Thread by @ProfPaulPoast

Violent. Insular. Derivative of the British.

Of course, I'm talking about "American Football", the sport that truly captures "American Exceptionalism".

[A #SuperBowlLVI THREAD]

American Football is violent.

That is key to the game. As longtime @steelers headcoach @CoachTomlin once said before a game in 2009,

"It's a violent game and the most violent team will win"

After all, the basics of the game are blocking and tackling.

The long term damage due to such violence is now well documented.
vox.com/science-and-he…

What does it say about 🇺🇸 that it's most popular sport (more on that below) is so violent?
amazon.com/New-American-M…

American Football is insular.

Football is by far the most popular sport in the United States. This can be gauged by...

...TV viewership (this is a @StatistaCharts of the most watched US sporting events in 2020. Notice anything other than football?)...

...franchise values (on Forbes 2021 list, 8 American Football Teams are in the top 20, including @dallascowboys at #1)...

...and even related video game sales (this @StatistaCharts shows the top 20 titles from 2021).

Do you know where else American football is so popular?

Canada? Nope! They have their own brand (and much older professional league)

Yep, American Football is pretty much popular in just the United States.

Sure, the Super Bowl is televised globally, but that's mostly for the benefit of Americans living abroad.
foreignpolicy.com/2013/02/01/ame…

The 🇺🇸 sport that is popular globally is the @NBA. Players like @KingJames, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant can truly be considered GLOBAL figures.

Indeed, as the finale of the @espn "The Last Dance" documentary points out, the @chicagobulls were globally popular precisely because their championship run corresponded with the onset of the end of the Cold War (rise of the "unipolar moment").

Globally, the most popular sport is football, just not of the American variety.

What does it say about 🇺🇸 that it's most popular sport (more on that below) is just not that popular elsewhere?
foreignaffairs.com/articles/2004-…

American football is derivative of something British.

In this case, rugby.

This terrific @GlobalHistJnl article contextualizes the not-so-uniquely-American origins of American football.

cambridge.org/core/journals/…

So American Football, like perhaps American Hegemony itself, is very British in its foundations.
amazon.com/dp/B0753SH9Z3/…

Obviously, the US is actually not that exceptional in having features -- cultural and political -- that are derivative of the British.

Besides violent, insular, & derivative, I could also add "hubristic".

Why else would 🇺🇸 refer to the winner of the Super Bowl as "World Champions" (which, given the limited extent that the sport is played abroad, I suppose is technically correct)

In sum, I don't think "American Exceptionalism" is a myth per-se (though certain aspects are surely mythical)...

foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/the…

Instead, "American Football" captures well how the US is indeed "the exception" at times, even if those exceptions are not necessarily "exceptional".

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