Before I start my rant, I want to be clear that I do enjoy watching football, especially my Washington Huskies (Go Dawgs!), but I just want to point out some of my problems with the it. As I ponder men's obsession with football I come to the realization of the negative and anti-family sentiments surrounding the game, ones that further ingrain negative stereotypes of men into the minds of society. Here's a few reasons football is just not family friendly:
- Advertising - Beer and Sex, that's what we men like advertised to us when we are sitting down as a family to watch a football game right? Luckily the greatest invention in the last 50 years, the DVR,can help us with this, but commercials during football games can be ridiculous. The sad part is, they do it because it's effective.
- Cheerleaders - I watch football to watch some of the best athletes in the world compete and play the game of football, not to see half-naked women in the background or after every commercial break. It's these types of things that make my wife feel uncomfortable... that make me feel uncomfortable. I am of the firm belief that seeing this type of sexualized material should always be a chose, it's shouldn't be a byproduct of watching football.
- Time Commitment - Football games are long. Make sure football doesn't get in the way of spending quality time with your family. This is especially important because almost every football game falls on the Lord's day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't watch football on Sunday, but just make sure its behind God and your family on your priority list for the day.
- Athlete's Behavior - This one is an obvious one, especially off the field behavior. Is it just me, or is it hard to watch someone play who you know last week was arrested for DUI, or plead guilty to domestic abuse? It applies to what they do on the field too - how many F-bombs do you see mouthed by players and coaches during a single game? too many - that's not family friendly.
