American football is now intermingled into the psyche of the American people. Over the years it has gained more and more appeal to the population of the United States to the point that it has now amassed a fan base so broad that it is now a known sport to represent America and what it stands for. The typical American mindset is to like things that are loud, big, and most of all powerful. Americans tend to find this mindset in fashion and appealing, just by looking at the America military which is over two million strong, to the vast multi-billion dollar entertainment industry, "bigger is better". We have big cities, big cars, and lots of big open spaces. Football is able to play very well into this kind of mentality. It is mostly played by large athletic people who run fast and hit harder. The stadiums created to house these events are extremely large, loud and wild with the ability to pack in a massive amount of people. As American culture has transformed from one focusing on unity, liberty, and equality to one of concentrated power and overwhelming greed, the great sport of football was able to thrive and flourish.
Football has become an avenue for social bonding. A football can be tossed around in an open yard without the need of a basketball goal between friends or also enjoyed gathered around a television on your buddy's couch. Football lends itself to bonding through the game experience as a fan as well. College football is an integral part of large university life in today's society with players being treated with nearly godlike status, with that same atmosphere extending to professional football as well. Fans go to game early and "tailgate" which is essentially a big cookout, also including cocktail parties before games as another means to bring groups of people together. Thus football has become for many a social event as well as an athletic one. .
Football serves an excellent conduit to channel that competitive American spirit, as soccer does in other countries throughout the world.