Sounds snarky. But it is applicable, on so many levels.
(And yeah, it is a bit snarky. I'm not very keen on the U.S., right now -- even though I'm part of it.)
- Players destroying their bodies (and, we increasingly know, minds) for the sake of the sport.
- A willful blindness to the above, served at top levels by rampant commercialism and profit, for decades. Even the cognitive effects, probably for a couple of decades if not longer.
- A fan base that spends an inordinate amount of time in such allegiance and paying fealty. Granted, there's a lot of socialization around this. But there's also a lot of... well, several words come to mind, but I'll sum it up with "aggression", often I find of a rather mindless and inconsiderate sort, at least from a minority but a minority having an outsized impact.
- Most recently, when the "show" is co-opted to express another viewpoint: The protests. So much allegiance to the show and disinterest in paying attention to what the players, the participants who actually make the show possible, are rightly trying to point out -- something that belongs to many of their own backgrounds and experiences.
Blind allegiance. Stop and think about the context.
P.S. I know European football has a lot of violence -- those stories about fan violence and absurdity. But I don't feel qualified to speak to it, really. I also don't perceive the players as being quite so chewed up by the game, although I vaguely recall some stories of arthritis and significantly limited mobility. And headers are becoming increasingly suspect in brain trauma.
The discussion is about soccer, not american football.
Anyway,
Blind allegiance. Stop and think about the context.
P.S. I know European football has a lot of violence -- those stories about fan violence and absurdity. But I don't feel qualified to speak to it, really. I also don't perceive the players as being quite so chewed up by the game, although I vaguely recall some stories of arthritis and significantly limited mobility. And headers are becoming increasingly suspect in brain trauma.
I'm European but I watch a lot of NBA. Trust me there's no comparison when it comes to allegiance and supporting your club/team. In Europe and Latin America it's close to a religion. You stick to your team no matter what,changing allegiance is frowned upon and shows lack of character (what's called bandwagoning in the US). But is this unhealthy? Not to the degree your post argues
There's definitely sports related violence (especially in eastern Europe, balkans, latin America) but sports is just an excuse, there are deeper rooted problems that generate it. There's little to no sports related violence in northern Europe these days, even in Britain which was notorious for it in the 80's, but people are still loyal and mad about their teams.
As for injuries it's an occupational hazard with a great reward to risk ratio, unlike eg. working in a mine, or being in law enforcement - you're paid WAY better and you're WAY more popular even without being top tier. Risking your life for a few mil in the bank is much better than risking your life for a measly pension and a state sponsored funeral.