Football<\/em><\/a>, Chuck Klosterman helps us see the game from unexpected angles, and argues that football isn\u2019t just a sport, it\u2019s a kind of national operating system. Chuck explains how it became the dominant televised spectacle in America, despite having elements that should count against it. We then explore football as a simulation \u2014 of war, of reality, and even of itself \u2014 and how its simulation through video games has actually fed back into the sport itself. We also talk about who Chuck thinks is the GOAT (hint: it’s not Tom Brady), and the difference between achievement and greatness. At the end of our conversation, Chuck lays out a compelling argument for why football may be headed for a steep and surprising fall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
American football is so big \u2014 so braided into our weekends, our language, and our culture \u2014 that it can be hard to see it clearly as a whole. In his new book, Football, Chuck Klosterman helps us see the game from unexpected angles, and argues that football isn\u2019t just a sport, it\u2019s a kind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42376,42274,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-entertainment","category-podcast"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1101-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1101-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1101-372x230.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1101-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1101-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\n
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