After reading the introduction and first two chapters of The Rise of Gridiron University, what stood out to me was how much detail the author gives about college sports before football so that we can truly see the change over the years when it comes to sports at the college level. In the first chapter, the author discusses gymnastics in great detail and how, at the time, gymnastics was the sport that colleges wanted men to play. The reason gymnastics was seen as the proper sport to play was because it was an individual sport that taught self-control. Sports were supposed to be a way for men to get the exercise they needed that they weren’t getting from classes. It was also supposed to teach them morally; sports taught men how to be disciplined and not fall into the immoral practices of the market. I personally really enjoyed this first chapter because it helped me truly see the transformations that were happening in the realm of college sports when it came to football. I felt like without this chapter; it would have been hard to understand all the conflicts that came with the formation of football; chapter two would have been very hard to understand.
I believe that with these chapters, the author’s goal was just to give the foundation of college sports and the early stages that transformed football into the sport it is today. As I said earlier, chapter one just explains how we got to football, being a sport that was allowed to be played at college. Chapter two goes into great detail surrounding how football changed the outlook behind the reason men should play sports. Football became a way to make a large profit, and it went against the moral teachings of earlier sports like gymnastics because gambling and injuries went against these moral teachings. These changes in ideas of what sports should do for men are the beginning of what college football has become today. This chapter also gives great detail on the progress made toward a safer and more modern play style. You see the introduction of the forward pass, the four downs, and yards for a first down first being introduced. It helps the reader see the small steps that ultimately become the sport this country loves today.
