Football as part of American Culture?

Question

Hello. I'm writing an article about football for our company newsletter. The newsletter is circulated and read in Southeast Asia.

I just need a little help. I need a casual, and if possible, personal definition of what football means to Americans. I appreciate any help you can give. I already have plenty of quick facts about football, and I just need something that's "not from the textbooks," so to speak.

Thanks again.

thank you very much for your answers. I'm asian, and i probably wont be able to understand and appreciate football the way you do. but yeah, it's a great sport, and i hear it's very popular over there. i think i have enough material to work with, and i can begin writing my article. with all the answers you gave though, it's tough to choose which one is the best answer. :)

domou arigatou gozaimasu!

Mr. TheOnlyBeldin Sir, thank you very much for your response.

In Mr. TheOnlyBeldin's response, would someone care to explain what "tailgating" means?

Answer 1

Football in America is now interwoven into the American psyche. It's appeal to Americans is broad based, but it has eclipsed baseball for several reasons.

American's like things big, loud, and strong. American's find intimidation in this fashion appealing, from our military to our entertainment -- "biggest, and best." We have big cities, big cars, and lots of open spaces.

Football plays well into that mentality. It is played by big people who run fast and hit hard. The stadiums are large, loud and raucous. As American culture has become less subtle and more "in your face," football has thrived.

Additionally, football has become an avenue for social bonding. Flag football can be played socially, and a football can be tossed around in an open yard without the need of a basketball goal. While tossing the baseball is still probably king here, football has gained a lot of ground in the last few decades.

Football lends itself to bonding through the game experience as a fan as well. College football is an integral part of large university life, and that atmosphere extends to professional football as well, particularly in the Northeast.
Fans go to game early and "tailgate," which is essentially a big cookout.cocktail party before games. Thus football has become for many a social event as well as an athletic one.

Lastly, football is an excellent avenue to channel the competitive American spirit, as soccer does in other countries. Many fans live and die by their teams performance.
Professional sports gambling has has exploded as well over the last few decades, and football lends itself well to sports gambling. Gambling on the Super Bowl is approaching a billion dollar enterprise.

In the last several years, this competitive aspect has grown exponentially as the game of "Fantasy Football" has exploded in America.
Fantasy football is played now by over 30 million Americans, and the numbers are increasing. This game is played by a group of fans (usually 10) getting together and drafting real NFL players on their make-believe "team." Teams play each other weekly, and earn points based on the individual successes of their players (scoring touchdowns, for example).
The team with the most points wins the "game".

To summarize, football has become an intergral part not only of American's leisure time but also the American spirit and mentality.

Answer 2

Football In American Culture

Answer 3

Sorry, Beatchanter, but you're wrong. It is part of the culture.

From Friday night high school games to Saturday afternoon college games to Sunday NFL games to Monday Night Football, the sport dominates the fall calendar and is the only sport where people will tune in religiously to watch a draft. Tailgating started at football games. We've changed what foods are eaten, how they're cooked, and how they're served to go better with football.

No other event on a regular basis can draw over 100,000 people together in this country to all dress the same, scream like there's no tomorrow, and make or break hearts more than football can.

It's not just a sport, and it's not just entertainment. It has become an integral part of who we are as a nation and as a people. Nothing else can bring two people who have completely different ideologies and tastes together faster than the fact that they cheer for the same team.

I can guarantee you that most people haven't read Hemingway, but find me someone who doesn't plan their first Sunday in February around the Super Bowl.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Football as part of American Culture?
Hello. I'm writing an article about football for our company newsletter. The newsletter is circulated and read in Southeast Asia.

I just need a little help. I need a casual, and if possible, personal definition of what football means to Americans. I appreciate any help you can give. I...

Answer 5

When it comes to other popular sports in America, such as baseball, hockey or basketball, there's only one way to score. You have to go around the bases, get the puck in the net or the ball through the hoop. If your team is losing by 5, 10 or 20 points, there aren't a lot of options on what a team can do.

Football, however, provides several different ways to score points, which is often the reason my friends and I find the game so captivating.

The quarterback can throw a desperate, 60 yard "Hail Mary" down the field for a touchdown to suddenly tie the game up. A kicker could propel his team to an unlikely victory by kicking a field goal from 50 yards back...in the middle of a snow storm. A running back can jump high up into the air and over a pile of defenders down at the goal line for the touchdown. Sometimes a team knows if they don't score on the last play of the game they'll lose the game, so they'll toss the ball to each other like rugby players, dodging tackles and tossing the ball off to another player again; anything to keep that last chance to score alive. You don't always know exactly what's coming on the next play of a football game, which often adds to the excitement.

Every sport has it's exciting moments; those miracle come back plays and tight games where the underdog wins the game, but as far as my friends and I are concerned, none come quite as close to so often providing the entertainment level American football provides.

Answer 6

Football is America's favorite backyard pastime. Throwing the ball, catching it, kicking it and eluding tacklers appeal to all ages.

America is based on excellence and successful team efforts. That's what drives college and pro American football fans.

America thrives on upsets as well. When David slays Goliath, it reverberates throughout the land. This year, the small school Appalachian State Mountaineers played Michigan at Ann Arbor, and most expected a blowout. What was underestimated was that the smaller Mountaineers were confident with a 15-game win streak, and their last-second blocked field goal secured an improbable 34-32 victory the first week of September 2007. This game will be talked about for decades, especially if powerhouse Michigan gets back to their winning ways.

Answer 7

What do you think of a game that is play only in the USA. A American game.
It´s a american culture that wins the strong person.
It´s not like soccer to Brazil or Pasta to Italy it´s something unike in the intere world
You have to live over there to understand

Answer 8

Football is the U.S. favorite amateur and pro sport . Average attendance per game far exceeds any other sport including baseball. Some college football stadiums can and do often exceed 100,00 people per game. It is a sport which highlights brutal strength , speed , agility , and strategy. It is a sport that millions of Americans look forward to each week and sometimes plan huge parties and events around them. It is to us what soccer (fut ball) is to the rest of the world. We are passionate about the game and often live for it.

Answer 9

Football is like chess. Every player has a role and certain rules that limit his actions. The difference is all of the pieces move at once and can make mistakes.

To win not only takes muscle and speed, but brains and imagination. While it is simple in its objective, it has the most complex set of rules and highest number of officials per player of any team sport.

Answer 10

Hahaha. I'm not sure we can call football culture. Definitely part of American pop-culture. And certainly cultured individuals watch football. (I'm a Steelers fan) Jazz is part of American culture. Hemmingway is part of American culture. But football, however fun, is entertainment, not culture.