Arlington writer Steve Almond wasn’t always against football. On the contrary, he was a huge fan of the sport. But, as he outlines in his latest book Against Football: One Fan’s Reluctant Manifesto, the game as changed for him. Listen as he explains why. More
For decades, Steve Almond spent his Septembers much like any other football fan. He began his love/hate relationship with the Raiders, cheered them on in the excitement of a new season, and felt the heartbreak as the weeks unfolded and the losses kept coming, or thrilled as the team started stacking wins. These days Almond feels a different kind of heartbreak – that of losing his beloved sport to the intrusion of his conscience. He had felt pangs of it before, watching the violence of the game and reading the stories about high school, college, and pro athletes suffering permanent physical and psychological damage from their chosen sport. The breaking point happened when he came face-to-face with the type of dementia players experience in their latter years. His mother had been hit by a truck, and years later, developed a dementia that threatened her life, though thankfully it turned out to be temporary. More
