CONTENTS

Foreword

Joe Posnanski

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Pregame Warm-up

Michael W. Austin

FIRST QUARTER: FOOTBALL’S LESSONS FOR THE GAME OF LIFE

Vince Lombardi and the Philosophy of Winning

Raymond Angelo Belliotti

On Fumbling the Ball

Jeffrey P. Fry

Football and Aristotle's Philosophy of Friendship

Daniel B. Gallagher

Inside the Helmet: What Do Football Players Know?

R. Douglas Geivett

SECOND QUARTER: PLAYING WELL BETWEEN THE LINES

The Beauty of Football

Scott F. Parker

Virtue and Violence: Can a Good Football Player Be a Good Person?

Scott A. Davison

What's So Bad about Performance-Enhancing Drugs?

Sharon Ryan

The True Nature of Cheating

Marshall Swain and Myles Brand

“They Don't Pay Nobody to Be Humble!” Football's Ego Problem

M. Andrew Holowchak

THIRD QUARTER: PHILOSOPHICAL ARMCHAIR QUARTERBACKING

Crowning a True Champion: The Case for a College Football Playoff

Michael W. Austin

Heroes of the Coliseum

Heather L. Reid

A True MVP

Stephen Kershnar

Upon Further Review: Instant Replay Is an All-or-Nothing Affair

Joshua A. Smith

Does the Salary Cap Make the NFL a Fairer League?

Daniel Collins-Cavanaugh

FOURTH QUARTER: METAPHYSICAL MOJO

Is the Gridiron Holy Ground?

Mark Hamilton

Touchdowns, Time, and Truth

Joseph Keim Campbell

Feel the Big Mo’

Ben Letson

List of Contributors

Index