American Drama and Ritual: Nebraska Football

Football is a major sport in the United States because of its dramatic enact ment of social values of violence, bureaucracy, sexism, and commercialism. The spec tators of this game are particularly enthralled in the state of Nebraska. Here, a state with a large geographical area and a small, predominanty rural population, the fans have elevated Nebraska fottball to a significant ritual and source for iden tification. As avid supporters they dress in the team colors, red and white; partici pate in pre- and postgame celebrations; travel great distances; and emotionally express their loyalty and dedication to "Big Red.'' By combining the dramaturgical perspective of Erving Goffman with Victor Turner's concepts of liminality and communitas, we have a theoretical framework for analyzing and evaluating cultural dramas in modern society. Nebraska football as a dramatic ritual, then, reveals its creative and destructive roots in American society.