Surprise, surprise, football is under assault. Interesting. Part of the war on the manly man?
Maybe.
It’s played on a grid, and therefore is visually organized. Feelings play no role. The rules require the collective defense of territory, and allow the military-like seizure of same.
There are lines....straight lines all. Football involves precise measurements, sometimes down to mere inches. Rewards for crossing lines......hmmm.
Football has ground forces, and units dedicated to air power. Strategic and tactical planning is required, X’s and O’s......and arrows. Again, visually organized. Echoes of Gutenberg. The police here wear black and white.
There’s strategic retreat-the punt. There’s a place for the big, and a place for the small. No place for the weak, except the place-kicker, though he must possess a strong leg, and bear the ultimate in mental pressure.
There’s off-the-field leadership and planning, on-the field generalship for execution of the battle plan. There are secrets, coded messages, uniforms, interim plan adjustments, and on-the-battlefield meetings. There are physical sacrifices, and corporal danger.
It’s ritual war.
It’s just no place for women.
Maybe that’s why it’s got to go?
Football celebrates sheer physical power. Perhaps more than any other sport, women cannot contemplate equal participation. Interesting, instructive, and in a former world, fittingly wonderful that when females do participate it involves....lingerie.
Hey, I am a woman and I think football is fun and exciting to watch. But I also love brains and hate neurodegenerative diseases. If there is a way to keep football, football, and reduce the risk that the guy you cheer for will be stuttering and peeing his pants at 55, I’m all for it. I actually used to watch boxing before I knew what it did and then lost all interest. Any sport CAN give you concussions but when sports are routinely doing so, I’m all about changing up something to reduce the risk.