Are You Ready?
Truth be told, one of us is looking forward to the NFL season with the sort of heart-quickening anticipation shared by many of our fellow Americans. One of us is not. But we managed to set aside our differences in this regard and produce a puzzle to celebrate/note with chagrin the opening of the season.
The quote, from Michael MacCambridge’s 2004 account of the NFL’s rise to prominence in American culture, captures the variety of reasons why many people are drawn to the sport, and also hints at some of the reasons why others are repelled. In the twenty years since the publication of America’s Game: The Real National Pastime, the NFL has seen both a marked increase in its viewership and growing concerns about its violence and the effects of its violence on the long-term health of its players.
We enjoyed working into the puzzle some football terminology (“complete,” “gridiron,” etc.), one of its team names (“Dolphins”), a reference to a dynamite book-turned-TV movie (Monday Night Mayhem), and several less obvious allusions. We also included the last names of a couple of former players — Drew Brees and Frank Reich — but the non-football fan among us insisted on clueing the latter to a musician instead. How many actual football terms did you spot?
For those other non-football fans among you, we added references to some tamer games: Monopoly, Cribbage, and Authors.
Despite our differences over the amount of time one of us spends/wastes watching NFL games, we do agree on this bit of insight that, like MacCambridge’s quote, has stood the test of time:
I found 8 related terms in the clues list, but suspected that the names might make more. Many years ago, I went to all of my HS football games as part of the rah rah squad, and even played in powderpuff. But I lost interest with the bashing, and although most sports may involve injuries, the brain health risks are scary. Most enjoyed the clue for word N.
Thanks for the George Carlin clip… he was my favorite.
Best one yet! Loved the clue “Kind of board supporting green housing?” Brilliant! 🙂
Best one yet! Loved the clue “Kind of board supporting green housing?” Brilliant! 🙂
Highly enjoyable and sufficiently challenging with topical entries galore.
I got the A clue right away, but it didn’t help me to detect the puzzle theme, which would have helped a lot. For a long time I had “preposition” in the quote, and I thought it was about language… I’m glad the REICH answer was clued to Steve, I got it right away and Frank would have meant nothing to me…:)
Another great puzzle that scared me, thinking I’d have to start looking things up! I guess figuring out “cultural metaphor” marked the turning point…
Fantastic cluing and just the right amount of resistance…also a great quote. Thanks!
Very enjoyable way to kick off the season, and thanks for including my EAGLE[T]S! Like others, especially appreciated the N clue. Only mistake along the way was ArTist for AUTHOR, because I was thinking about my iTunes library.
Dandy Don and How-ard Co-sell were the soundtrack of my teenage Monday Nights. Such great memories!
I saw the first clue and said (to myself), “Nice, a football themed acrostic for opening weekend.” As I worked my way through the clues, I thought, “Well, that was a nice bit of misdirection, it’s not about football at all. But what is the theme? There doesn’t seem to be any.” Even figuring out EXTRAPOINT for his nobs, when one point didn’t fit didn’t wake me up. Eventually though I had the aha moment and saw how slyly the football themed answers had been clued and the puzzle came together. BREES, DOLPHINS, GOALPOSTS, GRIDIRON. Bravo!
I just discovered this comment section–so happy to see it since I really missed our small community in the NYT. Great that you]re continuing the acrostic tradition and do it so well! Thanks…
As the less football-literate one in our constructing duo, I had to be “clued in” (!) by Dave that “complete” and “isolate” are football-related terms. With those, I count 11 thematic appearances among the answer/clue combinations. Too bad the quote had a superabundance of Ts; otherwise “eaglets” could have been “Eagles.”
Meanwhile, for those of you who solve online via xwordinfo, isn’t it a fun post-solving treat to get to read the more “complete” quotes (without elisions)? In this particular case, Mr. MacCambridge offers an intriguing comparison between football fans — like that guy in my house who’s currently watching Monday night football elsewhere in this house — and Shakespeare enthusiasts.