It’s just a game! But is it just a game?
For some, it’s a passing fancy. For others, it’s a way to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It’s a reason to get together with friends, enjoy a couple of drinks, BBQ, and shoot the breeze. It’s a way of bringing loved ones closer together.
To young children who play in the streets pretending to be their favorite player, mimicking their signature moves or end zone dance, it’s so much more. It’s a way to make friendships that can last a lifetime, even if some of those friendships are built off of rivalry. It’s a way to prove oneself.
Fans of the game wait intently to hear the words of their favorite team’s coach or favorite player. Fans go out and purchase their team’s memorabilia and plaster their walls, homes, bodies, yards, and vehicles in their team’s colors and mascots. Football brings out the best and the worst in people due to the emotions the game evokes. It’s a time for cheering for a good win or a time to be angry over a bad loss.
Football, for me, means building memories. Like sitting at a young age with my grandparents watching some guys dressed in weird uniforms on TV run, throw, and run into each other, wondering why my grandparents were yelling at the TV and jumping out of their seats. Or hanging with the buds and sharing a pitcher while watching our team win the championship. Memories that I will cherish forever.
Football is more for athletes who play the game. For them it’s important. So saying that it’s just a game implies that the game has no significance and is almost meaningless. For athletes, football is a process. It’s something that many have worked their entire lives toward. Many have given their bodies to it, their minds, and in some cases their lives. But, for many of them, it’s more than just a livelihood—it’s a career. They have the chance to perform feats that many can reflect upon for generations. It’s a chance to be a role model and a champion on and off the field. It’s a chance to help make someone else’s life better. It’s a way to provide for their families.
Football is not just a game. Football is life.
