I’m getting tired of football.
There’s nothing wrong with the sport, in theory. For a lot of people, it’s probably really exciting.
The aesthetic of a game day is something that I can come to appreciate—the idea of Friday night lights, good food afterward, and a stellar performance during halftime will always excite me.
It’s the sport itself that fails to draw my attention.
Aside from the fact that I haven’t been to a college or professional-level game (which is what I believe gives the sport its reputation and hype), I have no clue what’s going on on the field.
Usually, when I’m due to perform during halftime, my eyes aren’t even actually on the field. I’m doing stand dances or hyping up percussion solos or anything besides watching the sport.
The crazy thing is that I come from a sports-oriented family. Saturday mornings are designated specifically for college football, and yet I’ve managed to go seventeen years without soaking up a single fact about the sport.
I’m so clueless about it that I didn’t even realize what a ‘first down’ is called. I’ve been saying ‘one down’ for almost two years now.
And this isn’t to say I couldn’t learn more about the sport beyond how many points a touchdown is and which direction to ball should be headed. But I don’t want to.
I’ve had football explained, man-splained, re-explained, and broken down for children, and even then, I still don’t care enough to remember any of the information.
Needless to say, I find it boring.
Halftime shows however, have my full attention.
Dancers, marching bands, color guard, baton twirling, and everything that goes into performance arts on the turf is absolutely stunning and endlessly impressive to me.
It’s always been this way for me, even without the bias of being the aforementioned performer. Suspension and stories told through performance, especially in Texas heat in front of a ghostly quiet audience that showed up for an entirely different activity is incredible.
Those performances keep me from pulling teeth when I’m expected to watch an entire game where the entire premise is tackling the opposite team like cousins you’re annoyed with, and I think that’s pretty beautiful.
It bathes the rest of the game in this soft glow, making it easier for my eyes to swallow.
