this post was submitted on 01 Mar 2026
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I was three weeks ago old when I learned that college football exists in the USA primarily as a conditioning/selection tool for potential army recruits.
I don’t think that’s the case at all. College football is closer to communities in areas that don’t have bigger professional sports teams and is an extremely achievable goal for a lot of folks who want to play ball and go to school.
I would be sold if you told me that Hollywood was conditioned/incentivized to make movies idolizing the Army
Perhaps I misspoke saying "college" football. (I'm canadian so we don't have college football the same way here)
I don't really see how any of those facts you said are mutually exclusive with what I said.
If you think about football as a career, it's a goldmine of people who didn't make the cut and can enlist.
If you think about football's skill development... it very much aligns with military teamwork etc.
Football selects for people who will follow orders, put themselves in harms way, and focus on the objective.
https://the-cauldron.com/the-nfl-is-one-giant-military-recruitment-tool-ae28276185e4
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/17ccbz4/when_and_why_did_american_football_games_become/
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/sep/11/the-nfl-and-the-military-a-love-affair-as-strange-and-cynical-as-ever