Over the past
forty years, football has surpassed baseball as America's favorite
game. The game has become an institution of our national culture: the
Super Bowl is regarded as an unofficial national holiday, and our
annual Thanksgiving Day celebrations would be incomplete without it.
The sport brings in massive amounts of revenue to high schools and both
public and private universities as spectators enjoy a unique and
celebratory social scene. Professional football teams across the
country cultivate and foster a sense of community in urban areas.
Surely a game this influential, with its hallowed traditions, treasured
festivities, and clearly defined cultural presence, resonates far
beyond recreational importance.
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Football
and Philosophy: Going Deep,
edited by Michael W. Austin, reveals how a sport followed by millions
reflects our deeper values, beliefs, and priorities. Austin and other
contributing writers bring unique perspectives to this
thought-provoking collection of essays. |
Divided into "four quarters" of reflective writing, the book covers
many topics frequently debated by football fans. Sharon Ryan asks
"What's So Bad about Performance Enhancing Drugs?", while the book's
editor argues for a playoff system in college football. Daniel
Collins-Cavanaugh ponders whether the salary cap makes the NFL a fairer
league, and Joshua Smith offers his own review of the instant replay.
Football
and Philosophy
also forays into some time honored issues as it considers the
philosophy of winning in light of the NFL's most legendary coach, Vince
Lombardi, and contemplates the concepts of sportsmanship, virtue,
friendship, and failure. While the book is unafraid to tackle serious
topics, touching on ethics, religion, and the nature of reality itself,
the collection is designed to be accessible for any interested reader
and was written, first and foremost, for fans of the game. As Austin
notes, football fans and philosophers definitely have one quality in
common: they both love to argue.
Football
and Philosophy
engages in the debates of both groups, illuminating how the fields are
intertwined. So whether they love or hate the college bowl system or
disagree on whether the NFL has an ego problem, readers of this book
will undoubtedly find much to ponder about America's favorite game.
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Football and Philosophy
Going Deep
by Michael W. Austin
University
Press of Kentucky,
2009
Order
a copy
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