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The Language of Packers Love: On Fandom and ‘Going Clear’
Posted on October 4, 2015 Leave a Comment
By Rob Casper Adam, I think you make a good point in your post about those who commit heinous acts in the name of their religion. Which reminds me of the surprise I felt reading the epilogue of Going Clear. First there was Lawrence Wright’s takedown of Joseph Smith for The Book of Abraham, followed […]
Spending My Time: On Collective Identity, Family, and ‘Against Football’
Posted on September 12, 2015 1 Comment
By Yona Harvey When I was invited to participate in this book club, I wasn’t convinced I’d have much to contribute. I didn’t exactly grow up watching sports. I grew up watching the people I loved watch sports. At my grandparents’ house, for instance, I floated in and out of the family room while my […]
No Way to Escape Family Night: On ‘Against Football’ and the Green Bay Packers
Posted on September 11, 2015 Leave a Comment
By Rob Casper Adam, Dan, and Ryan — reading your posts makes me realize, first and foremost, that I am not much of a Packers fan. Or rather, I don’t have much of a problem watching the team I grew up worshipping…unless they start to win. The losses are easy, but when the wins start […]
The Truth Is Terrible: On ‘Against Football’ and the Bears’ Pre-Season
Posted on September 9, 2015 Leave a Comment
By Adam Boretz Were I making a list of things I’d have absolutely no problem missing out on — a head wound, the music of Slipknot, gonorrhea, a close personal friendship with Anthony Weiner — Bears’ pre-season football would land pretty close to the top. Let’s be honest: Pre-season football is all but meaningless, features a sad array of […]
Building Something: On Childhood Memories, ‘Against Football,’ the New York Jets, and My Future Kids
Posted on September 7, 2015 3 Comments
By Dan Bjork When I signed up for this, I didn’t think my chances of making it were all that good. I thought, best case scenario: I’d schedule my Sunday workout for Jets’ kick-off and most of the time they’d be well on their way to losing by the time I finished — it’d be easy enough […]
I Fought the NFL and the NFL Won: On ‘Against Football,’ Illegal Streams, and San Francisco’s Fallen Camelot
Posted on September 5, 2015 4 Comments
By Ryan Henry Joe Three years ago, with then-San Francisco 49ers kicker David Akers landing the ball everywhere but between the uprights, I’d scurry into my bedroom and hide under a blanket whenever he trotted onto the gridiron for a high-stakes field goal attempt. An outburst of cheering — provided it was a home game […]
Pre-Season: Steve Almond’s ‘Against Football’
Posted on August 10, 2015 Leave a Comment
For the NFL pre-season, Football Book Club will be reading Against Football: One Fan’s Reluctant Manifesto by Steve Almond. Almond — a Raiders fan, journalist, and author of My Life in Heavy Metal, Candyfreak, and God Bless America — summarized his manifesto in a 2014 interview with Electric Literature, saying: “The point of Against Football is not just that […]
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