I’m done watching football. That includes both in-person viewing and television viewing. It would be a lie if I said Ohio State’s humiliating loss to Michigan on Saturday had nothing to do with this decision. It is true, however, that I’ve been thinking about doing this for some time. That drubbing the Buckeyes took from their archrival just pushed me over the edge. There are three sound reasons why I’m doing this.

First, it is foolish to become emotionally wrapped up in something over which I have no control whatsoever. Every person, every relationship, everything with which I have an emotional connection, I can control to at least some extent. I love my wife and children, and can demonstrate that love by sharing my time, thoughts, and resources with them. To a lesser degree, I love my community, state, and nation, and can show that love by voting, paying taxes, doing volunteer work, and helping people less fortunate than I. But there is nothing I can do — aside from cheering — to help the Browns, Bengals, and Buckeyes win football games. On occasion, you may see a not-so-bright individual try to intervene with on-field play. Not only doesn’t he help his team, he ends up being ignominiously hauled away to face criminal charges. That’s not for me.

Second, I’ve grown tired of the theatrics players so often go through when they make a good play. Back in the days of Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, and Bart Starr, a player might get a pat on the back for scoring a touchdown. Later, players celebrated a touchdown with high fives and fist pumps. Now, every successful play whether it’s a touchdown, a quarterback sack, or a long pass completion, brings multi-player cavorting and celebrating that appears to be choreographed.  Enough already. Play football and leave choreography to the Rockettes.

Third, and most importantly, watching football takes too much time — time that could be better spent doing something else.  These days, college football games last 20-30 minutes longer than they did in the past. If you are at an OSU game, you’ll find timeouts are lengthened by a variety of extra activities. Sometimes a worthy individual is recognized, sometimes t-shirts are shot into the seats, sometimes a race with Brutus Buckeye takes place, sometimes a past Buckeye team is honored.  If you are watching a game on television, you’ll endure far more commercials than you would have 30 years ago. Sometimes, it seems the football game is just a side attraction to the commercials, which are really the main event. What will I do with this time that’s freed up by ditching football?  The list is long. I could work more on my third Young Adult novel; I could exercise more; I could play more games with grandchildren; I could go on autumn walks with my wife; I could learn ways to improve this blog. And that’s just a start.

To be sure, football will not completely vanish from my life. Given its popularity, that would be almost impossible anyway.  If I’m on an exercise bike at the community center and a game is showing on a nearby television, I may watch it for a while. I might do the same when visiting friends who have a game showing on TV.  I might even go to a high school game, especially if I know someone who’s playing, and I’ll follow Ohio’s football teams in the news. But watching football will never again be my main activity on a Saturday afternoon or evening. I no longer will be shouting “unbelievable” when “my team” makes a bad play or when a referee flags them for a bone-headed penalty.

On the day after the debacle in Ohio Stadium, both the Browns and Bengals won. I didn’t watch one minute of either game and never felt tempted to do so. Maybe giving up watching football will be easier than I thought.