Analysis: The Tougher Football

Toughness has become, or perhaps has always been, an American ideal. We want tough politicians, tough punishments, and tough citizens. Which is why it’s no surprise that an advertisement for American Football would want to be seen as “The tougher football.” In 2009 the Dusseldorf Panther’s released a billboard ad for their American football team that read “American Football. The Tougher Football” (Outdoor Advertisement). These words take up the bottom third of the photo with the second, smaller line reading “www.dusseldorfpanther.de” there’s then a break in between text where the panther’s logo is located followed by, “Getting Tougher Since 1978.” The image behind the words is that of a black man flexing his bicep. His bicep is shaped like

This idea of strength displayed in the advertisement suggests that unless you’re paying a toll physically and emotionally, you’re weak. While this is, perhaps, the widely accepted definition of strength, there are more ways to be strong than in one that puts someone in harm’s way. A player who wants to continue playing after receiving a possible concussive hit could be strong by forcing himself to sit out until he’s been properly examined by a doctor. In addition to supporting a narrow definition of strength, the ad’s definition of weakness is extremely broad. According to the advertisement, a person could be considered weak if they play the wrong type of football, what Americans call soccer. For this reason, the advertisement could be considered xeno-centric. The advertisement is for a German football league, yet it calls “American Football” the “Tougher Football.” Since what most countries call football is called soccer in America, the ad is commenting that the other “football” is weak. The Dusseldorf Panthers could be using an admiration of American “toughness” to attract those who view the ad to their team. If other countries admire Americans this could be a great tactic; however, since the ad argues America’s strength by calling other countries weak, it could generate hostile feelings towards either the viewer’s native country, in this case Germany, or towards the

If conventional ideas of “toughness” are allowed to be celebrated in our society, then it should be no surprise that athletes continue not to speak up about their injuries. If we make athletes feel ashamed of being weak, they’ll be more likely to struggle with mental health issues and long-term physical issues. I’m sure that the Dusseldorf Panthers chose to use this advertisement because it works for their purposes, but the fact that it works says a lot about what society values. In this case, the advertisement shows that society values sport and entertainment over the players. When we justify putting a person in danger of being permanently injured for our own entertainment, the idea of what’s “tough” has gone too far. It’s time to find a new way to encourage allegiance to a sport team, one that doesn’t risk the health of the people playing for