“The football was never the problem. The problem is everything else.”
September 30, 2015 5:34 AM Subscribe
Why Five Friends Stopped Watching the NFL and Started a Book Club
Instead of watching the NFL, we’re launching Football Book Club. And you know what: No one ever got concussed reading The Goldfinch. No one ever suffered a career-ending cervical spine injury curling up with his Kindle. No one’s mind was every slowly destroyed by books — the effect is really quite the opposite — despite what some social conservatives would have you believe. And, best of all: There is no way Roger Goodell can ruin this — he’s not even invited. Every week, we’re exchanging one love for another: Instead of turning on the TV, we’ll read a new book — great works of fiction and nonfiction, poetry and graphic novels — and then we’ll share our thoughts about the current title and what our lives are like without the NFL.
As professional football enters its 113th season in the United States, the Patriots look to defend their title, and Roger Goodell rolls around naked in a kiddie pool full of moist, unmarked bills, Football Book Club will be breaking up with the NFL and reading the following titles — everything from fiction and nonfiction to poetry and graphic novels. Among some of this season’s highlights are Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Steven Millhauser’s Edwin Mullhouse, Carmen Giménez Smith’s Milk and Filth, and Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru’s League of Denial.
Pre-Season - Against Football by Steve Almond
Week 1 - Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Week 2 - Brain Fever by Kimiko Hahn
Week 3 - Going Clear by Lawrence Wright
Week 4 - Edwin Mullhouse by Steven Millhauser
Week 5 - Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
Week 6 - The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
Week 7 - Speak by Louisa Hall
Week 8 - The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
Week 9 - BYE
Week 10 - Milk and Filth by Carmen Giménez Smith
Week 11 - The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Week 12 - Thunderstruck and Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken
Week 13 - River House by Sally Keith
Week 14 -How to Be Happy by Eleanor Davis
Week 15 - The Dirty Dust by Máirtín Ó Cadhain
Week 16 - Ill Fares the Land by Tony Judt
Week 17 - End Zone by Don DeLillo
Post-Season/Super Bowl - League of Denial by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru
Amen to this. As a football widower, I'm ready to throw the television in the trash to prevent my kids being exposed to this blood sport every night for months.
Not that this has the slightest chance of any traction.
posted by ffmike at 5:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
Not that this has the slightest chance of any traction.
posted by ffmike at 5:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm glad this exists. I was born on a fall Saturday in Columbus OH (OSU 31, Oregon 6, thank you very much), and college football has been central to my life since basically the very beginning. And last year, I gave it up. I didn't watch a single game; I spent time with my family instead. I tried not to even check the scores.
Of course that was the year that my team won the national championship for the second time in my life. And this year I've fallen off the wagon. I read the blogs again, I have watchespn on in the background on Saturday afternoons. But last year is also the year that a kid on the OSU team committed suicide because of traumatic brain damage. He left a note to his mother saying that he hoped he hadn't been an "embarrassment" to her.
I need to stop watching. This is a good reminder. We all need to stop watching until the rules are changed to make this game at all levels more humane than it is in its current gladiatorial form.
posted by sy at 5:55 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
Of course that was the year that my team won the national championship for the second time in my life. And this year I've fallen off the wagon. I read the blogs again, I have watchespn on in the background on Saturday afternoons. But last year is also the year that a kid on the OSU team committed suicide because of traumatic brain damage. He left a note to his mother saying that he hoped he hadn't been an "embarrassment" to her.
I need to stop watching. This is a good reminder. We all need to stop watching until the rules are changed to make this game at all levels more humane than it is in its current gladiatorial form.
posted by sy at 5:55 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
A lot of these books seem like they would take more than a week to read unless you don't have a job or other things to do.
posted by Fizz at 6:02 AM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
According to the NFL, so far this season the average run time of a typical game is 3:11:56. That's about six minutes longer than what games averaged in 2011. [LA Times]If you were to watch 3-5 games a week (which many people do and often more) you'd easily be able to read some of these books.
posted by Fizz at 6:02 AM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
I LOVE THIS. I love it when people decide to opt out of cultural norms they find poisonous. I also love reading. I also love Allie Brosh. This book club combines many of my favorite things!
posted by a fiendish thingy at 6:03 AM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by a fiendish thingy at 6:03 AM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
I gave up Pro football last year, and did damn well, right up until the playoffs. Doing good this year too - have other stuff to do on Sundays. College football is different. I love everything about college football, which I know is totally irrational as big time college football is about as "amateur" as the NFL. I can't even point to the excitement of a winning team, as I went to Purdue.
posted by COD at 6:08 AM on September 30, 2015
posted by COD at 6:08 AM on September 30, 2015
No one ever got concussed reading The Goldfinch.
I... am not so sure.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:10 AM on September 30, 2015 [18 favorites]
I... am not so sure.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:10 AM on September 30, 2015 [18 favorites]
You can easily read a 300 page book in a week if you skip a bit of television. 50 pages a day, which should take about an hour total, will even get you a day off.
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:12 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by waitingtoderail at 6:12 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
No one ever suffered a career-ending cervical spine injury curling up with his Kindle.
Obviously they don't read properly
But this is seriously neat, and I like that there are a bunch of books written by women too (about half).
posted by jeather at 6:13 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
Obviously they don't read properly
But this is seriously neat, and I like that there are a bunch of books written by women too (about half).
posted by jeather at 6:13 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
A book club is an AWESOME solution to this.
Admittedly I'm only partially disengaged. But when I watch, I watch streams from Europe and don't buy any merchandise. Yeah. I'm totally sticking it to the man there.
I'm also noticing more and more people, some of whom are die-hard ESPN watchers, slowly moving away from the sport. Or at least acknowledging that the concussion issue is a serious problem, and openly wondering how the league will survive in the next several decades. That alone speaks volumes.
posted by glaucon at 6:13 AM on September 30, 2015
Admittedly I'm only partially disengaged. But when I watch, I watch streams from Europe and don't buy any merchandise. Yeah. I'm totally sticking it to the man there.
I'm also noticing more and more people, some of whom are die-hard ESPN watchers, slowly moving away from the sport. Or at least acknowledging that the concussion issue is a serious problem, and openly wondering how the league will survive in the next several decades. That alone speaks volumes.
posted by glaucon at 6:13 AM on September 30, 2015
not being inclined in any way to follow sports, my hope would be this sort of idea would somehow severely curtail the endless blather of my cow orkers about their fantasy leagues.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:16 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:16 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I want this club to read all at the same time at a sports bar and high-five and "WOOOOO!!!!!" every time they all get to a passage they like.
posted by xingcat at 6:17 AM on September 30, 2015 [29 favorites]
posted by xingcat at 6:17 AM on September 30, 2015 [29 favorites]
I'm also noticing more and more people, some of whom are die-hard ESPN watchers, slowly moving away from the sport. Or at least acknowledging that the concussion issue is a serious problem, and openly wondering how the league will survive in the next several decades. That alone speaks volumes.
I imagine we'll look back on this in the future in the same way that many people currently look at boxing or bullfighting. While still popular in some parts of the world, it is largely viewed with a kind of cynicism or depressing shake of the head. A part of human history when we should have known better and realized the horrors we were inflicting upon ourselves for the sake of entertainment.
posted by Fizz at 6:17 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
I imagine we'll look back on this in the future in the same way that many people currently look at boxing or bullfighting. While still popular in some parts of the world, it is largely viewed with a kind of cynicism or depressing shake of the head. A part of human history when we should have known better and realized the horrors we were inflicting upon ourselves for the sake of entertainment.
posted by Fizz at 6:17 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
While still popular in some parts of the world
"The 2015 season debut of "Thursday Night Football" on CBS and NFL Network was the most-watched and highest-rated game ever in the broadcast's history, the league announced Friday.
The game, which featured the Denver Broncos scoring two touchdowns in a nine-second span during the final minute to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-24, was seen by an average of 21.1 million viewers, a two-percent jump over last year's premiere broadcast. It also achieved a national household rating/share of 12.9/24, which also represented a two-percent increase in viewership. Last year's "Thursday Night Football" premiere between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens held the previous record for most-viewed TNF broadcast.
Primetime viewership on CBS and NFL Network on Thursday more than doubled the combined viewership of NBC, ABC and FOX. It also beat the combined delivery of NBC, ABC and FOX by 84 percent.
Viewer average for the game peaked at 22.9 million viewers from 9:30-10 p.m. ET.
The record viewership and rating for "Thursday Night Football" comes on the heels of the most-watched NFL Kickoff Weekend ever. An average of 19.9 million viewers watched NFL Week 1 games, topping the average 19.6 million viewers for 2013's Kickoff Weekend."
To paraphrase the late Yogi Berra, "No one watches the NFL anymore, there are too many viewers."
posted by three blind mice at 6:24 AM on September 30, 2015 [7 favorites]
"The 2015 season debut of "Thursday Night Football" on CBS and NFL Network was the most-watched and highest-rated game ever in the broadcast's history, the league announced Friday.
The game, which featured the Denver Broncos scoring two touchdowns in a nine-second span during the final minute to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-24, was seen by an average of 21.1 million viewers, a two-percent jump over last year's premiere broadcast. It also achieved a national household rating/share of 12.9/24, which also represented a two-percent increase in viewership. Last year's "Thursday Night Football" premiere between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens held the previous record for most-viewed TNF broadcast.
Primetime viewership on CBS and NFL Network on Thursday more than doubled the combined viewership of NBC, ABC and FOX. It also beat the combined delivery of NBC, ABC and FOX by 84 percent.
Viewer average for the game peaked at 22.9 million viewers from 9:30-10 p.m. ET.
The record viewership and rating for "Thursday Night Football" comes on the heels of the most-watched NFL Kickoff Weekend ever. An average of 19.9 million viewers watched NFL Week 1 games, topping the average 19.6 million viewers for 2013's Kickoff Weekend."
To paraphrase the late Yogi Berra, "No one watches the NFL anymore, there are too many viewers."
posted by three blind mice at 6:24 AM on September 30, 2015 [7 favorites]
three blind mice, that part of my comment was speaking more to the boxing and bullfighting, which have seen significant drops in coverage over the last 50 years in the sport. It's not as mainstream as the NFL is right now. And that is what I am hoping will happen to the NFL. But yes, your point is made, the NFL is watched by many people and generates millions of dollars of revenue.
*sighs*
posted by Fizz at 6:29 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
*sighs*
posted by Fizz at 6:29 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
I finally gave up the NFL this year. I feel a little hypocritical that it took Michael Vick to push me away when I put up with Ben Roethlisberger for so long and I apologize for that. It's difficult as I live at ground zero for football fandom; Heinz Field is three blocks from my house and Mr. Rooney (owner of the Steelers) lives around the corner and I run into him or his wife Pat occasionally.
Fortunately, the Buccos are having a wonderful season and hopefully a more than one game post-season so I can watch Baseball instead.
posted by octothorpe at 6:33 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
Fortunately, the Buccos are having a wonderful season and hopefully a more than one game post-season so I can watch Baseball instead.
posted by octothorpe at 6:33 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
There is no way Roger Goodell can ruin this
Challenge accepted.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:44 AM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
Challenge accepted.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:44 AM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
I'm yet to watch a game this year, other than peeking at "a trainwreck like the ones you love!" last weekend.
One thing I've noticed is that I'm doing exactly the same things. The NFL has been nothing but background noise to what I've been doing for a while (except Bears games, but once the site I commented on turned into a raging dumpster fire bigger than the one the team has lit up, there was little incentive to keep watching). Way too many commercial breaks, inane commentary, obsession with FF, treating the game like it's a QB 1-on-1, etc.
posted by lmfsilva at 6:46 AM on September 30, 2015
One thing I've noticed is that I'm doing exactly the same things. The NFL has been nothing but background noise to what I've been doing for a while (except Bears games, but once the site I commented on turned into a raging dumpster fire bigger than the one the team has lit up, there was little incentive to keep watching). Way too many commercial breaks, inane commentary, obsession with FF, treating the game like it's a QB 1-on-1, etc.
posted by lmfsilva at 6:46 AM on September 30, 2015
It makes me unreasonably happy that they have a bye week.
posted by heisenberg at 6:48 AM on September 30, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by heisenberg at 6:48 AM on September 30, 2015 [9 favorites]
I want this club to read all at the same time at a sports bar and high-five and "WOOOOO!!!!!" every time they all get to a passage they like.
Whereas I want all sports bars de-lapidated to the last stone and the ground salted; a constitutional ammendment restricting high fiving to people directly involved with the achievement being celebrated (living in the same town doesn't meet the standard); and to never hear another high-pitched pig squeal of "woo!" again in any context whatsoever.
A man can dream . . .
posted by Herodios at 6:48 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
Whereas I want all sports bars de-lapidated to the last stone and the ground salted; a constitutional ammendment restricting high fiving to people directly involved with the achievement being celebrated (living in the same town doesn't meet the standard); and to never hear another high-pitched pig squeal of "woo!" again in any context whatsoever.
A man can dream . . .
posted by Herodios at 6:48 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
"which have seen significant drops in coverage over the last 50 years in the sport"
But I wouldn't predict that Americans will look at the NFL in 50 years with the same meagre interest that boxing and bullfighting enjoy now. That's my point. Indeed despite all of the recent bad press that have encouraged some viewers to abandon their TVs for the comfort of books, the standard metrics indicate that the NFL is more popular than ever.
posted by three blind mice at 6:51 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
But I wouldn't predict that Americans will look at the NFL in 50 years with the same meagre interest that boxing and bullfighting enjoy now. That's my point. Indeed despite all of the recent bad press that have encouraged some viewers to abandon their TVs for the comfort of books, the standard metrics indicate that the NFL is more popular than ever.
posted by three blind mice at 6:51 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
No one ever got concussed reading The Goldfinch.
I nearly brained myself on my overhead lamp when I saw the cameo of one of the characters from The Secret History. I leapt out of my chair and screamed.
posted by Elly Vortex at 6:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
I nearly brained myself on my overhead lamp when I saw the cameo of one of the characters from The Secret History. I leapt out of my chair and screamed.
posted by Elly Vortex at 6:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
Add me to the roster of former die hard NFL viewers who no longer give a shit. I got into Premier League last summer and it made me realize how little happens in NFL coverage. It takes about 3.5 hours to watch roughly 15 minutes of live play. My weekends are too short to waste 3 hours on car and beer commercials.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 6:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
I finally gave up the NFL this year. I feel a little hypocritical that it took Michael Vick to push me away when I put up with Ben Roethlisberger for so long and I apologize for that.
Every dog owner I know in this town has said some version of this since we signed Vick. Vick's been playing again since 2009. None of them had a problem with this while we went to two Super Bowls.
Sorry, derail. I'll be back after this TV time-out/change-of-possession time-out/time-out/end-of-quarter-break/halftime-break/automatic scoring-play review/coach's challenge time-out/two-minute warning adfest to discuss finally reading The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
posted by GrapeApiary at 6:59 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Every dog owner I know in this town has said some version of this since we signed Vick. Vick's been playing again since 2009. None of them had a problem with this while we went to two Super Bowls.
Sorry, derail. I'll be back after this TV time-out/change-of-possession time-out/time-out/end-of-quarter-break/halftime-break/automatic scoring-play review/coach's challenge time-out/two-minute warning adfest to discuss finally reading The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
posted by GrapeApiary at 6:59 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't see that they've credited me for this idea and I've been reading books instead of watching football all my life.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:59 AM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by octobersurprise at 6:59 AM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
Whoa, they're reading The Dirty Dust (Cré na Cille). Looking over the list these are not unusually short books.
I too hope this gets some traction but suspect it only will now and maybe in Week 17/Super Bowl time. Wouldn't mind copying the idea for other events.
posted by ocular shenanigans at 7:02 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I too hope this gets some traction but suspect it only will now and maybe in Week 17/Super Bowl time. Wouldn't mind copying the idea for other events.
posted by ocular shenanigans at 7:02 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I really hope cool papa bell is in fact Roger Goodell
posted by lownote at 7:06 AM on September 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by lownote at 7:06 AM on September 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
This is a great idea. I too have given up on both flavors of football (although I still yearn for some good Saturday tailgating). Sadly, though, I've also given up on reading fiction in favor of owning a house and raising children.
posted by slogger at 7:06 AM on September 30, 2015
posted by slogger at 7:06 AM on September 30, 2015
this sounds kinda like a stunt aimed at securing a book deal
posted by jayder at 7:08 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by jayder at 7:08 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
Looking over the list these are not unusually short books.
Week two's Winesburg, Ohio is pretty short and reads more like a collection of related shorts than a novel.
posted by Herodios at 7:09 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Week two's Winesburg, Ohio is pretty short and reads more like a collection of related shorts than a novel.
posted by Herodios at 7:09 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Aside from the offhand Goldfinch comment, I think that this is a brilliant idea and I hope that it catches on.
I have been a faithful Vikings fan my whole life, but now I'm feeling pretty done with football. Every day I pass that monstrosity they're building in Minneapolis with taxpayer funds - all to make Zygi Wilf and some other already wealthy men MORE wealthy. I'm...just done.
I also love that they have a bye week. That's beautiful.
posted by Elly Vortex at 7:09 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have been a faithful Vikings fan my whole life, but now I'm feeling pretty done with football. Every day I pass that monstrosity they're building in Minneapolis with taxpayer funds - all to make Zygi Wilf and some other already wealthy men MORE wealthy. I'm...just done.
I also love that they have a bye week. That's beautiful.
posted by Elly Vortex at 7:09 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is a great idea.
It really is. Reading/book-buying is a vice for many people but it is one vice that I do not mind having. We should all give up other horrible things in favour of reading more books.
Oh and their choice of End Zone by Don Delillo in Week 17 is making me smile. So very appropriate.
posted by Fizz at 7:11 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
It really is. Reading/book-buying is a vice for many people but it is one vice that I do not mind having. We should all give up other horrible things in favour of reading more books.
Oh and their choice of End Zone by Don Delillo in Week 17 is making me smile. So very appropriate.
posted by Fizz at 7:11 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I can't imagine being able to read a novel in a week but I'm the world's slowest fiction reader.
posted by octothorpe at 7:17 AM on September 30, 2015
posted by octothorpe at 7:17 AM on September 30, 2015
What? No A Fan's Notes? Football book club, I am disappoint.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:18 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by octobersurprise at 7:18 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
> Every day I pass that monstrosity they're building in Minneapolis with taxpayer funds - all to make Zygi Wilf and some other already wealthy men MORE wealthy. I'm...just done.
That's the thing; there are plenty of reasons to give up on the NFL if the concussions issue isn't doing it for you. There are so many stories like this of taxpayer money being shovelled into the bank accounts of billionaires that long before I stopped watching (last season) I felt like a fucking sucker every time they showed the owner yukking it up in his luxury box.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:18 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
That's the thing; there are plenty of reasons to give up on the NFL if the concussions issue isn't doing it for you. There are so many stories like this of taxpayer money being shovelled into the bank accounts of billionaires that long before I stopped watching (last season) I felt like a fucking sucker every time they showed the owner yukking it up in his luxury box.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:18 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
I've tried this, but I get wing sauce all over the pages.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:30 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:30 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
As this trend continues, the NFL will become increasingly politicized ... maybe not in 2016 but almost certainly in 2020, we're going to see GOP candidates running on a platform of "Protecting American Sports" and "Defending Football Values", "The War on Sports", etc.
You may laugh at this idea, but it really is coming. In all honesty, it's been a long time coming. For generations, Football has been something that Americans of all political stripes could enjoy unironically and unashamedly. As the 21st century unfolds, however, it's looking increasingly likely that Football will come to be seen increasingly like NASCAR is currently seen -- the provenance of poor "flyover state" whites who vote for the GOP because the GOP "protects American culture, traditions and values".
Naturally, the (huge) presence of black men in the NFL may change this calculus a little bit, but I think it delays, rather than halts, the inevitable.
Once word gets out that progressive types are telling their kids to not engage in sports and to read books instead -- mark my words -- this will become a major culture war issue. It will be on Fox News continuously, forever. It will be played up as an example of how liberals fundamentally betray American traditions and values, and how "urban elites" (.i.e, people that read Metafilter) are irreversibly committed to the destruction of American civilization.
It might behoove us to reconsider abandoning football to the Right. Football (and blood sports in general) have powerful cultural import in the United States and it might be more politically useful to co-opt this cultural force rather than to abandon it.
posted by Avenger at 7:35 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
You may laugh at this idea, but it really is coming. In all honesty, it's been a long time coming. For generations, Football has been something that Americans of all political stripes could enjoy unironically and unashamedly. As the 21st century unfolds, however, it's looking increasingly likely that Football will come to be seen increasingly like NASCAR is currently seen -- the provenance of poor "flyover state" whites who vote for the GOP because the GOP "protects American culture, traditions and values".
Naturally, the (huge) presence of black men in the NFL may change this calculus a little bit, but I think it delays, rather than halts, the inevitable.
Once word gets out that progressive types are telling their kids to not engage in sports and to read books instead -- mark my words -- this will become a major culture war issue. It will be on Fox News continuously, forever. It will be played up as an example of how liberals fundamentally betray American traditions and values, and how "urban elites" (.i.e, people that read Metafilter) are irreversibly committed to the destruction of American civilization.
It might behoove us to reconsider abandoning football to the Right. Football (and blood sports in general) have powerful cultural import in the United States and it might be more politically useful to co-opt this cultural force rather than to abandon it.
posted by Avenger at 7:35 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
It might behoove us to reconsider abandoning football to the Right.
What if I'm just not interested in football? Do I have to watch it in the name of political solidarity or can I get an exemption?
posted by octobersurprise at 7:39 AM on September 30, 2015
What if I'm just not interested in football? Do I have to watch it in the name of political solidarity or can I get an exemption?
posted by octobersurprise at 7:39 AM on September 30, 2015
> It will be played up as an example of how liberals fundamentally betray American traditions and values, and how "urban elites" (.i.e, people that read Metafilter) are irreversibly committed to the destruction of American civilization.
I thought they loved free markets?
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:45 AM on September 30, 2015
I thought they loved free markets?
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:45 AM on September 30, 2015
This is a great idea. . . I think that this is a brilliant idea and I hope that it catches on. . . This book club combines many of my favorite things . . . I too hope this gets some traction . . . Wouldn't mind copying the idea for other events . . .
Some years back, an English prof friend of mine told me this story. Before I met him, he'd once started a "Bike & Book" club*, where they'd all read a book during the week, and on Sunday afternoon they'd ride their bikes and discuss the book. After the ride, they'd have a few beers at the bar**. That was the plan, anyway.
The first book on the agenda was Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. My friend did his reading, joined the others on their first bike & book ride -- and found that nobody had anything to say about the book. Nobody wanted to say anything about it. So they rode their bikes and talked about other stuff and then had a few beers at the bar.
Week two, the other guys told him they weren't all that keen on fall bike rides either, and then they had a few beers at the bar.
Week three, and after, they just got together on Sunday afternoons and had a few beers at the bar.
-------------------------
*I don't remember whether or no all the members were academics.
**This was before the advent of 'sports bars'. Once, you could actually find a bar with no teevy sets in.
posted by Herodios at 7:46 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
What if I'm just not interested in football? Do I have to watch it in the name of political solidarity or can I get an exemption?
Football? Don't you mean 'Libertyball'?
posted by Fizz at 7:51 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
Football? Don't you mean 'Libertyball'?
posted by Fizz at 7:51 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
Part of me doesn't like this, and I've been trying to figure out why.
Some of it is pure cynicism. Oh look, a bunch of MFAs (most of whom have jobs in literature) have decided to forgo football and have a book club, and put all their experiences on a rather well put together blog, complete with Amazon affiliate links. Angling for a book deal next?
Some of it is defining the book club as against football. If you read their blog, the subject comes up over and over and over. Which, is sort of the point, but for trying to replace watching football with something else, it permeates the discussions of books that have nothing to do with it. If you talk about football, relate the books you read to football, and read newspaper articles and liveblogs about football, have you really stopped watching football?
I have no real love (or hate) for football, and maybe that's it.
It will be played up as an example of how liberals fundamentally betray American traditions and values, and how "urban elites" (.i.e, people that read Metafilter) are irreversibly committed to the destruction of American civilization.
It doesn't help that this is book club is pinging almost every "liberal urban elite" cultural signifier ever. Let's all stop watching football and read Tony Judt. Riiiight.
posted by zabuni at 8:05 AM on September 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
Some of it is pure cynicism. Oh look, a bunch of MFAs (most of whom have jobs in literature) have decided to forgo football and have a book club, and put all their experiences on a rather well put together blog, complete with Amazon affiliate links. Angling for a book deal next?
Some of it is defining the book club as against football. If you read their blog, the subject comes up over and over and over. Which, is sort of the point, but for trying to replace watching football with something else, it permeates the discussions of books that have nothing to do with it. If you talk about football, relate the books you read to football, and read newspaper articles and liveblogs about football, have you really stopped watching football?
I have no real love (or hate) for football, and maybe that's it.
It will be played up as an example of how liberals fundamentally betray American traditions and values, and how "urban elites" (.i.e, people that read Metafilter) are irreversibly committed to the destruction of American civilization.
It doesn't help that this is book club is pinging almost every "liberal urban elite" cultural signifier ever. Let's all stop watching football and read Tony Judt. Riiiight.
posted by zabuni at 8:05 AM on September 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
Last year I found football pretty unexciting. I used to be a regular sports radio listener in the north east, but when I moved down South, all the talk seems to focus on college football. I do not understand one bit how college football is appealing, so I stopped listening. Then with all the Patriots shenanigans this summer, I basically lost all appeal for football in general. I haven't watched a single minute this year, not as a boycott, but because I have better things to do?
Despite this, my fantasy team is still 3-0.
posted by lownote at 8:07 AM on September 30, 2015
Despite this, my fantasy team is still 3-0.
posted by lownote at 8:07 AM on September 30, 2015
I'm starting to wonder about having my son in martial arts. The helmets are much better and nobody has ever been knocked out at his school, but he does get kicked in the head quite a bit.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:14 AM on September 30, 2015
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:14 AM on September 30, 2015
When I had kids and my free time evaporated, I basically had to stop watching football if we wanted to get anything done over a fall weekend. All this BS has just made it so much easier. It helps that my local team is the Patriots, maybe the sleaziest around.
The "football Sunday" thing, once I stopped doing it, actually tied back in my head to the whole "default parent" thing that was going around. It's amazing that the men of my childhood managed to scam their partners into basically watching the kids for a whole day.
I'm starting to wonder about having my son in martial arts. The helmets are much better and nobody has ever been knocked out at his school, but he does get kicked in the head quite a bit.
Could just switch to a grappling martial art like Judo? I guess you can injure yourself a million different ways, though.
posted by selfnoise at 8:17 AM on September 30, 2015
The "football Sunday" thing, once I stopped doing it, actually tied back in my head to the whole "default parent" thing that was going around. It's amazing that the men of my childhood managed to scam their partners into basically watching the kids for a whole day.
I'm starting to wonder about having my son in martial arts. The helmets are much better and nobody has ever been knocked out at his school, but he does get kicked in the head quite a bit.
Could just switch to a grappling martial art like Judo? I guess you can injure yourself a million different ways, though.
posted by selfnoise at 8:17 AM on September 30, 2015
The Card Cheat: "That's the thing; there are plenty of reasons to give up on the NFL if the concussions issue isn't doing it for you."
Not just the NFL - the NCAA is a quarter step above outright organized crime. You put together the criminality of those organizations, the CTE, the studied ignoring of player violence...I'm just done.
I read Drew Magary's NFL column each week on Deadspin, and that's about my only connection to the sport at this point.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 AM on September 30, 2015
Not just the NFL - the NCAA is a quarter step above outright organized crime. You put together the criminality of those organizations, the CTE, the studied ignoring of player violence...I'm just done.
I read Drew Magary's NFL column each week on Deadspin, and that's about my only connection to the sport at this point.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:18 AM on September 30, 2015
Fizz: Reading/book-buying is a vice for many people but it is one vice that I do not mind having.
Shifting from the vice of football to the vice of books would also be a net benefit. See book sales versus NFL revenue, ~$13 million in 2012 compared to $9 BILLION in 2011.
three blind mice: I wouldn't predict that Americans will look at the NFL in 50 years with the same meagre interest that boxing and bullfighting enjoy now. That's my point. Indeed despite all of the recent bad press that have encouraged some viewers to abandon their TVs for the comfort of books, the standard metrics indicate that the NFL is more popular than ever.
At this point, it's probably more anecdotes than a systematic trend, but I think the sharp uptick in coverage of traumatic brain/body injuries from football are starting to impact the game, from the bottom up. Yesterday, NBC Nightly News had a piece on high schools cancelling games or disbanding teams altogether (video). Every little thing is moving this from an academic conversation of "what if" to "what next."
Avenger: It might behoove us to reconsider abandoning football to the Right. Football (and blood sports in general) have powerful cultural import in the United States and it might be more politically useful to co-opt this cultural force rather than to abandon it.
I think things get "real" when they happen to your family and friends. Watching the NFL is one thing, but seeing your little boys get serious injuries in sports and pairing that with the increased coverage of young professional players quitting to avoid serious and life-altering injuries could really bring the seriousness of this home to people who hold football to be (next to) sacred.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:25 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
Shifting from the vice of football to the vice of books would also be a net benefit. See book sales versus NFL revenue, ~$13 million in 2012 compared to $9 BILLION in 2011.
three blind mice: I wouldn't predict that Americans will look at the NFL in 50 years with the same meagre interest that boxing and bullfighting enjoy now. That's my point. Indeed despite all of the recent bad press that have encouraged some viewers to abandon their TVs for the comfort of books, the standard metrics indicate that the NFL is more popular than ever.
At this point, it's probably more anecdotes than a systematic trend, but I think the sharp uptick in coverage of traumatic brain/body injuries from football are starting to impact the game, from the bottom up. Yesterday, NBC Nightly News had a piece on high schools cancelling games or disbanding teams altogether (video). Every little thing is moving this from an academic conversation of "what if" to "what next."
Avenger: It might behoove us to reconsider abandoning football to the Right. Football (and blood sports in general) have powerful cultural import in the United States and it might be more politically useful to co-opt this cultural force rather than to abandon it.
I think things get "real" when they happen to your family and friends. Watching the NFL is one thing, but seeing your little boys get serious injuries in sports and pairing that with the increased coverage of young professional players quitting to avoid serious and life-altering injuries could really bring the seriousness of this home to people who hold football to be (next to) sacred.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:25 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
I have seriously considered taking up watching football, conscientiously cultivating its consumption, just so I could participate in the conversation about it.
Sure, I can come to Metafilter and talk about philosophy or poetry or math or otherwise get my beanplating on, and I have a small number of personal acquaintances who care to talk about this as much in person. But sometimes I think maybe I'm the problem, isolated in a silo of apparently rarer interests, and maybe it'd all be easier to connect with people if I was just more interested in beer and football.
My friend did his reading, joined the others on their first bike & book ride -- and found that nobody had anything to say about the book...Week two, the other guys told him they weren't all that keen on fall bike rides either, and then they had a few beers at the bar...Week three, and after, they just got together on Sunday afternoons and had a few beers at the bar.
As far as I can tell, something like this is the natural trajectory of most book clubs.
posted by weston at 8:26 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
Sure, I can come to Metafilter and talk about philosophy or poetry or math or otherwise get my beanplating on, and I have a small number of personal acquaintances who care to talk about this as much in person. But sometimes I think maybe I'm the problem, isolated in a silo of apparently rarer interests, and maybe it'd all be easier to connect with people if I was just more interested in beer and football.
My friend did his reading, joined the others on their first bike & book ride -- and found that nobody had anything to say about the book...Week two, the other guys told him they weren't all that keen on fall bike rides either, and then they had a few beers at the bar...Week three, and after, they just got together on Sunday afternoons and had a few beers at the bar.
As far as I can tell, something like this is the natural trajectory of most book clubs.
posted by weston at 8:26 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
I have seriously considered taking up watching football, conscientiously cultivating its consumption, just so I could participate in the conversation about it.
If you have never sat close to the action in an NFL game one time in your life, it may be impossible to know what's going on. These are huge well-conditioned athletes smashing into one another at full speed with bad intentions. No NFL player has yet died on the field but that result seems a statistical inevitability. This is gladiatorial combat adapted for a so-called civilized law-abiding society.
Millions of people love this shit.
posted by bukvich at 8:38 AM on September 30, 2015
If you have never sat close to the action in an NFL game one time in your life, it may be impossible to know what's going on. These are huge well-conditioned athletes smashing into one another at full speed with bad intentions. No NFL player has yet died on the field but that result seems a statistical inevitability. This is gladiatorial combat adapted for a so-called civilized law-abiding society.
Millions of people love this shit.
posted by bukvich at 8:38 AM on September 30, 2015
to the vice of books would also be a net benefit. See book sales versus NFL revenue, ~$13 million in 2012 compared to $9 BILLION in 2011.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:25 AM on September 30 [1 favorite +] [!]
I think you're reading that chart wrong. It's $13 billion, not 13 million.
posted by jayder at 8:44 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was concussed reading the Goldfinch. such navel gazery. There are a million things to do instead of watching a football game, just do them and shut up.
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:48 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:48 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
I think the pendulum on sports in general, not just football, has swung back from the point that "sports are an important part of popular culture and something it's OK for thinking people to like" to "proper, correct progressives do not and should not engage with sports and its culture in any way."
I'm seeing this constant barrage of "sports are awful" tweets from actual sportswriters who identify as progressive, a tone they didn't have two or three years ago, and it makes me wonder why they still want to cover something they see as so awful, unless that attitude is a cover-up for trying to fit in with the non-sports people they respect.
posted by Electric Elf at 9:14 AM on September 30, 2015
I'm seeing this constant barrage of "sports are awful" tweets from actual sportswriters who identify as progressive, a tone they didn't have two or three years ago, and it makes me wonder why they still want to cover something they see as so awful, unless that attitude is a cover-up for trying to fit in with the non-sports people they respect.
posted by Electric Elf at 9:14 AM on September 30, 2015
Sounds kind of like the football was the problem, to me
posted by thelonius at 9:15 AM on September 30, 2015
posted by thelonius at 9:15 AM on September 30, 2015
Part of me doesn't like this, and I've been trying to figure out why.
I think we're at a point where the "How do you find a Vegan at a party?" joke will eventually get adapted to "How do you find someone who stopped watching NFL football at a party?" joke. Nobody cares, dude.
Right now, people quitting football isn't that shocking anymore. Maybe ten or twenty years ago, before the Vicks, the Hernandez, the -Gates, the concussions getting mainstream attention, FF becoming more important than the game, or any other reason why people quit it now snowballed, the decision to stop watching would be shocking. So, to make that more "interesting", people will start thinking of gimmicks to go along what's becoming a very common option for the weekends.
posted by lmfsilva at 9:18 AM on September 30, 2015
I think we're at a point where the "How do you find a Vegan at a party?" joke will eventually get adapted to "How do you find someone who stopped watching NFL football at a party?" joke. Nobody cares, dude.
Right now, people quitting football isn't that shocking anymore. Maybe ten or twenty years ago, before the Vicks, the Hernandez, the -Gates, the concussions getting mainstream attention, FF becoming more important than the game, or any other reason why people quit it now snowballed, the decision to stop watching would be shocking. So, to make that more "interesting", people will start thinking of gimmicks to go along what's becoming a very common option for the weekends.
posted by lmfsilva at 9:18 AM on September 30, 2015
> As far as I can tell, something like this is the natural trajectory of most book clubs.
I used to have to moderate book club meetings at the public library where I work, and...let's just say it was never the highlight of my week.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:22 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I used to have to moderate book club meetings at the public library where I work, and...let's just say it was never the highlight of my week.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:22 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah this sort of thing makes me roll my eyes.
I'm personally not impressed with making these huge pronouncements about giving up certain pop culture entertainment. We all make ethically and morally ambiguous decisions in our lives, while they may be technically smaller than the NFL, they could still have a much larger impact.
And, as mentioned above, there are already millions of others things millions of other people do during games, anyway.
posted by girlmightlive at 9:25 AM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
I'm personally not impressed with making these huge pronouncements about giving up certain pop culture entertainment. We all make ethically and morally ambiguous decisions in our lives, while they may be technically smaller than the NFL, they could still have a much larger impact.
And, as mentioned above, there are already millions of others things millions of other people do during games, anyway.
posted by girlmightlive at 9:25 AM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
I read Drew Magary's NFL column each week on Deadspin, and that's about my only connection to the sport at this point.
Whoa, hey. If you're not reading PFT Commentator's hot takes every week, you are missing out. The man is misspelled comedy gold! For you non-sports people I recommend his recent column about the Republican Primaries.
posted by graventy at 9:47 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
Whoa, hey. If you're not reading PFT Commentator's hot takes every week, you are missing out. The man is misspelled comedy gold! For you non-sports people I recommend his recent column about the Republican Primaries.
posted by graventy at 9:47 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
Growing up in the Deep South, steeped in football culture--even playing as a lad--with that for years being my main conversational connection with my dad, AND going to grad school at a big-time football school whose games I loved attending, I thought it would be a bigger deal to quit consuming football entertainment when I did five or six years ago.
But it wasn't. I just got lots of time back, am advertised at far less often, and my dad and I now talk about all kinds of other stuff. Should I have announced and made a blog about how I definitely read more, but also play with my dogs and hang out with my wife lots more (all of which are favorite things)? It's been liberating to eliminate from my life (so much information to just stop worrying about following), but maybe I should have announced it or something apparently.
Nobody can just do things anymore. So many must make it part of their curated selves, the personas we present to the world via the internet.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:51 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
But it wasn't. I just got lots of time back, am advertised at far less often, and my dad and I now talk about all kinds of other stuff. Should I have announced and made a blog about how I definitely read more, but also play with my dogs and hang out with my wife lots more (all of which are favorite things)? It's been liberating to eliminate from my life (so much information to just stop worrying about following), but maybe I should have announced it or something apparently.
Nobody can just do things anymore. So many must make it part of their curated selves, the personas we present to the world via the internet.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:51 AM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
"proper, correct progressives do not and should not engage with sports and its culture in any way."
We are at war with sports. We have always been at war with sports.
I was concussed reading the Goldfinch
Better Bullfinch than Goldfinch.
posted by Herodios at 10:04 AM on September 30, 2015
We are at war with sports. We have always been at war with sports.
I was concussed reading the Goldfinch
Better Bullfinch than Goldfinch.
posted by Herodios at 10:04 AM on September 30, 2015
Ah, stealth eponysterical there.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:51 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 10:51 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I want this club to read all at the same time at a sports bar and high-five and "WOOOOO!!!!!" every time they all get to a passage they like.
Another way to make the reading a more communal activity (and get around the problem of people showing up who haven't read the book) is to get a play, divvy up the parts, and read it aloud. Shakespeare has a few good ones.
posted by straight at 10:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another way to make the reading a more communal activity (and get around the problem of people showing up who haven't read the book) is to get a play, divvy up the parts, and read it aloud. Shakespeare has a few good ones.
posted by straight at 10:54 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am unequivocally for this. *does end zone dance*
posted by scratch at 11:16 AM on September 30, 2015
posted by scratch at 11:16 AM on September 30, 2015
Ah, stealth eponysterical there.
Without stealth, Herodios Ardea starves.
posted by Herodios at 11:51 AM on September 30, 2015
Without stealth, Herodios Ardea starves.
posted by Herodios at 11:51 AM on September 30, 2015
As long as they use the book club to draw attention to the concussion issue, which seems to be the primary purpose, I can see the point of the project, and I hope they keep at it. But in general I'm kinda done with people trying to achieve some kind of moral purity by giving up things and just feeling smug about it. I mean, the NFL goes on, people love football, I love football, whether or not you are watching this week. The attempts to create a better helmet, analyze how the injuries are happening, think critically about how the game could be changed, and put pressure on the NFL are more compelling to me than all the announcements of doing something else with your Sundays.
posted by thetortoise at 1:13 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 1:13 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
I really hope cool papa bell is in fact Roger Goodell
I think this is the worst thing I've ever heard anyone say about anyone.
posted by Errant at 2:34 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
I think this is the worst thing I've ever heard anyone say about anyone.
posted by Errant at 2:34 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
I was in Brazil and saw old white-haired men trotting around playing soccer. Not do-able with American football, or for that matter baseball. These senior Brazilians were slim, in shape, and clear-eyed. Contrast that with the typical US oldster.
posted by telstar at 2:52 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by telstar at 2:52 PM on September 30, 2015
I was hoping this year would be a no-football year in my household, as the interest in the last few years seemed to wane. But apparently the Raiders might actually do well, so it may be a difficult separation time.
posted by vunder at 2:55 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by vunder at 2:55 PM on September 30, 2015
Errant: "I think this is the worst thing I've ever heard anyone say about anyone."
Nah - he could have wished cool papa bell was really Sepp Blatter.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:57 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nah - he could have wished cool papa bell was really Sepp Blatter.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:57 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
he could have wished cool papa bell was really Sepp Blatter.
Godwin's Law for sports.
posted by cmfletcher at 3:59 PM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
Godwin's Law for sports.
posted by cmfletcher at 3:59 PM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
I watch football AND read (not at the same time)...am I doing something wrong?
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 6:53 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 6:53 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm in. I stopped watching, oh, 4-5 years ago. I haven't seen a Super Bowl, college bowl game, or any game in over 3 years.
I'm kinda done with people trying to achieve some kind of moral purity by giving up things and just feeling smug about it.
I don't think it's (this club) about being smug. It's reading for the 3 games you might have otherwise watched.
I grew up watching 2-3 NFL games/week and it was a WASTE OF TIME. I was still a great student and lifelong reader, but man what a WASTE OF TIME.
I was talking to a friend who does watch football and true, you can watch a recorded game in 20 minutes, probably 10 if someone edits out all the worthless time. I'm sure there must be such shows now, that show every NFL game of the week in 2 hours total or something ...
Anyway, I haven't read most of these books (save Winesburg and End Zone, which is fantastic, and I am mighty glad to read again (I'm also reading Speak right now ...), so yeah, I'm in. Ooh, I'm in for Millhauser for sure. Watch me post.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:49 PM on September 30, 2015
I'm kinda done with people trying to achieve some kind of moral purity by giving up things and just feeling smug about it.
I don't think it's (this club) about being smug. It's reading for the 3 games you might have otherwise watched.
I grew up watching 2-3 NFL games/week and it was a WASTE OF TIME. I was still a great student and lifelong reader, but man what a WASTE OF TIME.
I was talking to a friend who does watch football and true, you can watch a recorded game in 20 minutes, probably 10 if someone edits out all the worthless time. I'm sure there must be such shows now, that show every NFL game of the week in 2 hours total or something ...
Anyway, I haven't read most of these books (save Winesburg and End Zone, which is fantastic, and I am mighty glad to read again (I'm also reading Speak right now ...), so yeah, I'm in. Ooh, I'm in for Millhauser for sure. Watch me post.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:49 PM on September 30, 2015
It might behoove us to reconsider abandoning football to the Right.
Nah, we gave them NASCAR (the world's next superbig supersport!) and it didn't hurt one bit.
Football is a dying beast. If you wouldn't let your kid play football, should you really support it by watching it at all? The answer is no.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:00 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nah, we gave them NASCAR (the world's next superbig supersport!) and it didn't hurt one bit.
Football is a dying beast. If you wouldn't let your kid play football, should you really support it by watching it at all? The answer is no.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:00 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fizz--Boxing isn't exactly unpopular
" Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was the most-watched PPV event of all time. According to Deadline, HBO and Showtime are reporting over 3 million PPV buys, which easily breaks the record set in 2007 when Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya generated 2.5 million buys."
$40 million was made on ticket sales alone.
And it's possible to like reading and professional football and craft beers and Doritos, all at the same time.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:32 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
" Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was the most-watched PPV event of all time. According to Deadline, HBO and Showtime are reporting over 3 million PPV buys, which easily breaks the record set in 2007 when Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya generated 2.5 million buys."
$40 million was made on ticket sales alone.
And it's possible to like reading and professional football and craft beers and Doritos, all at the same time.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:32 AM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
But clearly boxing is not the dominant cultural force it once was. There was a time when boxing was on the front page of the sports section, maybe even the front page of the paper. There was a time when horse racing was like that, too.
Obviously, boxing and horse racing are still here, still making money, still occasionally rising into popular consciousness. But they aren't dominant. I think it is possible that's what's going to happen to football - something mentioned on page C5 and in the agate type in the back (or specialist websites, or whatever).
posted by Chrysostom at 8:54 AM on October 1, 2015
Obviously, boxing and horse racing are still here, still making money, still occasionally rising into popular consciousness. But they aren't dominant. I think it is possible that's what's going to happen to football - something mentioned on page C5 and in the agate type in the back (or specialist websites, or whatever).
posted by Chrysostom at 8:54 AM on October 1, 2015
As this trend continues, the NFL will become increasingly politicized ... maybe not in 2016 but almost certainly in 2020, we're going to see GOP candidates running on a platform of "Protecting American Sports" and "Defending Football Values", "The War on Sports", etc.
You may laugh at this idea, but it really is coming.
No, it is absolutely most certainly not happening in 2020. I have doubts it will ever happen, but zero doubt it isn't happening in 2020. It is a completely ridiculous thing to predict.
Here is what will happen in Pennsylvania if Democrats actively campaign in a way that is hostile to football: They will lose the state. They will lose every part of the state...urban, suburban, and rural. From the Philly badlands to deepest Pennsyltucky and every point between around and in sight. They will lose the left. They will lose the right. They will lose the center.
This pattern will be repeated in states like Ohio and maybe to a lesser extent Florida. Good friggin luck winning that election. Football is not politicized in America, love for it crosses all demographics.
posted by Drinky Die at 2:35 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
You may laugh at this idea, but it really is coming.
No, it is absolutely most certainly not happening in 2020. I have doubts it will ever happen, but zero doubt it isn't happening in 2020. It is a completely ridiculous thing to predict.
Here is what will happen in Pennsylvania if Democrats actively campaign in a way that is hostile to football: They will lose the state. They will lose every part of the state...urban, suburban, and rural. From the Philly badlands to deepest Pennsyltucky and every point between around and in sight. They will lose the left. They will lose the right. They will lose the center.
This pattern will be repeated in states like Ohio and maybe to a lesser extent Florida. Good friggin luck winning that election. Football is not politicized in America, love for it crosses all demographics.
posted by Drinky Die at 2:35 PM on October 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Getting Mad At Greg Hardy Is The Easy Part
None of this is to say we should forgive or go easy on Hardy. He is clearly unrepentant and enjoys antagonizing the media. Perhaps he doesn't get it, or perhaps he's learned to embrace the old cliché that all publicity is good publicity.posted by tonycpsu at 3:16 PM on October 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've also spent a lot of time thinking about what the NFL can do about domestic violence. And in all honestly, even my cynical heart, the heart of a reporter who has written about so many murders that I can't tell you how many there were because you reach a point where you stop counting, the heart of a woman whose own father told her she'd get over her team's quarterback's horrible history because that's how the world works, I have hope. Something has changed. The outrage at what Rice did was like nothing I'd ever seen, and the chorus of sportswriters disgusted at Hardy's behavior is bigger and louder than anything I've ever heard before. This is good. Disapproval is a start.
But it's a fool's errand to expect moral leadership from anyone named Jones or Rooney or Mara, or anyone whose only qualification is birthright or income. We'll stop having domestic abusers in the NFL when hiring a man who beats a woman is seen as just as poisonous as hiring a pedophile or murderer. Perhaps there's a future where Jones doesn't sign Hardy because he knows the public backlash and subsequent bad publicity won't be survivable.
Getting there is no small task. But nobody said eliminating domestic violence would be easy.
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posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:52 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]