06-13-2004, 01:49 AM
Wilde absolutely had an amazing wit; the quote is clearly true on some levels, false on others and offensive on yet still others (like so much of Wilde's famous one-liners).<br>
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The problem with American Football is that it does too much to damage our academics: combining athletics and academics can do great things for school spirit, yes, but when the "tale starts wagging the dog" the primary mission of both the athletic endeavor and the academic endeavor suffer. Thus, football (and basketball too) have become often more "spectacles" than sports. Note also that the "big 2" American sports are ones that favor fairly extreme body types (the ultra-big football player and the ultra-tall basketball player), which, again, make them more of a spectacle than a sport that encourages fitness in the general public. So the problem imho has become a lack of perspective on the part of fans on numerous levels.<br>
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btw, on the "football hooligan" line, it isn't so much an "identifiable" group in the US, like the "British football hooligan" (though I suppose that may be an unfair stereotype, I don't know enough about the British scene)... but the "ritual" of tearing down the goalposts after a particularly big win, for example, has been fairly hard to eliminate.<br>
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As to whether football is more organized, it depends on the level. At the professional level, it probably is. The National Football League (NFL to pretty much any American) has a tightly controlled and regulated monopoly, so much so that lately it's been difficult for any one team to produce a new "dynasty" of champions. On the college level (and yes, the universities do provide the "minor leagues" that the NFL draws on... that's one thing I mean by the too-tight integration of athletics and academics) have a much older tradition, much more pagentry....... and is a crazy--quilt of disorganized organization that has created so much controversy that it has come to the attention of Congressional committees.... no really, I'm serious, it really has...)<br>
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Aaron <p></p><i></i>
<br>
The problem with American Football is that it does too much to damage our academics: combining athletics and academics can do great things for school spirit, yes, but when the "tale starts wagging the dog" the primary mission of both the athletic endeavor and the academic endeavor suffer. Thus, football (and basketball too) have become often more "spectacles" than sports. Note also that the "big 2" American sports are ones that favor fairly extreme body types (the ultra-big football player and the ultra-tall basketball player), which, again, make them more of a spectacle than a sport that encourages fitness in the general public. So the problem imho has become a lack of perspective on the part of fans on numerous levels.<br>
<br>
btw, on the "football hooligan" line, it isn't so much an "identifiable" group in the US, like the "British football hooligan" (though I suppose that may be an unfair stereotype, I don't know enough about the British scene)... but the "ritual" of tearing down the goalposts after a particularly big win, for example, has been fairly hard to eliminate.<br>
<br>
As to whether football is more organized, it depends on the level. At the professional level, it probably is. The National Football League (NFL to pretty much any American) has a tightly controlled and regulated monopoly, so much so that lately it's been difficult for any one team to produce a new "dynasty" of champions. On the college level (and yes, the universities do provide the "minor leagues" that the NFL draws on... that's one thing I mean by the too-tight integration of athletics and academics) have a much older tradition, much more pagentry....... and is a crazy--quilt of disorganized organization that has created so much controversy that it has come to the attention of Congressional committees.... no really, I'm serious, it really has...)<br>
<br>
Aaron <p></p><i></i>
