Life — September 5, 1930 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Three Cheers For The Spectator" This satirical piece critiques how football spectators behave. The cartoon shows two men watching a game, with speech bubbles saying "MEEYOW" and "MEOW" — suggesting fans making animal-like noises. The accompanying article humorously questions what spectators actually contribute to football. The author notes that while players do the work, spectators get hoarse cheering and may spend considerable money attending games (travel, food, merchandise). He sarcastically asks whether the spectator's role is truly heroic, given that fans mainly consume the experience without performing meaningful action. The joke's target: the gap between spectators' emotional investment and their actual participation—they cheer loudly but accomplish nothing materially, like animals making noise.