Football hasn’t been a kind sport to me lately. Since 2000, there have been four seasons in which Illinois finished winless in Big Ten play, and only two (not counting bowl games) where the Illini finished with a record above .500. My former favorite NFL team was taken away from my hometown in search of riches in LA in a dishonest and cold-hearted process. I’ve only watched one full NFL game since.
The violence inherent to the game also troubles me. The concussion crisis should appall anyone, and it can be difficult watching knowing that the game may be causing the participants permanent brain damage.