Identity, Community, 🏈/War, the Raiders, Hunter S. Thompson, Al Davis & Pete Rozelle Battle Royale and which (nefarious) historical figure does "The War Nerd" compare with longtime NFL commissioner, Pete Rozelle.
*First Release of Part I from behind Patreon paywall (as little as $1 per month gets you all access including Part II). Public Release Date: Saturday, May 15th, 2021. Recorded on Wednesday, March 24th, 2021.
To unlock Part II of Nate's interview with John Dolan (aka Gary Brecher) "The War Nerd," become a patron of Redspin Sports on Patreon.
www.patreon.com/redspinsports
The question of whether war metaphors are appropriate in sport, identify formation and sporting communities, William Faulkner, Raider Cannon Dan, Jack Tatum, Fred Biletnikoff, Ray Chester, Kenny "The Snake" Stabler, and so many more.
We examine contemporaneous efforts to change the names of schools with Confederate names like Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida, where Nate used to coach and recently spoke in favor of changing the name in the face of older white alumni doing everything in their power to stand in the way.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2021/03/25/robert-e-lee-high-school-renaming-jacksonville-florida-orig-jk.cnn/video/playlists/top-news-videos/
https://twitter.com/NateWallace9/status/1375274196335525893?s=20 (checkout this thread for full context)
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/the-myth-of-the-kindly-general-lee/529038/
We connect this to the larger "Lost Cause" mythos that the United Daughters of the Confederacy (the UDC) helped spearhead starting in the late 19th and 20th centuries, and led to the ahistorical brainwashing of a few of generations so that they earnestly believe the lie that the Confederacy did not secede from the Union to defend and expand the lucrative institution of slavery -which it did.
This history connects to contemporary American sports most notably in the brand of Southern College Football played the the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and to a slightly lesser extent in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Big XII Conference (where Texas and Oklahoma still play).
The War Nerd helps connect the romanticizing of defeat that vanquished Confederates and their propagandists engaged with on an epic scale, to the genesis of the type of poetry (James McPherson and later Sir Walter Scott) that romanticizes defeat: the Scottish Highlanders defeat to the English crown at the Battle of Culloden in 1745.
Now without further ado, enjoy Part I of the show!
Thanks,
-Nathaniel (aka Nate) Wallace
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