Eli Manning is like the unpromising younger brother in fairy tales who surprises his elders and takes home the gold.
Tag Archives: Football
Eli, the Unpromising Youth of Fairy Tales
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Eli Manning, John Ruskin, King of the Golden River, Sports, Super Bowl Comments closed
No Man Is an Island (Not Even Revis)
New York Jet Darrelle Revis may be single man island who can shut down any receiver who comes near, but ultimately he must acknowledge, like John Donne, that no man is an island.
Après Peyton, le Déluge
News that Peyton Manning may be out for part or all of the upcoming football season puts me in mind of the future of the Geats after Beowulf’s death.
Memories of My Son, the Baseball Player
I hope I may be excused for revisiting a poem I have posted on before, along with some of my previous observations about it. It is a sports poem that brings to mind my oldest son, who died 11 years ago on this day. Dabney Stuart’s “Ties” is out of season—it’s about football—and Justin’s sport was baseball. Nevertheless I feel awash in sadness and sweet memory when I read it.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Ties", Baseball, Dabney Stuart, death of a child, Sports Comments closed
Judge Doty in the Role of Deus ex Machina
Sports Saturday Negotiations between the National Football League owners and the Players Association were at an impasse. The owners locking out the players seemed all but inevitable, along with suspension of the 2011 season. Then the goddess Athena stepped in. Taking the form of U.S. District Judge David Doty, she ordered the two sides to […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beowulf, blood feuds, Homer, labor negotiation, Odyssey, Sports Comments closed
Post Football Season Blues
Sports Saturday For American football fans, February is the cruelest month. Suddenly there are no Sundays to look forward to anymore. Suddenly there are no players or coaches or owners to excoriate. Suddenly there is, well, emptiness. It may be pushing it, but for me, the feeling is captured by a 1960’s Flannery O’Connor story. […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Everything that Rises Must Converge, Flannery O'Connor, Sports Comments closed
A Champ on the Field, a Thug Elsewhere
Sports Saturday Although it is a downer on the eve of Super Bowl Sunday, I can’t help but think of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger through the lens of Joyce Carol Oates’ terrifying short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” This is one reason I will be not be rooting for the […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ben Roethlisberger, Joyce Carol Oates, Philadelphia Story, Sports, violence, Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Comments closed
Rex Ryan, a Modern Day Falstaff
Sports Saturday As we move towards the NFL’s conference championships, one of the most interesting stories continues to be loud-mouthed Rex Ryan, the 350-pound coach of the New York Jets. If his team were to win its third straight road game tomorrow, it would be, in the words of Sport Illustrated’s Rick Reilly, the “greatest […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Henry IV Part I, New York Jets, Rex Ryan, Sports, William Shakespeare Comments closed
