Michael Hudson Professor Weaver ENC 3315 September 23 2 13 !nal"sis of Ho#an$s %Wh" &$m !

bstainin# 'rom the N'() !n"one *ho has lived in !merica for an appreciable len#th of time is almost #uaranteed to be a*are of the e+istence of football as *ell as the in,uries its pla"ers suffer in their profession- 'u.. Ho#an/ a contributor for 0&ME ma#a.ine/ seems to rel" on his audience$s 1no*led#e of both of these details in *ritin# his article/ *hich doesn$t appear to be an unfair assumption on his part- !fter all/ the N'( had been behind some of the most televised events in histor" and is responsible for *hat is certainl" one of the most ubi2uitous pastimes in !merica- 3et Ho#an$s article is more concerned *ith *h" it shouldn$t be the center of so much attention rather than *h" it is/ and he uses a *ide ran#e of ar#uments and appeals to support his assertion- His ar#ument is essentiall" that the N'( is responsible for man" harmful effects on societ" and especiall" the pla"ers of all forms of football and that it consumes a #reat deal of the vie*er$s time/ *hich he feels ,ustifies avoidin# it- 0hrou#hout his article/ Ho#an defends his position a#ainst the N'(/ usin# pathos/ lo#os and ethos appeals to ar#ue that the value of *atchin# these football #ames is not *orth the ne#ative effects doin# so *ill cause the vie*er and the societ" he is part ofSome of the stron#est appeals Ho#an ma1es in his article are in re#ard to pathos/ *hich see1 to stir the emotions and empath" of his readers- Perhaps the most effective position he establishes in his *or1 is *hen he tries to dra* concern to*ards the pla"ers that are in the N'(- 4ne line of his article as1s/ %Should & be *atchin# for entertainment a ha.ardous activit" *hen its effects on the entertainers are bein# s*ept under the turf56 &n this 2uote he is tr"in# to evince both s"mpath" for the pla"ers/ *ho he portra"s as bein# ta1in# advanta#e of/ as *ell as an#er to*ards the N'( for their subversive concealment of information re#ardin# e+actl" *hat effects "ears of pla"in# football has on an

individual- &n the same para#raph he mentions ho* often N'( pla"ers e+perience health issues as a result of the brain trauma the" receive *hile pla"in#- 0he emotional appeals he ma1es here set the tone for the rest of his ar#ument/ *ith the violation and improper treatment of the pla"ers at the forefront of the readers approach to his article- 0his is a successful appeal because it dra*s on multiple emotions but also because of the off7handed *a" it tal1s about the brain trauma suffered b" these pla"ers/ a medical concern that is certain to incite s"mpath" or even fear in the audience!nother appeal to emotions he uses addresses his audience$s sense of pride- When Ho#an sa"s/ %We can either surrender to a demand curve or tr" to ma1e a small difference/) he is tr"in# to ma1e his audience feel the importance of their place in societ"- &n other *ords/ he is tr"in# to 1indle the pride of his readers/ ma1in# them appreciate their importance and abilit" to ma1e a difference in the *orld around them- 0hrou#h this ar#ument/ the audience is less li1el" to dismiss his claims because he counters the possible surrender that Ho#an discusses- 0he emotional appeals Ho#an ma1es in this article represent his primar" ar#ument for *h" the N'( is a ne#ative influence on our societ"/ and the" are lar#el" successful because the" produce a *ide variet" of emotions and anticipate possible counter ar#umentsWhile perhaps not as essential as his use of pathos/ the lo#os appeals Ho#an ma1es in his *or1 are also 2uite important/ as the" are *hat ma1e the appear reasonable and more *orth considerin#- He does this b" sho*in# the tan#ible benefits that a person #ets b" bo"cottin# the N'(/ meanin# it is not onl" ri#ht or #ood in terms of character to do so/ but also intelli#ent and beneficial- 0he primar" lo#os ar#ument he ma1es to*ards this end is seen *hen he sa"s/ %Ne*s flash8 *atchin# football is a time suc1- Studies have sho*n there$s 11 minutes of action in a #ame that ta1es three hours-) &n addition to this/ he #oes on to describe the amount of time in his *ee1 that he has made available and ho* unproductive he *as *hen he *atched the N'( on Sunda"s- Here he ma1es a clear appeal to the reader$s lo#ical reasonin#/ evincin# both the #ains and losses of spendin# time to *atch the N'(- He measures the action a#ainst the time spent and sho*s that there is a lot more to lose than there is to #ain

*hen *atchin# football- 0his appeal presents a stron# case because it is clearl" lo#ical that this activit" is time consumin#/ but fails in the aspect that it doesn$t account for either the social value of it or the credibilit" of the %studies) he mentions- 4verall/ Ho#an appeals stron#l" to the intelli#ence of the reader b" helpin# him see the practical value of i#norin# the N'(0he ethos appeal of Ho#an$s ar#ument is one of the most essential parts of this article because he uses it to prove he is *orth listenin# to- He does this b" ma1in# himself relatable to his reader and b" providin# research to support the claims he ma1es- 4ne of the most prominent appeals he ma1es to*ards this end can be seen *hen he sa"s/ %this is *here &$ll admit it8 M" *ee1ends have not been entirel" football7free- M" dau#hter is on her hi#h school poms team/ so & have a #ood e+cuse to catch the not7e+actl"-Friday Night Lights atmosphere of the 9-C- suburbs- Here Ho#an$s confession serves to illustrate his #ood*ill to*ards his reader b" revealin# a perceived fault/ *hich bolsters his credibilit" because it sho*s he isn$t bein# ,ud#mental and he isn$t hidin# an"thin#- :oth of these serve to present an ima#e of a friendl"/ normal and fault" human bein# to the reader/ *hich stren#thens his ar#ument b" ma1in# the reader more s"mpathetic to his position!nother important ethos ar#ument he ma1es is in the data he provides- 9espite his failin# to provide citations for the %studies) he referred to earlier/ he sho*s that he has done his research b" providin# that information- He does a similar thin# *hen he sa"s/ %3es/ there$s a ne* settlement for them ; but that <=>5 million is #oin# to be spread over = "ears and thousands of former pla"ers/ *ith an additional <?1 million #oin# to research and medial monitorin#- @!nd this is all ,ust a fraction of the 1A revenue the lea#ue *ill ma1e in the ne+t t*o decades-B) He provides a plethora of statistics here and in a fe* other places in the article that sho* that he has research and outside sources to support his claims- 0his reinforcement serves to ma1e his audience more inclined to trust him because he has sho*n that he has under#one e+tra effort and is bac1ed b" tan#ible evidence- &n spite of some of the fla*s and missin# parts to Ho#an$s ethos appeals/ the" are lar#el" successful in provin# that he is a trust*orth" source of information- 0hrou#h the use of these ethos ar#uments/ Ho#an establishes

himself as a source *orth considerin#/ and *ithout them his audience *ould have little reason to consider his opinion on the matterCsin# pathos/ lo#os and ethos appeals/ Ho#an provides his audience *ith a host of different reasons and ar#uments for *h" it is *orth*hile to avoid supportin# the N'(/ and he is mostl" successful in doin# this- While he lac1s some sourcin# to e+plicitl" support him in his article/ his pathos and lo#os appeals sho* the reader the ,oint *isdom of bo"cottin# the N'( and his ethos appeals prove that he is *orth listenin# to- 0he combined ar#ument of these different appeals cover most of the concerns a reader mi#ht have re#ardin# this issue/ and throu#h the interactions of these ar#uments/ a s1eptic is left little room for dismissin# his position-

Wor1 Cited Ho#an/ 'u..- 6Wh" &$m !bstainin# 'rom the N'(-6 Ideas.time.com- 0ime Ma#a.ine/ 15 Sept- 2 13Web- 1D Sept- 2 13-