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September 8, 2008
Posted: 11:02 AM ET
Sports Anchor Rafer Weigel It doesn’t matter how you roll, little unifies like the pigskin, as those of use who gathered to watch Sunday’s action noticed. Last year’s Super Bowl was the second-most watched television event ever (97.5 million viewers). Even with a bad economy, the league is expected to set attendance records for the sixth straight year this season. I call it the Gestalt of the Gridiron. 
Rafer Weigel calls the American infatuation with football the “Gestalt of the Gridiron.”  Baseball may be our national pastime but football is our national obsession. What’s puts football over the top? The ladies like it. Our executive producer Susan Jalali couldn’t name you more than two players on the Olympic Men’s Basketball team or more than four baseball teams without turning to the internet. Most mornings when I discuss our sports stories for the day, her eyes glaze over like a zombie – although that could have something to do the fact that our meetings take place at 4 in the morning. Nonetheless, this Friday Susan was noticeably different. There she was, proudly donning her New Orleans Saints’ jersey – No. 57 for retired linebacker Rickey Jackson – talking about how Reggie Bush will break out this year (she’s right by the way). And she’s not alone. According to a Harris poll, women make up 40 percent of the football fan base. It’s more popular among women (30 percent say it’s their fave) than the other sports combined (MLB, 14%, Nascar 8%, NBA 7%) But why? What is it about football that makes us love it? Is it because it’s ingrained in our cultural history? We grew up watching it with family on Sundays, on Friday nights at our local high school and on Thanksgiving. Is it because of its primitive and violent nature or its cerebral and chess-like strategy? Or maybe that it’s a perfect union of the two? Is it because its war-like tonality makes us feel like we’re part of something larger and it bonds us over one common goal – pounding the opponent into submission? Or is it all of the above? Whatever it is, football gets us shelling out big cash for a game that lasts about three hours but features only about 15 minutes of actual playing time. It sells out stadiums in weather conditions sometimes so unhealthy we think we might die during the game (I’m talking to you Bears, Packers, and Bills fans). And it keeps us coming back. Some of my fondest memories are of schlepping to Soldier Field in December in the 1970’s with my dad in those punishing Lake Michigan winds that made my feet so cold I thought I’d lose them to frostbite while watching a terrible Bears team. It was the shared experience and the bonding with my father, my friends and even total strangers that kept me coming back and pushed me to play football later on. I grew to love the game even more by learning its complexities—until I realized I’d never crack the rotation, and went into the broadcast for the local cable access instead. Now nothing can take me away from football even if it’s important dinner plans with Christi Paul and her husband (They were nice enough to reschedule). And I’m so passionate about it at times I’ve actually cried watching a few games—like when my Illinois fighting Illini beat Ohio State last year. Actually, Buckeye fans probably cried that day too. But if familiarity breeds verklempt what’s Susan’s excuse? Why do she and so many other millions of women love it when they never played organized ball? Although, they are finally correcting that. There are currently three professional women’s football leagues running right now. Perhaps the sport’s appeal is as complex as the female psyche—something far too complicated for my simple mind to understand. I’d like to know what drew you to it. Was there a defining moment or a series of collective ones that made you a fan? Leave a comment after you’re done discussing at the water cooler about how good the Cowboys looked or about Tom Brady’s hurt knee. In the meantime, I’ll finally be having a conversation with Susan. Posted by: Sports Anchor Rafer Weigel |
 
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