UI Press | Richard C. Crepeau | NFL Football: A History of America's New National Pastime

NFL Football

A History of America's New National Pastime

The evolution of an American passion

A multibillion-dollar entertainment empire, the National Football League is a coast-to-coast obsession that borders on religion and dominates our sports-mad culture. But today's NFL also provides a stage for playing out important issues roiling American society.

This updated and expanded edition of NFL Football observes the league's centennial by following the NFL into the twenty-first century, where off-the-field concerns compete with touchdowns and goal line stands for headlines. Richard C. Crepeau delves into the history of the league and breaks down the new era with an in-depth look at the controversies and dramas swirling around pro football today:

Tensions between players and Commissioner Roger Goodell over collusion, drug policies, and revenue, including analysis of the 2020 collective bargaining agreement

The firestorm surrounding Colin Kaepernick and protests of police violence and inequality

Andrew Luck and others choosing early retirement over the threat to their long-term health

Paul Tagliabue's role in covering up information on concussions

The Super Bowl's evolution into a national holiday

Authoritative and up to the minute, NFL Football continues the epic American success story.

"The updates to this new edition of NFL Football have made Richard C. Crepeau's already crucial book even more vital to those of us interested in the history of America’s most popular and problematic sports organization."--Travis Vogan, author of ESPN: The Making of a Sports Media Empire Praise for the previous edition of NFL Football: “[Crepeau] has brought together from a great many sources the information necessary to anyone who wants to understand the origins and the workings of the powerful and profitable entertainment vehicle the NFL has become.”--Bill Littlefield, NPR’s Only a Game

Richard C. Crepeau is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Central Florida and former president of the North American Society for Sports History. He is the author of Baseball: America's Diamond Mind, 1919–1941.

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