Movie producer Peter Bogdonovich once said “There are no OLD movies – just good movies you haven’t seen yet.” It would behoove the spoiled brats -players, coaches, owners, and especially Commissioner Goodell of the National Football League to watch the 1936 movie Knute Rockne: American Hero.
Knute Rockne, coach of Notre Dame, was a living legend in football at a time it enjoyed its’ zenith of national popularity. It was also a period in which the future of football was being questioned by Congress for the illegal subsidizing of college players with cash and the numerous deaths during the games. Rockne was asked to testify before a congressional committee inquiring into whether football should continue to be a college sport. Several colleges had already banned it from their campuses.
This is what Coach Rockne said:
“A game such as football is more than a little help for the boys. It’s an absolute necessity to the nation’s best interest.”
Q. Why is football so vital to the nation’s welfare?
A. “Because any red-blooded young man in any country can build what’s called the natural spirit of combat. In many parts of Europe and elsewhere in the world this spirit manifests itself in continuous wars and civil strife. We have tried to make competitive sports serve as this outlet for the spirit of combat. I believe we’ve succeeded.”
Q. Do you mean to say you’ve never interceded for a football player whose fallen behind in his classes and had to be suspended from your team?
A. “I mean just that. Any player that flunks in his class is no good to his coach nor to the school he attends. And any coach who goes around trying to fix it for him to become eligible scholastically did not do that young man a favor and is playing him for a fool.”
Q. Mr. Rockne. Could football be replaced by some other game? Something less violent?
A. “What game would you suggest?
Q. Well, hockey, for instance.
A. “Well, now, as a matter of fact, I suggested that very idea to our president [of Notre Dame] Father Callaghan. He was downright interested until we came to the matter of the sticks. And then he threw up his hands. He said, noooo, that game is not for our university. Notre Dame will never endorse any game which puts a stick in the hands of an Irishman.” (followed by laughter from the gallery)
Q. In your opinion, Mr. Rockne, what is a college for? Where do these elaborate spectacles called sports fit into the scheme of education? How would you grade an average athlete’s contribution to the boys intelligence?
A. “We’re living in the 20th century. To limit a college education to books, classrooms and theories is to give the definition too narrowly. Now if I have learned anything in my 21 years of work with my boys it’s one thing: The most dangerous thing in American life today is we’re getting soft – inside and out. We’re losing that forceful heritage that embodied what was once our most precious possession. Now we, these men and I (Pop Warner, et al) have spent our lives trying to work out that flaccid philosophy, work it out of our boys’ minds. We believe that the plan of the work of Man is to build the character of young men. Try to build courage, initiative and tolerance and persistence. Without which the most educated man is not worth very much. Now our boys at Notre Dame have played all over the country. And they’ve gotten to learn that southerners aren’t lazy, northerners aren’t cold, middle westerners aren’t hicks and Californians aren’t big and dumb. They’ve learned from all sorts of Americans what America is. And in that process they’ve found themselves. Now I don’t know, I don’t know how you grade a boy in these things professor. 50, 75s, 95s? But wouldn’t it be a good idea not to grade anybody’s contribution to the national intelligence until all the results are in? Maybe five or ten years after graduation? When his record in character can be put on a wall like a diploma? Showing what’s inside the man himself?” The movie ends with Rockne telling his players about a former player who died of cancer encouraging his team to “Give one more for the Gipper” when the going gets tough.
One definition of character is doing the right thing when no one is looking. The principles Rockne described should not be limited to college football. Some well-known professional athletes deny any responsibility as role models to younger, aspiring athletes. That was an amazing denial of reality. Yet now many are using that influence to destroy the American culture. Knute Rockne, Pop Warner, Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry (who was a B-17 pilot in WWII and coached with Lombardi at West Point) and all the coaches of character are rolling over in their graves (so Goodell, et al can kiss their asses) at the unpatriotic, lack of character existing in the NFL today.
When Coach Vince Lombardi failed to get a coaching job with the New York Giants because he was Italian, he heard about a nascent football team in the frozen, Midwestern city of Green Bay, Wisconsin. His successive national championships are now a fading legend. The Green Bay Packers were considered a threat in one other way by the other professional football team owners. The Packers are the only publicly-owned professional football team in America. Once the Packers became so successful – and profitable to the citizens of Green Bay- the NFL owners association wrote an amendment to their charter PROHIBITING any other football team from being publicly owned. That guaranteed the ever increasing profits would not be shared with any more citizen fans.
That was the NFL’s first unpatriotic act. Some might call it an illegal monopoly. Others might label it an Unfair Trade Practice to prohibit citizens (whose taxes pay for the NFL’s stadiums) from being able to own a participating, professional football team. Fans should write congress and demand that be changed. In an era of decreasing tax bases citizen fans should demand their local and state representatives invest in professional sports in order to benefit from the profits. This would break the back of the monopolistic NFL owner’s association and broaden the local tax base. It sure as hell beats ripping off taxpayers through gambling on lotteries.
It wasn’t the last unpatriotic act by the NFL owner’s / player’s association (see “Kaepernick: Useful Idiot” on this site). The way the NFL treated the Nigerian pathologist who discovered the concussion issue was absolutely shameful – if not criminal. The NFL boasting “We OWN a day of the week!” (Sunday) was sacrilegious – but true thanks to fans worshipping their false god. One of the most egregious (other than the mushrooming disrespect to America, it’s flag and anthem) was the NFL telling the Dallas Cowboys they couldn’t wear black armbands in memory of the five Dallas police officers killed during the Black Lives Matter demonstration. Those two examples convinced me to divorce the NFL after life-long devotion. I encourage every other fan to do the same until the NFL pulls its’ head out of its’ ass.
It’s a national disgrace that the National Football League is not already bankrupt. Boycott anything NFL.
-
Recent Posts
- Trump! Beware the Ides of RFK, Jr.! November 9, 2024
- The Only 100% Accurate Poll for President November 4, 2024
- A Kamala Word Salad Administration: A Sisyphean Surd October 27, 2024
- Rommel Rebukes Kamala’s Character Assassination October 24, 2024
- Socrates Scores Bret Baier’s Kamala Interview October 21, 2024
- Butler Shooting: Post-Event Tactical Analysis – Cover vs. Concealment October 13, 2024
- FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! How to Help Helene Victims NOW! October 3, 2024
- GOP’s Ballot Harvesting: Poker Politics September 27, 2024
- Butler and Uvalde P.D.s: Cops Who Cowered September 18, 2024
- Benedict Arnold Admires Mayorkas September 17, 2024
RSS Feed
- Trump! Beware the Ides of RFK, Jr.!Is RFK, Jr. going to be Trump's Fauci? Continue reading → The post Trump! Beware the Ides of RFK, Jr.! appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- The Only 100% Accurate Poll for PresidentNo one seems to be paying attention to the only 100% accurate indicator of who is going to win the White House Continue reading → The post The Only 100% Accurate Poll for President appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- A Kamala Word Salad Administration: A Sisyphean SurdThe Consequences of a Kamala Word Salad Administration are foreboding. Continue reading → The post A Kamala Word Salad Administration: A Sisyphean Surd appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Rommel Rebukes Kamala’s Character AssassinationRommel exposes Kamala's hypocrisy calling Trump a fascist. Continue reading → The post Rommel Rebukes Kamala’s Character Assassination appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Socrates Scores Bret Baier’s Kamala InterviewThe media needs to graduate from Verbal Judo to Karate. Continue reading → The post Socrates Scores Bret Baier’s Kamala Interview appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Butler Shooting: Post-Event Tactical Analysis – Cover vs. ConcealmentButler police had a safe, easy and obvious tactic to neutralize the shooter - and didn't use it. Continue reading → The post Butler Shooting: Post-Event Tactical Analysis – Cover vs. Concealment appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! How to Help Helene Victims NOW!Somebody with a brain needs to take charge of Hurricane Helene disaster relief and send in the Army units trained for such a mission. Continue reading → The post FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! How to Help Helene Victims NOW! appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- GOP’s Ballot Harvesting: Poker PoliticsThe GOP is playing the wrong game by the wrong rules - again. Continue reading → The post GOP’s Ballot Harvesting: Poker Politics appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Butler and Uvalde P.D.s: Cops Who CoweredCowering when courage was required. Continue reading → The post Butler and Uvalde P.D.s: Cops Who Cowered appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Benedict Arnold Admires MayorkasAmerica's most infamous traitor crosses the veil to converse with a kindred spirit. Continue reading → The post Benedict Arnold Admires Mayorkas appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Kamala Queries Ho Chi MinhKamala calls forth advice from Uncle Ho. Continue reading → The post Kamala Queries Ho Chi Minh appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Kamala’s Budget: An American HolodomorKamala's budget and social agenda is straight from Orwell's 1984. Continue reading → The post Kamala’s Budget: An American Holodomor appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Kamala’s Counterfeit Campaign: The Power of PropagandaGOP efforts to thwart Kamala's drive to occupy the Oval Office are doomed to failure - again; and for the same reason. Continue reading → The post Kamala’s Counterfeit Campaign: The Power of Propaganda appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Putin’s Days Are Numbered: Here’s WhyPutin's invasion of Ukraine and his inability to obtain a quick victory has cut the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head. Continue reading → The post Putin’s Days Are Numbered: Here’s Why appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Kudlow’s Quest for Calculus: Why Harris Double-Downed on VPKudlow's ignorance of warfare baffled by Harris picking Walz. Continue reading → The post Kudlow’s Quest for Calculus: Why Harris Double-Downed on VP appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Bastiat Berates Biden: Plunder Theory PersonifiedClaude-Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850): the most brilliant (and understandable) economic journalist who ever lived takes Biden to the economic woodshed. Continue reading → The post Bastiat Berates Biden: Plunder Theory Personified appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- ASS Director Robert Rowe Must Go!ASS Director Robert Rowe did not attain his appointed position by telling Truth to Power. Just the opposite. Continue reading → The post ASS Director Robert Rowe Must Go! appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Baffled GOP Denounces Dems “Coup” – Wrong Again!The baffled GOP leadership playing the wrong game by the wrong rules. Continue reading → The post Baffled GOP Denounces Dems “Coup” – Wrong Again! appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Trump Shooting: Patton’s Pattern Analysis vs. Death by D.E.I.General George S. Patton eviscerates Secret Service Director Cheadle. Continue reading → The post Trump Shooting: Patton’s Pattern Analysis vs. Death by D.E.I. appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united by some common trait or interest.
- Trump Shooting: Uvalde Part II and the Demise of Tactical Terrain Analysis"When seconds count, the police (and Secret Service) are only minutes away" - anon. There are disturbing similarities between the shootings in Bethel, PA and Uvalde, Texas. Continue reading → The post Trump Shooting: Uvalde Part II and the Demise of Tactical Terrain Analysis appeared first on Ligon Clan Law: a group of people united […]
- Trump! Beware the Ides of RFK, Jr.!
Archives