Masculinity In American Football

Football - probably the most loved and sought after sport, and definitely the most popular in America. Undoubtedly, this powerful sport has taken American culture by storm after the baseball craze and has become a mega moneymaking business worth billions of dollars. Though I basically know nothing about football, I definitely know that it is seen to encourage unity when it comes to teams, games, and seasons and that the game brings much positive vibe. When a player scores, the crowd goes wild and cheers. When a player tackles another and knocks him unconscious, the crowd also goes wild and cheers. Yes, football is a game in which people get excited to watch in order to see which team scores and wins, but this objective seems to carry along

Now, does that make football sound more like a game to show who is the alpha male? After all, the immediate connection when people think of football players, is masculinity; and if a violent tackle gives a player that thrill of success and dominance, it could potentially become his personal reward. Some players are bold enough to admit the thrill they obtain from tackling an opponent, as Almond quotes Michael Strahan, who says, “It’s the most perfect feeling in the world to know you’ve hit a guy just right, that you’ve maximized the pain he can feel … You feel the life just go out of him.” (135)

Now, football itself and its players aren’t the only ones who encourage these violent aggressive behaviors. It’s the fans. In psychology, there is something called positive reinforcement in the process of operant conditioning. This is when a particular behavior is positively reinforced with a reward. In this case, the football players’ action of violently taking out his opponent is positively reinforced with the reward of the massive cheerings from fans. This is where football builds the bridge of influence of excitement in violence between players and