Why Football

Why is American football so popular in the US and not in any other countries. And what does that say about American culture and why American football has a unique appeal to Americans. So for the purpose of trying to create this sociological lense I took a look at what happens in the average football game and what happens in a typical soccer game. And while I was at it I came to a unique discovery. American Football has only 11 minutes of playtime in the average game and over 100 different commercials. Which leads me to belive that maybe the chosen sport has less to do with what happens in the game and what is being pushed because as I am sure you can imagine 100 commercials are incredibly profitable for news networks as opposed to soccer where its two non stop 45 minute halves with a 15 minute break. In addition to the fact that networks profit more from American Football the lack of actual play time could indicate that american football is more of a social event. And maybe that social climate masks that slow pace of the game. Another factor is definitely that just like many aspects of football the scoring method is another illusion to make the game seem more intense than it really is. Another thing that is very interesting about american football is that unlike many other sports the person making the calls is the coach instead of the players. In soccer for example besides the formations, the substitutions and the occasional swearing the coach stays out of it. It means that football is mostly a strategic game which I find very interesting because most of the decisions are calculated risks but that is not an aspect of the viewer experiences so its not like it is an appeal for people.

I looked at multiple people who claimed to know why football was the best sport in the world and to be honest the majority of their reasons had little to do with the sport itself and more to do with the culture that surrounds it for example they talked about rivalries between teams, tailgating, commercials, short seasons and manliness whatever that means but in conclusion I think that football is simply another way for people to spend time together and it reflects the corporatism of America through the ads its amazing how they manage to advertise so much in a event that is supposed to be about the players. this was an interesting analysis but I wish I had covered something else but it is what it is.