Football = Manifest Destiny

Can the NFL Tackle Homophobia?

By Dave ZirinMale insecurity and evangelical Christianity are part of the very historical foundation of the sport, and that didn't happen by accident. Football came of age at a time when America was embarking on imperial adventures around the globe. Football was seen as a way to toughen up the youth so they wouldn't become "sissies" and a way to teach the very "values" of Christian expansion and manifest destiny. This philosophy was known as "Muscular Christianity," and its most prominent spokesman was an aristocrat-turned-boxer named Theodore Roosevelt.

Railing repeatedly against "sissies," Roosevelt saw tough athletic training as a way to build a new Anglo-Saxon super-race. In 1899, Roosevelt wrote:

In a perfectly peaceful and commercial civilization such as ours there is always a danger of laying too little stress upon the more virile virtues--upon the virtues which go to make up a race of statesmen and soldiers, of pioneers and explorers.... These are the very qualities which are fostered by vigorous manly out-of-door sports.
These "qualities" were seen as essential for invading the Philippines, Latin America and the Caribbean--planting the American flag and spreading the gospel. "Sissies" need not apply.Comment:  So the same values that lead teams to turn Indians into mascots so they can "fight" them also leads them to shun "un-Christian" and "effeminate" gays. Nice.

Things in common

There are a lot of interesting parallels between football and Manifest Destiny, including:

The goal of conquering territory.

The fanatical belief in one's team or nation (akin to "patriotism").

Asserting that God favors one side and praying to him for victory.

Envisioning the opposition as wild or savage creatures: barbarians (Raiders, Vikings, Indians) or beasts (Lions, Tigers, Bears).

The long list of football terms based on military warfare (e.g., march, blitz, sack).

Note how several pro football teams are named for the Euro-Americans who "built" the country: Patriots, Cowboys, 49'ers, Steelers, Packers. Even when teams don't have this kind of name, the goals (domination and conquest) and means (machismo and violence) are the same. It's all about who wields the biggest "war club."

The teams named for Indians (Redskins, Chiefs) are special cases. As I detailed in The Political Uses of Stereotyping, the defeated Indians became honorary Americans. We'll never see a football team with an "un-American" name such as the Kamikazes, the Viet Cong, or the Jihadists.

Below:  Cowboys vs. Indians (Redskins).