Football in America

Football In America

American football has a long legacy in American History. It can be traced back centuries to

early European cutures, influenced through the years by multiple people, changed the rules

and has become a National phenomenon for Americans. American football is over 100 years

old and still going strong. It has inspired songs, movies and motivated individuals to great

heights in their careers and lives.

American football originated with its earlier form of play that derived from a variation of

the sport Rugby in 1892. There are mentions of Native Americans playing ball games but,

modern American football originates in traditional ball games played at villages and schools in

Europe dating many centuries before America was settled by Europeans. Reports of early

settlers at Jamestown, Virginia playing games with inflated balls in the early 17th century

have been noted in history also. American football is the result of several major divergences

from its earlier form of rugby. The introduction of the line of scrimmage and down-and-

distance are among the first major changes of the game Rugby to its conversion to American

football by Walter Camp. Walter Camp is considered as the father of football. The changes

that he incorporated into collegiate football became dominant in the United States for the first

half of the 20th century. As a result of its growing popularity its name was changed to the

National Football League was developed in 1920. Two years later it became the major league

of American Football.

This was a sport primarily supported by Midwestern industrial towns and eventually

became a national phenomenon. Its popularity can be traced to 1958 when the NFL

Championship game was dubbed "Greatest Game Ever Played." Rivals between the

American Football League and the National Football League began in 1960, hosting a play off

between the top teams of each league. This was the creation of what is know today as the

Super Bowl. Since then this has become one of the most watched television events in the

United States hosted on an annual basis. Sponsors use this event to advertised their products

to every home watching. Merchandising has become a million dollar industry based around

this one event every year. Newspapers print two editions anticipating the outcome of this one

event each year.

American Football is not a diverse sport compared to others. For example, it is

primarily only played in the U.S. The game itself is played throughout this region but not in

other countries where soccer is the more prodominent sport. The availablity of this sport to

other cultures is a large factor in is lack of diverseness. The majority of players found on a

typical NFL team are black or white and are recruited from college teams. As a result most

people who play football will not make it to a professional level. In fact, most will not make it to

a college level in this field. Limited amounts of teams and limited amounts of players makes

this one of the most sought after position in professional sports but it makes it one of the

hardest positions to get. This sport maintains an average size player over 6' in height and

depending on position on the field, an average weight of 185 to 300 lbs. Looking at just the

range of physical requirements to play this sport eliminates may participants. If this sport

could make it outside of its current region it could change the face of American Football. Other

countries and other cultures could be allowed to test their strengths against each other. As it

stands this is one of the only sports that is not played throughout the World. There are many

reasons applied to why it is not a common sport outside of the America's such as expenses or

just plain, "I don't like it."

Three approaches to understanding deviance in sports are the functionalist theory,

conflict theory, and a combination of interactionist and critical theories. The functionalist

theory is based on shared values in a social order. "Deviance in sports, according to a

functionalist approach, deviance occurs when an athlete rejects the goal of improving skills or

the expectation that the means to achieve goals is to work harder than others." (McGraw−Hill,

2007) According to conflict theory, economic interests and economic power by those who

own the production in society control the social order. Those who are not wealthy lack the

ability to conntrol the enforcement of rules and are identified as deviant