--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a progression of understanding…" description: "\"There is a progression of understanding vis-a-vis pro football that varies drastically with the factor of distance -- physical, emotional, intellectual..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/hunter-s-thompson-278_accounts_there-is-a-progression-of-understanding_765564.jpg" --- # There is a progression of understanding vis-a-vis pro… ![“There is a progression of understanding vis-a-vis pro football that varies drastically with the factor of distance -- physical, emotional, intellectual and every other way. Which is exactly the way it should be, in the eyes of the amazingly small number of people who own and control the game…” quote by Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/hunter-s-thompson-278_accounts_there-is-a-progression-of-understanding_765564.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/hunter-s-thompson-278_accounts_there-is-a-progression-of-understanding_765564.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/hunter-s-thompson-278_accounts_there-is-a-progression-of-understanding_765564.jpg) > “There is a progression of understanding vis-a-vis pro football that varies drastically with the factor of distance -- physical, emotional, intellectual and every other way. Which is exactly the way it should be, in the eyes of the amazingly small number of people who own and control the game, because it is this finely managed distance factor that accounts for the high-profit mystique that blew the sacred institution of baseball off its ''national pastime'' pedestal in less than fifteen years.” [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that distance—physical, emotional, intellectual—creates a power imbalance that lets a few control football, turning it into a profit‑driven spectacle and displacing baseball as America’s pastime. **In simple terms:** Distance lets a few control football, making it profit‑driven and replacing baseball. Key Takeaway Recognize how distance shapes power and profit in sports. Themes power control commercialization culture sports media Mood critical analytical skeptical Type observational critical analytical When to use this quote - sports management - media analysis - fan engagement - policy debate - marketing strategy Key Concepts Capitalism spectacle elite control cultural shift Questions to Reflect On - How does distance affect your personal connection to sports? - What would a more equitable sport landscape look like? A Different Perspective The claim may overgeneralize and ignore grassroots influences and fan agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseball/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Fifteen years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifteen-years/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Mystique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystique/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pro football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pro-football/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Progression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progression/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Small numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-numbers/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [There is a progression of understanding vis-à-vis pro football that varies drastically with the factor of distance --physical, emotional, intellectual and every other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-is-a-progression-of-understanding-vis-vis-pro-football-that/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Baseball is our national pastime, that is if you discount political campaigning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/baseball-is-our-national-pastime-that-is-if-you-discount-political/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Baseball, to me, is still the national pastime because it is a summer game. I feel that almost all Americans are summer people, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-busby/baseball-to-me-is-still-the-national-pastime-because-it-is-a-summer/) Steve Busby > [It doesn't take much to get me up for baseball. Once the National Anthem plays, I get chills. I even know the words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-rose/it-doesn-t-take-much-to-get-me-up-for-baseball-once-the-national/) [Pete Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-rose/) > [Baseball is our national game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/baseball-is-our-national-game/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Major League Baseball is a national institution and we take our responsibilities seriously when it comes to how the game affects the lives of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bud-selig/major-league-baseball-is-a-national-institution-and-we-take-our/) [Bud Selig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bud-selig/) > [Baseball may be our national pastime, but the age-old tradition of taking a swing at Congress is a sport with even deeper historical roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-bayh/baseball-may-be-our-national-pastime-but-the-age-old-tradition-of/) [Evan Bayh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-bayh/) > [I thank heaven we have had baseball in this world... the kids... our national pastime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-ruth/i-thank-heaven-we-have-had-baseball-in-this-world-the-kids-our/) [Babe Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-ruth/) > [Baseball is not a conventional industry. 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It is our national pastime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/baseball-is-not-a-conventional-industry-it-belongs-neither-to-the/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [“It’s one thing to win a game with a base hit, or to save a game by pitching a scoreless ninth ... it’s something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/it-s-one-thing-to-win-a-game-with-a-base-hit-or-to-save-a-game-by/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [Don't quote me on this, but if they ever manage to ban beer advertising in baseball you can kiss the national pastime goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-maris/don-t-quote-me-on-this-but-if-they-ever-manage-to-ban-beer/) [Roger Maris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-maris/) > [Not reading poetry amounts to a national pastime here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/not-reading-poetry-amounts-to-a-national-pastime-here/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [Baseball has long been a national pastime that many Americans have cherished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/baseball-has-long-been-a-national-pastime-that-many-americans-have/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) > [Some say our national pastime is baseball. Not me. It's gossip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/some-say-our-national-pastime-is-baseball-not-me-it-s-gossip/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [You know this baseball game of ours comes up from the youth - that means the boys. And after you've been a boy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-this-baseball-game-of-ours-comes-up-from-the-youth-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Hunter S. Thompson > [“There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was — as Khrushchev said of Nixon —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-was-also-the-fact-that-sending-a-penniless-writer-to-get-135/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Cases of champagne and scotch lay broken in the street, and everyone I saw had a bottle. 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