The primacy of football among spectator sports

My thoughts, my interests, and my fandom are organized and ranked by certain truisms, and these inform and reinforce my tribal loyalties. First, there is nothing quite like attending a baseball game in person, or playing a round of golf on a gorgeous day, or spending an afternoon in a boat with some fishing rods under the illusion that you might catch some fish. That said, attempting to view ANY of these activities on TV essentially guarantees you will emerge well-refreshed by a quality nap. 

There are other sports that just don’t make a lot of sense, whether you are there in person or watching on TV. Hockey, for example, was the mischievous plot of a highly inebriated group of guys who decided, forget the frozen tundra; we can take it up a notch. We will put big violent football players on a sheet of ice, but give them golf clubs to swing at a flat disk. But to make it even “better”, make them play by the rules of soccer on a sheet the size of a basketball court. 

Soccer, of course, is manifestly an evil plot by the Chinese Communist Party to destroy America. The game is infuriating to play or to watch, and the “soccer mom”, “team snacks”, and “participation trophies” phenomena have over-feminized team sports and politics. The game is not far from the Kingdom of God, however. It could be improved dramatically with just three easy steps: (1) move it indoors to be played on wood, (2) raise the goals ten feet into the air and shape them into hoops, and (3) eliminate the offsides rule while legalizing the use of hands to dribble the ball. These are common-sense reforms to put an end to the communist threat. 

Basketball, as you might have guessed, is far and away my favorite game to play. There is nothing better, provided you have the knees for it. And can dribble, rebound and shoot. Or have incredibly sharp elbows.

And then, of course, there is the game that reigns supreme in the annals of bread-and-circus quality entertainment: football, enjoyed from the comfort of one’s own man cave, guaranteed to distract from the normal day to day concerns of living in America.

Having grown up in western Pennsylvania, my football fandom focuses on the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Our dog is named Rooney, our children were wrapped in swaddling Terrible Towels, and our blood is black and gold. 

While no one is perfect, I respect the standard established by guys like Joe Paterno and Chuck Noll, and the product of their coaching players such as Jack Ham and Franco Harris. My tribal loyalty in football favors teams with a tradition owner deference to the coach, along with an emphasis on character formation and building a locker-room culture that puts the team first.

From time to time, then, I’ll use this space to share my thoughts on the upcoming football season. As we are currently in the dregs of the slow-news offseason, I’ll just point out that Penn State is enjoying a pre-season ranking at number three. The return of their quarterback and both starting running backs put them in position, perhaps, to take that next big step of winning the “big game” against a team like Ohio State. If they can do that, they should have a chance to go undefeated and contend for a national championship.

As for the Steelers, while it appears Aaron Rodgers will start at quarterback, I’m completely comfortable with the steps they have taken to improve. Even with Mason Rudolph as the starter, this team should have a terrific running attack and a top tier defense. This group of quarterbacks and running backs are much more likely to be able to execute the Smith offense. All they need is competent quarterback play in order to keep the season interesting. 

If the Steelers can stay healthy at critical positions, the upgrades at defensive line, cornerback, running back, wide receiver and quarterback are going to put them ion the playoffs again. At the moment, I’m most concerned about roster soft spots at wideout, nickel corner, and swing tackle. But I’m certain the roster is not yet in its final form. Tomlin and Khan will be strengthening it a bit more before the season gets underway. 

Faith & Family

The most important tribal interests aren’t the focus of my musings here today, largely because I wrote separately about the faith earlier, and I write regularly on those topics for my faith-infused law firm and lay apostolate. For the record, though, Catholicism is my hometeam, and my rooting interest is in greater unity within all of Christianity (and mankind).

Policy & Politics 

As a life-long conservative and as a patriot who wants peace and prosperity for our country, I’m rooting for a successful Trump administration, albeit I’m under no illusions that our president is actually conservative so much as he is a populist. I’ve written about that topic elsewhere, as well. 

This Memorial Day weekend, we remember more intensely the fact that many men have died in defense of our citizenship privileges and obligations. If you aren’t getting your news from a trustworthy source, I’ll respectfully suggest you aren’t stewarding your citizenship privileges and obligations as well as you ought. If your news source is social media, or one of the echo-chamber so-called news channels, you can do much better. Become a well-informed, thoughtful voter. I highly recommend the work of Mark Halperin, a member of that endangered species known as a true “political journalist”, whose 2Way TV offerings — “The Morning Meeting” and “2Way Tonight” — are well worth the investment. 

Cinema & Song

I’m a fan of the good writing, whether spoken or sung. I grew up in the Alabama portion of Pennsylvania, and thus listening to country music. While I enjoy many genres within the overall “roots” music category, I still favor country music the most. Today, I’ll note that the supremely talented Chris Stapleton has released a new song available on Apple Music/iTunes, called “Bad as I used to be”, which Apple classifies as “country”. Hmmm. 

As for films and television, nothing beats a well-acted, well-written scene that resonates with truth, such as this one — “What will the devil look like” — from the movie “Broadcast News”. 

Campfires & Outdoor Adventures

Sir Robert Baden Powell invented a worldwide scouting movement that used “patrol method” and outdoor adventuring to inculcate in generations of young boys the character and skills associated with authentic manhood. As the father of a daughter and four sons, I’ve tried to ensure that my children appreciate a good campfire and an outdoor adventure — whether riding a horse, biking a rail-to trail, hiking a mountaintop ridge, fishing a pond, kayaking a river, canoeing a lake, hanging in a hammock, or sleeping in a tent. Here and now, I’ll just highlight the plentiful bounty of potential outdoor adventure at the spectacularly beautiful Pine Creek Gorge in the Keystone State, where the gorge is called the “Pennsylvania Grand Canyon”. 

Stouts & Porters

I enjoy a pint at a pub every once in a while, and in this respect my Irish and Anglo ancestry win out over the German bloodlines. If it’s not a stout or a porter, I usually get a headache too quickly, and I favor the taste of darker beers anyway. Guinness, of course, is the reference point for a stout, but Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout is also a longtime favorite. For our mutual edification, I’ll just highlight this explanation of the differences between stouts and porters, along with a fun list of some examples of each to place on your bucket list.