Claims that college football is a broad social good are overstated and often rooted in fan partisanship rather than measurable civic benefit. Some media portrayals depict the sport as potentially depolarizing by suggesting shared stadium experiences bring diverse people together. Strongly held team loyalties and tribal allegiances frequently undercut arguments about political reconciliation. Transient gameday conviviality can create temporary camaraderie but rarely translates into sustained cross-partisan solidarity. Practical examples like game cancellations and regional rivalries illustrate limits to the sport's capacity to reconcile deep societal divisions.
There are few things in Podworld, or any other world for that matter, that will erode your faith in the value of a pastime quite like people claiming that said pastime plays a salutary role in the world as a whole. Silly things, sports very much included, can do a person good; arguing that your sport of choice is an affirmative social good requires a much bigger reach.
This brings us to the writer Jane Coaston's pod What A Game Day, which is a less manic and therefore much more tolerable examination of the social benefits, such as they are, of college football. Coaston knows ball and has clear and discernible game; the presentation is not at fault here. The guest on the episode in question is the former NBC politics anchor Chuck Todd, who like Coaston is that most worrisome of messengers: a true believer.
And what else could you want from a gameday companion but that? This episode of the show, which you should watch, bears the worrisome title "How College Football Can Depolarize America." The idea here is that, in gathering together in a stadium near you, you will find people of all stripes, kinds, political affiliations, and cultural leanings overcoming all those differences by getting stuck into third-and-7 at the opponents' 37.
Collection
[
|
...
]