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Splash column: The definition of football
9/29/2014 9:30:01 AM

By Chad Kimberley
Splash Column

Fall is officially upon us, which means a constant stream of football running across fields, screens and tablets for the next several weeks. For some readers out there, that is cause for celebration as there might not be another reason to leave the comfort of your couch or favorite recliner until after the New Year's ball has dropped on 2015. 

There are others who enter a season of confusion (why is the guy on the defensive side allowed to essentially do the latest dance craze on one side of the ball while the offensive tackle slightly shifts his right quad and it is a penalty flag), dread (does every date night with my significant other have to be at a sports bar) and disbelief (how is it possible that there are games on every station every day of the week). 

For those who are experiencing any of these emotions, allow me to momentarily put on my teaching hat and head to the dry erase board to map out the key reasons why football fans are periodically delusional, overly excitable and genuinely passionate. 

High School Football = Opportunity
One of the reasons many fans are drawn to high school football is a bit of pride (my alma mater), reflection (my glory days) - but most importantly, opportunity. High school football is the last level where kids of all sizes, shapes and abilities get an opportunity to strap on the pads, race through a jumbo banner made by the cheerleaders and sprint onto a field with their families and friends cheering. 

There is great joy when you witness a young man make his first tackle, haul in his first pass or even sprint down for his first kickoff coverage. And for every parent, sibling and friend, it is their opportunity to scream like crazy and celebrate their loved one. This moment will soon pass, as slightly less than 5 percent of high school players make it to the collegiate level, so this opportunity is what makes high school football a Friday fixture for many fans.

College Football = Loyalty 
The flag. Nothing helps explain college football more than the passionate WSU fans who take their Cougar flag to each and every ESPN College Gameday telecast. Whether they are at enemy territory in Eugene, Ore., down south in Tuscaloosa, or even at a small school in Fargo, N.D., the WSU fans make it a point to show their loyalty to all of the college football landscape. 

This is what makes college football so unique. While I may not bleed crimson and gray, I do have nice shades of black and gold that cover my classroom and my kids' backs as I represent my Iowa Hawkeyes. There is nothing more exciting for myself as an Iowa fan than when I wear my colors and come across other Iowa fans in the Pacific Northwest. We immediately have a bond that comes from the loyalty of college football. 

Professional Football = Royalty
Despite being among the biggest, strongest, toughest athletes in professional sports, the NFL is all about royalty. Teams fight all year long to make the playoffs, win their way to the Super Bowl and ultimately watch the confetti fly as they earn a massive, overpriced ring to wear the rest of their days. Yeah, if that seems odd to you, I am with you. Yet winning the ring is proof of their entrances into the NFL royalty.

There is a second sense of royalty which makes the NFL popular among fans and followers. Merchandise sales. The players, teams and leagues all make money as fans spends thousands of dollars on official jerseys, Madden video games, trading cards and nearly limitless other means to show the support for their team. In fact, as I sat in church this morning, I saw numerous Wilson, Lynch and Sherman jerseys - with an Earl Thomas thrown in for good measure. 

Currently the NFL is the "king" of the professional sports world, whether you measure that by television ratings, attendance, sales, franchise values and nearly every other tangible ranking system. Yet with all the recent news of abusive players, serious and long-term head injuries and a commissioner that seems to be lacking transparency, the league could be losing their throne if they are not careful as they go forward.

Fantasy Football = Community 
This one in many aspects encapsulates all the other reasons and rationales of football fans. I have been in a fantasy football league for over a decade now with friends from the last couple of locations I have lived, and I stay in this league for the simple idea of community. Fantasy football is how we all stay connected. Fantasy football is the backdrop of weddings (we planned trades at the bachelor party), births (my buddy Thomas is getting a little Chicago Bears shirt for his soon-to-be Cleveland Browns-indoctrinated son) and ample amounts of trash talk which ends good naturedly 90 percent of the time.  

There is no greater joy than getting together with nine other buddies on draft day, drinking and eating for multiple hours and randomly picking professional players - even kickers - who you will now cheer for or rail against for the remainder of the NFL season. Of course, all this cheering and railing will be done with a backdrop of nine other league mates trashing you throughout the season. You just can't get community like that via other means.

The lesson is over and now a confession will be made. I, like many of your spouses, co-workers and neighbors am afflicted with the love of football on all four levels. So for the rest of this fall into the winter, I will be cheering hard for the Bears and Scotties (CV and Freeman), the Hawkeyes, the Bears and the Pitfall (my fantasy team so named for the classic Atari game) - while trying to plan my date nights and getaways around the television schedule.  

And if all my teams struggle or fail, the beauty is by the end of the football season a beautiful phrase is just around the corner. "Pitchers and catchers report."

Chad Kimberley is a local teacher and coach. He lives with his family in Liberty Lake. 

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