Let’s Hear the Whole Story Over the past years, many will say that football has become America’s new pastime, taking over our weekends for almost half of the year. Fans travel from all over the country to see their favorite college or professional teams play, and once the football season is over, the countdown clock for the first game of fall begins. There are many positive aspects to the sport, and the fans and players love it, but in John McMurtry’s “Kill ‘em, Crush ‘em, Eat ‘em Raw”, the reader is introduced to a side of football that some have not seen, and many choose to ignore. McMurtry believes that the game of football has become one of people just wanting to hurt other people and too many injuries are occurring to justify the fun …show more content…
He uses these injuries to justify most of his reasons as to why football is a warlike sport, but his whole essay seems to be an anecdote about his football career. These stories are compelling and cause the reader to understand the background for why McMurtry is arguing his point, but a little goes a long way in this situation. Although he throws in a few facts about the actual dangers of football, they are quickly overlooked to get back to his personal story. If McMurtry were to add examples of the dangers of football that a general audience might be familiar with, there would be a greater chance of the reader establishing a connection to the argument. Even simply adding statistics about the number of football injuries or deaths per year would allow the reader to grasp really how dangerous football is. Instead of wanting to ask further questions about the argument, the real question the reader begins to ask is, “if his football experience was so bad, and he hated it so much, then why did he play for so …show more content…
It is difficult to agree with an author when the reader is not sure what the other side of the argument they are making is. Is there a good side to the sport? If a window was opened to even the smallest bit of information on the positives of football, the reader would be able to agree with McMurtry because they would know what they are actually arguing against. Sure, the game has negatives, but what about all of the positives, from the childhood level all the way to professional? Football gives kids an opportunity to meet new friends, get exercise, and in some cases, gives them an opportunity to escape from an underprivileged life. At the professional level, football provides entertainment, a huge source of money, and opportunities to give back to the community. There are limited things in life that do not have both positives and negatives, so it is unfair to judge football solely based on the negative facts. Because of this choice, anyone who loves the game of football will likely take the opposite side of McMurtry because he immediately takes the antagonist stance on football, and if he does not say a good thing about the sport, then the football fan is going to already disagree with
Playing football comes with great costs, including physical and mental health deterioration, plus the amount of time spent prepping before game day. Which can pose several questions, “Why suffer for a game, is it worth the money? Is it worth the fame? How great is the cost?” I believe that football, should have stricter regulations for the treatment of injuries, along with informing players of just how devastating a concussion can be, along with the other major injuries that commonly occur while playing football.
He begins by discussing Rugby and how hazardous it is for young men. He backs it up by including a quote from the Cornell President, Andrew D. White. Zimmerman (2016) quotes White by stating, “‘The sight of a confused mass of educated young men making batter-rams of their bodies, plunging their heads into each other’s stomachs, piling upon each other or maiming each other for life- something indeed… killing each other… is a brutal monstrosity’” (p. 1). By using this hyperbolic quote Zimmerman in injecting pathos into his argument in order to manipulate the reader. Pathos can definitely sway an audience’s opinion when used correctly, however, Zimmerman’s use of it here is considerably poor because it adds a bit of repetitiveness to his paragraph due to the fact that before the quote he states something very similar too it. Instead it may have been better if he stated a statistic that added more support and validation to his statement. Zimmerman (2014) then goes onto state, “Amid newspaper reports of 18 football deaths that fall” (p. 2). While this fact has potential to help maintain Zimmerman’s stance against football, it fails and becomes almost invalid because of how this statistic is from 1905. It has little impact with an audience with present day. While Zimmerman speafootball in the past and the days of rugby he could have instead spoken of why the American sport is a problem now, in present day. By focusing too much on explaining the past of football he has not given enough evidence and backing on why it is still so dangerous in present day. Zimmerman then goes onto discuss the inclusion of the forward pass and then the introduction of helmets. However, his argument still lacks solid evidence and statistics for backing up what he is claiming. For instance, when Zimmerman (2014) writes, “helmet-to-helmet hits remain one of the key causes of concussions and
The Odessa football players couldn't be objective about criticisms of football. Their total self-esteem depended on how they did on Friday night. This was the glorified culmination of their football career: wearing the black MoJo uniform in the stadium under the big lights. Football was more than just a game to them; it was a religion. It "made them seem like boys going off to fight a war for the benefit of someone else, unwitting sacrifices to a strange and powerful god" (Bissinger, p.11). Because football was so meaningful in their lives, to criticize it was to criticize everything they'd worked so hard for and lived for.
Playing football comes with several risks factors that players’ acknowledge prior to playing the game starting a young age. Regardless, these players still chose to play the game, which they end up loving and cherishing despite all the risks accompanied with it. Football is one of the toughest sports in the world; it takes a certain amount of strength, speed, and aggressiveness to play 48 minutes of hard-nosed football. However, the National Football League (NFL) is in the midst of a controversial issue. Is the NFL getting soft? This has been a debatable issue for several years. While some believe that implementing all these rules in the NFL is progressively turning the game soft, others say that the NFL is not getting soft; it is just trying to make the game safer for its players.
Douglas E. Foley offers an interesting analysis of American football culture in high schools, in his article titled “The Great American Football Ritual: Reproducing Race, Class and Gender Inequality”. The author covers the ways that the football culture splits people apart and segregates them into groups based on what they contribute to the football scene. The football scene seems to bring negativity to the lives of every group it touches, yet it is still a staple in American culture to this day.
Is High School football a sport, or is it more than that to some people? Recent newspaper headlines include such items as coaches abusing student athletes; fathers of athletes murdering coaches, and mother’s disabilitating cheerleading candidates to assure their daughters make the cheerleading team. In Odessa, Texas high school football is a major contributor to the society of a small town in Texas society. Every Friday night, 50,000 people fill the stadium to see high school students put their lives on the line to win a football game. H. G. Bissinger writes a novel called Friday Night Lights, about a year in 1988 where High School players prepare and play on the High School team, and what an impact they have on a small city in Texas.
In the New Yorker article “Offensive Play,” by Malcolm Gladwell, he makes a comparison between dogfighting and football, claiming that they tend to be more similar than people may conclude. Gladwell argues this because they both develop a negative effect on one’s body and brain causing several physical and mental changes that could possibly lead to death. However, some of these events that cause injury go without notice until later on in life when they have retired from their “glory days.”
American Football is a huge spectator sport where offensive and defensive players will use teamwork and perseverance to try and score more points than their opponent. Football is highly respected in America, where boys will try and pursue the dream of playing in the NFL (National Football Association) someday; but if you look at an average neighborhood, you will find that kids and adults of all ages love to go out and throw around the pigskin. (Lerner and Lerner 275). One thing Americans will take pride in is the college and NFL football teams they root for. People sit down with a beer and talk hours upon hours of football and two individuals can get in a heated discussion in the local sports store of whose sports team is better. Surprisingly enough, one will find the most passionate football players at the high school level. Most boys will start their football career as a young child in football programs such as Pop Warner to get a foothold and to get those involved in teamwork and friendships. These programs are usually the start to someone falling in love with the sport and making it a career choice eight years later. Football is one of America’s favorite sports. When fall season comes around, people across America are placing bets, finding out where that new sports bar is, and buying wide screen T.V’s to watch NFL on Sundays. After their team plays, they will go out and reminisce what happened that Sunday. While thousands of fans are still pumped from the NFL games they watched; small towns across America are getting ready to shut down their shops and restaurants to have the chance to make it to the local high schools football game. Ray Glier, a reporter for the New York Times, writes about football in the small town of Appala...
Ripley argues that football is a dangerous sport for students that young to begin to express their rage on and off the field. However, in the article Do Sports Build Character or Damage it? the author Mark Edmundson writes about his experience playing high school football. He said football made him a better person. He gained courage, strength, and heroic character. Edmundson said he applied everything in his life to football, which helped him get a job. Even though he was not the best player, he said he enjoyed going to practice every day to increase his skills. These attributes help Edmundson still to this
He wrote the article to persuade readers about the immortality of football. Almond also provided a lot of evidence and proof to get his readers to agree with his argument. However, he did not only try to convince his reader base on what he believes, but he provided evidence for medical research that has proven that football has both physical and psychological effects on players and the human body. He also discussed all sides on of the issue by stating that he was once a football lover and he is still not against the game itself, but he is against the negative effect it has on the players. Moreover he provided some facts on what football does to the human body. I think that I was personally convinced by the author’s argument a few reasons: one, the author was once a football fan and he is still not against the game. What he is against is the effect it has on the players. Two, the author provided personal and medical evidences on the negative impact of the football. And three, he stated that football players now used helmet which they claim that it will reduce the high speed collision, but if you really think about it, the helmet does not really help much. This should be clear to everyone that watches or play football that it definitely has some negative effects on people. Whether you are player or fan, you should think twice before playing or watching the
The roaring of the crowd on November 17 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC finally fell silent late in the fourth quarter after star linebacker Luke Kuechly was slow to get off the field after a huge hit to the head. American’s live to be entertained, and the football field is one of the main sources of enjoyment for many. Immediately after Kuechly’s hit, it was quiet in the stadium for the first time that day. The fans watched in fear, waiting to see if their star player could finish the game and bring out the win. However, they all became disappointed as Kuechly shed tears while being carted off the field, not because they were worried about the player and his head but because they feared about losing the game. Americans want excitement,
Daniel J. Flynn’s argument of why Football Does a Body Good is extremely convincing. The evidence that he presents throughout the essay debunks the counterargument of how dangerous football can be. The essays is full of statistics and examples of how football can positively benefit you. The facts that are presented are effectively used to refute all the negative claims against the dangers of football. He successfully argues toward the benefit of football by presenting appeals to reason, and showcasing his credibility throughout the essay, but he unfortunately does not keep an unbiased tone for the duration of the essay.
Football is a game of adversity and emotion. People who have not played a sport or follow one closely don’t understand the emotion behind game. They think that football is just a game, but for those who are involved with the team don’t think so. All those horrendous hours of countless preparation are for something players and coaches love. About a few years ago, a football player at the collegiate level was told that he wouldn’t be able to play another down of football again due to his banged up h...
In the book entitled Out of Their League, David Meggyesy describes his life as a football player from high school through his days with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Born in 1941, Meggyesy was raised in a low-income household in Solon, Ohio. Like many athletes from impoverished backgrounds, he was able to use the game of football to better himself though both a full scholarship to Syracuse University and financial stability with the Cardinals. During his career, however, Meggyesy became increasingly disillusioned with the game of football and how its athletes were subject to tremendous physical and psychological turmoil from those in power—namely the coaches and the NFL team owners. He began to see the game of football from a conflict theorist point of view. This is the belief that sport is an opiate used to benefit those in power through the exploitation of athletes which enables those such as coaches and team owners to maintain their power and privilege in society. (Coakley, 1998) Meggyesy's growing disenchantment with football and adoption of a conflict theorist point of view led him to retire from the Cardinals in 1969.
In conclusion, it is explicit that sports is a positive influence on athletes, spectators and the world as a whole as it teaches imperative life lessons as well as allows its participants to experience enjoyment, fulfilment and gratification. As mentioned previously sports enables its players to bring out the best in others and create unity amongst groups as team work is so essential. This highlights the views I have in conjunction with the views of Joe Humphrey.