My concern is that there are problems with communicating by means of posts in an online forum. There's always the potential for misunderstanding. I think there's also the tendency to make assumptions about people that may or may not be true. I've been guilty of that failing myself.
My intention is not to have a debate, but to have a dialogue. I'd like to ask you some questions about LongTomH so I can find out exactly what is going on here. I'm not sure what the dynamics are. In terms of what he's said on previous occasions in other posts of his, does LongTomH have a record by which he can be judged? You say he hates people. Who are these people he supposedly hates?
There's a problem with "jock vs. nerd" controversies. Seems to me a lot of people on both sides fail to distinguish between the game (in other words, the action that takes place on the gridiron during a game) and the culture that may be associated with the game (in other words, attitudes manifested in the way others are treated off the playing field). I make a sharp distinction between the two because the culture is not inherently a part of the game, but is imposed from without by society and other forces. Someone who says he "hates" football may hate the culture, but not have anything against the game. If he fails to separate the game from the culture or transfers his anger to the game, then he's likely to cause others to misunderstand him. A criticism of the culture is not necessarily a put-down of the game. At least that's the way I see it.
You say he hates a game he probably could never play that well. I wouldn't be surprised if he never had any desire to play football in the first place. In fact, if I were a betting man, I'd bet on it. Therefore, he wouldn't have been jealous of those who could. And he's not the only guy who's never had an interest in sports (assuming that he does, in fact, fall into that category). Although I'm very physically active today and pump iron at a local health club, I never had any interest in sports when I was growing up and never wanted to play any game. To illustrate the point I'm trying to make, I've never had any desire to learn how to play a piano. Does that mean I'm jealous of concert pianists? Of course, not. Do I appreciate the dedication on the part of pianists, even though I have no desire to attend their concerts? Of course, I do.
Incidentally, one of the terrible flaws of the mandatory "old P.E." of my youth was that nonathletic boys who had no interest in sports were forced to participate in team games, often without any instruction as to how the games were played. Bullying often resulted from such situations. Such P.E. classes never provided any exercise programs for the nonathletic students, which is what they truly needed instead of being forced to "play" sports. Surely you can see why this would cause bitterness. Do appropriate Google searches on this site to access relevant posts, and you'll see what I mean.
You say LongTomH has "contempt for those who are better." Who are these people for whom he has contempt? Football players? Better in what way? Yes, there are people who look down on football players as "dumb jocks." I agree with you that that is wrong. One of my best friends played football at the university where he earned his degree in sociology. (He's been a sociology professor for decades.) He's been a very good friend, and I think the world of him.
But surely you must admit there's contempt on both sides. I dare say that nonathletic boys don't have the easiest time growing up, since masculinity is usually defined in terms of athletic prowess. (Joe Ehrmann, by the way, rejects that definition of masculinity. See my post above.) Just to give an example or two, a childhood friend of mine who played football in high school decades ago recently told me in an e-mail that most of his teammates had looked down on all the nonathletic guys at their school as being inferior. Two years ago I read a post by a teenager who was playing football at a parochial high school who said that many of his teammates referred to the nonathletic guys at their school as "fags." (By the way, he disagreed with them.) Again, the only point I'm making is that there's contempt on both sides.
Incidentally, I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican; and I'm a guy without an ideology. (You may be thinking What the f--- is he doing here, then?! 
) I'm not trying to make myself feel better by being compassionate. Because of low self-esteem, I'm making myself feel better by building up my physique.
Sorry if this post has been too long-winded. I dare say that none of my comments would deserve to be labeled as "anti-sports." Anyone who would accuse me of being "anti-sports" simply on the basis of comments I've made in this topic -- well, I can't say anything that would change his/her mind. I think my observations here are fair and accurate. Perhaps I've made a mountain out of a molehill; but I'm an oddball, anyway. So it goes ... 
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