To me, American football is an entertainment and marketing phenomenon. The sheer number of fans
(i.e. Fanatic)
Definition of FANATIC
: marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion <they're fanatic about politics>
alone boggles the mind.
(from wikipedia.com)
". . . The first instance of professional play in football was on November 12, 1892, when William "Pudge" Heffelfinger was paid $500 to play a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association in a match against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. This is the first recorded instance of a player being paid to participate in a game of American football, although many athletic clubs in the 1880s offered to help players attain employment, gave out trophies or watches that players would pawn for money, or paid double in expense money. Football at the time had a strict sense of amateurism, and direct payment to players was frowned upon, if not outright illegal.
Professional play became common, and with it came rising salaries, unpredictable player movement, and the illegal use of amateur collegiate players in professional games. The National Football League, a group of professional teams that was originally established in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, aimed to solve these problems. This new league's stated goals included an end to bidding wars over players, prevention of the use of college players, and abolition of the practice of paying players to leave another team. The NFL by 1922 had established itself as the premier professional football league.
The dominant form of football at the time was played at the collegiate level, but the upstart NFL received a boost to its legitimacy in 1925 when an NFL team, the Pottsville Maroons, defeated a team of Notre Dame all-stars in an exhibition game.[18] A greater emphasis on the passing game helped professional football to further distinguish itself from the college game during the late 1930s. Football in general became increasingly popular following the 1958 NFL Championship game, a match between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants that is still referred to as the "Greatest Game Ever Played". The game, a 23–17 overtime victory by the Colts, was seen by millions of television viewers and had a major impact on the popularity of the sport. This helped football to become the most popular sport in the United States by the mid-1960s. . . "
I used to try to understand it so I could watch it with others and participate in the enthusiasm and fellowship of the occasion. I have to confess, I never fully grasped the concept. In time I even stopped trying. Don't get me wrong, I truly understand and appreciate the concept of cheering for the local team (in any sport) and feel that the camaraderie that results is good for the individuals as well as the society. But I still don't understand, nor at this point in my life need or want to understand, the game of football.
Nevertheless I most certainly do intend to fully participate in the 'good vibes' inherent in the process next Sunday at the party, drinking and enjoying good friendship when we all gather to watch football, even though I still don't understand the game.
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