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TAKE FIVE: WHY MEN LOVE FOOTBALL
by guest columnist Earl McHugh
I thought you might be interested in the comments of an avid football fan - my husband Earl. We have often argued about why anyone wants to watch football every Saturday and Sunday, Monday and sometimes Thursday nights. I always question the interest in watching huge men crashing into one another, sustaining lifelong injuries. He has tried to explain it to me, but his efforts have been unsuccessful. So, I am very pleased that he wrote about his love of this sport in such a lucid manner, and I hope it will be useful to other football widows out there who don’t understand “Why Men Love Football”. The picture of us was taken last November on our 47th anniversary.
WHY MEN LOVE FOOTBALL
When my wife graciously offered to lend me her column to explain why some men love football, I hastily agreed. The game has aspects of a religion for a true devotee like me, and I thought I could clarify this sport for its non-admirers. Unfortunately, I find that like true love, much of devotion to a sport, is largely inexplicable, but I’ll try my best.
My love of football began as a small boy in the early 1930’s, seated by the family radio on fall Saturday afternoons. I heard announcers like Bill Stern and Ted Husingdescribe major college games. Those men were masterful in bringing the game and the scene to life so vividly that one could readily see it. After a time I learned the clichés of the sport and could envision “swivel-hipped” halfbacks racing for long gains and “bullet” forward passes thrown for scores.
The game came so alive for me from those broadcasts that I was devastated when some team (like Southern California) upset my beloved Fighting Irish. No one I knew had attended Notre Dame and I lived in Buffalo, about 500 miles from that university, but, like millions of fans, I had adopted the Notre Dame team as my own - probably because of the enormous success and publicity it attained under my idol, coach Knute Rockne.
Hero-worship is another important aspect of my attachment to this sport. Listening to those games, I idolized Bill Shakespeare of Notre Dame, Marshall Goldberg of Pittsburgh, Sid Luckman of Columbia and later, Nile Kinnick of Iowa. The accomplishments of these men were so thrilling, as they won games with their great skills at running or passing, that they seemed larger than life.
The phenomenon of hero-worship would require volumes to explain. Suffice it to say, it is a large part of the devotion of sports fans. Most young boys feel something approaching adoration for the men who perform well in the sport they follow. As they age, the heroes of their youth attain almost mythic status, so that an older fan grows misty-eyed speaking of Jimmy Brown, John Unitas, Tom Harmon and others.
There is an every-changing corps of heroes to worship. While Walter Payton and Joe Montana are fondly remembered, fans today think of players recently retired, like Steve Young and John Elway and rising young stars like Payton Manning and Eddie George.
There is the idea of rooting for a particular team vaguely comparable to the choice between becoming a Presbyterian or a Methodist. As one identifies with a team, emotions rise and fall with its fate. For example, the beloved Irish came upon hardtimes under Frank Layden, only to rise again when coached by Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz. When his team is winning, all is right with the fan’s world, but when it performs poorly, he can only hope for a better performance next year.
There is also a strong element of camaraderie among football fans. An investment banker and a barber, who would have little in common ordinarily, can carry on an enthusiastic conversation if they are fans of the same football team.
In addition, football is a compellingly complex team sport. There are almost infinite varieties of formations that are employed in both offense and defense. The fact that there are eleven men on each side of the ball who must act in a coordinated way creates this complexity. There is a pause between each play. Then when the ball is snapped, the men on each side must respond with amazing speed and in accordance with the strategies of their coaches, or disaster follows.
Very often, one can witness truly amazing and sometimes beautiful, action by the players. Pass receivers may demonstrate balletic skills as they leap for their catches. Running backs sometimes dart and change direction with dazzling speed as they flee tacklers.
The fan develops an appreciation for the differing styles of play and modes of attack or defense. These complexities are often referred to in the language of warfare. (“long bomb,” “in the trenches”, “blitzing” etc.)
At times, there is an undue amount of attention paid to the violence of the game. (This subject comes up a lot in our house.) It certainly is true that when men of the size and strength of modern players - they usually outweigh teams of 60 years ago by 100 pounds per player - collide at considerable speed, injuries may result. That is, however, an unfortunate and unintended consequence of the play and probably only a few fans of unsound minds actually look forward to such events.
Finally, there is a media focus on the game of football. Even the once-staid New York Times will often print four or more stories about a single game, all by different writers, discussing the coaching, the players, the crowd, and sometimes, even the game itself. Prior to the Superbowl, there is endless chatter on television and radio about the game. On Superbowl Sunday, there are more people in front of their TVs than for any other event in our country. How many of them actually watch or care about the game (which has often been a clunker) is another matter.
As a purist, I deplore all the media hype and seldom watch the tiresome pre-game and post-game shows or listen to the so-called interviews with players. There is surprisingly little correlation between the ability to speak English and play football.
Like the older followers of some religious faiths, I have seen such great changes in the conduct many of the players of my sport that I have become disenchanted; there have been abuses by some major colleges in recruiting and in retaining players who were not qualified students. Among the pro players, episodes of off-field violence and drug abuse have increased to an embarrassing extent. Still, I watch because it is the only game for me.
What else can you do on a Fall Saturday or Sunday afternoon? (Don’t tell me!)
Earl McHugh is a Harvard Law School graduate, now retired after 40 years of practicing law. He and Mary have been married for 47 years.
