Staff Reports
In the dazzling arena of professional football, where gladiators clash and fans cheer, the NFL season kicked off with some familiar theatrics, offering more drama off the field than on it. Imagine this: the NFL, an institution built on grit and testosterone, has taken a peculiar turn, painting its end zones with the words “Choose Love.” It’s like instructing a bull to tap-dance while waving a red flag. And right on cue, an Eagles player turned the sentiment into performance art by spitting on a Dallas Cowboy. If “Choose Love” somehow translates to “Choose Spit,” we’re all just a little confused.
As if that weren’t enough, the preamble to this colorful display included the singing of the Black National Anthem. Now, this isn’t to say that celebration of culture is a bad thing, but when we start fragmenting the national anthem, one wonders where it will end. Are we to expect a different anthem for every skin shade? At this rate, we’d be lucky to know when to stand or sit. The audience, it seems, felt similarly bemused, caught in contemplative silence rather than rousing celebration. Meanwhile, the production crew looked about as thrilled as a cat in a bathtub.
The NFL’s introduction of this anthem might have been intended as heartwarming, but judging by the reaction—or lack thereof—it landed somewhere between awkward and bewildering. With nary a voice joining the chorus, it’s clear that the only anthem most spectators care to hear is the ancient chant of sports fans: the good ol’ National Anthem we’re all familiar with. Anything beyond that apparently seems as alien as a football in a baseball diamond.
What we see here is the ultimate irony in motion. The NFL clutches the mic of moral righteousness on one hand and the banner of absurdity in the other. This coupling of virtue signaling with sports entertainment is akin to mixing ice cream and ketchup—it’s messy and confusing. Yet, the spectacle marches on, a parade that’s more circus than solemn ceremony.
For those exhausted by this spectacle, perhaps the greatest advice is this: there are other channels. Turning the dial from the gridiron to less inflammatory pastures might just be the ‘choosing love’ everyone can agree on. For now, it’s clear that while the NFL aims to dive deep into the social justice end zone, fans might be more entertained by some old-fashioned football without the unnecessary layers of political pomp.
