American_Football

American Football Sports in the United States are one, if not the, biggest form of leisure. There are four major American sports which include: NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. Baseball is considered “America’s pastime” but football has been gaining more popularity in the United States but also throughout the world. Since its creation in 1869, football has been a major part of American society. Americans love the intensity and display of sportsmanship on and off the field. Every Sunday almost every television in America is tuned to CBS, NBC or FOX waiting for the opening kickoff for their favorite team. The National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. Professional football is a very large enterprise. It shows how American culture understands the importance of entertainment because large amounts of money are invested in team franchises, modern arenas, and into promotion on television. Also, the Super Bowl is the most highly watched program on television every year. It is so large that other organizations pay large amounts of money just for commercial air time slots during the game. Advertising is so big during the game that millions of dollars are spent just for 30 seconds. Gambling on the Super Bowl is approaching a billion dollar enterprise. Football has its own separate culture then most sports. The Super Bowl is comparable to a religious holiday. People have parties, bars are packed, and some even have the money to make it to the big game. People who know nothing about football are even excited for Super Bowl Sunday not for the game but the commercials as well. The football culture is like no other. Some fans plan out their trip and get to the stadium hours before the game even starts to start the football game experience or “ritual” as some likes to call it. Tailgating, which is most popular among football, is essentially a big cookout and alcohol induce party before games. Thus football has become for many, a social event as well as an athletic one. During tailgating time, most fans tend to get along with each other as long as you’re rooting for the right team. It’s almost as if it’s a second family. People share food and beverages with one another all in for a good time. Once inside the stadium its game time, which means to have your game face on. Many fans live and die by their teams’ performance. I know being a huge Chicago Bears fan there are many die hard fans throughout the world. I will never forget the game I went to two years ago; it was a MNF game at home versus the Green Bay Packers. The temperature at the start of the game with wind chill was 13 below zero, which ended up being the coldest game in team history. It was probably the coldest I have ever been especially standing for 3½ hours. The $7 beers would turn into slush within 5 minutes and the bathroom would be crowded in between quarters just to stay warm. The game ended up going into overtime and not one seat was empty at Solider Field. It’s all about the football experience and culture that goes on for each and every game like this one. Just the leisure experience of not having to worry about your job, school or family and just get to let it ride for a little bit and have fun is what it’s all about. It’s truly a one of a kind experience that has traditions of its own.