More Light Stuff About Football

Shout out to blogcritics.org, which I had never heard of before, and to my friend ---, who appears on this blog from time-to-time as "NoTrust". I had an opportunity to discuss Freddy Exley's A Fan's Notes , perhaps the best novel ever about the effects of watching instead of doing, and what happens when you have a whole country of people like that. I read the book during the same period I was introduced to Kozinski's "Being There," and the two books together changed my world view (for the better?) for a long time.

Now for something truly controversial:

In today's New York Times, Dave Anderson interviews tailgaters at the Meadowlands, and discovers, surprise, that tailgaters would prefer that a new football stadium be built to accommodate tailgating. He also discovered, double surprise, that many tailgaters consider the tailgating to be the main event, and the football game to be the side dish. Football games can disappoint you, but barbecue sausage ---

I live in Queens, and want the new stadium to be in Queens (a much more accurate portent of the End of Days than tsuanamis or Mel Gibson movies). I pay the same taxes, and only get a small portion of the benefits that Manhattan/ Brooklyn residents do. I am hopeful of being able to extract a high price from Queens politicians (you know who you are) who have lined up behind the West Side Stadium.

Shout out to Anthony Weiner, my Congressman, the man who would be Mayor, who most definitely wants the stadium in Queens.

Anyway, and this is the deal -- In the end, there will be 65,000 to 75,000 seats in Bloomberg Stadium. There will be parking for practically no one, and tailgating for absolutely no one. All those fans who drive in from Long Island and Jersey to tailgate now will simply give up their seats. In the New York metropolitan area, I am sure they can find 75,000 people, 8 times a year, who are willing to take the Subway or the train to the ballgame without tailgating.

If you want another reason to oppose Bloomberg Stadium. Call this reason 43,000,000 -- is that the stadium will make it even less possible for outer-borough, suburban fans to get near a live football game.