A Comparison of American Football in the USA and Germany

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Cultural Studies - Empiric Cultural Studies, grade: 2,0, University of Hildesheim, language: English, abstract: An American Football championship game took place between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers received a 21-17 victory, however, it was not the result that made this game unforgettable. The special aspect was the weather conditions. The wind chill temperature was down to minus 40 degrees Celsius, and that is why the game got the nickname Ice Bowl. It was so cold that the official's whistle froze to his lips when he wanted to start the game. Instead of canceling it because of the arctic temperatures, it was just decided not to use any whistles for the rest of the game. Not only every player on the field fought against nature but also more than 50.000 fans watching the game live at sold out Lambeau Field. Lots of them suffered frostbite, four spectators even had a heart attack. How can it be that American Football is that important in the United States? How can a game become so popular that people even risk their health for it? On the other hand the question arises why American Football is quite unpopular and unknown in Germany. All these questions are to lead through this comparing term paper so that in the end, a selection of possible reasons can be given. The term paper starts with an illustration of American Football's popularity in the USA and in Germany. After that the main part, the comparison, will begin. There are four categories chosen to help explain why American Football is more popular in the U.S. than in Germany - those are chance, the attitudes towards warfare, values and the education systems. It will be analyzed how much influence these components have on the popularity in both countries. Finally, the conclusion follows, in which all results will be summed up and interpreted.