I'm not claiming that football is the nation's salvation in this area, but it's one of them, one little thing that apparently has captured the imagination of a large sector of our society. But when football can't be a relatively pure outlet, a fun thing, then it hurts itself.

Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (/rɵˈzɛl/; March 1 1926 – December 6 1996) was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989 when he retired from office. When he took office there were twelve teams in the NFL playing a twelve game schedule to frequently half-empty stadiums and only a few teams had television contracts. According to Howard Cosell in his book I Never Played the Game the owners took 23 ballots before settling on Rozelle as NFL Commissioner at a January 26 1960 meeting.

Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world. Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (/rɵˈzɛl/; March 1 1926 – December 6 1996) was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989 when he retired from office.