We’ve had a beautiful autumn here in the Upper Midwest. It was warmer than normal for much of October, and skies were generally sunny. With the mild weather, bugs were a problem. The pesky Asian lady beetles, an exotic species of ladybug that bites (and a new addition to our region in the last few years), were annoying when we went apple picking, and they like to get into the house as well. There was also an annoying gnat-like bug with a nasty bite. Aren’t mosquitoes and biting flies enough? The more innocuous box elder bug has been massing on the sunny surfaces of the house and finding its way indoors as well, looking for warmth.

In our Northfield neighborhood the maples and oaks and other trees were glorious, with beautiful yellows and reds. Now the weather has turned cooler, relieving us of our outdoor insect problems. Following the first freezing night, I turned off the water to the outside faucet and drained the water from it, and I covered the air conditioner. I’ve been piling leaves around the plants to protect them for the long winter ahead, and we’re putting up shades on uncovered windows.

I don’t have quite the dread or anticipation of winter that I had last year, my first Upper Midwestern winter in six years, which also followed a two-year stint in mild northern California. I’m hoping for a snowy winter and lots of cross-country skiing.

Autumn is also football season, of course. I’ve been a lifelong Minnesota Vikings football fan, but I’m boycotting the team now. It’s not because of their poor record or the fact that they “stunk up the joint,??? as my dad would say, in some embarrassing, one-sided losses this year. It’s more that I don’t respect the players following the well-publicized bacchanalia on two Lake Minnetonka cruise boats. You can read about the alleged orgy in an October 12 Star Tribune article and in a Nick Coleman column, if you haven’t already done so.

Perhaps I should withhold judgment until the facts have been confirmed and the players get their day in court. But no, I don’t feel like doing that. I’ll reconsider my choice in the unlikely event that the allegations are unfounded.

Imagine being one of the employees on these boats, especially one of the female employees. You report to work, anticipating a pleasant or at least tolerable few hours with some of our famous sports heroes. Then the cruise quickly becomes a players-and-prostitutes sex party, which you must witness because you’ve got a job to do. Some big, rich players start to act belligerently, demanding to pour their own drinks. One of them asks you to dance for $100.

I don’t think I’m just being a prude or scold. A group of people with power—football players—are lording it over others. Something’s rotten in our circus-gladiator sports culture, and I’ve got better things to do than watch football.

It will be interesting to see if anything happens to the Vikings players on the legal front. Perhaps we’ll learn that the sex cruises have been exaggerated, though I doubt it. Perhaps the money and power of the players and the National Football League will whitewash the incident. Perhaps the team will go on a winning streak and most people will forget about it.

Or perhaps more fans like me will wake up and conclude that football isn’t so great for our culture. Perhaps there are a million better things to do on a weekend than watch football, better things to talk about around the water cooler.

Will I watch the Vikings again? Maybe, if the team seems to make some kind of meaningful response to the situation. Will I watch the team next week? No. Let the players and the owners try to have a football game in front of empty seats. Let the TV signal of the game go ignored. Let the players, their wealthy owners, and especially their adoring fans think about what they’ve created in their sporting spectacle.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 29th, 2005 at 7:55 am and is filed under Minnesota, Sports.