Between the 1880's and 1920's, the
quality of jobs increased, and people were given better work hours
with more time off. Increased time off made people more interested in
public leisure, thus leading to the rise of spectator sports. Also,
the better quality jobs provided people with more money to go and
attend sporting events. Out of these sports came football. Football
is a mixture between soccer and rugby. The rules were changed by
Walter Camp, otherwise known as the “Father of American Football”,
who made the game more like modern football today. Football quickly
caught on in several colleges and became one of Americas most popular
sports.
One of the main reasons football
became so popular in the United States is because it captured the
true masculinity of a young American. Men attend their jobs during
the day and it takes away some of their manly pride, but leaving work
to go play football helped them to reinforce their manliness. The
uniforms themselves helped to show off their broad shoulders and
small waists, truly capturing their male physique. Another aspect
that made the game so manly is the violence that was happening out on
the field. This made them feel tough and powerful by having to fight
their way to a victory.
Even though some of the violence made
the men feel more powerful and tough, it was extremely dangerous. In
1905, eighteen college players died and hundreds of others had
football related injuries. Many colleges, one of the biggest supports
being Wisconsin, fought to have the game removed from colleges
everywhere, but the love of the game was too strong for many players
and spectators. In reaction to this, President Theodore Roosevelt
called a meeting at the White House with representatives from Yale,
Harvard, and Princeton, which were the biggest college football teams
at the time. After talking it over, Roosevelt created a seven member
“Rules Comity”, which later became know as the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). This comity made rules to
make the game safer for the players. They made rules like the line of
scrimmage, which set the offense and the defense apart from each
other by the length of the ball, and forward pass rule. Even though
the game can be quite dangerous, the brutality and fight is part of
what people enjoy so much about football.
The brutality helps to add to the
intensity and excitement of the game. The spectators love to watch a
group of men giving all of their might to fight and preserver for a
common goal of winning the game. This attitude of perseverance
creates leaders and disciplines the teams to learn to work together.
Each player has a certain position and purpose to help win the game.
This gives each player a sense of belonging and purpose because
without each position, winning the game would be nearly impossible.
These aspects of football have shaped some of America's greatest
leaders. For example, President Dwight Eisenhower played football at
West Point in 1912. Without football, Eisenhower may not have gained
a sense of leadership or continue on to be the President.
Football was not only a fun game to
watch, but it was considered a social event. It initially attracted
an upper-class group of people because of its start in colleges and
universities. Both men and women attended the games, and it was
considered sophisticated or glamorous event. Ads for football often
had images of women on them to add to its sense of sophistication.
The game was not only popular for the men, but for most of the women
too. Football then quickly became not only a game, but a part of
American culture.
Americans have such a fascination with
football because it is a game all our own. It defines American
cultures strive to be the best and to do things our way. The game of
football helps to set us apart from other countries and create fine
leaders.
I used this website to learn facts about how American football was created and who created it.
I used this book to learn reasons why football became so popular and the danger of the game.
I used this book to learn about the psychology behind football and how violent the game is.
I used this website to get a general background about the game and how the NCAA was created.
I used this website to learn more about how it became so popular.
I used this book to learn about how American football transformed from soccer and rugby to american football.
I used this website mainly to find pictures and primary sources from this time.
I used the history book to learn about how leisure impacted the rise of sports.
I used this website to learn about what American Leaders played football.
