Reviews for Football and American Identity

The average rating for Football and American Identity based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-04-27 00:00:00 Erin Walker Falk seeks to bring together sociology and history to explore football as social institution. He begins by looking at football at the highschool level in chapter one, arguing its an anti-intellectual presense which funnels and rewards people towards athletics and away from academics, and creating a culture at an early age that fuels football fandom at higher levels. Chapter two looks to college football, as it first developed football mass following as something that blue bloods to an activity that people from all backgrounds participate in as college opened up (though I'd argue that poorer people play the sport more generally). Chapter three moves to football as a sport of professionals, looking to the long development of professional football, especially the NFL. As it became a sport of mass following, more people participated in it which fueled its growth at the expense of baseball. Chapter four argues that football reflects stratification in society, particularly racial minorities and women. Chapter five looks at the institution of support around the sport, the gate keepers to the players, including charisma of coaches, doctors for care, scouts to find talent, refs to enforce the rules, trainers to build athletic ability, GMs of pro teams to manage talent, and owners to manage the business empires. Chapter six looks at fan culture, focusing on the Oakland Raiders and college sports, noting violence and hostility towards other fans. Football serves as a catharsis for many men, who are always the hardest fats. Chapter seven looks at football media, particular tv, movies, books, and radio. Chapter eight moves onto the billions of dollars business in colleges, especially bowl games, and the NFL, with the most popular single sports event, the Super Bowl. Advertising and gambiling also fill here to the total industry. Chapter nine moves to crime and American football, as 21% of all NFL players will be convicted of a major crime, which both reflects the violence encouraged in players and the overenforcing of laws towards black americans, who make up almost two thirds of NFL players. Chapter ten focuses exclusively on the NFL, as high school and college funnel all talent and culture to reaching this level. It is an economic powerhouse controlled by owners and commissioners, with international ambitions. Key Themes and Concepts -Football encompasses American values of individuality, achievement & success, activity, work, material comfort, and efficiency. The ideology of football supposably embrace liberty, freedom,equality, and humanitarianism, even if those often fall well short. - What it actually does how football players out is formed in adolescence as boys, separated from girls, seek escape from school, sexual pressure, peer pressure, identity forming, and parental control. Men are then made of boys, in theory, but creating a prestige of perceived meritocracy. -Football enforces socioemotion of stability, socialization by introducing values, ideological and political functions as defining Americanism, social mobility, and drawing diverse people together for a common cause.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-11-14 00:00:00 Micheal Castiglione i read this whole book. so done with APUSH