The Culture of Football

Football is the name of the game.  It is the culture that people go crazy for.  I honestly believe people would die if there was NO football.  That is what makes it such a special culture.  The football culture is just incredible.  When one thinks about football, the thoughts of blood, pain, sweat, discipline, dedication, determination, and battle come to mind.  It is a culture that takes very hard work to be successful in and could be very dangerous at times as well.

Coaches play a major role in the football culture.  Coaches are the gatekeepers, the decision makers, and the communicators.  They are the ones who control who makes the team or not.  It is the coach’s job to see what an individual can bring to the table to help the team in any way. 

In a small way, you can say the coaches are the leaders.  They help prepare the team for the upcoming games and get them motivated.  However, the players are the most significant leaders in the football culture.  They are the ones who make what happens happen.  It is them who play the game and make the plays.  When it is a pressure situation, they are the ones who come through and set the standards.  They are the tempo builders. 

After watching and observing many football games in the football culture, FAMILY is what it is all about.  Those teams are not on the field playing for themselves.  They are out there playing their hearts and souls out for each other.  You can sometimes see the love and passion they have for one another.  David Ogden Stiers once said, “Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”  The football culture is a family.

Rituals are what bring a culture together but separates itself from other cultures.  Most of the time, rituals are strange, abnormal, and done unnoticeably.  “Like primitive man, we are generally not aware that much of what we do in the course of daily life may actually be considered ritualistic” (Axelrod).  That is what makes the particular action a ritual.  The football culture’s rituals are mostly done as a team.  Before a game, teams will huddle together and say a prayer to ask for protection and strength to play the game.  After winning a game, a hand full of player will grab the coolers full of Gatorade, sneak up behind the coach, and dump then all over him.  That is one way the culture of football goes about of celebrating a team ‘WIN’.  Another ritual that was interesting is that a team will not walk on the team logo that is on the locker room floor.  They will walk around it to get to where they are going.  Also, one ritual that  people would find disgusting is that many players will go a season without washing  their ‘lucky’ socks or wristbands because they feel as if they want be as good if they wash them.  Some of the things done are crazy, but that is how the football culture is.  Everything about this culture once again comes down to ‘Family’.

Coaching is where the football culture commences.  Without the coaches, this culture would not have much structure.  The coaches are the ones who decide everything such as: the players who make up the football team, when and where the players play, the team rules and guidelines, the playbooks the team goes by, and many more things.  The coach is judged by every decision he makes.  If he decides to go for it on 4^th down instead of punting the football and fails, he looks like an idiot.  On the other hand, if he converts on 4^th down, he is the hero.  The coaches are the ones who argue with the referees to take up for their players and try to get a call to go their way.  A coach is the one who encourages a player when they need it the most.  The one who takes the blame for any mistake made by his team.  Coaching is brain of the football culture.