On the Sidelines

Anyone who’s just driven 90 yards against huge men trying to kill them has earned the right to do jazz hands.

—Craig Ferguson

Standing on the sidelines, during a game being played by my school’s football team, I saw one of the players take a hard hit. He tumbled to the ground and didn’t move.We grabbed our first-aid gear and rushed out onto the field. The coach … Read More

As a Catholic, I’m partial to Notre Dame football. As a former Michigan resident, though, I also keep tabs on Michigan college teams. One Saturday afternoon, a neighbor dropped in while I was watching Notre Dame vs. Michigan State. "… Read More

Does it disturb anyone else that “The Los Angeles Angels” baseball team translates directly to “The The Angels Angels”?

Neil DeGrasse Tyson

The topic of my student’s essay was the importance of trust, camaraderie, and toughness among football 
players. “After all,” he wrote, “you don’t want a bunch of pre-Madonnas out there on the field.”

Michele Metcalf, Louisville, Kentucky

The rules of football and the plot of The Godfather are the two most 
complicated things that every guy understands no matter how dumb he is.

—Julian McCullough

I’m not good at sports, but I like parallel parking. Unlike sports, the worse you are at parallel parking, the more people you have rooting for you.

As a high-school football coach, I’m aware that student athletes tend to focus too much on sports. A fellow coach, Bob, was talking about one such player, who called him at home one night. When his wife informed the kid that Bob wasn’t home… Read More