Sociogenisis of Football

American Football as we know it today was derived from a combination of the two sports rugby and soccer. A man named Walter Camp who attended Yale was the main contributor in forming the rules of Football. Before Camp, a man named Ebb Ellis is credited with taking the first step in transforming soccer into American football when he picked up the ball with his hands and started running with it. From there, camp was able to establish a line of scrimmage, create teams with 11 players each, and create rules that stated one team would keep possession of the ball into they failed to score due to their own accord.

The game slowly advanced leagues were starting to form that pitted teams against each other. On November 12, 1982 (exactly 100 years before my birthday if any one is wondering) the first man was paid $500 to play in a game. While it was not known at the time, this event marked the start of Professional Football. Other teams followed the lead and started paying players to play for their respective teams. The game was picked up by various club teams in States across the east coast and these clubs eventually formed into the national football league we see today.

Sources: http://www.profootballhof.com/history/general/birth.aspx
http://www.inventhelp.com/walter-camp-innovator-of-modern-football.asp

Sport in the Ancient World

Sports played a considerable role in Ancient Greek and Roman society. The Olympics which started in Greece featured several sporting events which included many that are still featured in the track and field area of todays Olympics. The entire spectacle, both audience and athletes, consisted entirely of male athletes who were citizens. Women were not permitted in the games it would be considered rather absurd if a women tried to spectate the games. The athletes competed in the nude because the body of the athlete was celebrated and seen as a spectacle to the onlookers. Violence was much more prevalent in the games in both of these Mediterranean empires. Physical force was sometimes used to enforce the rules and regulations.  The sports were played to honor the Gods. Instead of playing for an athletes personal glory as in todays society, gaining favor with the Gods was the ultimate goal. Athletes who competed poorly were considered to have brought shame to themselves in the eyes of the Gods.

The primary sport spectacle in the Roman empire was the Gladiator battles. Participants of the battles were slaves or prisoners of war and were forced to fight to the death. The battles were also seen as a tribute to the Gods, but were also greatly integrated in the Politics of roman society. Gladiators had owners who would try to gain favor in politics by assembling the best gladiators.

Sport Society & Me

From the first time I was able to walk I was interested in playing sports. Baseball, Basketball, and Football consumed my life from day one. I have always been extremely interested in sports and have been fortunate enough to still be furthering my Football career here at CU. While I started out playing soccer, my interest in baseball and basketball escalated quickly. However, people noticed tendencies in the way I played those and continuously told my parents that they needed to get me in football because I posessed the qualities that would make me a natural. My parents nagged me, and i fought back just as persistently. I told them that I'm not a football player and never would be. I couldn't have been more wrong. From the time I started football in 6th grade, it has been my passion and still to this day consumes a good portion of my time and thoughts. I have gotten to experience the commitment that playing a sport at a division 1 level takes and that there are truly countless sacrifices associated with  participation at this level.

For me, the lessons learned through sports have been far more valuable than anything I have learned thus far. While I am very grateful for the opportunity to get an education, you cannot learn about teamwork, dedication, commitment, sacrifice, time management, and hard work in a classroom the same way you can in sports. While there are still some negative outcomes that can come through sports as  a result of the sports ethic, the vast majority of its virtues are very valuable. 

If monetary value is a true sign of the values Americans hold dear, than high profile sports like Baseball, Football, and basketball are at the top of that value. The celebrity status of the athletes who partake in these sports shows the standard the American people hold them to. Athletes are seem as an equivalent to Gods by some, and are truly held as the pinnacle of American society. Whether or not all athletes should be viewed as the role models we make them out to be is a topic for another discussion. I have noticed an interesting shift of values in American sports that has taken the value we place on winning at the professional level, and slowly shifted it down to younger and younger groups. An interesting new show recently appeared on the Esquire Network called "Friday Night Tykes". The show is a documentary on youth football in texas, the mecca of the football world, and it expresses the coaches obsession with winning at all costs and throwing out the past methods of giving all kids at young ages an equal shot to play and have fun.

Sports Ethic

Coakley & Hughes refer to the "Sport Ethic" as the driving inclination for athletes to push the limits in an effort to be the best. Specifically on page 307 of Positive Deviance Among Athletes, the authors describe it as the need to sacrifice for the game, seek distinction, take risks and push the limits. While the sport ethic is seen as a positive influence at it's core, some see it as corrupting factor in the lives of many athletes. This has been particularly evident in modern sports with the emergence of P.E.D's (performance enhancing drugs). In the MLB players who have been caught using P.E.D's, cite their reasoning for using the drug as a necessity rather than cheating. They often claim that they only used out of a need to compete with the rest of the league. As a result, the steroid era was born in baseball. The sport ethic drove players to use P.E.D's out of a desire to climb to the top of the MLB totem pole. Players whom did not want to fall behind and lose the fame and the fortune were forced to use as well. The sport ethic need to be on top therefore tarnished an entire era of a professional sport. While this phenomenon has been most evident in baseball, it is a certainty that similar scenarios have unfolded in countless other sports.

The sport ethics negative effect on an athlete is shown through more than just use of P.E.D's. Nate Jackson, a former player for the Denver Broncos wrote a book titled "My Injury File: How I shot, Smoked, and Screwed my way through the NFL." The book is a recollection of Jackson's career and his compilation of injuries that his body had to endure in order to stay competitive at the highest level of football. Jackson states that he can barely walk today because of his long list of injuries. The driving factor in jackson's career marked with injury was the sports ethic. His risk taking in order to remain on top has left him nearly crippled for the rest of his life.

The victims of the negative effects of the sports ethic does not end there, just ask lance armstrong.

Sport in the U.S

Sports are an integral part of American Culture. From the time a child can walk, the importance of joining a sports team is stressed. This pressure can be so strong in parts america that the cultural stigma placed on those who choose to not participate in sports at a young age, can carry a negative stigma. Sports are a lifestyle in American culture, and while many do choose to participate in other activities like art or music, sports are what draw the majority of American attention in our society.

While nearly any sport is accepted for the youth, several front runners emerge as favorites in the professional realm. Men's Basketball, Football, and Baseball are sometimes to referred to as "the big three", because they draw the majority of American attention and support. A few sports also gather regional attention like NASCAR in the south or hockey in the Midwest. The single charracteristic that makes these sports popular is that they all give Americans a chance to sit down and watch something extraordinary. The average american citizen revels at the opportunity to sit down on their couch and watch the best athletes money can buy pitted against one another. This is the single driving factor behind the economics of all the major revenue professional sports. The American people are willing to pay massive amounts of money to witness athletic feats that they would otherwise not be able to witness at their local rec center. The desire of American citizens to see and pay for the viewing opportunity is what makes it possible for the athletes in the afformentioned sports to earn more money then anywhere else in the world.

Gameday carries a similar routine and atmosphere for american people no matter what level the sport is. From pee-wees to the pros, Americans look forward to "the big day" and often base their entire week around it. Many other cultures see spending time with family and friends as a priority over sporting competition, but in America, Game day is family bonding day. The day is marked with feuds and fights, triumphs and joy, but most importantly it is a chance to live vicariously through "their" team, and prove that they are better than the opposition.

The single most important characteristic in determing the success of a sports team is winning. The ability to win is what gains and loses job, determines pay roll, and shapes the publics view of the team. While sportsmanship and character are also valued by Americans, a winning record will often act as a perfectly good substitute for anyone who lacks in those departments. Winning athletes who have also been marred by life mistakes are testament to this. For example, Kobe Bryant who has been accused of rape, Johnny Manziel whos character has been questioned time and time again, and Tiger woods, are all great examples of how winning can make public controversy dissapear.

Ultimately sports are a religion to some in the U.S, and they are worshipped accordingly