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Passion. Failure. Inspiration. Hope. Devotion. Disappointment. Loss. Redemption.

These are all qualities that shape the unified body of (wo)man. These are the forces that fuel and challenge the human spirit. The essence of humanity seems imbibed with the task and desire to travel each of these powerful paths until it diverges into the next. They form a primordial circle of experience that is necessary for growth. Each is a lesson that teaches us to really appreciate the abstract concept behind "living" as opposed to the simple state of "being alive".

These key themes are literally experienced on a singular level by all of humanity, but they also examined and enjoyed through a metaphorical medium that allows us to share them on a universal level. Surprisingly, I'm not referring to a classic work of literature, or an ancient story of myth, but to a sport that I have been guilty of changing the channel on due to a lack of desire to give it a fair chance. I'm talking about-American-Football.

There were no avid sports fans in my immediate family, so my exposure to sports in general was limited. I never had a reason to believe that Football could be entertaining, let alone a meaningful expression of what makes us human. In fact, my impression of football was that it was a juvenile excuse for grown men to wear spandex, slap each other on the rear, and legally beat the crap out of someone.

I was surprised when my new boyfriend confessed he was a huge football fan. He had always seemed like such an intelligent and non-conformist type. The only guys I thought really enjoyed a sport like football were the jock types I knew in high school; the kind of guys who crushed beer cans on their forehead. I was skeptical when he tried to convinced me that there was so much more to the game than what my prejudice would allow me to see.

On a side note, when a man says he's a "fan" of football... don't be naive and assume this means he watches a few games now and then. He means that he will be yelling at the tv as if his words are telepathically alerting coaches, players, as well as offensive and defensive coordinators of their tragic stupidity. God bless you Ron Turner, whoever you are, no man should have to bear the brunt of so much anger.

Despite being skeptical, I had to concede that seeing my boyfriend so emotionally involved with the game made me want to understand what I was missing. So, I started watching. At first I was lost, but I didn't want to distract him from the game; no

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