The Boz - Confessions of a Modern Anti-hero

Analysis of Chapter 3: Football by Bosmosis

Mr. Bosworth describes the scene on a football field less like an organized sport and more like a bar fight. The reader is left to wonder if The Boz knows anything about defensive schemes and stopping the run when he states the following:

"When I'm on the field, I have two goals: (1) get in fights;
and (2) hit people in the head. Not too complicated." (p.37)

Brian describes, in detail, ways to injure or aggravate opposing players by jabbing and scratching at flesh through their protective helmets. He suggests, if he does that enough, he will accomplish goal number one, which is to, as he puts it, have "a throwdown." To a common football spectator, this does not seem to have anything to do with the game of football, for a defensive lineman should be concerned with the opposing teams moving the ball down the field and scoring touchdowns. But the Boz has his own philosophy for these tactics:

"Fighting isn't just something I do to be obnoxious. It's part of the
way I win. It's part of my style. It's a strategy the whole team can
use. You start a fight with somebody, it gets everybody on your
team excited, gets everybody jacked up, wakes everybody up. That's
why I always try to get in a fight as soon as I can every game." (p.39)

Hitting people the head, Mr. Bosworth's second goal during a game, has reasoning that falls along similar lines to his first: Getting hit in the head hurts. The Boz wants the opposition to be on the look out for him, he wants them to live in fear of getting hit in the head. Players accuse Brian of tackling too high and he'll be the first to agree. If it doesn't instill fear, it will anger them and cause them to get into a fight. The Boz does show signs of a softer side, when he points out that while he does actively attempt to injure people, he only wants them to be sidelined for the particular game he's playing in. He never intends or wants go give an athlete a season or career ending injury. The big exception being:

"There's one guy I'd like to wipe out for more than a game,
maybe two or three games, and that's Elway. I can't stand
Elway. The way he walks. That horse face of his. There's
nothing about Elway I like. He doesn't even look athletic
when he plays. He looks like a goofball." (p.41)

Brian answers the next common question many readers may be having, which is, aren't his goals, which consist of fighting and causing bodily harm, against NFL rules? The quick answer is yes, but The Boz also offers that if NFL referee's call a penalty on for any of these acts, then it's wise to retaliates. He suggests, using refs as blockers, accidentally tackling them, ect. That way, the refs, much like the opposition, will fear you and stay clear. But, on an ethical note, Mr. Bosworth says that cheating is fine in the National Football League because, he sees it as a way to stick it to the man. Brian sees cheating as a personal protest against the way the league deals with refs.

"The whole NFL system of refs pisses the hell out of me anyway.
I mean, here's big strong twenty-five and twenty-six-year-old guys
playing a money game--a big money game--and who do they
send out there to decide it? Some sixty-year-old bluehair who
can't even keep pace with the guys he's trying to officiate. I mean,
these guys are insurance agents and accountants and bank vice
presidents five days a week and then on the weekends they get
shipped all over the country to put on their costume and try to
do a job. I mean, this is our profession. This isn't some goddamn
hobby... I doesn't make sense. Every other sport has full-time refs
except the NFL." (p.43-44)

This point, which can be interpreted as a way to improve the game, is part of the over-all theme in Mr. Bozworth's book, which is his love for football. The Boz, surrounded by a thick layer of toughness, is able to freely show his passion.

"Football is what I love to do more than anything--more than drink
beers or spit on red tape or cause ulcers. I mean, without football,
I might as well be a corpse somewhere with a tag on my toe. I was
built to play the game." (p.37)