Football: Violent Hugs on the Gridiron
Football is many things to many people. It's a sport, a strategy, a culture, and an excuse to eat enough hot wings in one sitting to guarantee bloating for the next three days. But at it's core, football is about one thing: extremely aggressive group hugs. Try to imagine the following scenario in any other setting: A big, muscle-bound man sprints 20 yards at full speed with the intention of wrapping his arms around another muscle-bound man and throwing him to the ground and then holding him while others pile on. Depending on your background, that's either a felony or a family reunion. But in football? First down. There's something both slightly unhinged and endearing about a game where bombastic physical contact is precisely scheduled, refereed, and replayed in slow motion while commentators praise someone's abilities to hit another human with the force and accuracy of a guided missile. Man, that's beautiful! Fashion and Emotion on the Field There is a certain...