One of the sillier claims I heard anyone make after the 9/11 terrorist attacks was on the Sunday when NFL football games resumed. One of the commentators on ESPN’s pre-game show sagely pronounced that the attacks would likely end the use of war-related language to describe sporting contests. All of the people in the studio agreed, saying that since Americans had been exposed to a real act of war, such language would be inappropriate.
Apparently that’s all over with. The latest issue of the ESPN magazine has a striking black and white photo of Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams receivers with the headline “Special Ops.” In USA Today, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis says that this week’s game against Pittsburgh is going to be a “war.”