What Is The Difference Between American Football And Globalization

The theory of globalisation has been at the forefront in regard to the expansion of sport, American football is becoming one of the fastest growing sports in Britain, in relation to this piece of work I will specifically be looking at the Americanization and globalization of British culture. Through reading academic literature, it was clear that there was disparity in defining what British American football is. Was American football becoming a serious sport within Britain or was it simply an exclusively American sport occasionally enjoyed by British Athletes. Thibault (2009) stated that sport includes an international dimension which has undoubtedly intensified over recent years. To better understand the term Americanisation it is important
Robertson (1990) claimed global communications and capitalism were two leading factors which could potentially contribute to the development of sport in a global sense. Robertson (1992) stated globalization occurs as a multi directional process however he recognised that the world may become united but is not integrated. Gidden’s (2000) emphasised the significance of the west in globalization and America, he also recognises that globalization has undermined local cultures in certain ways. Pieterse (2009) argued that the main issue regarding globalization was whether cultures around the world were different internally or ‘hybrid’ forms were being created, in this case the difference between American football and British American football. Pieterse (2009) later goes on to discuss that cultural differentials only go so far, often leaving the heart of cultures
Houlihan (1994,2008) focused both pieces of his research in regard to cultural globalization, he believed that culture was an combined set of values and beliefs that give each community its own distinctive attributes, Houlihan (1994). With relation to British American football, Houlihan debated whether the sport was challenging British identity or could be classed as a recreational anomaly. It is important to understand that the NFL as a company has ambitions to be a worldwide success, Ritzer (2004) believed the main interest of the NFL is to see the company grow in terms of power, influence and financially. One issue regarding the NFL expanding globally is the product is often culture specific, this means that they are often misinterpreted or simply not understood in local culture, examples of this include American commentary in Britain, often words are misunderstood due to the culture differences. Houlihan (1994) believed that in some local cultures acknowledgment and awareness of the global culture is important in being able to define their own identity. In relation to the Americanisation of British culture this would be considered a result of economic, cultural dynamics specific to the United States. The opposing argument against