Rants and Observations

Two things:

While watching TV tonight, I got to watch a commercial where the two dudes from Scrubs were making humorous pleas for nationalized health care. They urged young people (aged 18-29, the least-insured age group in America, according to the commercial) to vote for coverage. As if this thing isn't a mess enough already, now we need Hollywood working the young and impressionable into a frenzy over something they don't necessarily need.

Sure, it's good to have a safety net, but as a supple young man I don't really need to worry about heart attacks or colon polyps or brain aneurisms, or whatever health issues older people have. I eat healthy, exercise, and try to keep certain bad indulgences to a minimal or moderate level. In my opinion, keeping a positive outlook can be better for one's health than "just-in-case" insurance. The body is designed to fix itself after all!

On another, unrelated note, I have a theory as to why American men revere football.

I didn't give too much thought to the sport until last year when I got into a fantasy league. Even then I didn't watch the games or care about outcomes unless the Steelers were doing something worthwhile. This past Sunday I ended up watching a majority of the games. I wondered why.

I reasoned that it had to do with the job I have now. For five days each week, I sit in a climate-controlled room staring at a computer. My co-workers talk about breast feeding sometimes. Football, with all its physical triumph and conquest, was suddenly appealing. Watching burly men grind out yard after yard for the glory of the end zone made sense in a primal way. Even though I'm not actually doing anything, I want to, and can relate. The other day, the Wife and I were talking about how being lethargic only makes you more lethargic. So, instead of conquering something myself, I sit and observe.

This theory offers an explanation as to why America shifted its love from baseball to football. When men had to do physical work, they wanted a more strategic, less physical form of sport. What comes to mind when one thinks of baseball compared to thoughts associated with football? Think about it. And don't bother getting health care. Sitting on the couch won't hurt you any time soon.