Post by play4him56 on Nov 12, 2007 6:11:44 GMT
I found this in a book titled Winning Words and thought I would share it as my first post
The Real Value of Football
The football field is one of the last sanctuaries of activity that is essentially and exclusively masculine. The basic elements of hard contact and physical competition provide the cornerstone around which the game is constructed. Left to themselves, the instinct for contact and competition would raise men scarcely above the level of the animal, but when their instincts are bounded by a strict code, a set of rules, we can see the human condition in microcosm.
Football then, provides a necessary outlet for the natural aggressiveness of men, while pointing to the equally natural need of rules, standards and ethical codes.
Mothers, try as you might, you will never fully understand the magnetic hold this game has over its participants. You can never experience the feeling of a football player has as he stands exhausted on a muddy field, bleeding and battered (perhaps in defeat but never defeated), wishing there was still another quarter to play. You will never know this feeling because this experiences has been reserved for men – Men who play football.
The Real Value of Football
The football field is one of the last sanctuaries of activity that is essentially and exclusively masculine. The basic elements of hard contact and physical competition provide the cornerstone around which the game is constructed. Left to themselves, the instinct for contact and competition would raise men scarcely above the level of the animal, but when their instincts are bounded by a strict code, a set of rules, we can see the human condition in microcosm.
Football then, provides a necessary outlet for the natural aggressiveness of men, while pointing to the equally natural need of rules, standards and ethical codes.
Mothers, try as you might, you will never fully understand the magnetic hold this game has over its participants. You can never experience the feeling of a football player has as he stands exhausted on a muddy field, bleeding and battered (perhaps in defeat but never defeated), wishing there was still another quarter to play. You will never know this feeling because this experiences has been reserved for men – Men who play football.