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The Culture and History of Intercollegiate Football

The Culture and History of Intercollegiate Football. The Metaphors of Industry and War in a University setting. I. The Industrial Game. The importance of measured time Machine-like football teams The role of externally imposed deadlines Frantic pace of the game

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The Culture and History of Intercollegiate Football

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  1. The Culture and History of Intercollegiate Football The Metaphors of Industry and War in a University setting

  2. I. The Industrial Game • The importance of measured time • Machine-like football teams • The role of externally imposed deadlines • Frantic pace of the game • Precise calibration of space as well as time

  3. I. The Industrial Game (cont.) • A concentration of people is necessary • Football defies the weather • The role of specialization • Consists of a sequence of collective acts -- “Purple People Eaters” -- “Steel Curtain” -- “Hogs”

  4. I. The Industrial Game (cont.) • Change in the game is normal, natural, deliberate and constant • Symbolism of Walter Camp • Less significance for individual statistics in football

  5. II. The War Game • War as a metaphor for football • Conquering and defending territory • Small-scale, non-lethal versions of battles • Familiar battlefield tactics to advance the ball

  6. II. The War Game (cont.) • Regular practice of deception • Structure of the Offensive platoon resembles the organization of an army --Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery

  7. II. The War Game (cont.) • The coaching staff as a general staff --plan strategy --regular training • “Warlike” football terminology • Both football and war are dangerous

  8. II. The War Game (cont.) • Symbolic awards provided • Loyalty to comrades • Significance of team mascots • Role of marching bands • Enthusiasm of a large population

  9. II. The War Game (cont.) • Football and the two World Wars --1919 Rose Bowl • Army vs. Navy, 1944 --Douglas MacArthur • Football and the Spanish American War (1898) --Teddy Roosevelt and the “Rough Riders”

  10. III. The College Game • First college game: Princeton vs. Rutgers (November 6, 1869) • Harvard vs. McGill University (1874) • Initially crucial rule changes • Early violence in the game • White House conference in 1905

  11. III. The College Game (cont.) • Reforms making the game less violent • Significance of the forward pass • Army vs. Notre Dame (November 1, 1913) • Beginnings on Campus -- “Horse Feathers” (1932) • Founding of NCAA (1910)

  12. III. The College Game (cont.) • Principal purpose of college football • Eastern leadership of early college football • Walter Camp’s All-America team (1889) • Explosive growth forced greater democratization of the game • Eastern dominance questioned

  13. III. The College Game (cont.) • Negotiation of rules brought regions together • Regional styles of play • Early midwestern victories over eastern schools • The end of eastern dominance --Chicago’s Hyde Park vs. Brooklyn Polytechnic

  14. III. The College Game (cont.) • The “Chicago Idea” • Football and Catholicism • Football and the far west • Football in the South • Football and ethnic assimilation

  15. III. The College Game (cont.) • College football in the 1920’s • Statewide support of teams • Regionally-organized conferences • Growth of traditional rivalries

  16. III. The College Game (cont.) • Harvard vs. Yale (1875) • Army vs. Navy (1890) • Auburn vs. Alabama (1895) • Michigan vs. Ohio State (1897) • Texas vs. Oklahoma (1900) • California vs. Stanford (1892)

  17. III. The College Game (cont.) • Reasons for regional organization --logistics --racial segregation --Paul Robeson and Jackie Robinson • Growth of “intersectional” contests --Notre Dame vs. USC (1926)

  18. III. The College Game (cont.) • Quarterbacks and Running Backs as heroes • The Heisman trophy • John Heisman’s coaching career --Georgia Tech over Cumberland College, 220-0 (1916)

  19. IV. The Coach’s Game • Symbols of great college teams are their coaches • Coach as engineer of the football team • Coach as CEO and General • Special responsibility for morale

  20. IV. The Coach’s Game (cont.) • Amos Alonzo Stagg: first paid, full-time coach --University of Chicago (1892) • Football eliminated at Chicago in 1939 • Stagg’s longevity and religious character

  21. IV. The Coach’s Game (cont.) • Knute Rockne: The Prototypical College Football Coach --Won 105 games between 1918-1930 with a winning percentage of .891 • Renowned orator and motivator

  22. IV. The Coach’s Game (cont.) • Rockne excelled at the art of gaining publicity --Notre Dame’s victory over Army (1924) --Grantland Rice -- “The Four Horsemen”

  23. IV. The Coach’s Game (cont.) • Rockne helped to make college football an American mania • The death of George Gipp (1920) • Notre Dame over Army 12-6 (1928) • “Knute Rocke, All-American” -- “Win One for the Gipper”

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