Football

I shall be discussing how American football is a dangerous sport. This is clearly visible in the book Ð''The Chocolate War' by Robert Cormier.

It becomes clear that American football is a dangerous sport, right from the first words. Ð''They murdered him'. This is describing a frail, weak little boy playing American football. The Chocolate War later goes on to say:

Ð''As he turned to take the ball, a dam burst against the side of his head and a hand grenade shattered his stomach.' This sentence compares American football to war.

Ð''Engulfed by nausea, he pitched towards the grass. His mouth encountered gravel, and he spat frantically, afraid that some of his teeth had been knocked out. Rising to his feet, he saw the field through drifting gauze but held on until everything settled into place, like a lens focusing, making the world sharp again, with edges.' It is clear to the reader, that Robert Cormier finds this game shocking and disgusting. I would warrant a guess to say that Robert Cormier himself has had some amazing injuries throughout his time, due to the dangerous sport American football.

The aim of the game is to get the ball into the end zone to score a Ð''touchdown'. The ball is much like the shape of the common rugby ball, but is slightly smaller, has sharper ends and has large stitches on it. The ball is passed to the quarterback, who can either throw it to a man running up the field, or take it for a run himself. However far he gets, that is where the next play begins. The field is 100 yards long, not including the end zone. Much like in rugby, there are goal posts at each end, with two vertical posts, and a horizontal bar between them. While the ball is in play, the team who posses it can either go for a touchdown, or a field goal. A field goal is scored when a member of a team kicks the ball between the