I’m kind of a sports fan and have tried to play various sports over the years, though I’ve never been an outstanding athlete. My favorite sport, by far, is American-style football.
American Football
My father enjoyed American-style football, and I used to watch games with him in my youth. I didn’t really “get” the game at first, but when I was about 13, I started figuring it out. I suppose I learned to like the game because I grew up with it.
I attended many high school football games and a few college games during my high school years. For a short while, I attempted to play on my high school football team with less than stellar results. My best moment? I recovered a fumble in a B-team game. My lowest moment? A teammate stepped on my left-hand during warm-ups. It was an accident, but nearly 50 years later, it still hurts sometimes. I was much better at the marching band than football, but I took a chance on the rough side of the tracks.
I also played a lot of backyard football games while growing up. The games had their own rules. Sometimes we played non-contact flag/touch football (yawn), and sometimes we played full-contact games and beat the hell out of each other. Once I crashed into an opposing player named Wally. Our heads hit hard, and I was knocked out for a few seconds. When I came to, I saw Wally walking away. He was a year older than me and was a lot tougher that day.
The day before classes began in my first term as an Auburn University student in 1972, I met some guys who were determined to “walk-on” the football team that week. AU once had a tradition of players walking onto the football team. Some of these walk-ons turned out to be good players. One of these guys tried to talk me into joining them. I politely declined.
The next spring, a friend of a friend named Sal walked on to the AU football team. I kind of knew Sal, he was a big muscular guy. A few days later, I saw an ambulance speeding through town, and I later learned Sal had received a near-fatal head injury during football practice. I was glad he lived and that I hadn’t tried walking onto the team.
I had the opportunity to buy student season football tickets as a college freshman. I’d never paid to see a football game in my life, and I had to think about it. I grudgingly paid a few dollars per game for the tickets. People around me were grumbling because student tickets used to be free. At the last minute, I also paid for a full-price ticket to the Auburn-Alabama game in Birmingham. That game turned out to be the famous 1972 “Punt Bama Punt” game, which I attended. Auburn won the match by blocking two Alabama punts and returning them for touchdowns. Anyway, that started the trend of me buying season football tickets, first in school, later as an AU employee and now as a retiree. I skipped a few years along the way, but as I write this, I’ve bought season tickets yearly for 35 years.
I watch some professional football, but I much prefer the college game. Maybe if I’d grown up near an NFL team, I would’ve been more interested in the pro game. I was in Australia when the 2019 Super Bowl took place. A sports bar in Manly Beach was showing the game (it was morning there), and there was a crowd, but it wasn’t packed. I didn’t watch the game; I was just looking. I witnessed one annoying fan. His favorite team? New England.
Soccer/Futbol
I’ve heard many times that futbol (soccer in the USA) is the most popular game in the world, and the World Cup is the biggest sporting event of all time. That’s fine, but I didn’t grow up with the sport and still don’t have a feel for the game. I sometimes watch games (oops, I mean matches) on television and it drives me crazy. It’s a non-contact sport (sort of), and I’m used to full-contact football. Plus, other than the goalie, players can’t touch the ball with their hands, so there is no running with the ball or passing.
Every now and then, I’ll see an exciting scoring play, but most of the time, I’ll see players struggle to score with their feet, and it’s kind of maddening. The human foot isn’t really designed for this, the human hand would be a much better choice. But I didn’t make the rules, and I’m sure I’m missing a lot of subtleties.
Maybe before I die, I’ll learn to appreciate futbol. We’ll see.
When reading about the early days of American football, I learned that in the first Yale-Harvard game in the 1800s, the rules weren’t set in stone. Yale wanted soccer-style rules, while Harvard fought for American-style football rules. Harvard won this argument. I wonder if Yale had won the debate, would American football be more like soccer now? It’s horrifying to contemplate. Of course, if Yale had won the argument, my father might’ve loved soccer-style football, and maybe I would’ve learned to like it.
Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football, also known as Aussie rules, Football and/or Footy, is a cool game that I’ve seen on television and vaguely understand. It’s a full-contact sport and players can run with the ball, sort of. There’s no passing as far as I can tell. Footy is more popular in Australia than soccer, so there is hope for the world.
Rugby
During my visit to Australia in 2019, several times, I watched bits and pieces of Rugby on television. It’s a full-contact sport and players can run with the ball. There is a form of passing, and players can score both running and kicking. As of today, Rugby is my favorite non-American football sport, with Aussie rules close behind and soccer, of course, in the last place.
Other Football
There is at least one other form of football, Gaelic football. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s supposedly similar to Aussie rules. I visited Ireland and somehow missed this game. Next time.
That’s Enough
Several times in my life, I’ve asked myself why I was spending so much money and time on football. Frankly, I sometimes wonder if spectator sports cause more harm than good to mankind. Some of the most annoying people on earth are SEC college football fans. The two most annoying football fans I’ve ever seen were an Auburn fan in Tuscaloosa and an Alabama fan in Auburn. It’s hard to believe this sort of behavior is good for humanity.
Yet, when it’s time to order football tickets in the spring, I order them. When they play the games later in the year, I usually show up (after I visit tailgate parties). For now, at least, I see no end to this.
As I write this in July of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic is still taking place in the world, and the college football season is a few months away. I have no idea if the games will be played or not. I ordered season tickets for Auburn University games, simply to retain my seating priority. If the games are held, I’m not sure which, if any, games I will attend. Time will tell, I suppose.
<Update – August 2, 2020> As I write this, the Southeastern Conference has announced that SEC teams will play 10 league games and no non-league games in 2020. The season will begin on September 26, 2020. I still don’t know which games, if any, I’ll be allowed to see in person. With all of the people dying of Covid-19 around the country, I’m not convinced I want to see any games in person. Who am I fooling, I’ll try to attend a game or two. Maybe.