In “Do Sports Build Character or Damage it?” Mark Edmundson explains the pros and cons of children who grow up playing football. Firstly, he believes the perseverance it takes to show up for hard practices is useful later in life. Especially when they get frustrated with something and don’t notice the little bits of progress they are making. Secondly, it increases a player’s self-confidence with every goal they achieve, no matter how small. Furthermore, he states that each player has a place on the team, this provides each player with self-affirmation. Edmundson then shows football as comparable to war play and the war heroes, Hector and Achilles in the Iliad. With this, he opens the door for the more unfavorable aspects of the game.