The Joys of Fasting, From Someone It Really Pains

“Iit’s not that tough, really. I’ll eat dinner at 5:00 Friday, then I’ll go to services and I’ll just basically miss breakfast and lunch Saturday. I get grumpy, sure. It’s not the most fun 27 hours or so. But it’s worth doing. . . . The worst part for me is the no water. I drink a gallon of water per day. So that’s the tough part, wanting to take a sip of water.” The speaker is Geoff Schwartz, the 340 pound guard of the New York Giants, speaking of the Yom Kippur fast, which he can observe this year because he’s injured.

It would have been interesting for the reporter to ask him why “it’s worth doing,” but the reporter doesn’t seem to have asked the actually interesting question, because he seems more interested in the effect of fasting upon his football career. But he did get from Schwartz good advice. “The key is not to eat too much Saturday night when you break the fast. Because then you get really sick.”

He does not, however, keep kosher, as he explained to Sports Illustrated: “I love bacon, cheeseburgers and pork chops.” That’s disappointing.

Today’s trivia: According to one source, nine Jews are playing in the NFL this year. and 32 in the history of professional football. The most famous of Jewish football players are quarterback great Sid Luckman, and defensive lineman Lyle Alzado, who however admitted to using steroids, and left tackle Ron Mix, a member of the all-time All NFL team,