It could be argued that the antonym for “man” is “boy” rather than “woman”. It is much harder to argue tthat the antonym for “masculine” is anything other than “feminine” or “effeminate”.

It’s a tough call. I played fullback, but tight ends get my respect. It’s a very difficult position to play well.

There is a commercial that has been running during Chicago Cubs games that pushes a similar message. Amidst clips of Cubs batters hitting line drives and pitchers making people look foolish, it flashes the message, “Watch the boys of Summer become the men of Fall.” For the last 99 years, the Cubs have been what you call the Boys of Summer. A team that looks good and shows promise through June, July, and August while there is no pressure on them. Yet come September and October, they have folded at some point every year since 1908. But for the first time in a while, they have the looks of a team ready to prove themselves as men who are unwilling to go home with their tails between their legs unless they left everything they have in them on the field.

The split end is so called because they line up split away from the rest of the line, and is more often a fast and deep receiver. Of course, in my day the other wide receiver was called a “tailback” or “Flanker back” but they were still a receiving back as opposed to a running back.

The term “tight end” is often the butt of jokes by those woefully ignorant of football. For those who are in the know, it is possibly the most physically demanding in the game (Though fullbacks will argue this), and gets a lot of well deserved respect.