In “How I Learned to Love Football”, Felisa Rogers sheds light on how her relationship has greatly influenced her flare of interest towards football. During her childhood, she was led to believe that sports or even the likes of it was definitely not her cup of tea. She grew into a life of “intense dislike for playing sports, or even hearing about sports”. But as fate would have it, she ended up married to Rich, who was “a Green Bay Packers fan”. His love for this football team and its players unintentionally drove her nuts and as a result, “it began to cause a rift in our [their] relationship. Life took a turn for the worst for the writer when a series of unfortunate events befuddled the pair and this was when she realized that her husband’s view of the …show more content…
She asserts that the significance of football has never been clearer to her especially since it is, for many people, “… a source of comfort… where your opinion” matters just as much as anyone else’s. She then began to pay attention to Rich’s take on football since “it was a lifeline between who he had become and who he used to be” despite it being “a touch more academic than most”. In turn, she too began to grasp the basic “mechanics of the game” and before long, gave in to the pleasures of football. Upon reading this article, I was moved by the willingness of the author to pour her emotions into the pages. As H. Jackson Brown Jr. puts it, “Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye”. Well, that’s me. I found this piece to be beyond meaningful, particularly because I grew up in a condition similar to hers whereby being the person I was, I was simply not cut out for sports, let alone football. On a more personal note, I can relate to the build up of hatred and insecurity she experienced. Unfortunately, this may eventually result in dismissing any sports, even before giving it a try.
Over the past years, many will say that football has become America’s new pastime, taking over our weekends for almost half of the year. Fans travel from all over the country to see their favorite college or professional teams play, and once the football season is over, the countdown clock for the first game of fall begins. There are many positive aspects to the sport, and the fans and players love it, but in John McMurtry’s “Kill ‘em, Crush ‘em, Eat ‘em Raw”, the reader is introduced to a side of football that some have not seen, and many choose to ignore. McMurtry believes that the game of football has become one of people just wanting to hurt other people and too many injuries are occurring to justify the fun
There can be no question that sport and athletes seem to be considered less than worthy subjects for writers of serious fiction, an odd fact considering how deeply ingrained in North American culture sport is, and how obviously and passionately North Americans care about it as participants and spectators. In this society of diverse peoples of greatly varying interests, tastes, and beliefs, no experience is as universal as playing or watching sports, and so it is simply perplexing how little adult fiction is written on the subject, not to mention how lightly regarded that little which is written seems to be. It should all be quite to the contrary; that our fascination and familiarity with sport makes it a most advantageous subject for the skilled writer of fiction is amply demonstrated by Mark Harris.
The Odessa football players couldn't be objective about criticisms of football. Their total self-esteem depended on how they did on Friday night. This was the glorified culmination of their football career: wearing the black MoJo uniform in the stadium under the big lights. Football was more than just a game to them; it was a religion. It "made them seem like boys going off to fight a war for the benefit of someone else, unwitting sacrifices to a strange and powerful god" (Bissinger, p.11). Because football was so meaningful in their lives, to criticize it was to criticize everything they'd worked so hard for and lived for.
Douglas E. Foley offers an interesting analysis of American football culture in high schools, in his article titled “The Great American Football Ritual: Reproducing Race, Class and Gender Inequality”. The author covers the ways that the football culture splits people apart and segregates them into groups based on what they contribute to the football scene. The football scene seems to bring negativity to the lives of every group it touches, yet it is still a staple in American culture to this day.
Athletes in times of difficulty can be important role models.” This shows that sports are in fact helpful because they can grow children into being important role models for the rest of society. Studies have shown time and time again that playing sports can be beneficial to children and we also believe this to be true. Many people still think that sports cause “too many injuries”, or coaches “are not fair enough”, but adolescents will experience these things all throughout their lives because injury can happen anywhere and they will not always be the best at what they are doing. Sports are beneficial to the youth because they can teach children and teens important life skills, help them maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle, all while improving their mental health.
...e their life as well as the children. The children receive a ton of pressure from their families to perform at a high level so they will feel satisfied as parents that their football player performed well. Thus the families’ obsession of high school football in particular the parents’ obsession proves to be a continuous and damaging cycle for the high school football players.
American Football is a huge spectator sport where offensive and defensive players will use teamwork and perseverance to try and score more points than their opponent. Football is highly respected in America, where boys will try and pursue the dream of playing in the NFL (National Football Association) someday; but if you look at an average neighborhood, you will find that kids and adults of all ages love to go out and throw around the pigskin. (Lerner and Lerner 275). One thing Americans will take pride in is the college and NFL football teams they root for. People sit down with a beer and talk hours upon hours of football and two individuals can get in a heated discussion in the local sports store of whose sports team is better. Surprisingly enough, one will find the most passionate football players at the high school level. Most boys will start their football career as a young child in football programs such as Pop Warner to get a foothold and to get those involved in teamwork and friendships. These programs are usually the start to someone falling in love with the sport and making it a career choice eight years later. Football is one of America’s favorite sports. When fall season comes around, people across America are placing bets, finding out where that new sports bar is, and buying wide screen T.V’s to watch NFL on Sundays. After their team plays, they will go out and reminisce what happened that Sunday. While thousands of fans are still pumped from the NFL games they watched; small towns across America are getting ready to shut down their shops and restaurants to have the chance to make it to the local high schools football game. Ray Glier, a reporter for the New York Times, writes about football in the small town of Appala...
Ripley argues that football is a dangerous sport for students that young to begin to express their rage on and off the field. However, in the article Do Sports Build Character or Damage it? the author Mark Edmundson writes about his experience playing high school football. He said football made him a better person. He gained courage, strength, and heroic character. Edmundson said he applied everything in his life to football, which helped him get a job. Even though he was not the best player, he said he enjoyed going to practice every day to increase his skills. These attributes help Edmundson still to this
“‘Athletics last for such a short period of time. It ends for people. But while it lasts, it creates this make-believe world where normal rules don’t apply. We build this false atmosphere. When it’s over and the harsh reality sets in, that’s the real joke we play on people’” (Bissinger xiv). “Friday Night Lights” shows the darker side of high school football. Players are taught to play games to win, and thats all that matters. Football players are put under a tremendous amount of pressure, almost enough to be considered unfair. Even though football is a “team sport”, pressure on individual players is unnecessary. Some players have the burden of the team, the city, their family, and their future, resting on their shoulders. These players are put under pressure that is physically and emotionally damaging, not to mention future ruining.
Football is not a game but a religion, a metaphysical island of fundamental truth in a highly verbalized, disguised society, a throwback of 30,000 generations of anthropological time. (“Football Quotes, Great”, par. 12)
He describes how despite the leagues problem with domestic violence, former players having brain damage and committing suicide, their tendency to over fine players to make more money, and employment of bad people like Greg Hardy, people who like football don’t care enough to do something about it (Foster 1). Football fans continue to contribute to the success of the NFL by watching the games, playing fantasy football, and buying tickets and jerseys in record numbers. Foster implies people watch football “because it entertains us, because it brings us together, because of tradition and other fine reasons.” (Scott 1). Therefore, like the people in the omelas with the small child, NFL fans ignore the suffering of the increasing amount of domestic abuse victims and the suicides, for their own happiness. Scott concludes, “We don't change for the same reason the NFL won't change: Change is not in our best interest.” (Scott 1). No one stands up for all the people negatively affected by the NFL’s power by boycotting or not watching, because if they do they will sacrifice the happiness they get from the football
Football is a game of adversity and emotion. People who have not played a sport or follow one closely don’t understand the emotion behind game. They think that football is just a game, but for those who are involved with the team don’t think so. All those horrendous hours of countless preparation are for something players and coaches love. About a few years ago, a football player at the collegiate level was told that he wouldn’t be able to play another down of football again due to his banged up h...
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, but so Cassius Clay, Jackie Robinson, and Bill Russell. Long before King’s famous “I Had a Dream” speech or Rosa Parks famous stand came something much simpler: sports. Sports have always had the ability to open people’s eyes in a way that is more impactful than words or actions. The way that athletics can shape a persons mind, or open their eyes to something beyond what they already believe, is incredible. They can get everyone to root for a common purpose, a common goal. And for some, that was freedom. The integration of professional and collegiate athletics not only changed sports history, but helped shape American history.
In the book entitled Out of Their League, David Meggyesy describes his life as a football player from high school through his days with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Born in 1941, Meggyesy was raised in a low-income household in Solon, Ohio. Like many athletes from impoverished backgrounds, he was able to use the game of football to better himself though both a full scholarship to Syracuse University and financial stability with the Cardinals. During his career, however, Meggyesy became increasingly disillusioned with the game of football and how its athletes were subject to tremendous physical and psychological turmoil from those in power—namely the coaches and the NFL team owners. He began to see the game of football from a conflict theorist point of view. This is the belief that sport is an opiate used to benefit those in power through the exploitation of athletes which enables those such as coaches and team owners to maintain their power and privilege in society. (Coakley, 1998) Meggyesy's growing disenchantment with football and adoption of a conflict theorist point of view led him to retire from the Cardinals in 1969.
Despite the fact that cooking was strictly prohibited for boys, Jim Sollisch (1958- ) refused to give up learning what he considered to be his strongest passion. He set up several strategies to convince the principal to allow him learning the art of cooking. Nevertheless, he tasted failure many times: the school director mind was dominated by a “single story” that stated that boys were not allowed to cook. After a rude battle, he finally won the right to stop the shop and “to satisfy his largest appetites”. His whole life changed after this special day: he became able to develop his passion. The author is not the only person carrying a passion: I am also a fan of a wonderful game entitled football.