PATRIOT GAMES

DAVE ZIRIN ON TRUMP, POWER & WHY NFL IS COMING TO CROKER

- David COUGHLAN

DAVE Zirin has switched off from NFL. The thrill has gone.

The New York-born writer is one of the most respected figures covering US sports and politics with a series of acclaimed books, his hit Edge of Sports podcast and work with filmmakers like Ang Lee and Ken Burns.

He's coming to Dublin next week for a screening of his documentary Behind The Shield about the NFL.

But the long shadow of Donald Trump means he won't be watching when Croke Park hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings at the end of this month.

"I've been an NFL fan my entire life, my son plays quarterback for the largest high school in my state and this is the first year I can't watch," he says.

"This is the first time in my four decades as an NFL fan that I've hit my limit.

"I think it was seeing NFL commissioner Roger Goodell doing the thumbs up alongside Trump that did it for me.

"You can't overstate the level of toxicity in this country right now. And when it comes to the dystopic, Trumpist United States, the NFL is not a bystander. It's a facilitator." Trump's Doonbeg golf course will host next year's Irish Open and Taoiseach Micheál Martin extended an open invitation to the US president during the week.

The Government has also invested €10m into bringing NFL to the home of GAA.

There will be razzmatazz, hype and glamour, but the game comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the US and ever-deepening divisions.

"This is an incredibly dangerous time in the United States," says Zirin.

"You have troops on the streets of American cities... and a loss of due process.

"The NFL says 'football is America'. What Ireland needs to ask itself is, do they want America right now? Not American football, but America.

"People should examine it.

You want to enjoy the game? Enjoy the game. By all means.

But please know this game is not coming a la carte.