This is the story of winning on the field, but losing things that are far more important. Like so many other aspects of what is quintessentially from the US, it is about something that was born in the tensions of race relations provoked by those who pushed white supremacy. It is a story told within the confines of coddled elites needing to prove their manliness and a man who fervently believed in the equality of races while also acting upon a sharp vision of his cultural background being superior to another. It is about that man eradicating a people’s heritage in the name of saving them and, ultimately, uniting with his victims in such a way that together they created the sport of American football as we understand it today. Indeed, as we deconstruct the latest exciting iteration of the Super Bowl, it is worth reflecting on the sport’s history and how it -like so many other things typically “American”- was the product of whites needing to reinforce a sense of superiority over someone else.
The story is related through the following fine Radio Lab production. Somehow I fear that with its wonderful telling and the presence of colorful characters like Pop Warner, it is possible that people will hear it and find a justification to continue calling the DC football team the “Redskins”. To do that would be to purposely overlook the role white supremacy played in the development of our country and one of its most beloved sports.
I hope that you enjoy this story of the ivy-league elite meeting the country’s most persecuted and marginalized on a field dictated by white supremacy. The marginalized proved that they did indeed deserve respect, but the victory was pyrrhic because as they triumphed on the football field, their culture was slowly extinguished by that of those they vanquished.
The story is related through the following fine Radio Lab production. Somehow I fear that with its wonderful telling and the presence of colorful characters like Pop Warner, it is possible that people will hear it and find a justification to continue calling the DC football team the “Redskins”. To do that would be to purposely overlook the role white supremacy played in the development of our country and one of its most beloved sports.
I hope that you enjoy this story of the ivy-league elite meeting the country’s most persecuted and marginalized on a field dictated by white supremacy. The marginalized proved that they did indeed deserve respect, but the victory was pyrrhic because as they triumphed on the football field, their culture was slowly extinguished by that of those they vanquished.
