Americans love football

OPINION:

Joe Biden’s handlers have decided that the current democratic frontrunner and sitting president should skip an interview with CBS during the Super Bowl this election year.  The viewing public thanks them.  He, and his administration, could not demonstrate values more antagonistic to the American spirit if they tried.  

It is football that truly represents our spirit and values. So, let’s ignore the rot that this administration has spread throughout our society and focus instead on our love of football. Maybe that’s how we will find our way back to who we are as a nation and what makes us so unique. Some would even say exceptional.

Football players exude the brash and macho energy that has been so exquisitely American in days past. They are not softies like their overseas futbol counterparts (aka “Floppers”), falling down with every near miss and begging referees to call a foul. Our guys actually get hit, crash into the ground, and then pop up, ready for the next series of downs. They are unabashedly tough and proud of their ability to play through the pain, often resisting their coaches calls to exit the gridiron with injuries. They are part of a team with a clear mission, and they give it their all.  

Sure, football is fantastic entertainment, but that alone cannot explain our obsession with the game. We love football because it is a true meritocracy, reminiscent of how our society used to function.  Football is still America, but Mr. Biden is not.

Talent, hard work, opportunity and a bit of risk-taking make up the essential cocktail for well-earned success. Merit is the only way to earn a jersey, join a team, and attain the heights of success. This is how the cream rises to make our fall-winter Sunday afternoons so delightful.

The color of one’s skin or his daddy’s connections have no bearing on the sport. Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’ star Tight End, is outstanding because he catches the ball and blocks better than anyone else who plays his position. He is not a fan favorite because of his more famous girlfriend, and no one would say that he’s advanced due to white privilege.  

On Sunday, when Travis runs a crossing route, he’ll face off against one of the NFL’s greatest Linebackers and this season’s top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, the 49ers’ Fred Warner. No one would ever put an asterisk next to his name because his greatness is self-evident.  

One sad day, both Travis and Fred will recognize that they can’t play at their peak anymore, and they will gracefully retire to the tears of their fans. If only the same were true of the Commander-in-Chief.  If he can’t walk off a stage, it’s time for him to get off the stage.

Football is also an exemplary rules-based sport. Everyone knows the rules. Sure, players try to get away with bending the rules, but instant replay provides “further review” for referees to catch the infractions. It’s called “accountability.”  Yet, when our top political referee, the Supreme Court, makes a call against the Biden administration, there seem to no consequences for defying it.  

What if Andy Reid were told that he didn’t have the authority to forgive student debt but forgave it anyway?  Or if the rulebook said legal immigration was the only path to citizenship, and Kyle Shanahan opened the floodgates regardless?  How quickly would those guys get fined, fired and forgotten?  

No wonder Mr. Biden doesn’t care about the Super Bowl. The sheer Americanness of it is anathema to him. Everyone is going to know who has won the game on Sunday night, and we won’t question the outcome.  We will all have seen which team scored the most points by the time the clock runs out.  If the 2024 general election is anything like that of 2020, we won’t know who has won until long after the polls close. 

For our elections, Democrats have adopted the decidedly un-American futbol approach where “stoppage time” is mysteriously added after 90 minutes of regular play. The match is not over until the referee blows the whistle, regardless of when the clock runs out.  Who profits from this stoppage time? In the UK’s Premier League, the “Big Six” wealthiest clubs have benefitted the most from their results-altering “post-match” goals. Just like an election official arbitrarily counting mail-in ballots for days after an election, always benefits the same party. 

Some of our more erudite compatriots may look down their noses at the rough and tumble of the Super Bowl, especially if they affiliate more with futbol than football. That’s okay. We’re sick of them, too.  So, after Sunday, when we’ll all have more time on our hands, let’s channel our love of football into pushing back on the haters and reclaiming our American fighting spirit. 

• Denise Cohen is the founder of Bridge Post Communications and a fellow at the Law of Armed Conflict Israel Research Center.  She has also worked as a director at the American Conservative Union Foundation.