I don't normally bother with The Daily Kos. As Liz Phair said, "I've got better ways to spend my time". Nevertheless, an entry posted by some sad chap over there has caught my attention: Man fuel: Is it in you?
The author, one Jason Miller, derides the National Football League thusly:
What could better reflect the collective psychosis of the American Empire than our mass obsession with the NFL? Born through violent revolution, expanded by genocide, enriched by slavery, and elevated to hegemony through imperialism, militarism, and economic tyranny, the United States, like NFL football, embodies avaricious savagery masked by a fastidiously maintained illusion of benevolent civility.
Wow. OK, eloquent language aside, this is either someone to laugh at or someone who Needs Help Now. I don't go in for the Man Hug thing---call me crazy, but Men Shouldn't Hug---but even my cold heart wants to simply pat this guy on the shoulder and tell him that, in the words of Deana Carter, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright".
Meh. People may write thousands of words against this chap, but really, is it necessary? I suppose it's more of that whole binary solution set that a lot of the Kos types seem to embrace, either you're out there at war in the streets for Social Justice Now! or somesuch, or you're part of the ancien regime defending against it, and must be smashed.
For my own part, I root for the Patriots. Have for years, even when Favre and the Packers were the darlings of Fox Sports and the nation. That doesn't mean that I'm somehow complicit in whatever goes on in the NFL. Like one guy's opinion---say, Tony Dungy got done wrong---matters, especially when that guy is me, and not Paul Tagliabue or the like. Not that I particularly care for some of the corporate end of things in the NFL. If Al Davis or Jerry Jones were drowning, Christian charity would require me to try and save them. I would, however, be less inclined to do so if I knew who they were. "Help me, I'm drowning!" "Hang on, sir!" "Help me, I'm Jerry Jones and I'm drowning!" "Sorry man, lunch break."
Enjoying a game of football does not an evil man make. I am perfectly capable of going from church, where I shell out money for the local and global Methodist relief efforts, to sitting on a couch and cheering for the Pats. Life is more complicated and subtle than this chap might appreciate it.
This post found from Soxaholix
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To rebut another point this guy makes ("Provocatively undressed cheerleaders manifesting our culture’s ideal of feminine perfection...."), I say this: My idea of feminine perfection ain't an NFL cheerleader; don't know what he's ingesting. I'd rather that they weren't in the league, but it does provide a legal source of revenue for some women, so I won't get too bothered about it.