zimgunner
06-25-2014, 02:43 PM
it speaks to our collective obsession with the sport that we are even debating how to handle suarez's habit of biting people.
why do we accord football stars such leniency? because they operate in a high stress environment? would an air traffic controller be allowed one instance of biting somebody who angered him at his most stressful moment? because footballers (suarez inclued) often worked their way up from extreme poverty? would a business magnate who was once a street sweeper be allowed to gnosh on his competitors?
we treat football starts like the ancient greeks did their gods -- at once human-like and able to influence our affairs but at the same time super-human and not subject to ordinary moral rules.
why do we accord football stars such leniency? because they operate in a high stress environment? would an air traffic controller be allowed one instance of biting somebody who angered him at his most stressful moment? because footballers (suarez inclued) often worked their way up from extreme poverty? would a business magnate who was once a street sweeper be allowed to gnosh on his competitors?
we treat football starts like the ancient greeks did their gods -- at once human-like and able to influence our affairs but at the same time super-human and not subject to ordinary moral rules.