The Question Of Internationalizing American Football

A European will tell you that football is “the beautiful game”, eleven on eleven action where a 0-0 draw is actually a good game and human contact of most kinds is discouraged. Ask an American the same question, and football becomes an eleven on eleven battle on the gridiron, where play consists of one team doing everything in their power to tackle their opponent and stop their progress while the other does everything in their power to protect and advance the ball. Interestingly, however, the American definition of the game extends only to our northern neighbors, as the rest of the world uses the word football to describe what we call soccer, but why? America’s love for American Football is rooted in one key cultural factor: the spirit of the game.

First, the only two countries that have adopted American Football as pastimes are more similar than different when it comes to culture. Canada and the United States are both ex-British colonies that share an appreciation for the rough-and-tumble, stand up for yourself brand of masculinity that certain sports offer. The history of America is not without conflict and violence from the very beginning, and that is reflected in the sports we play. Baseball is a game of grudges, unwritten rules, retaliation and fights; hockey seemingly encourages fighting by not outlawing it, and that same spirit carries over to football. Nothing gets the crowd going like a big tackle and a bit of organized violence. The intense, eleven on eleven action is often described as “organized chaos” in which everyone must do their part to function effectively as a team. While soccer generally localizes the action to two or three players around the ball, to be successful in football is to use all eleven players all of the time, which makes for an exciting spectacle. The most American aspect of the sport, however, says it’s not about how hard you get knocked down, it’s about whether or not you get back up. No game captures that sentiment better than American Football. Football is a grueling sport, and parallels have been drawn between it and the socio-economic situations of its fan and player base. Football cannot be played at a high level on talent alone, it takes hard work. David vs. Goliath stories are even more improbable, and thus more incredible, in football than in non-contact sports because of the magnitude of factors working against a smaller, slower team. Football games being won “in the trenches” do not refer to talent, they refer to hard work. Hard work breeding success is the backbone of American society. Americans have little time or patience for the theatrics integral to the game of soccer (and creeping into basketball) and the perception of “selling an injury” to put your team ahead. “Faking it” is not tolerated in America in the same way that it isn’t a strategy in football.

Internationalizing American Football could be approached in a number of ways. I believe the most effective way would be to address the cost and safety concerns that the sport presents by putting more emphasis on Flag Football in foreign markets. Flag Football teaches the same offensive skills as the regular game, but prohibits tackling, opting for a belt system instead. It is much safer than normal football, due to the lack of contact, and cheaper, as pads are no longer required. This increases the accessibility of the game exponentially. By creating a base of children enthused about playing flag football, contact football can take root in foreign markets. Past efforts to spread the game to other markets have failed, in my opinion, due to the emphasis to push it on the adult sector of the population. Children are the ones that need to be convinced of the game’s benefits. They will grow into adults who appreciate it as well. Rather than NFL Europe (a failed project from the early 2000’s) pushing teams onto adults who already care about soccer, get kids to play football rather than soccer from a young age. This will create and establish the adult fan base necessary to support teams in foreign markets in the future. Football will need to adapt to the value base and socio-economic conditions of its foreign markets, but it has potential to grow outside of the U. S if careful planning and tailoring are undertaken. Foisting a “weird” sport onto an already leery fanbase is not the answer. Establishing interest with the young population, before they have a chance to entrench themselves behind another sport, will be key to the sport’s continued growth outside of the U. S.