Academic Text 2 - The Advertising of Football

The Football Programme A History and Guide, John Litster , (2000), Gloucestershire, Tempus Publishing Limited, The First Football Programmes, page 7 - 21

Advertising of Football
I have chosen this book because it tells the history of what people did and still do to remember the greatest emotional exhilarating games of football that have been recorded and played through out the decades. The remembrance and media distribution of football first began in Sheffield in 1862 when they played against Hallam, it was one of the first-ever football games to be recorded in a newspaper. Soon after the first recording more matches were played and then published in newspapers but mostly only the really important games were distributed such as the games during the FA Cup. Because of the popularity, posters were printed to show the next up coming games, inviting hundreds of people to come watch. And from then on there was a massive breakthrough in football advertising community, collectible objects were being made ranging from tokens, stamps and coins to stickers, trading cards and team posters. Further more the media distribution world had expanded as well, in which football would appear on almost anything such as in magazines, on the radio, on food and drink packaging (most popular being Coca Cola), on the side of buses and in today's world on television and the Internet. Football advertising is now so huge that entire magazines (such as FourFourTwo or World Soccer), books (like Football for the brave by John Cartwright), TV programs (for instants Match of the Day), films (e.g. Bend it like Beckham) and websites are devoted to it.

Evaluation

How I Started My Research

For my critical studies work I decided to study the History of British games. I chose the subject of history other than Games as Art or Dramatic Elements as I have always found a fascination of what has happened in the past. History of game or pacifically the history of Football even so I did not start out with just Football in mind. I first thought I will do the history of three different games that had came about existence in the eleven hundreds century to the sixteen hundreds century. Each of these games would be different: The first game I chose would be a team based game for this I had chosen Football, the second game I would have chosen to be a board game perhaps like Shuffleboard and the third game was going to be a simulation type game such as Golf. However only a short way into this I decided cut out the board game as I want games that would involve the society that would have existed back then and not just a game that would had been played within a family. It was not until much later in my project that I realized that I would not have enough time to research both of these games so I decided rather reluctantly from the difficult choice for me to make to take out Golf and just study the very popular world wide sport Football and I also changed the dates so it was from when Football was first mentioned to the modern world today. So I started my research on football like from where it started. Football did originate from china way before it came to Europe but I wanted to know when did the game hit Britain. The first placed I went to, to start my research was the Internet, and on the inter-web I found one particular website where I got most of my information. This site became the landmark of my information. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm

Problems That I Had Encountered

I had a few problems one of which was making sure I did not sound like I had copied and pasted the information from. I am unsure about whether or not I have succeeded in doing this. A personal problem I have is fleshing out texts and research to reach the minimum words required. Another problem I had early on was what to get for my academic texts but I have now solved this problem. For my academic texts one is about the first set of rules Cambridge and Sheffield had created, the second is about the beginning of advertising in the Football world. One of the major problems I had later on in my task was finding information about Football that wasn't related or connected the Football Association (known as FA) which is a organization that began in 1868. It was increasingly difficult to find stuff on Football that didn't relate to FA. It might have been just me not looking hard enough, this is certainly the case I think as just as I write this I have found a couple of books not relating to FA. A final problem I had was managing my time I think I started this project to late in the time that was given I should have started it much earlier.

Do I Think This Blog Is A Success?

Overall I am unsure about whether or not that I have succeeded in writing about the history of Football, this is majorly because of how do you make sure that when you interpret information that it isn't almost exactly the same as how other people sites have interpreted it. However I am fairly satisfied with the language that I have used in the academic texts, I have found any other interpretations of the book called The Football Programme A History and Guide by John Litster. I am fairly certain that I have put enough pictures on the blog without over doing it. As for the Bibliography there were only a few places where I got my research but I have mentioned many other thing, these things have been listed as well.

Blog Design

This is my first time using Blogger and I would say I am very much an amateur at using it, one of the first things I wanted to do on it was put a Football theme background on it but I could not figure out how so I have settled with a football pitch green. The second problem that annoyed me very much was getting each and every single post in the correct order that I wanted it in. Also relating to the second problem was the blog archive is that blogger actually give very few options on how do you want it lay-ed out. I was trying to get to have a list of the posted pages instead of the date that I had post that particular page. Even so after all the problems I am quite pleased that I have pictures and even a video embedded and place on and in the blog. Final I am glad I have got many links to other websites connected.

In The End

In the end if I were to pick a different subject topic it would have to be probably Genre in Games, looking at games that are either role playing, simulator, racing, action and many others. The subject I would most likely not choose would be Dramatic and Formal Elements.

Academic Text 1 - Rules of Football

Rules of Football that have developed between each school, these are two of them.

Cambridge's Rules

Cambridge decided that goals would be awarded for balls kicked between the flag posts (uprights) and under the string (crossbar). All players were allowed to catch the ball direct from the foot, provided the catcher kicked it immediately. However, they were forbidden to catch the ball and run with it. Only the goalkeeper was allowed to hold the ball. He could also punch it from anywhere in his own half. Goal kicks and throw-ins took place when the ball went out of play. It was specified that throw-ins were taken with one hand only. It was also decided that players in the same team should wear the same colour cap (red and dark blue).

Sheffield's Rules

1. The kick off from the middle must be a place kick.

2. Kick Out must not be from more than twenty-five yards out of goal.

3. Fair catch is a catch direct from the foot of the opposite side and entitles a free kick.

4. Charging is fair in case of a place kick (with the exception of a kick off as soon as a player offers to kick) but he may always draw back unless he has actually touched the ball with his foot.

5. No pushing with the hands or hacking, or tripping up is fair under any circumstances whatsoever.

6. Knocking or pushing on the ball is altogether disallowed. The side breaking the rule forfeits a free kick to the opposite side.

7. No player may be held or pulled over.

8. It is not lawful to take the ball off the ground (except in touch) for any purpose whatever.

9. If the ball be bouncing it may be stopped by the hand, not pushed or hit, but if the ball is rolling it may not be stopped except by the foot.

10. No goal may be kicked from touch, nor by a free kick from a fair catch.

11. A ball in touch is dead, consequently the side that touches it down must bring it to the edge of the touch and throw it straight out from touch.

12. Each player must provide himself with a red and dark blue flannel cap, one colour to be worn by each side.

From what I can see when Cambridge developed their first set of rules in 1848 from a meeting took place at Cambridge University. There were many teachers representing Shrewsbury, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Marlborough and Westminster, is that the rules were relatively simple, however I think these rules were probably much too simple and I would think many fights would break out arguing whether or not if the during the game if you were able to hack somebody down would the opposing team get a free kick or a penalty. Also what was to stop all the players from charging at the ball and pushing people out of the way? It would seem that there is no such thing known as being offside. I personally would think the injury or even death rates would be exceptionally high. However ten years later Sheffield came up with new and much much more civilized rules that make a great deal more sense. I would think that this would cut down the injury rates by more than half, as well as the number fights that used to break out at almost every match. Even so both these sets rules had at least one thing in common. They had both decided on how to separate each of the teams, one team in red the other in blue. Never the less I do wonder who ensured that no one broke these rules as I find that referees weren't fabricated until later in the 19th century.