Documentary Explores the Hail Mary Pass
Coffee and football, two of my favorite pastimes for a few decades now, and I know I’m not alone. Just look at the multiple coffee shops that pop up in our towns, all with their own unique following and faithful clientele.
Football can be considered a sport, a hobby or even a lifestyle; and one community access producer explores the idea that for some, football is practically a religion. Producer Seth Love produced a very simple piece on the Coffee Shop Phenomenon in Gilroy. It includes interviews with a cross section of Gilroyans who faithfully patronize Starbucks.
For him the question was, what is the draw to these places, and what keeps people coming back? The answers ranged from “I come here because I’m bored” to “It keeps me from watching TV and playing videogames.” For one girl who cut her habit down from daily trips to the coffee house to once a month, she was “caught up in the drama of the Starbucks scene,” and eventually had to step back and concentrate on her own life. Sounds like a good soap opera.
Other interviewees talked about how their posse “migrated” from another coffee shop to Starbucks. Apparently it’s a seasonal, or perhaps annual change that happens, depending on the direction of the group.
Regardless of the physical location of the establishment, the coffee house is much, much more than just a place to get your caffeine buzz or light up a cigarette outside. It is very much a social scene for people, or as one guy put it, “… like lunch time when I was in high school … minus the smoking.”
While the exploration of the coffee house phenomenon brought back fond memories of my own java habits in high school, the second piece turned in by Mr. Love included a much more interesting debate to consider: Is football a religion?
The Dictionary.com definition of religion is “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.” A group of party-goers spend an afternoon considering the similarities between church and America’s other favorite Sunday pasttime.
One participant points out that on Sunday, football “delivers” much like a good preacher can during a sermon. You’re left with an uplifting feeling; you’re invigorated. Religion can be filled with traditions, like genuflecting when leaving a pew at church, or wearing yarmulkas, or crossing yourself with holy water. I liked the comparison with certain teams not shaving their beards if they’re winning with facial hair, because shaving might blow their winning streak. You know what happened to Jake Plummer, after all.
The group goes on to compare holy wars to riots in the streets after superbowl losses, and Pentecostal-type church services to rituals of the Raider Nation’s Black Hole. It’s not a stretch, if you think about it; perhaps a bit irreverent, but not unbelievable.
And then of course you’ve got your “bandwagon” followers in both football and religion. One day Madonna’s a Catholic, and the next day she’s Jewish. This year someone’s a Patriot fan because winning is fun, and the next year, Peyton Manning is their hero. Speaking for myself, I’m proud to say that I don my red, that’s right, red No. 80 jersey on Sundays, no matter who has more check marks in the win column. That’s what I call being a faithful … a word that some, ironically, might use when discussing a religion. There’s more to this topic than meets the eye, I’ll tell ya.
Catch these thought provoking little vignettes, “Coffee House Phenomenon” and “The Religion of Football” on Public Access Channel 20 next week. Airtimes are listed at www.mycmap.org.
