Although the calendar said it was March, and the warm weather served as a welcome reminder that spring was on the way, it felt and looked more like Super Bowl Sunday at the University of Delaware’s Arsht Hall in Wilmington for the opening session of the semester’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) Friday Lecture Series.

With many of the 150 or so enthusiastic sports fans in attendance outfitted in Eagles gear, Pro Football Hall of Fame sportswriter Ray Didinger presented, “The NFL at 100: How Football Became America’s Game” and explained why football is always in season. The author of 11 books, most recently The Eagles Encyclopedia: Champions Edition, took the audience on a journey from the game’s humble beginnings, when the NFL was founded as the American Professional Football Association in 1920, to its stronghold as the country’s most popular sport.

Didinger said the NFL generated more than $8 billion in revenue in 2018, and he pleased the crowd by reporting that the Eagles are worth in excess of $2 billion. However, he also prompted some good-natured booing when he broke the news that the rival Cowboys head the list of the most valuable sports franchises in the world at $4.8 billion.

“Don’t blame me; don’t blame me; don’t shoot the messenger,” joked Didinger, who is also well-known for his broadcasting work on SportsRadio 94.1WIP and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

To read more about Didinger’s presentation, visit www.pcs.udel.edu/olli-ray-didinger.

Sponsored by UD’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Wilmington, a membership organization for adults 50 and over, the Friday Lecture Series is free and open to the public for adults of all ages. For more information, call 302-573-4417 or email LLL-wilm@udel.edu.