Sometimes in my never-ending search for Medieval news stories I come across statements which make me shake my head. I oft wonder, "What on God's green Earth were they trying to say?" To be quite frank, I don't have the slightest idea.
WARNING: MAY CAUSE EXTREME BROW FURROWING
"A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall."
- Frank Leahy / Notre Dame
What on Earth is he trying to say? That football of all sports is a civilizing influence? A sport where men attempt to physically hurl themselves towards each other is somehow preventing schools from deteriorating into Medieval savagery?
Perhaps I'm not giving Mr. Leahy enough credit. Perhaps he is, in fact, versed in Medieval history. As a result of this knowledge, he knows that Medieval study halls were places of great intellectual ferment.
Oh this must be it. He is contrasting the silly brutality of American football with the erudition of the Medieval university. In doing this he pines for more civil days. Days in which academic merit was valued above mindless violence. This must truly be his point.
Mr. Leahy is decrying football and the values associated with it and advocating a return to the civilized Medieval past. There's really no other way to interpret his comment.
Anyone with half a mind would draw this conclusion...
...but then again, he is a football coach.
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