Crawford in the Media

Professor Crawford was interviewed by two news sources in the past week. On April 1st, he was interviewed by WLIO in Lima to talk about April Fool's Day. Crawford mentioned that nobody knows for sure how the day started, but some maintain that it commemorated Jesus traveling back and forth between Harrod and Pontius Pilate. Others argue that it was the evolution of Roman renewal festivals. Sill others, including the Simpsons, hold to the theory that it was a day when early Christians mocked Druids.

He also spoke of some of the famous hoaxes played on the day, including Burger King announcing the sale of left-handed Whoppers, and a Boston University professor telling the Associated Press that the holiday was created by the Emperor Constantine, who made his court jester emperor for the day.

Crawford was also interviewed by a reporter from the San Antonio Express-News, who wanted his take on the upcoming implosion of Texas Stadium, the former home of the Dallas Cowboys. The reporter also wondered why such buildings have become such cultural icons in America. Crawford mentioned that Texas Stadium was unique, since it had a hole in the roof, with the story being that not only were the Cowboys America's Team in the 1980s, but they also said that even God wanted to watch them. He also placed the importance of such sites into the model of what many historians, including Crawford, describe as "American cathedrals." A Cowboy fan since his teen years, Crawford mentioned also that this might be seen as the last vestige of the old Cowboys of Roger Staubach and Tom Landry being finally erased by current owner Jerry Jones, and that the old stadium was important as being the site of many National Football League innovations, such as wide white sidelines and multicolored 20 yard lines that made viewing on television easier, not to mention the introduction of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

Crawford was also interviewed by WLIO Lima on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. He gave a historical background on the event, and the narrative of the "angry while male" that this fit into during the 1990s. He mentioned that this same narrative has been revived by the Obama administration recently, citing Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano's memo warning about right wing extremists, the recent arrest of militia members, and former President Bill Clinton's warning that the rhetoric of the Tea Party Movement might lead to violence.