Football by Chuck Klosterman

My book for April is Football by Chuck Klosterman. I bought the book after hearing Klosterman talk about it on one of Bill Simmons' recent podcasts. I read it on our way to Eastern Europe and back.

The book is really a series of loosely interconnected essays rather than a linear history. Klosterman argues that football is uniquely suited for TV because its structure—brief bursts of high-stakes action separated by long pauses—perfectly matches how we consume media and hold social conversations.

Klosterman traces his own obsession back to his childhood in North Dakota. He explores how regional identities (like high school ball in Texas) create a national "secular religion." The book also examines the "uncompromising head coach" as a cultural archetype and challenges modern assumptions about who the "greatest" players actually are, looking as far back as Jim Thorpe.

One of the book’s most debated points is his theory that football will eventually lose its cultural dominance in the next 60 to 70 years, much like horse racing did, as youth participation drops and societal values shift. Although I played football in high school, fewer and fewer kids are. Klosterman also makes an interesting point that it is the only sport that you can't really play recreationally. You can play baseball, golf and tennis; there are even adult hockey leagues. He also suggests that the current model supported by advertising will collapse; Klosterman argues that the advertising is not effective.

I give the book a lukewarm thumbs up. It is interesting, but not compelling. It is a little like listening to him talk to Simmons on a podcast...