It has long been HG’s custom (properly provisioned with vodka, ale and salumi) to watch a few hours of pro football every week. An autumn ritual. Now, HG is having second thoughts. HG has long felt that big time college football was a cynical branch of show business. The impressarios (the coaches) are paid millions. The producers (the colleges) make money and use successful football programs as a mechanism to raise money from alumni. The actors (the players) are exploited. They are paid nothing. They are often injured badly. And, when injured, they usually lose their scholarships. Only a miniscule number go on to a productive career in professional football… Bob Cox is an ex-journalist and publisher. Now he’s a New Mexico horseman and an ornament of the Abiquiu community. Best thing that’s happened there since Georgia O’Keefe. Bob’s witty and balanced view of life in these strange United States (Can one imagine Oxford or the University of Bologna spending millions on a televised sport?) can be found on his blog: anoldgringosgazette.com. Log on and read his observations about pro football — a sport where what would be criminal behavior in everyday life is applauded by fans and well compensated by owners. HG supports Bob’s views. The death of the remarkable Alex Karras highlights the viciousness of the sport. Besides being a talented athlete, Karras was an intelligent man, an original wit and an actor who gave pleasure to many. Pro football left him a physical wreck and, like so many other players, a sufferer from early dementia. The owners of pro football teams are, like most capitalists, dominated by greed. Witness their recent behavior against striking referees which made the game, for a time, a veritable farce. If they truly cared about the game and the players,they would invest some of their millions and invent helmets and other equipment that would keep players safe. If nothing is done, pro football will remain a brutal variation of Roman gladiators doing battle. Entertainment for bloodthirsty viewers and early dementia and wrecked bodies for the gladiators.
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