Chiefs: Why We Watch Football

Laddie Morse

There are lots of different games worthy of watching –Tennis, Rugby, Soccer — so why do we watch football? That’s not a normal question to ask at a time when a person, a football player — Damar Hamlin — was so seriously injured in a Monday Night Football game being televised on ESPN that the game was canceled because his health and very life was threatened. As with the Pandemic, this has been a good time to reflect.

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• For those who feel… that we’ve all missed the boat and should be more aware of life’s meaning… they are right –> for themselves.

• For those who feel… that we’re all helpless and many don’t want to say or think it, but what if Damar Hamlin dies — then they are right –> for themselves.

• For those who feel… guilty that they were watching a game and expected that game to continue no matter what — then they are right –> for themselves.

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We each have enough clutter in our ears and eyes when it comes to sorting out: life’s meaning(s), the issues related to death, and what we should, or should not, feel guilty about. There are good reasons each of us watch football… and for those who do — then they are right –> for themselves.

My Story: I graduated from Northern Arizona University (NAU) in my undergraduate program and was taking classes to become a Basketball coach… until my last 2 semesters. I was married at the time and even though my wife had a full time job at NAU, I needed to get a part time job that year for us to make ends meet (no way I was taking out a loan). Two weeks after getting a job in a local preschool I decided to change my Major and I decided upon an Elementary Education Degree because… everything I thought secondary coaching would be, was happening each day with younger kids. They were so mold–able and trainable that I just had to be working with them. I loved it, and I loved the kids! They could be taught through the process of “play” and I adored that… so much so that I had to change my Major, and that transformation took place within two weeks!

Following a divorce from my first wife — and BTW, she and I are still friends to this day, because we decided to raise our daughter together — I went to several kinds of therapists and when I went to a group therapy, I learned that I was re-creating the same dynamic in that group therapy session as I was in my family. Other members of the group were there to “call me on my BS”… so to speak, and one lady in particular was excellent at that. That’s when I realized my need for coaching a 5 man team (the re-creation of a family) was way too much akin to practicing as an unhealthy person in a family of 6 (which is what I came from).

That leads me to my next destination: a football team — a community.

Community

I used to say it all the time, when I was running a private preschool, “I needed a Therapist’s degree” because of all the counseling situations I was placed in as a: director/manager, recruiter, trainer, interviewer… was demanding as I would daily have to advise and lead others.

So, what does that have to do with the need for Community? If you haven’t heard by now, we are all social beings. We have a need to connect with others and that often means more than one, two, or even ten other people. IOW, we have a need to belong to a group. In today’s world, social media has replaced going to church or other kindred activities, like Boy Scouts, the Rotary Club, and all Clubs for that matter, Reading a Magazine or a Newspaper or… we’d still be visiting real stores in person… like we used to. While there may never be a return to the old days, when people left the house to see others, the value of connecting with others will never diminish.

For me, when I was a classroom teacher, I began to see the inherent wisdom in the specialized intelligence’s of each student who came my way (see “Howard Gardner: Be Thinkers“), as well as their need to connect with others. Do you know what the number one reason students go to school is? –> TO SEE THEIR FRIENDS!*

It’s not to get an education. Let that one sink in for awhile.

*BTW, that’s backed up by solid research.

That’s also a big part of the reason I used to use a Cooperative approach to teaching and learning: that helped to satisfy our student’s unending need for community.

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Shared Dreams

When I was but a wee lad, I also dreamt of playing football in the NFL. I was a football player in my younger days. However, two knee surgeries on my left knee kept that dream from ever actually happening. At least that’s what I kept telling myself. The reality is, I only know of one other player who ever made it to the NFL from High School, and he was a rival from another school and his named is Allen Carter (he had 4,388 yards and 70 TDs in 3 HS years). He went to USC and eventually played for the New England Patriots, and although he returned Punts for them, he never really had an impact. Carter ran a 9.8 – 100 Yard Dash for Bonita High School (CA) and that was fast, fast enough to win a State (CA) track championship. Go to the 2:00 mark to watch the race.

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No wonder the Pats picked him up in the 1975 NFL draft in the 4th round. The point is, we all have our dreams of one day playing with the best of the best… and that means in the NFL. My first NFL hero was RB Jim Brown.

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Scheme of Life

Football allows for so many different schemes, whether we’re talking about Offense or Defense. The mental aspect of the game is what draws so many to it like flies to a light bulb. For many, like myself, the chessboard of the NFL game is intriguing. That’s also why Andy Reid is such an anomaly. He’s so ever-changing that to watch him call plays in the playoffs is like predicting the weather in the mid-west, it’s never the same. That’s one of the reasons we watch the game: for the evolving aspect of it all.

I spent more than 20 years teaching computer literacy and there was never one year that was the same as the next. That dazzled me and always kept my attention: the evolution of the technology. I was always updating the computers and that’s just like LIFE. The only thing I can count on being the same in LIFE, is LIFE, the cereal. It’s surely my favorite, it’s so good, with bananas or blueberries. That’s my fave.

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Competition’s Sake

I’ve never been a fan of “competition” for the sake of competition. In the classroom it would always produces a winner… yes… but it never, without fail, produced losers, and usually many more losers than winners. Teaching using “Cooperative Learning” tools makes the classroom a much safer place –> for those who can’t keep up with the perpetual “winners.”

Watching football gives us a place to couch our tendencies to want to compete. The classroom is no place for that… but a weekend game is the perfect place to grapple with a challenge. So, let’s be proud when that aggressive nature rears it’s head. It’s not ugly… it’s just a part of our very human story. Let it be.

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Brotherly Love

I care not if you’re a practicing atheist or a devout agnostic… but how can you not be touched by the sight of grown men playing such a ferocious game, who stop and kneel together for the purpose of asking a power greater than themselves (just consider that… a power greater than them) to go and be with someone who’s life is at risk. So much so, that they call off the game they were playing. How, oh how, can you not be touched by that:

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There is no reason to feel guilty, or ashamed of watching the NFL. For some it has become religion, for others it is something to stir clear of. Using the Damar Hamlin situation to justify whatever you’re feeling, is probably off base, if it’s negative. I don’t know if you’ve heard those claiming that the Damar Hamlin injury had something to do with the vaccine… but there’s no place for that here.

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Dan Orlovsky prayed it best when he prayed: “God, we’re sad, we’re angry”… because both emotions are right. “Please help Damar”… please send positive energy his way and let’s be thankful for, and to, the life and game we love to watch, whether that’s in person or on the telly.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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P.S.

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At 3:40 AM last night, Damar Hamlin’s GoFundMe page

had reached the $5,979,780 level. Click this link to donate.

His Toy Drive will soon hit the $6 Million dollar level.

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