It was that both bunches wanted this funny lookin’ little pumpkin to play with. And I know, friends, that they couldn’t eat it, Because they kicked it the whole evenin’ and it never busted. Both bunches wanted that thing. One bunch got it, and it made the other bunch just as mad as they could be! Andy Griffith, What it
Andy Griffith, What it Was Was Football
You can learn a lot about the duality of man from sports.
On Sept. 3, the defending national champions from the University of Georgia will take the field against the Oregon Ducks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Later that day, the team from my alma mater– Georgia State–will play South Carolina at Williams-Bryce Stadium, and Georgia Southern will host Morgan State at Poultry Stadium in Stinkboro.
Maybe that’s mean, but I did point out that I went to Georgia State, not Southern, so with that little dig I’m just doing my part to stoke the rivalry a bit, which I believe is good for both schools—if, in fact, Georgia Southern is an actual school. (But maybe that’s taking the stoking a bit too far.) Two days later, the
Two days later, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will take on Clemson. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the North Avenue Trade School because my dad took me to my first college game at Grant Field for the big rivalry game with Georgia.
I was just a small boy and found myself rooting for Tech. Unfortunately, they lost, like they usually do (Tech has only beaten Georgia four times since 2000). And when Georgia beats Tech, Jacket fans hear jokes like this one: “Why did the Tech football team cross the road? It was easier than crossing the goal line.” *
But that’s okay Jacket fans, you can always ask them how many Georgia graduates have walked on the moon, like Georgia Tech grad John Young.
But that’s what being a fan is all about.
As fans, we are unified by a common goal: winning the game and if we can step on the other team’s “face with a hobnail boot,” so much the better. But it’s a boot filled with love.
There is a hormone called oxytocin that “plays a role in social bonds and trusting other people,” according to cedars-sinai.org. Sometimes it’s referred to as the love hormone. And we football fans
And we football fans certainly love our teams.
But while we are basking in the glow of love and solidarity, let’s not forget the dark side of the force. And no better place to explore that than the NFL.
Professional teams began training camp last week with about 3,000 players involved.
By my count, the Atlanta Falcons have 91 players, but six of those players will be gone on Aug. 16. Five more will be gone Aug. 23, and 27 more must be trimmed by Aug. 30 to reach the limit of 53 players.
The same holds true for the other 31 teams.
About 1,300 young men currently on NFL rosters will be looking at Indeed. com come September.
Survival of the fittest is an unforgiving fact of life in football. But players learn that early on. Only a few high school players are recruited by colleges, and only a few of those are drafted or signed by NFL teams.
There is no such thing as equality in the NFL.
Which may explain why the sport is so popular. In football, only the best players play. There is no Miss Congeniality on the roster. That’s not to say sportsmanship isn’t encouraged, but at the end of the day, one team wins, the other loses. Players who falter are released; players who shine are given trophies.
You might get that Rousseau bit from Marxists about inequality being an unnatural condition caused by the invention of private property but that’s baloney. Primitive man was never a simple creature living in a harmonious cave as some would have us believe.
In primitive societies, possessions were simple, and property was distributed equally, but that didn’t mean social status was non-existent. An especially skilled
An especially skilled hunter let everyone see what a bad dude he was by wearing his trophies around his neck: trophies including the scalps of slain enemies as well as teeth, feathers and other ornamentals gleaned from his exploits.
These trophies then inspired fear and respect as tokens of superiority. So, if you see a Navy SEAL with a chest full of medals, you know better than to mess with that man.
Same thing holds true in college football. Ohio State’s buckeye stickers are a direct descendant of the scalps primitive hunters wore, as are the bones Georgia players are given.
One year when Bill Curry was at Georgia Tech, players who distinguished themselves on defense were granted entrance into the Black Watch and given helmets with a black stripe and black logo as opposed to the white stripe and white logo. The name was derived from a Scottish military regiment, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever at the time.
Maybe Coach Geoff Collins should bring that back. But to borrow a line
But to borrow a line from YouTube’s Scottish movie critic The Critical Drinker: “That’s all I’ve got for today. Go away now.”
And that’s Scottish for... Selah.