Versions of Manliness Embedded into College Football

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Juxtaposing The Versions of Manliness Embedded into College Football and Prize Fighting in the 19th Century
College football and Prizefighting sports gained popularity in the 19th century as standards of manliness. College football was appropriated from rugby play. The sports changed as new rules were introduced, and the government intervened to advocate for gentle games. Patrons, like Claxton, elevated the sport and idolized it as the conduit to manhood, a rite of passage, and an embodiment of a real man. Colleges invested in the sport, including the construction of the Yale Bowl, holding 80,000 spectators. Playing college football was perceived as ideal. On the contrary, prized fights were degraded to the immigrants and native Indians despite the sport originating with Greeks. The media associated the fighters with prostitutes and other vices. The government abolished prize fights, and society regarded it as a backward activity, properly classified with apes. The Greeks had epitomized prize fighting as a demonstration of grace and its culture. Lords and warriors participated in preparation for war. The 19th century America did not regard it as such. Prized fighting and college fighting promoted male power, violence, and strength as a rite of passage to manhood for two distinct classes and were received differently.
Versions of Manliness Embedded into College Football
Football in the 19th century was considered, treated, and accepted by players and supports as a male-only field and characterized by aggressiveness and practices that emphasized and preserved that tradition. Cleland notes that football became structured and regulated and attached to national and local identities (412). Moreover, the article notes that it became associated with the working class. Interestingly, millions of men adapted and practiced football due to its demonstration of courage, power, skill, strength, and bravery. Notably, the ascribed qualities made footballers the envy of men flocking to the industrializing centers. Importantly, connecting football to war attributes made the profession match military competency achieved by men participating or returning from war. Football became an alternative for demonstrating heroic competency by confronting opponents. Further, Cleland states that football was perceived and treated by boys and men as a platform for improving and demonstrating their manliness. Therefore, football was established in a male-dominated culture and served as a manifestation of that system.
Football was considered a rite of passage, promoting a sexist and discriminative view of the heterosexual construct. In a letter to college students, Claxton stressed boys' need to become men (Nurik 11). The letter stressed that boys should participate in boyish sports to excel and obtain honor and respect. The letter communicates the prevailing perception of boys, men, and boyish sports at that time. They imply that engaging in boyish sports is the only path to attaining honor and respect. Also, the statement has significant implications on how women were perceived and the relation men were to have with women. The classification of college sports into a boyish category implies that there w...