social structure of a college football team
As a sport, college football has evolved from a game characterized by camaraderie, loyalty, and intimacy among a small group of players, to a huge money making business. Football is now characterized by individualism and competition among a large group of highly specialized players and coaches. Arguably it’s the most dominant sport in the United States, so anyone associated with football is likely to uphold a high social status. Football is a social organization that has a social structure. Everyone within a football team possesses a certain status and role. As a social institution, sports provide a lens through which to examine, among other processes and structures, the social construction of gender, social inequality, bureaucracy, and rationalization. ... There we observed the football team’s practice. The first thing that we noticed was the social structure of the team. ... The role he is assigned is to be a stern task master that demands submission of self to the team. ... On the playing field there is not enough time to analyze every players’ opinion, therefore every player must sacrifice a portion of his power and entrust that power to one individual so that the team can organize quickly under the guidance of a defined leader. The participants on the Colorado football team yield their power to those of a higher social status. ... By sacrificing their power the participants organize under a single social structure. ... Once the team is organized, the once singular individuals become bonded under the control of a capable leader and form a cohesive team. During practice the team mostly ran through their plays. ... Every player is a specialist who must coordinate his actions with others on the team. Not only do the coaches hold rank over the players, but there are also different rankings within the positions on the team.