Having spoken recently about nonviolence, it may sound quite inconsistent to say that on Sunday, I watched the football game between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. It is inconsistent, isn't it?!
The fact is, the Giants were a big part of my childhood and my later efforts to create relationship with my dad. I suspect he "loved" the Giants more than he loved me, but not completely understanding how this could be, I thought becoming a fan would help me earn his love. Giants games were a constant thread in a changing life, a highlight of fall and early winter. But since his death, and since I have become increasingly sensitive to violence and conflict, I have watched virtually no football.
But Sunday's game seemed almost like a Super Bowl to this New Yorker living in Minnesota. I had to watch. And after a long absence, I learned a few things.
Somewhat despite myself, I still like watching football. Not being an athlete myself, I really appreciate the physicality of sports. When a quarterback throws a ball 75 yards and it is caught by a running teammate for a touchdown, it is a beautiful thing! Even I "fist pumped" when the Giants made touchdowns or good plays. I understand why the sport is so popular with athletes and audiences. In this particular game, the teams were really well-matched, and what seemed to make the difference was that the young Giants quarterback himself ran for quite a number of yards. (New York won, and Minnesota is now out of the playoffs, making for a sad state...) It helped me remember a few good moments late in my dad's life, when I watched games with him and one of my brothers.
Here's what I didn't like. The hoopla...the pre-game commentator silliness, the teams running out on the field through smoke and pounding music, the cheerleaders, the graphics glorifying individual players. In the back of my mind, I was adding up the gazillions of dollars that this one game represented. The advertising was for all of "our" American vices -- fast food, fast cars, alcohol, hi-tech gadgetry, etc. It seemed all of a piece, a piece that ultimately I am not part of. What I do/think/write about/care about just isn't part of that world.
I guess that I will watch this weekend as the Giants try to take that next step to the Super Bowl. I'll avoid the pre-game show, mute the advertising, and just see from game to game how I feel about the experience. If I watch any football games in future, it will be only because I am enjoying it.
