“What It Was, Was Football”* 0
In aftermath of Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field (happily he seems to be recovering), Randall Balmer wonders what Americans find so enticing about so dangerous a sport. A snippet:
Which brings us back to the question about whether there is something about American society that draws us – myself included, by the way – to the carnage of football.
Aside:
I used to be a football fan. I looked forward to watching all the bowl games on New Year’s Day and a number that were not on New Year’s Day; I rooted for several NFL teams over the years. Now, though, I’ve lost all interest in football. The games have gotten far too long, the NFL owners are a mostly a bunch of jerks, and the NCAA is only in it for the money. (Indeed, the only sporting organization of which I have a lower opinion than of the NCAA is FIFA.)
My weekends are much more peaceful, relaxing, and productive now.
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*With apologies to Andy Griffith.
