9.25.2006

Football Is The Root of All Insanity

I love football. I really really do. But I'm so tired of how insane it causes people to behave. Or maybe the more accurate way to state it would be how insane people allow themselves to behave when it comes to football. I've always had an issue with this aspect of the game. It's taken too seriously, professional players make way too much money and are not held responsible for their actions in society nearly enough, fans take the devotion of their favorite team to a level that is quite frankly ridiculous, and this is to just name a few. A good friend of mine was at the Vikings v. Bears game at the Metrodome this weekend. He's a die-hard Bears fan, born and raised in Chicago where he still lives, and went to the game to cheer for his team. Last time I checked, that wasn't illegal or wrong in any moral sort of way. But he was straight up harassed by Vikings fans at the Dome, who went further than just throwing things at him during the game (which is, let's face it, a normal action that occurrs at lots of football stadiums around the country when it comes to fans of the visiting team). These fans made it racial. They brought back the "n" word. I guess you could say the "n" word never truly went away, I guess it was just my hope that it had. It's so disappointing. Why do people have to act this way, just because you root for opposing teams? I'm all for a little light hearted trash talking, but come on people, this is fucking ridiculous.

I want to keep enjoying the NFL. I love the drama of it, week in and week out, but the hype is getting hard to handle. Rivalry is not an acceptable excuse for people to act like ignorant hicks. Why can't we all just get along?