PRIORITIES

Americans are absolutely wild about football. They follow "their" teams through what seems an intolerably long "season" during which they have run, chased, pummeled, hit, and landed on one another in pursuit of an odd-shaped ball. Tickets to watch these events sell for incredibly high prices, and the closer it gets to the game between the winners of the two major leagues, the more it costs to see the carnage in person. By now most of the games leading up to the big one have been watched on TV, either at home or in "sports bars". Enormous TV sets are often purchased at equally enormous prices just to watch football games. These games are highlighted by fans painted in the colors of their team, cheerleaders wearing costumes in team colors, and team mascots adding to the frivolity of the event.

My only experience with football was with my high school's FM radio station, which covered the home games and went throughout the area to tape our reactions to how the game went. On the "away" games we rode the "band bus", using the time to make sure our equipment was set up properly and that we knew of anything special or different about a particular game. This went on from October until Thanksgiving Day, which was the end of high school football games. What followed were the awards, banquets, and scholarship presentations involving the players. In my mind, that was enough time to devote to one sport. Next, in the blink of an eye, it was time for basketball and ice hockey.

Perhaps it was my lack of understanding of the game that made me less interested in it than in other sports, but lately I have become interested in news articles about football players. In particular a story appeared about a player who played with such physical might that he cracked his helmet. It can only be imagined what the recipient of that hit was left with. The blunt force of these blows has been linked with concussions and damage to the brain. Players who retire begin acting strangely. They do foolish things with the millions that they had been paid. Marriages break up as personalities seem to change. Cognitive skills are lost, and the once-cheered hero becomes a has-been looking for his next dollar. One wonders if the hoopla was worth the end results.

The second American obsession is GROUNDHOG DAY on February 2nd. The folklore goes that if the beast comes out of his hole and sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of wintry weather. If on the other hand, the weather is cloudy and he does NOT see his shadow, spring is right around the corner. We not only look to the weather stations and newspapers for the information on this event, there are actually organizations devoted to this entire subject. The official groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil and he resides in Pennsylvania. On the morning of February 2nd he is taken from his hole and presented to a waiting crowd. At this time he either does or does not see his shadow, and the story continues from there.