Received several good answers, and will post them at the bottom of this blog piece.Timing this with this week's explosion of college football games, the full schedule, although we had a smattering of games last week (because it begins earlier each year).
Here was my comment Wednesday: For some of us, interest has declined greatly, almost totally in the NFL (and for me, personally, it has nothing to do with the national anthem). Just don't like how much of our attention the NFL receives now.
With my question, I attached an article by Tim Layden (Sports Illustrated writer) from a week ago, his perspective on what football means -- or should mean -- to our society today. (Link -- a long link -- posted below.)
Not here to tell anyone what to think -- same as politics -- but what follows is my view on football today.
I still love it; I still care. The nervous feeling which hits a few weeks before every LSU season is there again. And I want Louisiana Tech to do well, always have.
(And what if LSU plays Louisiana Tech? That is going to happen again Sept. 22. That's a tough one.)
Want "my teams" in several sports -- Yankees, Cowboys, Netherlands soccer, LSU, La. Tech -- to win big. The competitive streak in me has not faded. When it does ... uh-oh.
I am sure that is it for you, too. We all feel better when our team wins.
We make it personal. Can't help it. Know damn well that what I think or say -- or yell -- is not going to make a bit of difference. But we get into it. Vow to be calmer, but then they start playing and ...
It is the off-the-field crap that is so bothersome to me. And all the money coaches and NFL players make (and as an aside, I do not think college players should be paid more -- too many loopholes. Isn't a free college education enough?).
Money makes the football world go 'round.
The seemingly increasing brutal nature of the game, the fatal injuries, the brain drain, the sexual assaults, "bullying" coaches, recruiting "verbal commitments" and National Signing Day and everyday analysis, speculation, Internet "talk" sites ... January through December.
One big gripe: The over-emphasis on anything college football and NFL head coaches say or do. We treat them like gods. They're not.
Same for NFL owners. Please don't pay attention to what Jerry "Blabs" Jones says (that was a blog piece several ago).
Personally I watch or read very little of what any head coach has to say. And when they lecture the media, as some are prone to do (Saban, Patterson) or act sanctimoniously (Urban Meyer, Hugh Freeze, the late Joe Paterno), it is beyond irritating.
OK, enough of that. Here's the good part: Watching the games.
Love it still -- at least college football. I, for one, don't like the high-scoring, wild offensive slugfests. Give me some defense and kicking game, please. But the game itself is still entertainment -- and competition -- for me.
Probably watched fewer games last year -- not even LSU, live -- than ever before. Watched about 10 minutes of one NFL game (Cowboys). That was more than enough.
Just don't want to spend hours and hours tied to the TV these days. Watched one game live (Louisiana Tech's bowl game, vs. SMU, in Frisco).
The wife wants nothing to do with football, period. Does not want to hear my commentary, that's for sure. So recording games and watching them -- silently -- hours later when she's asleep is the better option.
There are other TVs in the facility where we live. So I will be headed there Saturday -- and Sunday night.
Looked at the TV game schedule for this week, noted the times and set up the recorder. There are teams I want to see, mostly in the SEC (the main interest for many of my friends, too).
For instance, I will check on the Tennessee Vols because I know son-in-law cares ... a lot. And that matchup with West Virginia should be a good one.
(As for Alabama, no thank you. But I have to admit -- if LSU's program was as successful as Alabama has been, especially the last decade, would I care more for college football than I do now? Honest answer: yes.)
So, the game I care most about -- LSU vs. Miami -- will be played in our neighborhood Sunday night. Our son and our nephew will be there at JerryWorld; I will watch on TV ... anxiously. I do care.
As for LSU vs. Louisiana Tech in a few weeks, I will be rooting for the winner. That should satisfy all my friends who say I am a frontrunner.
Have a nice season. It is important enough to me that I will try to watch ... for a while, anyway.
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https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/08/23/football-player-safety-jordan-mcnair-death-maryland-urban-meyer-zach-smith-ohio-state-punishment?utm_campaign=si-extra&utm_source=si.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2018082413PM&eminfo=%7b%22EMAIL%22%3a%22g%2fuGJg%2f6MqPr9L%2fN%2beR2ew%3d%3d%22%2c%22BRAND%22%3a%22SI%22%2c%22CONTENT%22%3a%22Newsletter%22%2c%22UID%22%3a%22SI_EXT_D84683FA-9C1F-4D44-99C4-043367C843CF%22%2c%22SUBID%22%3a%2299057493%22%2c%22JOBID%22%3a%22861658%22%2c%22NEWSLETTER%22%3a%22SI_EXTRA%22%2c%22ZIP%22%3a%22%22%2c%22COUNTRY%22%3a%22CAN%22%7d
From Maxie Hays: I love high school and college football. Could care less about the NFL. I just saw your post regarding love for football and read the SI article. It didn’t change my mind at all.
ReplyDeleteFrom James Cottrell: College football because it still represents something important at the basic level. High school as well but it's not as important because the skill set isn't as good.
ReplyDeleteFrom Joe Rhodes: Football will, eventually, go the way of boxing and horse racing. It will survive but as a relic, a niche sport, regarded by most of society as just too barbaric to be entertaining. The only people who will play a game that is almost guaranteed to cripple them, to damage their brain and shorten their life, will be people who have no choice. It will become, if it hasn't already, something that feels too much like sending slaves into the gladiatory. Shame will eventually overwhelm us. Not today, not tomorrow, but sooner than most people realize.
ReplyDeleteFrom Jason Brown: I agree with the column. I also love football. Have since I was a kid. My first football memory, though it's hazy, is seeing the Cowboys lose to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game because of The Catch. I was 5 years old. By the time I was in my late teens or early 20s, I no longer entertained the idea that football players, coaches, owners, etc. are heroes or anything more than human beings when they're not on the field. A few are salt of the earth, a few are scumbags, most are somewhere in the unremarkable middle. We have a word for people who naively worship/idolize athletes and celebrities: children. As far as I'm concerned, every NFL owner is despicable, almost all football coaches are sociopathic authoritarians, most players are musclebound doofuses and plenty of hardcore fans are dumbass tribalists. I've just learned to mostly ignore everything that surrounds the game but isn't of the game. Really, I don't know how any stable person could do otherwise and still be a fan. But the game itself, the strategy, the breathtaking physicality, the athletic artistry, the uniforms, the stadiums, the turf -- love it. I'm downright giddy the season is here.
ReplyDeleteFrom Bill Smith: I basically rank the NFL somewhere below Middle School football. I still like the Saints and Dallas (only because of Dak). But only watched Super Bowl last year. I will not watch this year. College is different. Love LSU, Tech, and will follow NSU this year.
ReplyDeleteFrom Bud Dean: I agree that it’s losing it’s appeal, but think that until there is an acceptable alternative for the big money folks, including corporate sponsors, that, in our lifetime, it will remain the focus of our nation as a whole. Flag football is not the answer. Rugby and soccer don’t come close to satisfy the appetite of folks who want something that is physical. They are not viewed as American sports, especially rugby, which to me would be the best choice. Again not in my lifetime, although injuries/deaths must be addressed. That’s my take.
ReplyDeleteFrom Ross Montelbano: I like the NFL. I watch when I like a matchup. GB vs PHL or NOLA vs ATL or NE vs JKVL would probably warrant a look see. Otherwise, it’s not something that live for. What I don’t understand is the obsession with people that hate football, discussing people that are obsessed with loving football. What about those obsessed with watching dog shows, auto racing or reality TV? Not sure why anyone cares what others watch. I get messages that want me to sign a petition to take The View off the air. Change the remote.
ReplyDeleteFrom Don Birkelbach: For me, football season begins Nov. 1.
ReplyDeleteFrom John Dittrich: I like both NFL and college football when it comes to my particular favorite teams. That is AZ Cardinals and Chicago Bears in nfl and Arizona State, TCU North Dakota State and my Alma Mater, Southern Illinois. But I have ZERO interest in the college bowl games unless one of the teams I root for is involved. For me, the college playoff system, although mildly improved is still a farce. No other sport "anoints" the teams as national championship worthy more than big time college football.
ReplyDeleteThat said, neither of my two sons played football at any level and I am glad for that. Our youngest son was a weight lifter and a strapping lad in high school. The coaches repeatedly asked him to come out for football but he told them, and us, that he did not enjoy hitting people or violent contact. He didn't feel he had the mentality for the game. I was very glad to hear that. I hope to have grandsons one day soon and I hope they do not play football. It is a violent game and the risk of injury is too high for my comfort level.
From Tommy Youngblood: I read your post on level of interest or lack thereof in football. I hate to say it but for me it's a matter of identifying with the players. To a degree I can feel a part of the LSU program but in so many cases the guys are only there for a few years. And for the pros I just don't feel any connection with the players at all. I watched an old show called The Violent World of Sam Huff on YouTube after I read your article and that was the beginning of my interest in the game. I felt I wanted to be part of that game but nothing attracts me to that level of interest now. And I do think it is a combination of all the things going on now. The injuries keeps me from wanting my kids and grandkids to play. The protests and showboating make me indifferent to the pros. I think that 20 years from now attendance for the pros will be down sharply. College will survive only through the tailgate traditions. My 2 cents.
ReplyDeleteThe more I hear about all the detrimental effects on young humans that football has, the less I'm able to justify any rationale for it. In view of the effects on the brains of players, the more insane it seems that any school would allow it. It seems to me that it's mainly the alumnae who are really "rabid", and I can't help but feel there's more than a little vicarious identification going on there. Bruce Springsteen's 'Glory Days' plays in my head when I hear some old jocks reliving their past.
ReplyDeleteI hear so many folks say, "But that's all that keeps some kids in school!"
Well, what does THAT say about schools? It keeps some kids in school because they believe that they'll catch that golden ring that comes with a (now so tarnished) "scholarship" to a college or university where it takes nearly superhuman abilities to successfully engage in athletics and still maintain a decent g.p.a.
For many, the only reason to stay in the program is the dream of "leveling up" to the pros, where they can get what's left of their brains scrambled.
I used to be as avid a fan as anyone, and have been known to cause probable deafness in folks 3 rows down with my "Roy Rogers" whistle.
No more. It's just not worth it, even if one could set aside all the rest of the baggage than we now know attends to sports from even the youngest grades.
Athletics can be incredibly valuable, but in too many instances, sports have become so corrupted that they are no longer the "fields of glory" that our memories keep trying to convince us they are.
From Joe Reding: Interesting responses, some I agree with, some I do not agree with. I do agree with Youngblood, it's all about how you identify with the players, and that's where I have a huge problem. There are a few that I see that I have a great
ReplyDeleterespect for, but far too few. Even the "good ones" I seem to find holes in their values and respect to the game that I hold dearly to my heart. I Could state a dozen or so examples but no need for that.
We exchanged e-mails about a year ago on this same subject. I have not changed, but only feel a little stronger now than I did last year.
I watch almost zero pro games (players in general, not all, values have gone to hell).
I still love LSU, but I don't live and die on the football program, for the reasons stated above.
LSU vs. LA Tech -- only game on the schedule that I will not miss.
From Ed English: Two thoughts:
ReplyDeleteRegarding the future of the game:
I started playing pickup football games when I was in the third grade with guys much older than me. It was incredible fun ... Tackling was like wrestling. You grabbed a guy around the waist and tried to drag him down. There was no head-to-head contact. Lots of bumps, bruises and scrapes, but all-in-all, it wasn’t any more dangerous than many of our other pursuits. When I started playing organized football in the 8th grade with helmets and pads, it was a different animal. I got bonked on the head once at the beginning of a practice in the 10th grade. The next thing I knew, I was taking my cleats off and practice was over. Two hours had passed and I had no recollection. At the time, I thought I was incredibly fortunate because we always did 20 wind sprints at the end of practice (which I HATED) and I had MISSED them! It was like I’d played hooky!
If there were a way for rules/officiating and equipment to make the game more like the pickup games I played as a kid, that would be great. However, I’m not sure you can put 22 guys weighing anywhere from 200 to 350 pounds in a small space and do that.
Regarding degree of fervor:
Pro football? Meh ... Too many ads, not enough action. ... A touchdown is scored ... two minutes before an extra point is kicked ... a commercial ... a kickoff ... good chance there’s another commercial ... By the time another play is run from scrimmage 8-to-10 minutes have passed. It’s irritating if I’m working the DVR. However, if you’re at the stadium, there’s no escape. I have been able to mostly ignore the NFL for 25 years now ... haven’t missed it.
College football? I know the ills ... hypocrisy, exploitation, etc. etc., but I also know the dangers of high-fat, high cholesterol food and I can’t quit that, either. Sure, I know that Nate Silver’s 538 is a more legitimate source for forecasting, but I can’t take my eyes off which stupid headgear Lee Corso dons. Hopelessly addicted. Just as much now as ever.
From Ben Sour: Don't care near as much as I used to. Turnoffs: rules, officiating, more violent collisions, expense (miss my $1 tickets to the Cotton Bowl end zone to watch the Cowboys the first year they were good), AT&T stadium (too loud, too much exhortation of the crowd, everyone watches the scoreboard anyway), big egos, drama, boring commentators, games are too long, seen it all before, disappointed too many times, can just watch replays any time or record and watch later if interested ... never am, more exposure of criminal activity, creep of politics into sports and everything else, broadcast overkill and hype ... (didn't Vince Lombardi object to the Super Bowl because he didn't want football to go back to being a minor sport?), a lot of other options now available like CNN or Fox, blogs.
ReplyDeleteGradually got into other things.
I pay attention to stories like Dak [Prescott] and the [Oakland] A's. If the A's make it to the World Series, I plan to attend the last game of the year. A big if, I realize. I follow LSU and Tech because people I socialize with are interested. Mostly that means I have the TV on, muted, and fold laundry or read.