My Evolving NFL Fandom

I’m a big NFL fan. I watch almost every Atlanta Falcons game and I’m also in three rivalry-heavy fantasy football leagues, so I have a little too much emotional investment in the league. But NFL football is SO fun to watch. It’s a sport involving some of the best athletes in the world trying to stop each other at high velocity. Each game has great catches, long runs, and what most fans pay to see, the huge hits. I've had emotional highs and lows and everything in between following the NFL. And I’d never regretted it. Until recently.

It’s not just the high-profile nature of the recent domestic violence incidents (count ‘em: Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald, Jonathan Dwyer) and that this seems to be a problem for NFL players in general. It’s not just how poorly both the league and teams of these players handled the situations. It’s not just that many players leave the sport with traumatic brain injuries. It’s not just the league doesn't do enough to help them. It’s all of the above and more. We as a society look back on gladiators, for example, and can scarcely imagine that they did what they did. But what does it say about us that violence is still seen as entertainment? How long from now until we are looked at with shock and disbelief?

I don’t know what my responsibility is. Boycotting the NFL will do little as ratings are higher than ever. I was heartened to see some of the league’s corporate partners call for the NFL to take strong action on domestic violence, but at the end of the day, money talks. Everybody’s happy to ride a PR wave; nobody wants to sacrifice profit to take a stand. As long as the NFL continues to bring in massive amounts of money, I’m skeptical of seeing lasting change. Call me a cynic. And domestic violence, as mentioned, is just one of a myriad of problems the NFL faces. 

But even as I write this, I realize it’s highly unlikely I will stop being a volume consumer of the NFL. Is it enough to have thought about these issues? Is it enough to have brought it up on social media, in hopes of getting others to think about them? I don’t know.

What I do know is that “I don’t know” will be a common theme for me in this space. The more I know the more I don’t know.

Film Review: About Time (2013)

I can understand why people wouldn't like this movie. Each heartstring-tugging moment (and there are many) is matched by a plot hole, which I suppose is to be expected when one (writer/director Richard Curtis, he of Love Actually) mixes elements of family/love/sentimentality with ill-defined time travel. Allow me to explain:

Our protagonist Tim Lake, played by the heretofore unknown (to me) but wonderful Domnhall Gleeson is informed by his father on his 21^st birthday that the men in the family can travel back in time.  Warned by Dad that getting rich quick isn't the way to go, Tim instead focuses his ability on finding love. You can imagine the benefits. An awkward line here, below-par sex there, and woooosh, second chance (and third and so on). Soon enough he meets his One (the ever vivacious Rachel McAdams) and figures out how to turn their meet-cute into something more. If Tim didn't mean so well and Gleeson didn't play him so earnestly, this behavior could come off as creepy, but it works here.

Disappointingly, the time travel element of About Time makes little sense. Rules are handed down and broken without consequence. The Butterfly Effect gets its requisite mention but nothing comes of it. And there’s no mention of the ethical and moral implications of affecting others’ lives by rewinding time. Curtis would presumably tell you that the time travel isn't the focus of the film but it’s nonetheless silly to leave such gaps of logic.

That said, the emotional element hits and hits hard. Though About Time seems at times engineered to make you feel, you succumb anyway. Thought Field of Dreams made you want to call your father?  That this feeling is drawn from such a haphazardly plotted film with little in the way of true conflict is a testament to the cast. Gleeson and McAdams (who doesn't get much to do, in truth) are terrific but the real star is Bill Nighy, as Tim’s father. His brilliance lies is in how he underplays his lines for effect; in one scene, he matter-of-factly states to Gleeson’s character that he rewound their conversation simply because he was embarrassed he asked for a hug. Nighy’s constant energy and movement lend a real warmth to his character and you quickly get a feel for what growing up with him as father would've been like. It’s more a father-and-son film than the romantic comedy it purports to be.

About Time presents an interesting juxtaposition. One the one hand, the plot is ludicrous while on the other, the themes are clear and are presented with emotional depth (and humor). Live each day as if you can’t repeat it! Family is the tie that binds! Messages that are far from original but always bear repeating. Your mileage will depend on your ability to reconcile the two. Clearly About Time isn't for everybody, but it was for me.

Shashank's Thoughts Intro

I am not going to use this space as a diary. I have altogether zero interest in detailing the trivialities of my daily life. What I am interested in writing about are things that are on my mind at a given time. Perhaps it's a movie that struck a chord or a societal issue that I'm unsure about. My intention in starting this is not to present strong opinions and try to generate discussion but simply to chronicle my feelings as something to look back on in the future.

I have no firm schedule on posting nor do I have any idea how long this will last. I do know I am the type of person for whom these types of compulsions come and go. But I do enjoy writing, though I lack any particular skill for it, and have found it at times cathartic to go through the process of filtering my thoughts down to paper. So we'll see how it goes!