Football: Baseball's Rival
Although baseball is largely recognized as the American pastime, football can easily rival it because football is a distinctly American game. In fact, many other countries do not only not play football and not have football teams but also have no understanding of the game. In languages such as Spanish, for example, the word “football” actually refers to soccer and the Spanish word for “football” translates to American soccer or American football. However, its lack of existence or acceptance around the world does not decrease the popularity of the game in any way.
The Love of Football
Football is a game that boys dream about and mothers fear often from day one. Mothers worry about their sons’ involvement in the game, but boys dream of playing the rough-and-tough sport to exude their masculinity and let out their aggression. Football is a very aggressive game, including tackles and hard hits, and it generally has no place for women—no place except on the sidelines as cheerleaders, which becomes many young girls’ dream.
Unlike most, maybe all, other sports, football has excluded women from the playing field and relegated them to cheer from the safety of the sidelines. However, as football continues to grow in popularity, women are beginning to join in the fun, as well. Football, like baseball, is a game that is easy to play in neighborhood streets and yards with a group of friends. In these neighborhood scrimmage games, girls often play and enjoy the fun. Now, with the development of women’s teams across the country, women are getting a chance to get even more involved in the game at a professional level.
Even if you do not play or have no desire to play, many Americans still love to watch the game. Monday Night Football has become almost a catch-phrase in American society, and people often spend their weekends watching games on TV or experiencing them firsthand in the stands. Whichever way you look at it, football has a definite spot in American society.