American Football, when it was first “officially” played in 1869 (Rutgers v. Princeton), was a completely different sport. For one, players were not well-padded, not-at-all-helmeted, and rules to protect their health and safety were lax at best. Games were glorified slugfests, but generally each team had a shot at winning, bruises and scars par for the course. Now imagine the 1869 Rutgers team playing against the present-day Scarlet Knights football program, or perhaps even the championship New York Giants. It would be more than an uneven match-up—the outcome would be brutal, if not deadly.

We are excited to launch the Leftist @ Work column, which is a space for leftists to talk about the ways in which they organize in their workplace – whether it is how they talk with coworkers about political issues, how they are trying to build or revitalize a union, or how they orient their political perspectives to sync with their daily jobs. Some leftists find themselves confronting issues they didn’t expect would come up in their work.