"Today, we tackle football. It’s the most popular sport in the US, shining a sometimes harsh light on so much of what we have been, what we are, and what we hope to be. Savage, creative, brutal and balletic, whether you love it or loathe it … it’s a touchstone of the American identity.
Along with conflicted parents and players and coaches who aren’t sure if the game will survive, we take a deep dive into the surprising history of how the game came to be. At the end of the 19th century, football is a nascent and nasty sport.
The sons of the most powerful men in the country are literally knocking themselves out to win these gladiatorial battles. But then the Carlisle Indian School, formed in 1879 to assimilate the children and grandchildren of the Native American men who fought the final Plains Wars, fields the most American team of all.
The kids at Carlisle took the field to face off against a new world that was destroying theirs, and along the way, they changed the fundamentals of football forever."
Check out the link and listen to the episode. I love the fact that Pop Warner even sewed brown football shaped patches on the team's uniforms to confuse the opponents. As was the case with every crazy idea he had that wasn't against the rules, the next year it was against the rules. He's the reason you can't go out of bounds and be the first player to touch the ball when you get back in. He had his receivers running routes BEHIND their benches!
https://radiolab.org/episodes/football
You won't be disappointed.
“Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a change.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson