This weekend I experienced my first football game, in the stands at the Ohio State-Indiana game. As I observed the sport I realized similarities between football and the Balinese Cockfight reading, which described a deeper meaning behind a 'sport' in society. The Cultural Anthropology text discusses how sports, "are both models of culture, depicting basic ideals, and models for a culture, that socialize people into certain values and beliefs" (pg.352). Just as the Balinese cockfight was an expression of Balinese culture and society, I began to relate the popular American sport of football to our society.
             My attention was first drawn to the fact that the most popular American sport is comprised of only males, lacking any female counterpart. This depicts the strong emphasis of the male in our society. This is seen on the field, but also in the corporate world with the infamous glass ceiling for women. The sport glorifies the stereotypical 'masculine' traits: strength, power, ruthlessness, and teamwork, as characteristics of success and winning. The same traits stressed by a football coach to win on the field are strikingly similar to those emphasized as keys to success in the professional world. Is there an advantage to being a boy and playing sports at a young age, and later implementing these (possibly unconsciously) in his career, whereas a girl is never exposed to these ideals?
             As certain plays were preformed on the field a crowd of over 104,000 people would respond in distinct way: waving their hat around in a circle before kickoff, spelling out O-H-I-O after a penalty, and standing up when I touchdown occurred. The huge crowd movements reminded me of the WWII Nazi videos with the identical hand motions seen in a huge crowd. This type of mass behavior is an effort to unite many behind one belief, which in the case of football meant one particular team winning. In our
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