Great job essay. It reminds me of this anecdote from Chuck Klosterman, who found himself speaking about football after Malcolm Gladwell predicted its demise:
“After a brief intermission, it was my turn to perform. Sensing a mild degree of bewilderment from the audience, I tried to break the ice by making a joke about Gladwell's closing prediction. “There is no way people will not be playing football or eating meat in 25 years,” I said. “In fact, there is a much higher likelihood that in 25 years, I will literally eat the flesh of all the various football players who've died during whatever game I happened to watch that day.”
"We can pine for a new kind of human being who doesn’t crave that ancient, animal spirit. Or we can be happy we have football, its many pitfalls notwithstanding. We can feel reassured that the violence on the field is orderly and, in so far as this is possible, civilized" - ESS
I glad you are linking authenticity to the explained divergence in NFL and NBA ratings over the past 5-years. Authenticity has been a cultural faux pas in the very online and polite society that flirts with the idea of cancelling football. Unfortunately for the NBA, the impressment of this culture on its players have changed how they project themselves. I don’t get a sense of #MoreThanAnAthelete /“I’m the CEO of me” ethos from NFL players when so much is at stake in the games themselves.
I love football but I haven’t been able to enjoy it as much as I did before we knew about CTE. Even tho the players don’t regret playing - I find watching these dudes hurt their brains difficult sometimes.
Great job essay. It reminds me of this anecdote from Chuck Klosterman, who found himself speaking about football after Malcolm Gladwell predicted its demise:
“After a brief intermission, it was my turn to perform. Sensing a mild degree of bewilderment from the audience, I tried to break the ice by making a joke about Gladwell's closing prediction. “There is no way people will not be playing football or eating meat in 25 years,” I said. “In fact, there is a much higher likelihood that in 25 years, I will literally eat the flesh of all the various football players who've died during whatever game I happened to watch that day.”
Hamlin "body slammed"? Huh? That was a mildly routine tackle.
Other than that, great article. Good to see sports journalism still exists.
I love this part from you, Ethan;
"We can pine for a new kind of human being who doesn’t crave that ancient, animal spirit. Or we can be happy we have football, its many pitfalls notwithstanding. We can feel reassured that the violence on the field is orderly and, in so far as this is possible, civilized" - ESS
I glad you are linking authenticity to the explained divergence in NFL and NBA ratings over the past 5-years. Authenticity has been a cultural faux pas in the very online and polite society that flirts with the idea of cancelling football. Unfortunately for the NBA, the impressment of this culture on its players have changed how they project themselves. I don’t get a sense of #MoreThanAnAthelete /“I’m the CEO of me” ethos from NFL players when so much is at stake in the games themselves.
Love this, Ethan. Every single word.
What happened to your friend?
I love football but I haven’t been able to enjoy it as much as I did before we knew about CTE. Even tho the players don’t regret playing - I find watching these dudes hurt their brains difficult sometimes.
Great article.