Football is always in season. If it's not the regular season,
then it's the pre-season, the post-season, the off-season.
And, of course there is the tried and true belief in the football-
mad southern states that there are only two seasons in
sports: Football and Spring Football. (This is even more true
in 2021 as many states moved their fall football seasons to the
spring because of COVID-19 restrictions, but hopefully that is
a one-year thing. It's fair to say that this has been the longest
football season on record.) As a result, team dealers are selling
something for football every week of the year, which is why
despite all of its trials and tribulations it remains number one
in the team business. The next few pages take a look at the
state of the game in the U.S. as it struggles to rise from the
pandemic to its rightful place on top of the team sports pile.
DEEP
ROUTE
The number one team sport looks to
play offense as it competes in a changing
sports landscape. By Mike May
50 • July 2021 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com
• TEAM SPORTS
