A history of women playing American football in the United States, focused on the growth of the game since the passage of Title IX in 1972.

In 1927 Cuban national Ignacio S. Molinet was recruited to play with the Frankford Yellow Jackets of the old NFL for a single season. Mexican national Jose Martinez-Zorrilla achieved 1932 All-American honors. These are the beginnings of the Latino experience in American Football, which continues amidst a remarkable and diversified setting of Hispanic nationalities and ethnic groups. This history of Latinos in American Football dispels the myths that baseball, boxing, and soccer are the chosen and competent sports for Spanish-surname athletes. The book documents their fascination for the sport that initially denied their participation but that could not discourage their determination to master the game.

It is impossible to fully understand contemporary society and culture without acknowledging the place of sport. Sport is part of our social and cultural fabric, possessing a social and commercial power that makes it a potent force in the world, for good and for bad. Sport has helped to start wars and promote international reconciliation, while every government around the world commits public resources to sport because of its perceived benefits. From the bleachers to the boardroom, sport matters. Now available in a fully revised and updated new edition, this exciting, comprehensive and accessible textbook introduces the study of sport, culture and society. International in scope, the book explores the key social theories that shape our understanding of sport as a social phenomenon and critically examines many of the assumptions that underpin that understanding. Placing sport at the very heart of the analysis, and including vibrant sporting examples throughout, the book introduces the student to every core topic and emerging area in the study of sport and society, including: the history and politics of sport sport and globalization sport and the media sport, violence and crime sport, the body and health sport and the environment alternative sports and lifestyles sporting mega-events sport and development. Each chapter includes a wealth of useful features to assist the student, including chapter summaries, highlighted definitions of key terms, practical projects, revision questions, boxed case-studies and biographies, and guides to further reading, with additional teaching and learning resources available on a companion website. Sport, Culture and Society is the most broad-ranging and thoughtful introduction to the socio-cultural analysis of sport currently available and sets a new agenda for the discipline. It is essential reading for all students with an interest in sport. Visit the companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/jarvie.

American football is the most popular, and controversial, sport in the United States, and a massive industry. The NFL’s revenues are over $13 billion annually. The Super Bowl is watched by half of US television households and is televised in over 150 countries. Touchdown: An American Obsession is the first comprehensive guide to the history and culture of the sport, covering US college football as well as professional football worldwide. The editors and authors are among the world’s leading sports scholars. They cover race, ethnicity, religion, gender, social class, and globalization, as well as recent scandals and controversies, the importance of television, and the art and aesthetics of the game. Touchdown: An American Obsession is a readable, authoritative guide for Americans as well as an introduction for people around the world.

Sports betting is the general activity of predicting sports results by making a wager on the outcome of a sporting event. Aside from simple wagers--betting a friend that one's favorite baseball team will win its division, for instance, or buying a football "square" for the Super Bowl--sports betting is commonly done through a bookmaker. Bookmakers generally offer two types of wagers on the winner of a sporting event: a straight-up or money line bet, or a point spread wager. Moneylines and straight-up prices are used to set odds on sports such as soccer, baseball and hockey (the scoring nature of which renders point spreads impractical) as well as individual vs. individual matches, like boxing.