It’s that time again. Millions around the world will soon all tune in together. It’s one of the most anticipated weekends of the year: the start of the NFL season!
There’s just something about professional football (and college, too) that riles many of us up in a totally good way. It goes beyond the game — beyond the stats and celebrations, too. We are drawn to football fall and the professional pigskin. We pay attention to the players on and off the field. (Congrats, Travis and Taylor.)
Attempting to understand the why, I utilized our resourceful friend, Mr. Google, asking the following question: why do people love this game so much?
Several had something to say.
First, from some Cornell University students in the field of Educational Technology (EdTech) and cognitive psychology…
- NFL is a piece of popular culture
- NFL is part of American tradition
- NFL fosters relationships
- Tailgating is fun
- People love watching talented athletes
- League parity keeps things interesting
- NFL hits hard
- NFL has the best sporting final
- There is a chance to win big
- Fantasy Football has real stakes
I agree on all of the above (although my tailgating time has been lacking in recent years). The “Office on Trinity” blog, no less, puts it this way:
- Football and Tradition Go Hand in Hand
- Football Unites People
- It Keeps You Guessing
- Love & Loyalty For Players
- The Vibe is AHMAZING
- More Than Just a Game
- Chow Time during Games Matters a Lot
- Clashes Get Pretty Heated
- Fantasy Football Puts You in the Game
All also good. Next from a Quora contributor: “It’s tough, fast, surprising, tactical, full of violence, noise, heroics, music, fireworks and pageantry. Friday night lights, Saturday festivity, Sunday warfare. What’s not to love?”
Indeed, the NFL is a big deal.
I find myself landing on two primary points in the pondering.
One, as said by the creative Trinity personnel, “Well, it ain’t just a game of football. It’s a mix of tradition, thrills, and community.” Such is indeed an attractive combination to many.
And two — and this may show my semi-humble, current events blogger bias — but there’s something auspiciously profound about what’s playing out before our very eyes — something we don’t witness in too many places in the polarized world we live in…
Note: the current average attendance for an NFL game is just under 70,000 people. So tens of thousand of people are sitting in close-knit quarters with one another. Of those tens of thousands, there’s widespread diversity — age, ethnicity, gender — pretty much every demographic; all are welcome. Better still, no less, in those tens of thousands, they are remarkably passionate, yelling and screaming loudly for their team… but not all yelling for the same team. Right before us we see tens of thousands who profoundly and publicly disagree.
And save the response of a disrespectful few, they don’t insult one another. They don’t tell the other why they’re right and the other is wrong. There is no presumed moral high ground. At the end of the game, players and fans walk away peacefully and respectfully and prepare to play and cheer again.
That, my friends, is a wonderful game in far more ways than one.
Respectfully…
AR