I started watching football in 1982 back in the kibbutz. In Israel, mind you, not only American football was an unfamiliar game, but there was no place to watch it on TV. There was only one, government-controlled over-the-air channel. They gave maybe 10 minutes of sports for the entire week - none of it live. I was bedridden, recovering at home from an injury. "Surfing" channels on the TV was short: there were 3-4 channels altogether, most of them from neighboring Lebanon and Jordan and all broadcasting in Arabic, except for one station from southern Lebanon. This was (and still is) a Christian American station. Next to the many old movies and the 700 Club and religious sermons, they showed Monday Night Football. Bored out of my mind and unable to go anywhere, I started watching this strange game. I had nobody to explain it to me. In the beginning, I didn't get it. Why the hell are they falling a second after the ball was snapped? And what's the joy in seeing them falling over each other again and again? Where's the game? Compared it to the fluent soccer and basketball football looked stagnant. In addition to not understanding the game, my English was quite limited and even more so was my understanding of American culture, as expressed by the broadcasters. But over time, my English professor John Madden, was able not only to teach me the game, but some English too. Well, at least this important word: BOOM! I became the kibbutz' expert on NFL matters (there were only a few who cared anyway.)
Over the years I discovered the beauty of the game. I was hooked. I didn't miss a game on TV. Later, when I settled in Atlanta, I was fortunate enough to go watch it live. I always said that a mediocre game at the stadium beats an excellent game on TV. On TV you can't absorb the atmosphere, noises (often waaaaay too loud), smells (fried, grill smoke, spilled beer, cheap perfume), scenes of a live game.
But in the last two years something changed in my own mind. It started at the stadium. First I got fed up with the nationalism they try to drown us in. The playing of the national anthem, soldiers holding a field-size flag, soldiers marching, if it's an open stadium often you would have military jets flying low overhead. Why all this patriotism show? I'm going to a goddamn football game, not a national show of support. In Europe they don't perform any patriotism act before a game in any sport. Why in America they shove it down out throat? Is it because people want to say thank-you to those who wear [any kind] of uniform or mostly because people want to feel safe - to feel the power? (They never tell stories of military operations went wrong at football games; they never mention the dead; PTSD is a hush-hush. You get the idea. It's a show of power. `Nuf said.)
But this was just the beginning. If you haven't paid attention, America is in a financial crisis the past several years. Whole cities are standing empty, people are out of a job, no healthcare for them, using food stamps. Yet, at the stadium you see people spending $8 on a light beer; $100 on a ticket (at the least); etc. And the money goes to . . . make the rich richer. It goes to a billionaire owner.
Yup, those 70,000 folks, who every day bitch about taxes-too-high, the cost of medical care, the price of gas - etc. - gladly throw away their hard earned dollars to this rich guy. And they cheer for a color and a name only. I know because I used to do it too. For too long. If the team I cheered for won, "WE" didn't win. 20-30 millionaires who do nothing but playing football and whose loyalty is to their employer, not to the fans or the city - they won the game. It has little to do with me. Why should I be proud of their win?
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We all heard over the media about the brain damage football players suffer (and many other bodily injuries that they carry with them for the rest of their lives). It is their choice, you would say, right? They can choose not to play the game. But that's not always the case. For a matter of fact, it's almost never the case. More on that below. But I was thinking how sick it is to put protective gear on and go hit the crap out of another guy - just for entertainment. Seriously? And we call it "sport".
The other day I went on my daily walk. I passed an elementary school where . . . you guessed it, 6 graders and below with full gear on were running scrimages.
Do you see the connection to the nationalism/patriotism paragraph above? We're teaching our kids aggressiveness and violence from a very young age. Good job, America!
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Despite all the above, I was still hooked. Doubts started to appear. I wasn't in peace with myself. I swung back and forth. I love the game but can't justify watching it. Deep in my heart I probably knew that football days are almost over for me, but you know how it is with an old habit - almost an addiction. It's heard to give it up. In addition, football is such a "social" game. I watched it with friends and discussed it with them. Football helped me relax - like it does to most fans of the game. I needed a push out. And it came.
Listen to this eye opening talk before you read the rest of this post. The first 10 minutes were the least interesting for me. They talk about head injuries etc The rest, however, was absolutely great. Or, rather, terrible. The painful truth. While I already knew most of what's discussed, the presentation was so good that as soon as I finished listening to it, football was over for me. I'm done. (Unless you talk me out of it . . .) I knew that I could not enjoy the game any more the way I used to. I knew that I could not watch it and be honest with myself at the same time. Something gotta give. On honesty and truthfulness and social justice I don't compromise - so football is out. I cannot bury my head in the sand and pretend none of this shit is happening.
But wait - there's more: When you listen to this conversation you realize how sick the situation is; how greedy the NFL and its owners are; how unjust the system is. Football and actually most big-money professional sports, are a micro-cosmos of our society: Very few people are making TONS of money and all the decisions, while the rest of us are financing them. When it comes to real life, I don't have a choice. I must go with the flow of the economy and the politics in order to put food on the table, But when it comes to pleasure, such as football, I don't need to be part of it. And if I am, then I'm not truthful with myself.
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So there it is. No more Monday of Thursday or Sunday night footballs. No more Sunday worshipping sessions on the couch. I'm done. Big hole. (Fortunately, there are other sports.)
Like many addicts, this one also took a 12-step program. I counted one, two, three....twelve - and football was out. When I eliminated dairy, chicken, and meat from my diet nearly two decades ago, I did so overnight. Once the reason and the explanation and the common sense is there, to make the decision is easy. And with such foundations, keeping it ain't so hard either. It's a simple brain switch. It is really that simple. Really.
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Wait, but you still watch professional other-sports, Asher. What's the difference? Are you a hypocrite? Ah, hmm, yes, definitely. I mean, maybe. There's definitely big money and a lot of unjust in European soccer, which I watch a lot of. I imagine that MLB is somewhat similar. But I'm not looking for justifications. I took a step. I will see where this new path takes me.
And what about all the sports I already gave up? lacrosse, water aerobics, badminton - just to name a few. There's no question I'm well on the way to recovery!
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So why am I publishing this post? Who cares that I stopped watching football? Here's why:
1. Because I hope that this post will serve as my commitment. So far over two weeks I felt no hunger for the game. My weekends are surprisingly calm and enjoyable so far.
2. When people ask me why, I simply turn them to this post rather than repeat the long road to my decision.
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Liam's corner:
Liam wouldn't have liked this decision. It's not that she liked sports so much (or maybe she did? We'll never know), but she liked her dad liking sports. She liked the yelling TOUCHDOWN! She liked the guys. She liked the guys drinking beer while watching the game. She also liked going to the stadium - but again, it's hard to know what she liked about it: The super extra loud speakers? The chicken nuggets? The tons of people? The train ride? Just spending time with her Abba? It was way too far for her to see the game - and I doubt how much of it she would have understood anyway. (For me the stadium trips with her were not much fun - especially the keeping her clean parts....`nuf said).
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So what, you really not gonna watch any games? Finito?
Let me put it this way: I quit eating dairy nearly 20 years ago, but if I eat out I don't make a big deal if my salmon was cooked in butter. I would not order any dairy dish, however. Much the same, if I go to a social event and the game is on, I'm likely to just do-the-party thing and not worry about it. But I eliminated all on-purpose watching. So yes, finito.
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