Sport has long been an important element in American popular culture, and the twentieth century has seen increasing emphasis on spectator sports phenomenon made for television. Virtually every sport has been televised at one time or another; indeed, there are cable television channels that are devoted entirely to sports programming. Some sports, in particular, have benefited greatly from television. Professional football is easier (and more comfortable) to watch on television than at a stadium especially since the introduction of videotaped "instant replay."

With the aid of television, Americans could not only participate vicariously in the...

Televised football was competition on a "world" stage, preserved forever on videotape and later still on a variety of recording devices. With the televised game came a massive infusion of corporate dollars, and a correspondingly enormous escalation in players' salaries. Football players were multimillionaires; familiar faces associated with consumer products, and symbols of the "good life." As "role models," they symbolized more than the ability of a few individuals to make a fortune by playing a game, they were living,