Football & Fitzgerald

Well, as of today, November 20th, 2021, Week 12 of the college football season has come to an end. Just like any other week of college football, there were many upsets throughout the day. For example, many of us expected Ohio State to defeat Michigan State, but we expected the game to be one of the best of the entire season. Instead, Ohio State jumped out to an early 49-0 lead, and it would've gotten much worse if OSU didn't play it's third-stringers for the entire second half. No. 3 Oregon got drubbed by Utah, effectively ending their hopes of making it to the College Football Playoffs (only the top four teams each year make it in). Finally, Texas just suffered its sixth loss in a row, which isn't much of an upset, but college football fans revel at any opportunity to make fun of the Longhorns. Since college football and the NFL are my two favorite things in the world, I decided to take the time today to think about the main differences between the two sports. On one hand, you could answer this question by analyzing the different formations that offenses use in both sports or by comparing the fanbases of college teams to those of professional teams. Or, on the other hand, you can have a bit more fun and compare both of these sports to Fitzgerald stories, which is what I'll do because I really wanted to write a blogpost on football. 

    Whenever I take look at college football, I am always reminded of The Great Gatsby; specifically, I'm reminded of the dynamics between the East Egg and the West Egg. In the novel, the East Egg is where the "old money" live, and the West Egg is where the "new money" live. With the characterization of Nick Gatsby, Fitzgerald tries to show how this one man almost succeeds in toppling over the entire social structure of the "old money" simply in order to pursue love. However, by the end of the novel, we find that the revolution is ultimately unsuccessful, as even though "Gatsby believed in the green light," he was unable to reach what he believed to be the "American Dream," and he perished as a result of trying to obtain it. Similarly, I feel like this could apply to college football as well. Every year, there are the "old money" teams, which are teams such as Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, and Georgia. When watching these guys, you almost realize how unfair it is. These teams have the best coaches, the best recruiting, and they're among the most marketable teams in college football as well. How is it possible to compete with these guys? You are consistently, as these "old money" teams get the best recruits every single year, while the rest of the teams are dealt with the leftovers. The wealthy get wealthier, while the poor remain poor, just like in The Great Gatsby. Even though there are many teams that are able to pull off upsets during the regular season, when it comes playoff time, these teams are simply unable to shake up the social structure, just like Gatsby failed in his attempt to do so. Since its inception in 2014, the College Football Playoffs have only had four winners, and two of these winners have only won the title once. Just like Tom and Daisy Buchanan, teams like Alabama and Clemson have successfully been able to fend themselves from other teams trying to reach "The American Dream."

    However, when taking a look at the NFL, parity is the name of the game. In this regard, I feel like this league can be compared to Fitzgerald's novella The Diamond As Big As The Ritz. In the NFL, we have very long-established, historic teams, such as the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Chicago Bears. In a sense, these teams can be compared to Braddock Washington: both are trying to live in the present world by replicating the past (in these NFL teams' case, it's the glory of the past, while in Braddock's case, it's the horrors). However, although these teams perform well in most years, it's not a given that these teams win the Super Bowl every single year. Teams are able to rebuild very easily in the NFL, as the draft gives the worst teams the chance to select the best players in college, free agency allows teams to sign other players, and the salary cap ensures that all teams are only able to spend the same amount of money during free agency. These additions to the game solve the issue of only a few teams being able to pick up the world's best players, and they have allowed teams such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Buffalo Bills to become some of the best teams in professional football right now. In a sense, these teams can be compared to John Unger and the Italian teacher: their respective arrivals have toppled the power system of the elite. Just like how "that Italian who got away" was able to mobilize his own air force to bring about the destruction of the Washington power structure and how John Unger was able to elope with his wealthy fiancé, these up-and-coming NFL teams are able to ensure that they can disturb the power structure of the historic elite. There is much more parity in the NFL compared to the NCAA, as all teams have a chance to reach the Super Bowl, their version of "The American Dream."

    Basically, the moral of this blog post is that the next time you're watching football, you better think about my best friend F. Scott Fitzgerald.