It's Game Day

Today is game day.  The New England Patriots, the team I've rooted on for years, kicks off its title defense tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In past years, I would gather with friends either at a sports bar, likely Ventnor's in Adams Morgan, or in one of our living rooms.  But not this year.  Tonight, as the season begins, I plan to be winding down and getting ready for bed so that I can get up early, get in my run, and get to my 8AM weekly training in Gaithersburg.  When I wake up and am dressing for my run, I'll read a recap, probably.

On my commuter to work this morning, I was cycling past Union Station and saw a man wearing a Steeler's jersey.  Instinctively, the 25 year old Kenny almost took over to shout something like "Steelers suck" or "Go Pats!" - but then I remembered I'm winding down my football fandom.  It doesn't make much sense to me anymore to obsess over a team of men I have no connection to and have no loyalty to me.  But I have noticed how much time and energy fanatics devote, and it is quite significant.  The number of flags that fly from cars, license plate holders (I have a Patriots one I almost installed on our car a few weeks ago to replace the Red Sox one), bumper stickers, and grown ups parading around in jerseys of their favorite team.  I've heard of workplaces where it is acceptable to wear your team colors on the Friday before game day.

For myself, I have noticed that with each successive season, my enthusiasm for watching sports has waned.  Baseball remains my favorite sport, but there is no way you can watch all 162 games.  Football is much more manageable with only a game a week for the fall and partly into the winter.  The Sundays I have spent in sports bars in the past has taken me away from a lot of other good I could have accomplished.  I could have written one of my many book ideas; worked on a project around the house; read a book; gone for a hike or walk; or just connect to other people.  Yes, watching football helps me connect to some of my closest male friends.  That is something I prize and am conflicted about how I will manage going forward.  Truthfully, I don't know.

I do not know if I will succeed in my quest, but as +stevealmondjoy told me, "One Sunday at a time, brother."

I'm Giving Up Football - Probably

Twenty-five years ago today, my family and friends celebrated my bar mitzvah and I became a man.  The Jewish coming-of-age ritual is a special time for countless around the world.  For me, it was an awakening that I was no longer a naive boy but a responsible citizen.  We experience these awakenings throughout our lives, tearing us from the comforts we've created and forcing us to examine the choices we've made and the habits we've formed.  This past weekend while my wife and I were on vacation, I had an awakening that has shaken my love for America's most popular sport.

On the heels of spending most of the spring and summer defending my beloved New England Patriots, I was actually looking forward to simply enjoying a title defense.  I had spent too much time and energy on social media reading updates about the awfully-named Deflategate and sharing, commenting, and posting to the degree I probably lost a few Facebook friends.  I guess I was exhausted and starting to question my choices about how much time and energy I was wasting on something that was only entertainment.  That likely made me susceptible to a well-written article about a book simply titled, "Against Football," by Steve Almond.  Almond, a self-described Oakland Raiders fan, began wondering how he could continue to support a sport that promoted violence, greed, misogyny, homophobia, and racism.  And after reading his book, I'm starting to feel the same way.

This blog will examine my final season of following football and document as I start to divorce myself from a sport I enjoyed watching since the Patriots lose Super Bowl XX.  At the end of the season, I plan to be completely football free (I hope).  This blog is just for my own personal reflection - it is not meant to tell anyone else what to do.

Let the (final) season begin!