All the Ladies in the House say “Aww.”

San Diego Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers

Attention Ladies! Football season is almost among us; in fact pre-season games are already airing. I’m sure you know this because you probably have a husband or boyfriend who has already begun ignoring you, or has stopped taking your calls on those nights. But as the regular season approaches, I encourage you wives and girlfriends to join your fellas and watch a game or two. I know, sounds unthinkable; but pick that bottom lip up off the floor, I have good reasons for suggesting this, so before you angrily denounce me, listen to what I have to say first.

What is it that people love about football? For me –yes, I am one of those rare women who love the game as much as any guy; I love football because it celebrates men being men. In this day and age when manliness is frowned upon and in its place is this weird hybrid male called a “metro-sexual,” watching a sport where men can be men is quite refreshing. The whole idea of being a man has changed over the years, some good changes and some awful ones. For example, it’s is acceptable these days for a man to cry, to express love for his wife and kids and hug another man –that’s all good. But other attributes of manliness have been discouraged by Hollywood and unhappy feminists who think the confident swagger of a John Wayne or the protective quality that some men feel in regards to their women, is somehow outdated or sexist. So, we get the neutered male, men who are so inept and beaten down that they’ve been rendered useless. Where there was once “Father Knows Best,” we get “According to Jim.” Instead of Fred MacMurray in “My Three Sons,”  we’re saddled with John Cryer’s hapless single dad on “Two and a Half Men.” The fact that the word “Men” is in the title of this show is laughable; there isn’t one reliable male on that show –and this is the problem. For too long now we’ve been subjected to men being portrayed on television and in movies as mere punch lines, relegated to second tier status because the much smarter female is on the case. The children don’t respect their father and it isn’t until the wise sage mom comes in to help that anything gets solved. 

I know it is probably hard to see how this relates to football, but let me explain.  Lately football has been under attack. One of the last vestiges where men can be men is in danger of being irrevocably changed, and not for the better. With the recent and unfortunate suicides of some well-known players in the NFL, there is now a cry that football is too violent and the rules need to be changed to adjust to different times (Maybe flag football?) Some are even saying it can’t be fixed and should be banned outright. In a recent article by George Will at JewishWorldReview.com, he likens football players to gladiators and the fans to the blood thirsty coliseum crowds eager to see someone brutalized. But he doesn’t get it, that’s not why we watch football,  violence is part of the game , but not the main reason why millions of men and women tune in each and every Sunday.

I don’t deny that there is a certain amount of risk when men suit up to play football, but we watch –I watch because it is a beautiful game. Like a carefully choreographed dance, we get to see some of the finest athletes move around the field as graceful as Baryshnakov in the Nutcracker. We watch to see the spiral of a perfectly thrown football that falls right into the waiting arms of an agile receiver on his way to the end zone, untouched. We tune in to watch in amazement the running back, as he  dances his way around the defense, twirling, twisting, and juking his way to a 20 yard gain. We get to see a close up shot of the eyes of a defensive player as they dart back and forth, taking in everything on the field. Then we see that same player outsmart the offensive tackle, push past him and thwart the quarterback before he can plant his feet and place the throw. There is a magical quality to this game, one that Mr. Will missed in his haste to condemn the entire sport. 

I want to see men swagger again, open doors for women and be willing to defend the integrity of the fairer sex when necessary. Football is the antithesis of what we get from the media’s perception of men today, and we need that contrast. We need men to be men again, unafraid and unapologetic.

So women, remember those times when your guy watched some Victorian chick flick with you, doing everything he could not to run from the room tearing his eyes out? Remember how he sat there, supportive and trying not to doze off while you wept softly on the couch next to him? Return the favor and watch a game with your guy, ask him what he loves about it, then watch as his eyes light up when he talks about his beloved football.  Besides, what are you going to do on those Sunday afternoons when husband is on the couch in his favorite team’s jersey, eating all sorts of artery hardening foods? Read 50 Shades of Grey? Get caught up on all that scrapbooking? Go out for an afternoon with the girls? You can do those things any old time.Take a Sunday or two to show your man that you appreciate him, and that you like men being men. 

First regular season game is Wednesday September 5^th. Opening day is on Sunday September 9^th. Put these dates on your calendar ladies -I’m serious!

-Alice from the Block