Why Americans are Drawn to Football
It’s Sunday night. To anyone else, this would just be a regular evening, but to Americans, it’s a time to sit back, crack open a can of beer, and watch 40 men beat the crap out of each other for four hours straight. When looking at the most popular sports for each country, the United States stands out as the only country with football as its most popular sport. Why is this? What about football makes this sport so rooted in American culture?
Football originated in the United States as a combination of soccer and rugby. In 1869, the first football match was played between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6th. Walter Campo, considered the “Father of American Football”, drew up a set of official rules for the game, including many iconic features such as the snap, line of scrimmage, and eleven player teams. Later, the forward pass was added, along with the size and shape of the football. At the same time, Canadian Football developed independently from those of Camp, highlighting the difference between the two sports.
So why is this appeal so much to the American Audience? Well there are a few aspects that has made football stand out when it comes to popular American sports.
Displays of Space and Attention Rate
Many popular sports take place os a field much bigger than the camera can capture for the audience. For example, while the camera may be able to capture the play between the pitcher and batter, it may take a few seconds to readjust to the appropriate section where the ball is hit or thrown too. On the other hand, all 22 players in football are bunches up in two lines. It’s very easy for the camera to zoom in on the play that’s happening in the given moment. Just like for the camera, so too is it easier for the audience to pay attention. Football caters to the shorter attention span of humans, as the action part of plays typically only last for a few seconds, and so for the human mind it’s easy to tune in for those seconds, and then during the breaks or huddles to wander or pay attention to other things. Compare this to a game like soccer, where action is nonstop virtually throughout
Pride and Media Coverage:
Football, in itself is a marketing tool. There are over 100 commercials in just one football game, totaling to over 50 minutes of commercials. During the early stages of football, this marketing strategy allowed companies to market their product to the public while simultaneously providing funds to the NFL, now the richest sports league in the world. Now, football remains the sport with the most commercial time out of any other. Additionally, football receives massive media coverage , with channels like Amazon Prime Video, CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC, and NFL Network all showing NFL games throughout the week. If theres a NFL game, you’re gonna be able to watch it. After a while, football becomes familiar, like family. Professional teams carry the names of cities and states, promoting a collective identity among people who have nothing in common. Football given people and allegiance to claim, a rhythm to their week, and a channel for emotional commitment. Rooters “tailgate” and bask in the crowd, gathering in homes and bars. Football is America, America is Football
