This is a series of photo essays looking at the role football plays on college campuses and in cities throughout the country.

A combination of poetry, photo, audio, and videos looking at the complex traditions of celebrations of football, tailgates, and the surrounding environments.  

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Sports bring various peoples, communities, and cities together to cheer on their favorite team. Sports can also separate those very same groups, and the nation itself in championship games.   Sport is inherently combative: team vs. team, player vs. player. This versus mentality finds its way on and off the field. What do sports symbolize for our society?  We live in a country where divide and isolation is abundant and continues to further rift.  Sports has the capacity to bring unlike-minded individuals together.    What can the gestures, moves, routines, and plays unlock in daily life?  In cities, towns and college campus rich with sports history- fanaticism runs deep. But can a fanbase go too far, and where do we draw the line regarding celebration versus destruction? How can a sport impact a player, a fan, a neighborhood, a city?

All of the images have been photographed by artist Mike Durkin.  All images and those featured in the photography and video have given consent to be featured on this blog.