I've often wondered how popular the NFL would be were there some way to totally eliminate any and all gambling on the games. There isn't, of course, but I liked it better when betting had to be done in a furtive, "Don't tell anybody who my bookie is" manner rather than have the sports world gleefully slip between the sheets with the gambling industry. What's worse is that Rob "I hate baseball" Manfred has doing the same with baseball, which means it's only a matter of time before a modern-day Black Sox scandal hits the headlines.
As for football ... I was a fair-weather fan who jumped on the Oakland Raiders bandwagon back in the Al Davis era, then hopped over to the 49ers when Joe Montana came along. Now, I don't much care. I might watch a playoff game or two, and dutifully tune in the Super Bowl because I believe the constitution requires that every American watch the game to maintain their citizenship. It's a cultural rite of sorts ... but I ignore the Sunday, Monday, Thursday NFL offerings. Truth be told, I always feel a bit dirty after watching any football for all the reasons you've enumerated: it's a bloodsport, pure and simple, inflicting human carnage on those young gladiators (er ... athletes) every week, and my taste for blood has ebbed considerably in old age.
That said, we all walk that path our own way. I've got my unhealthy addictions and you've got yours -- we all do -- so who am I to judge?
Malcolm Gladwell says that football is a "moral abomination" that should be banned. Perhaps he's right but he's never played fantasy football, or seen his team go to the Super Bowl or NCAA championship game. Football is a joy similar to eating a steak...it's best if you put the image of the slaughterhouse out of your mind.
You called the debate correctly, but it was even worse than you predicted. Haitians eating cats and dogs was wild.
Thank you for saying what I have been thinking but couldn’t articulate for years.
To me it seems like the point of the game is to hurt each other.
I've often wondered how popular the NFL would be were there some way to totally eliminate any and all gambling on the games. There isn't, of course, but I liked it better when betting had to be done in a furtive, "Don't tell anybody who my bookie is" manner rather than have the sports world gleefully slip between the sheets with the gambling industry. What's worse is that Rob "I hate baseball" Manfred has doing the same with baseball, which means it's only a matter of time before a modern-day Black Sox scandal hits the headlines.
As for football ... I was a fair-weather fan who jumped on the Oakland Raiders bandwagon back in the Al Davis era, then hopped over to the 49ers when Joe Montana came along. Now, I don't much care. I might watch a playoff game or two, and dutifully tune in the Super Bowl because I believe the constitution requires that every American watch the game to maintain their citizenship. It's a cultural rite of sorts ... but I ignore the Sunday, Monday, Thursday NFL offerings. Truth be told, I always feel a bit dirty after watching any football for all the reasons you've enumerated: it's a bloodsport, pure and simple, inflicting human carnage on those young gladiators (er ... athletes) every week, and my taste for blood has ebbed considerably in old age.
That said, we all walk that path our own way. I've got my unhealthy addictions and you've got yours -- we all do -- so who am I to judge?
Malcolm Gladwell says that football is a "moral abomination" that should be banned. Perhaps he's right but he's never played fantasy football, or seen his team go to the Super Bowl or NCAA championship game. Football is a joy similar to eating a steak...it's best if you put the image of the slaughterhouse out of your mind.
You called the debate correctly, but it was even worse than you predicted. Haitians eating cats and dogs was wild.