College Football Culture

Photo credit: https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/the-strange-science-of-scheduling-a-college-football-season

Every Saturday in autumn, we eagerly gather around our TVs to cheer for our favorite college football team. Especially in the South, we memorize players’ stats, buy merch, and tailgate. If you're a Bulldogs fan, this also includes barking at your opponents. The SEC alone brings in over $70 million to our state of Georgia a year, which benefits the local and state economy (Forbes, 2015). What would we do without college football, and why are we so obsessed with it?

If it seems like everyone and their mother watches sports, you’re not wrong in the slightest. 63.3% of Americans identify as sports fans, and 63.7% watch college sports (Overview of Sports..., n.d.). Most of these fans are born into a family with preexisting loyalty to a team, whether it stems from alumni or the closest home team. As infants, most are dressed in a onesie with a team logo larger than their head and declared the newest fan of their team. I didn't grow up in a football-loving family, so the intensity of love that the sport receives has always been strange to me. Why are middle-aged adults so obsessed with college freshmen to the point that they wear the players' names on a shirt? From an outsider's perspective, it seems creepy. Other college sports hold popularity, but the viewing numbers can't possibly compete with the football fans. Why is this? Maybe it's our instincts or genetics that enjoy the sport resembling the closest to legalized games of gore we can take pleasure in. 

Americans worship consumerism and commercialism with unshakable dedication in the South through college football culture. College football began around the 1870s, and the official rules and popularity formed over the years afterward (College Football History: Notable Firsts and Milestones, 2025). Specifically in the South, college football is a part of the culture, how we socialize with others, and our identity. Family legacies are traced through multiple generations; everyone is somehow connected to a college football team - whether they chose to associate with it or not.

We cling so tightly to these attributes, making up our identity. Certain colors and animals are associated with each team, and that's what distinguishes the subcultures of college football. Due to the loyalty that strengthens through every new generation of fans, many Americans decorate their personality with the team/college of their choice. This culture is exhibited in restaurants with TVs in every corner, streaming different football games, and in the small talk we exchange with others when the conversation is dull. Like the percentage indicates, more than half of America watches college sports, so there’s most likely a common interest we share and can discuss in interactions. 

Even though I don’t understand or appreciate the college football culture completely, there is an undeniable connection that we share because of it. The benefits of this sport spill into and shape places of our social and economic life in a positive way, and I believe that college football betters America and its people. 

References:

Viewer Statistics: https://iir.gmu.edu/sports-and-civic-engagement/athletes-and-engagement/sports-viewership-in-select-metro-areas (Overview of Sports..., n.d.)

First football game: https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2025-08-19/college-football-history-notable-firsts-and-milestones (College Football History: Notable Firsts and Milestones, 2025)

Economy: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjburns/2015/12/04/how-much-is-the-sec-championship-worth-to-the-city-of-atlanta/ (Forbes, 2015)