Tea and Clickbait: The NFL, Bannon and Brains
Football took another blow to the head at a University of Maryland symposium, with several sportswriters acknowledging that it’s going to be hard to make a collision sport brain-safe. Bob Costas scored the lead quote with “This game destroys people’s brains.”
Speaking of brains, young-fogey conservative Matt Lewis took a swipe at unkempt svengali Steve Bannon, pointing to Virginia as proof white nationalism won’t work on a purple electorate. Of course, Lewis said just the other day Gillespie wasn’t running a racist campaign, so add salt to taste.
No, journalists will never tire of interviewing Trump voters in flyover country, if only because they’re easy to find; they’re stuck where they are, like the bunch Politico found in Johnstown, Pa. The biggest surprise — or is it? — was that these folks were most enraged not by Democrats but by the NFL protesters.
“Shame on them,” Del Signore said. “These clowns are out there, making millions of dollars a year, and they’re using some stupid excuse that they want equality—so I’ll kneel against the flag and the national anthem?”
“You’re not a fan of equality?” I asked.
“For people who deserve it and earn it,” he said. “All my ancestors, Italian, 100 percent Italian, the Irish, Germans, Polish, whatever—they all came over here, settled in places like this, they worked hard and they earned the respect. They earned the success that they got. Some people don’t want to do that. They just want it handed to them.”
“Like NFL players?” I said.
“Well,” Del Signore responded, “I hate to say what the majority of them are …” He stopped himself short of what I thought he was about to say.
Schilling and her husband, however, did not restrain themselves.
“The thing that irritates me to no end is this NFL shit,” Schilling told me in her living room. “I’m about ready to go over the top with this shit. We do not watch no NFL now.” They’re Dallas Cowboys fans. “We banned ’em. We don’t watch it.”
Schilling looked at her husband, Dave McCabe, who’s 67 and a retired high school basketball coach. She nodded at me. “Tell him,” she said to McCabe, “what you said the NFL is …”
McCabe looked momentarily wary. He laughed a little. “I don’t remember saying that,” he said unconvincingly.
Schilling was having none of it. “You’re the one that told me, liar,” she said.
She looked at me.
The NFL?
“Niggers for life,” Schilling said.
“For life,” McCabe added.
Which brings us, full circle, back to brain damage.
Ah.. so the people,e who are angry about NFL protest are just garden variety racists. I guess I knew that, but never read anyone being so candid about it.
Yeah, with the whole anthem kneeling controversy, people are forgetting that the NFL: 1) Is interfering with research on CTE, thereby endangering the lives of many thousands of professional, student, and recreational athletes; 2) extorting billions of dollars from states and municipalities in order to line the pockets of extremely wealthy owners; and 3) allowing known, unrepentant domestic abusers to play in the league without consequences (unless the abuse was caught on video).
Well that’s nitpicking, isn’t it.
you guys are whining in the saddest of all keys. I am for big cushy helmets, or whatever saves the head, but I want an nfl team in my vicinity. because fun. if the players refuse to play, I’d respect that.
@na “…because fun.”
I just can’t keep watching American football (a.k.a. brain damage ball)… It was fun, but we’re totally done with that, now.
I’ve bought my last stadium ticket. I’ve watched my last game on TV.
@FWIW- Agree with all three points plus I don’t like the unholy blend of “patriotism” and big entertainment business of professional sports. Do we play the national anthem before entertainment like movies, plays, music concerts? It has no place before professional sports either.
@Alby- I appreciate the quality of your writing.
I second that on Alby’s writing. Brisk as a pre-global warming Autumn morning!
Football, those who play it are brain injured, those who watch it are soul less. Either way, it’s a sport for the halt and the lame. Costas is right. It is doomed. The players will soon only be the economically desperate and the fans will be the southern white racist drunks in their barcoloungers. With luck, lawsuits will force schools to shut down their football programs and colleges will have to follow their lead. After enough kids get CTE from the sport, after enough violence and mayhem are caused by it, maybe we’ll begin to connect the dots and football won’t seem like so much fun anymore. Except to the bookies and penn state fans.
beverly c: keep letting everybody know how noble and sensitive you are. it will help when you apply for sainthood.
Nathan, keep watching football so we all know what a shallow heartless yahoo you are
Anyone who ever sat in the 700 level at the old Veterans Stadium knows that white racist drunks are not limited to the south. Unless you consider south Philly to be the south.
Which in some ways it is. Or was.
Same argument was made for producing munera in the Colosseum. Fun!
that’s the spirit!
el som: I’ve been there. you’re not wrong about that part. but the racists aren’t the ones I went to see.
Man, if Randall Cunningham didn’t carry them to victory, the ‘bleeping n-word’ came out in force. Seems as if the entire 700 level was full of construction trade goons.
“construction trade goons.”
I’ve probably said it before, but that’s redundant.