# Professional football: Good or evil? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 22, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471 "2017-02-22T16:11:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/1 "2017-02-22T16:11:27Z")
IMHO pro football appeals to the “lesser angels of our nature.” Would we somehow be better without it? Does is serve some primitive but essential human need? Without it would we seek other, perhaps worse outlets for whatever desires it satisfies? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/2 "2017-02-22T16:16:20Z")
Both. Or, Good, but with a dark side. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/3 "2017-02-22T16:36:34Z")
If we’re talking NFL then its only good when the Vikings are playing and win. Other than that it floats between evil and meh. Now rugby on the other hand; good. At any level. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/4 "2017-02-22T16:53:45Z")
It should be banned globally. Not because it is evil but because it is stupid. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/5 "2017-02-22T18:44:44Z")
Neither. Sports in general is good, because it allows us to channel out natural competition into something benign (or even good for us, if we play). We can be intense rivals for a short period of time, and then completely forget. And it makes exercise more fun. But football in particular? There’s nothing wrong with playing it, but there’s no harm to society if it were to end. You could bring up health issues, but, as long those who play know the risks and choose to take them, I can’t see anything wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/6 "2017-02-22T19:03:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It should be banned globally. Not because it is evil but because it is stupid. If all things that can be stupid were banned, what would be left? Even if you don’t like the sport, the party atmosphere that surrounds it is a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/7 "2017-02-22T19:05:09Z")
This seems better suited to The Game Room. Relocated from IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/8 "2017-02-22T19:06:02Z")
Are we talking about the NFL? Or FIFA? Because both are evil. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/9 "2017-02-22T19:34:08Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Are we talking about the NFL? Or FIFA? Because both are evil. Footie is godly. I love a 90 minute game that takes less than two hours to play. And no commercial interruptions. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/10 "2017-02-22T22:23:58Z")
But FIFA, as an organization, does not have the best reputation. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/11 "2017-02-22T22:32:49Z")
Just because you aren’t personally into something doesn’t make it evil. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/12 "2017-02-22T22:33:03Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > But FIFA, as an organization, does not have the best reputation. I don’t know, Ray Rice can still manage to make them look angelic. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/13 "2017-02-22T23:08:54Z")
Has Ray Rice ever made a movie that IMDB scored 2.1? [FIFA has](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2814362/) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/14 "2017-02-22T23:15:51Z")
I’m confused by the OP… Football is like any other sport, it brings out the bad, sure, but you’d have to ban many sports on that basis. But that being said, there does seem to be more hooliganism and violence associated with football/soccer than with most other sports. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/professional-football-good-or-evil/780471/15 "2017-02-22T23:54:02Z")
It’s boring. Now, MMA, _that_ is evil.