. All of it.
And it's funny how after a man-on-man fight is over, often times respect and admiration for each other ensues. This is evolution and is far from toxic, although conflict resolution may be a useful skill to teach young men. In the firearm community, the saying goes that a fight avoided is a fight that has been won.
And those 11 guys looking back at him were thinking, "we're about to get penalized for having 12 men on the field"
God I love it. Reminds me of my favorite childhood nursery rhyme:
Little Miss Muffett sat on her tuffett, eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider, sat down beside her, and said, "Hey kid, what's in the bowl?"
OR "Our coach is a genius, this 4-4-4 defense is great!'
Very true. I’ve always been an odd-ball, but the one place I fit in was in the Marines.
Also, great movie. Very underrated.
So, USMC, huh? No wonder I like your comments.
lol thanks. It was a different part of my life. I'm a computer science nerd nowadays.
Ben, we all know that there is no such thing as an ex-Marine.
Whatever you are today I thank you for your service
So true. One of my uncles was a WW2 combat vet in the Pacific theater who passed away 2 years ago at 102. He had kept in regular touch with his remaining "band of brothers" well into his mid-90's. We don't see a bond like that much anymore.
I think it's because a large portion of people in the military now just sit around. My nephew is in the Army and is stationed overseas. He talks often about how little they have to do. Don't get me wrong--it's great that he's not risking his life in a war zone--but I don't think the bonds will be the same when you view your military service as "just a job"
One of my all time favorite movies! My dad deployed to Cyprus, Vietnam and numerous other stuff. I can identify so well with the family, and the love story with Homer and the girl next door is making me tear up even now.
I have 3 sons: they all played at college and received a broad education thanks to football. They all tried out for the NFL, 1 played 7 years, 1 walked away from it. I have 5 grandsons playing the sport. It teaches them to be part of a whole, resilience, self discipline and a healthy testosterone release. Football has been a family affair and we are grateful for the heartfelt joy as we watch those who give it their best efforts every Sunday. It is not for everyone. Yet another reason to he thankful for many choices of which sports is just one that we have as Americans
I know all about being on a team. It wasn't a sports team. It was an A-Team. You cannot explain the bond you have with your teammates. You have to experience it.
I wish I had, Cat. One of the great regrets of my life. Not that I would have made it. Only a few select do. Just taking the chance. You have my admiration.
Thanks Bruce. I was young and stupid back then.
Not stupid, at all. What good is living if we don't test ourselves? And has been remarked sagely, we sleep safe and secure in our beds because a few hard men sacrifice and stand guard for us.
Not stupid at all just old fashioned American LP it’s a nice feeling!
Thank you Skinny.
I commend you.
Damar Hamlin got tackled, not body slammed. I know his body was in fact slammed into the ground, but in football that is called tackling. Body slamming is a term from sham professional wrestling. Using it in this context implies that Tee Higgins did something improper, which he did not.
He wasn’t tackled, he was the tackler....he initiated the contact (as he should have as the defender)
Just to clarify Hamlin got hit in the chest when Higgins lowered his shoulder and tried to drive him back. Hamlin suffered a cardiac episode. The same kind of thing happened to Chris Pronger of the St Louis Blues, but in his case Pronger suffered the cardiac episode when he was hit by a hundred mile an hour snapshot. It takes real courage to play these sports by athletes who are extremely talented and show why they are the best in the world at the top of the talent pool. The woke crowd are envious that they don't have the courage and talent.
I think the woke crowd feel threatened by people like that. Same for guns in the hands of law abiding citizens. Which is why they insist both are bad and need to go. Read that with a mental image of a little minion stomping their little feet from their little safe space.
And afterwards we witnessed the power of prayer
I find that another big appeal of football is that it is a uniquely American sport. No other country in the world has a football fandom that rivals America. Baseball was called “America’s pastime”, but Japan and the Dominican Republic now love baseball much more than America does.
But football crosses race and political divides to unite Americans in something that is unique to us.
Certainly agree with you there, Sheluyang. You can have an entire stadium rooting for the same team, filled with people who, once you started talking politics, Presidents or culture, would probably hate each other. But here they are, cheering for the home team, drinking beers together.
Have you ever watched soccer games in Europe or South America? Their fandom makes ours look lackadaisical at times. I happened to be traveling around Italy and Germany during one of the World Cup sequences some years back. I've never seen anything like it here. But you're right about it being uniquely American.
If the Wokies are concerned about violence, maybe they should be more concerned about soccer fans. Riots seem to have become the norm in that fandom.
Growing up in the ‘80 during football season, my mom would make snacks, we’d check the TV Guide to see what networks the Giants and Jets were on, and settle in for a great Sunday afternoon. My brother and I knew all the players. My dad had some sort of work football pool and he’d let us do his picks. Those were tough guys in the field, amazing athletes who got knocked around and got back up again week after week. Is there a ton of money involved? Yes. But an evenly matched football game is one of the most exciting sports events to watch. Lay off, Gladwell. As long as there are men willing to play football isn’t going anywhere.
After the Taibbi/Murray-Gladwell/Goldberg Munk Debate the thought of Gladwell makes my skin crawl. The entire snark industry where vacuous class war intellectuals step forward to make opinionated pronouncements about the live's and culture of those they obviously distain and loathe is a kind of poison.
Could not agree more... Gladwell's books are interesting but I lost all respect for him but on his childish antics during that debate... He exposed himself for the effete lefty he is....
Why do most of us love football? The truth is that there are men who refuse to be feminized and more than a few women who love and understand that.
I played football from high school up to a touch football league into my 60s. I still play in lacrosse tournaments. Nothing in life compares to the joy and exhilaration of physical competition. Or the camaraderie of the team - where race, ethnicity or political beliefs have no bearing. And where hard work and practice pay off and performance alone is the litmus test. I despise those who argue otherwise or seek to deprive young men and women of the ability to compete fairly and joyfully in physical, athletic contests.
Good stiff competition. I agree. Which sadly, is missing in todays culture as our kids mature. The affect is, they don’t learn dispute resolution skills. And when faced with a dispute, tend react terribly. A recipe for disaster later in life.
Agree. How many of them have even been in one fight? They seem either to bluster and threaten impotently or attack in gangs on some innocent victim. Whatever happened to a fair fight where you either took a beating or extended a helping hand to the loser?
Yes, the entire eco system that built strong and confident men has disintegrated. This is why young woman can’t find suitable men out there. I here it from my daughter’s girl friends all the time.
Hear, hear!
I disagree, that America needs Football (NFL) or any other professional sports.
NFL and NCAA Football have only one goal in mind and that is to make money. Plenty of American cities have been blackmailed by professional teams for enormous tax breaks and new sports arenas, that in the end just benefit rich owners, while average fan is in the and settled with higher taxes and no palpable benefits. We also had situations where owners moved teams that were in cities for decades (best example are Houston Oilers and San Diego Chargers).
Also with constant increase of ticket prices, we are slowly approaching situation where average fan (family of 4) can forget on going to the game, because visit with tickets and some snacks is simply not economicy viable.
Also with all Kaepernick charade (I have no problem with him sitting and protesting during anthem, it is his 1st amendment right), I have completely stoped following major US sports. Why? I don't want to be preached by bunch of millioners on how I am terrible human (for not agreeing with woke topics) all the while those same Leagues are racking money in China and other dictatorships.
Since quitting NFL, NBA, and college sports, I have started watching UFC, and I am much more entertained, it has everything, rags to riches stories (lots of fighters come for very little means), persistence, interesting characters and best of all, nobody is preaching me some BS.
And honestly, what America needs is to stop being "Nation of Watchers" of sports, and go back to be nation of people who do hobby sports more.
I myself after quitting watching pro sports, have joined gym and started running half marathons (both inspired by UFC fighters), best decision I made.
I think you may have missed the point of the article. The author was trying to explain how the “war” concept of football is what people love about football.
You did however prove the writer correct by admitting that you watch UFC. That sport is the ultimate “self-war” sport and fans watch UFC because of the violence.
I do agree with you that the woke stuff is being pushed. I’ve stopped watching hockey up here in Canada because the NHL is not what it used to be. The “violence and war” is gone. No more fighting and a lot less hitting. The game is faster with more scoring but there’s no more “wars” on the ice.
Also, the owner of the UFC is a billionaire himself so don’t kid yourself if you think you’re not supporting a wealthy billionaire owner.
Just saying ….
I didn't miss the point of the article. I was exactly saying if I want war, Football is not only game in town (so America doesn't need football, it is other way arround Football needs America). UFC is much more entertaining and as bonus I don't get to be preached.
Also owner of UFC is publicly traded company called Endeavor (EDR symbol). And I have stocks in that company, which is much more that I will have in NFL or NBA. As you see I put my money where my mouth is :).
Since you were refering to Dana White, yes he is billionaire, but he is self-made one. He started UFC from zero and grown it to international business, now that is truly American.
Love Hockey but never enjoyed or was in favor of the fights. I felt it demeaned the game. Very much in favor of nice, clean, solid hits.
Remember the old joke, "I was watching a fight and a hockey game broke out."
Yeah, hurts my feelings!! Truly is a beautiful “flow” sport as is lacrosse. Both are much more fun to watch then soccer
Come on, Jack, you don't like the Academy Award level drama in soccer?
Where's Rodney Dangerfield when we need him?
On the ninth hole with Judge Smails . . .
In the areas where college hockey is a thing, like New England, the games are fast paced, hard-driving, and cleanly played. Plus the college crowd is more fun. We don't have that in the Philly area, else I'd go to more games.
Fights were the best part. Camera swings past goal mouth, then back. And there is Dave Schultz standing over the fallen Terry O’Reilly, passed out on the ice.
If you think the dump and chase of the old NHL was better you're missing out on some of the best hockey in history. Plus there's still fighting and you clearly missed Trouba's hit on Kadri.
Yeh, loved those hits by Scotty Stephens on Eric Lindros, when he had his head down skating out of his own end. Keep your head up Eric !
Still nothing better in sports than the Stanley Cup finals. The level of play is most intense and pushing the series to 7 games makes it an endurance test too. The toughest team wins. I grew up a Broad Street Bully living in the suburbs of Philly. Several Flyers lived in my neighborhood and were always seen at local restaurants and were very friendly to the fans. We played street hockey most of the winter. Still my fav sport.
Bari must be desperate for subject matter.
I found this article fell under "who gives a shit." You either watch football or you don't. There is always going to be some pseudo intellectual writing an article, over analyzing, pick a subject.
This is off topic but this guy nails it.
I wonder what the left wing nuts on this BBS (comprof) will say about this video.
Comprof is a race baiter. Let him answer this:
https://www.tiktok.com/@iamdavehurt/video/7154131981343755563
Who is that guy? Did he ever pack more truth in a two minute talk to refute the poison spread by the imbecile who was installed in the Oval Office.
The ever senile Joe Biden has always been a moron. Now he is a senile moron. Now that is quite a combination.
But even a senile moron can still be grasping and corrupt. And snarlingly angry.
Now that the Biden crime family hold the presidency, they can line their pockets even more.
Love this guy. He does indeed nail it. I remember Morgan Freeman stating it just as well when he rejected the need for Black History Month. How to combat racism? “Stop talking about it”
Thx for the link, Lonesome..
Two minutes well spent..
I'm glad you liked it but this guy's comments mean nothing to the left. Racism, racism, racism is not only their ideological bread and butter, it is their pean.
I know you can't see it now, I can't either.
But I get the feeling the pendulum is (very) slowly coming back to center. It may take a lot of time. There's been pushback, especially in the last few years. It's growing and getting louder. I believe that the extreme Left is slowly becoming marginalized. Call me crazy.
In other words, the voices against this aren't just in substacks like this, though it is in forums like this where the fire is lit.
I hope you are right.
It would probably be a good idea to stay off of TikTok.
-Yeah, this is the only social media I subscribe to but I thought this guys message was too good to pass up
Kinda my thought too. I mean it was a nice enough article but why do we constantly have to over analyze everything that’s fun? Just let us indulge in some hedonism without psychoanalysis.
I agree.
With all the doom and gloom in every article, I’d just like to enjoy my seven layer dip with the plastic football on top while watching the game!
Then why did you read the article?
Because I subscribe to Bari's site and if I don't read articles I disagree with, I don't grow. I am not like the woke left who wants to only read or hear radical left wing ideas. One of the father's of modern day liberalism said, "Read and listen to the opposition, they might have good ideas." BTW that father I paraphrased would not recognize today's tyrannical left. He was a strong supporter of free speech as am I. He was not PC or Woke.
I gave up football on Sundays long ago and it gave me much needed time to do as I pleased.
Yes, but... America is a great nation, but totally beset by marxism that makes me despair. That doesn't undo the things that make me love my country. Football was the same sport it is now when it started; it has just been hijacked like our nation has been hijacked for some people's own purposes. The purity being corrupted doesn't remove the essence of things that people have a built-in love and desire for. That was the point of the article to me.
Hey Raz, you can do both. I work out twice a day and still have time for an NFL late game or, better yet, NHL. Plus the hockey fights are more fun than the bloody UFC offerings.
I am not a boxing nor a UFC fan. Two morons beating each other's brains out holds no interest for me.
Neither am I. Although, bloody as it is UFC apparently causes less long term damage than does boxing.
Good for you. My best thinking and clarity happen when I'm doing cardio. Mental and physical health, endurance, emotional/spiritual strength and centering all result from honoring the body. And the Soul loves it. I'd rather do than watch.
But it's not just football. So many people just sit in front of the TV watching other people do things they could be doing themselves. I'm not talking about escapist enjoyment in a comedy or drama, but stuff like cooking shows, travel shows, sports, etc. Get up off the couch and go out and DO something.
One point you missed is that the game requires a lot of INTELLIGENCE. There is vastly more strategy in this game, vastly more complexity, than any other game I know of. Soccer is not within a thousand miles.
What would have been a more interesting discussion to me is the political interconnection of Roger Goodell, American Leftism, and the extraordinarily corrupt refereeing that sidelined the 49'ers early, and which I read may have enabled the Chiefs to beat the Bengals. The conspiratorial part of me--which any more is a lot of me--wonders if we are being groomed to accept the corruption of even our most truly sacred institutions.
But you didn't watch either of those games, did you? Or see that bad call against the Saints that cost them a trip to the Super Bowl, most likely? Or the bad call against the Niners IN the Superbowl that quite possibly gave the Chiefs their win?
One last point: Japanese Sumo wrestlers also live shortened lives. I read on average they lose about a decade of life. But they live good lives. None of us live forever. I wonder how many people remember that sometimes. And it is quite reasonable for scientifically trained, informed, rational people to believe we all have a soul that goes on.
But that's another discussion entirely.
Well put. Personally I do not want to live forever. I am not suffering from depression, I am just pragmatic.
The history of the NFL is littered with chiseled athletes who tested well at the combine but couldn’t handle the speed and complexity of the professional game.
If you look at a Tom Brady or a Joe Montana, they were not particularly gifted specimens. Yes, they threw accurately, but much more importantly they were intelligent and kept their cool under pressure. Although it is less true for the linemen, every player on the field has to have some awareness of as much of the field as possible. And linebackers and safeties are ideally as smart as the quarterbacks.
I thought about this a bit after I posted, and I can't think of any team sport where everyone needs to be as aligned and working hard for a specific end as football. You think up a play, execute it as accurately as possible, rest, then think up another. Nothing else is like that that I can think of.
Contrarily, I’m stuck as a Washington fan, and I can’t help but think that if RGIII were wiser with his sliding and quicker with his reads, we would be playing today. He was that good, until he wasn’t.
I don't know if I'd call football sacred, but when I played in high school I discovered that I enjoyed the rough physical contact of running into someone trying to stop me, and learned that the secret of avoiding pain in most cases was to accelerate rather than hesitate. There's something in many young men that wants that contact. It feels great! Maybe that is the heightened consciousness Strauss is talking about.
I agree. I played all sports growing up but football was always the one I really looked forward to. And in spite of what I know about head injuries with football even now I would have loved to have been able to play in college and the pros. If only my body had grown to be as big as my desire to play the game then I might have had a chance.
And the comment about accelerating vs hesitating is right. Athletes will always get hurt no matter what sport but in football if you hesitate because you are afraid to hit someone (in a legal correct way of course) or because you are afraid to get hit, that’s when you will increase your chances of getting hurt. If you back off and let down your guard your body isn’t ready to accept and protect itself from the impact.
This is just me think out loud in my head but the high rate of male addiction to video games especially the ones more on the violent side is a way of getting that heightened consciousness in a cerebral way instead of a physical way. That dopamine release as they call it. Unfortunately this good feeling is not accompanied with the camaraderie and direct (face to face) social interaction you have when playing the actual sport which I feel is a missing element in a lot of boys development these days.
Sorry, took a turn off the topic at hand, didn’t mean to leave that last brain dropping on your doorstep. Anyway liked your comment and Merry Super Bowl.
Great comment. i will be watching! What you say about boys today is undeniable. I rarely see them in the streets or in parks playing pickup sports, other than for a few skateboarders. I spent endless days outside playing sports. The lack of physical activity has led boys to become more apathetic about school. Here in Ontario only one Phys Ed course is required in high school.
As one of those kids who knew he was going to do the military for a career at 13, I get it. Nothing else I ever wanted to do. Music, sports, business, boring, I wanted the military. Never looked back and have never come close to regretting it. Would do it again without thinking about it. Can’t explain it and so glad my wife stood right beside me.
I grow weary of the sad story it impacts blacks more. Stop while I wipe the tears for all of the black athletes who made millions when they had the choice of staying in the ghetto. How stupid are these so called elites making the claims. Do they realize the choice is a miserable life in poverty or become an athlete to escape the lousy schools, failed cities and no opportunities. Idiots one and all.
I don’t watch much NFL at all and the sheer amount paid for limited skills makes little sense to me. Think about what we pay athletes versus airline pilots, police, military, nurses, and other people we actually need. Although I can understand football costs versus the obscene amounts paid to shoot a basketball. Will not ever watch the National China Basketball League.
I don’t think we truly need football, as it would be better if people got off the couch to actually do something. But to each their own. I will agree with those crying blacks suffer more from football. The government should step in and mandate all teams in all sports have a racial makeup to reflect the population. That includes white, black, Asian, Latino, and of course 2 percent illegals. What say you critics?
What really gets me is when I hear: “the military takes advantage of black/brown communities”.
It pisses me off. Another example of people who have no idea what they’re talking about weighing in with an opinion that’s antithetical to reality.
Terry
I love American football, but the average career is 4 years and the income replacement plan for the average player who suffers a crippling injury is so completely inadequate it is not an exaggeration to say it is 3rd World. I would love to be corrected.
I’ll give it a shot (no pun intended)
I went to college on an athletic scholarship (baseball, not football). I probably wouldn’t have been able to attend without it. I realized early that I was college good, but not professional good, so decided to take advantage of the opportunity and actually went to class, studied, and graduated - all while playing ball.
I’ve had a fairly productive career due to my degree, heck of a lot better than I would have without it. Most of the players (believe there is one player in the NFL that didn’t attend uni) have had the opportunity from football to acquire an education while playing. Taking advantage of that is another story
Yes, great observation. In football at least (which I know) the coaches of old would strive to churn out a more complete young man, mentally and physically. I attended Penn State and our coach (Joe Paterno) wouldn’t play kids if their grades were inadequate. They played ball and went to class and became outstanding citizens in their communities. Today is not like that at all. One who comes to mind, Pete Carroll while he was at USC. That school churned out more NFL candidates than most with little no other skills. And while Carroll can brag about his record their, many didn’t see it that way.
Exceptional writing - a pleasure to read something this well constructed and insightful. I recall a discussion years ago regarding why hazing still persists in some fraternities and how to stop it. A young man who was part of the discussion replied that they felt a desperate (primal?) need to be tested and earn their place. So the discussion pivoted to how that might be achieved in a safer way (e.g., outward bound style activities). Another young man spoke of a challenge activity (offered by a company) he sighed up for where ten of them were dropped off in the Arizona wilderness with minimal supplies and had to get to the designated pick-up location a week later, relying on each other, their wits and yes, physical strength. Then there are the Navy Seals. Point being: many men are still wired in the way men historically needed to be wired, and that instinctive courage can be a very good thing.
Hazing took a bad wrap recently. If done properly, it can be a great experience for a young man in building his self esteem and confidence.
In 1910, prominent pacifist and psychologist William James wrote an essay, "The Moral Equivalent of War" in which he proposed a universal enlistment of young men in the pursuit of peaceful societal ends. He did not think contact sports were appropriate because they promoted brutality. His ideas wound up in programs like the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps and JFK's Peace Corps. Unfortunately, events like World War I and Vietnam overwhelmed James's thesis. Sports, especially contact sports, are important for the development of youth by teaching values of teamwork, self-sacrifice, work ethic, perseverance, loyalty, and good sportsmanship (well, at least at the high school level), but sports are not a substitution or moral equivalent to war. Sports teach values that make effective armies.
General Douglas MacArthur had this to say about sports: "Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that, upon other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory."
My neighbor's "T" shirt read, "If it can't kill you, it ain't a sport."
His offshore boat could hit 115 mph.
His Corvette, (modified) could hit 180.
His Harley could do 100+ which it did each year on his way to Daytona.
He ran a grocery store.
People of every walk of life, even in our wussified society, enjoy the physical thrill of putting ones' self out there.
Ice climbing. Jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. Sitting on a moon-bound rocket. Creaming that fancy-pants quarterback.
And others love to watch.
Relax people.
We're very creative animals.
But animals, still.
Give us a break.
Amen to that. Men need to be allowed to be men and society should celebrate it. Life isn’t safe…whoever says they can or should make it so is either delusional or wants to control you. Also, we are all sick of the deconstructionists telling us everything we love is bad. Debbie Downers sit down. Go Chiefs!
Nooooo!!!! Eagles! 😉
As an outsider, and a (very long time ago) ex-rugby player, I’ve always felt the biggest problem with American football is the body armour - helmets, various pads and protectors - it just raises the stakes, weaponises the violence
yes, using your own head as a weapon would happen less without helmets! It might reduce the CTE issue.
And they found when they introduced helmets in hockey that violence just got worse. More dirty stickwork, etc.
I think that's just a silly thesis. They also found that, with the new sticks able to propel pucks at over 100 mph, the helmets stopped critical injuries. Helmets in some sports are critical to avoiding very serious injuries and deaths.
This discussion has shades of that "Economics in one lesson" facetious idea to strap knives to steering wheels as a way to incentivize safe driving - if you know a crash means a knife through your chest, you will drive more carefully.
Sometimes safety equipment just prevents injury, it doesn't necessarily incentivize riskier behavior.
Have really enjoyed watching rugby, less stoppage, constant action. I thing it’s a superior game!! Of course I’m a BIG lacrosse fan(GO BLUEJAYS) which I think is a FANTASTIC game. Going to the NCAA semifinals/finals in Philly Memorial Day!!
Yes but we wear helmets in men's lax, not because we use them as "weapons" but because the hard rubber ball travels at over 100 mph and the sticks have metal shafts. So there goes that thesis. And it keeps us from getting cauliflower ears like the rugby guys have.
Yes, the body armor makes them feel invincible, which causes injuries.
When I was a kid, I cut Bobby Layne’s grass (look him up kids)
One of the most profound things he ever told me (after taking a deep drag on a Winston) - “son, the face mask done took all the fear out of football”
Have played both sports (offensive/defensive tackle in football and prop in rugby), and I really don't think this is an actual issue. If there were a scrum every 30 seconds or so, ruggers would develop more robust helmets and shoulder pads too.
Oh my stars, now that IS a violent sport. My high school football playing son played some in college. I went to two games and watched peeking through my fingers on my hands covering my eyes. But I would never suggest anyone NOT play it. Cause I believe in freedom of choice, not groupthink.