I don't want to sound like I'm bashing the favourite American sport, but I am so thats how it comes across. Does anyone else not see what all the fuss is about? Poor English there but I find it incredibly slow and hard to get into, and I was watching supposedly the biggest NFL event.

I just want to know what the big deal with the NFL is, it seemed like the play just breaks up every five seconds and nothing seems to happen, not to mention my confusion to what was actually going on. To me it just wasn't very fun to watch, and I usually like watching sport. I shouldn't even mention the annoying American commentary, but y'know, thats probably just me. The game as a whole doesn't seem to flow and they kept cutting to random stuff like player bio's or they'd jump back to the studio and I found myself thinking “I've only been watching this for 30 seconds, what the hell?” I could have just been watching it wrong, or maybe you need to know the rules to enjoy it I don't know, maybe you have to be American, in any case I had no idea what was going on. Anyone have any thoughts?

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather stick to Rugby and Football.

Soooooooooooooocccccccceeeeeeeerrrr!

I hate it too, but then i hate all sports. except lesbian mud wrestling
and http://www.canadiancheeserolling.ca/


My mom is really into football though, ugh. The cardinals somehow got in and everyone here was hopeful since we haven't won a superbowl in like 60 years. Of course, we lost.

Being a non American, I understand what your going at. However being someone who's been partially integrated into their culture (since I married one) I've come to understand the sport a lot more. It's incredibly organized and focuses heavily on tactics and Americans love that type of stuff. They also like statistics which is why they stop to go over how many field goals this guy has completed and how many passes this guy has intercepted.

I had to sit through a fair number of these games with my father in law until I started to see the enjoyment of these games. Once you get into the rules and understand the rhythm of the game, it becomes more enjoyable. Picking a favorite sport team also helps.

Most Americans don't get football either(it's football, not soccer, OK? The rest of the world calls it that and we outnumber you 20 to 1) and find rugby to be chaotic. It's all about what kind of sport you grew up with really.

Product Placement
(it's football, not soccer, OK? The rest of the world calls it that and we outnumber you 20 to 1)

Yeah but we already decided to call the other sport football and give the dumbest most effeminate sounding name possible to your football. Soccccceeeeeerrrr

Product Placement
They also like statistics which is why they stop to go over how many field goals this guy has completed and how many passes this guy has intercepted.

I always just thought they did that because football is pretty boring to watch on TV and they need things to keep ‘happening’ on the screen in order to keep people watching. So during huddle time and whatnot they'll start showing flashy graphics and talk about so n so's famous 2004 season. As soon as they see the game is starting they shut up quickly and get back to it.


I don't like any sports commentary. The only commentary I've ever enjoyed was when that famous dog show got Seinfeld's J Peterman guy to be one of the commenters. He pretty much just did the commentary as the character… it was hilarious. Look at that dog, that dog has really got a lot of hair!

Product Placement

Good points. I mean, how many Americans do you see raving about how great Cricket is? I guess I don't really like Baseball either, but all of this could be down to the way Americans showcase these sports. Would I enjoy American football if it were presented in an English format?

From my perspective it looks complicated, theres lots of lines, sections and timers and there is alot of players in a small area, but I guess if I knew what everything was then I might like it more.

Skullbie
except lesbian mud wrestling

I was under the impression you were a woman?

Yeah, I just don't get it either. The organistation thing might seem appealing, but it is way too stop and start for me to enjoy. I mean, I don't get into too many sports either way, but grid iron (It's not American football, it's called grid iron. Seriously, grid iron sounds almost bad ass, so why give it a lesser sounding name like football? I mean hell, the players barely ever kick the thing around) I find to be the dullest.

its a good excuse for friends to come together.
i celebrate st patrick's day because it's an excuse to have drinks with friends.

Skullbie
Yeah but we already decided to call the other sport football and give the dumbest most effeminate sounding name possible to your football. Soccccceeeeeerrrr

It comes from Association football. The British came up with “Soccer” as a way to differentiate it from Ruby which had more of a following back then, and was called “football”. I didn't believe that till I saw PG Wodehouse calling it that in stories written in the 20's and before WW1.

Bit of history for you :)

DMH
it's called grid iron.

I always thought it was called that for their facegaurds! lol!
That really would have been cool.

But it's not… They called it that because of all the white lines on the field. I suppose the idea is it makes it look like a cooking griddle. That's not very cool somehow.
————————

Personally, I don't care about it at all, being Australian, but if people love it, good for them! :)

We have Aussie rules, which Aussies call football, except those who live in Queensland and New South Wales, who call Rugby Union “Football”. I never liked Aussie rules, it always seemed way too “Man on Man” in the way people interact and dress, if you know what I mean…

But then I don't like watching any sport really. I like to PLAY sport, but not watch it :)

I think I'm the sole American football fan on this site. Boring? Slow? Ak! You guys are killin' me! I guess if you're used to the pace of soccer, you'd think it's slow. When I was living in Italy, they'd show a couple NFL games on a German TV chanel we got. They cut out all the time between plays, so a 4 hour game was over in, like, an hour and a half. Weird!

Product Placement is right: you really have to understand the game before you can enjoy it. It's kind of a chessboard/ battlefield analogy, the way I see it. I think unless you grow up watching it, or you're around a bunch of other people who watch it (friends, family, etc.) most folks don't have the patience. And it's not just a matter of learning the basic rules of how the game is played. I've been watching for years and I'm just now understanding the different offensive/ defensive formations and how they match up, and the more in-depth parts of the game.

The statistics overload thing is fairly new, as far as the way they broadcast the game. While there's always been an obsession with stats, it's gotten worse in the past ten years or so, with Fantasy Football becoming so popular. They do get annoying to me, just because some of them are so irrelevant/ meaningless. During the regular season it's worse, because they have a ticker with all the Fantasy stats that's constantly scrolling.

This year's game was- eh, okay. The fourth quarter was pretty exciting. At least it wasn't a blow-out.

I'm going to try to make some sense of things here…American's love a good conflict. Keep in mind I said “good” there, not all. And American football is in a lot of ways, a small organized battle. You've got your lines of scrimmage, or your “front line”, and people from both side either trying to hold the line or breach it to seize the objective. And then you've got your logistics and resupply, or rather your huddle.

In short, we're a violent, senseless people who like to sensatoinalize our lives with brief, chaotic outbursts, and football epitomizes that. I don't much care for organized sports enough to keep up with one, but I personally watched the superbowl just so I woulnd't be left out of any conversations going on at the office today.

I can understand how it can be less exciting to other countries who grew up with football (colloquially known as soccer), a sport where there's always motion from start to stop, and at a faster pace. As far as rugby… well I've never watched a full game so I can't say.

I would like to say though, no matter what a sport is, somebody will find interest in it despite what everyone else thinks. Poker? National championships. Tennis? An olympic sport. Golf? It's everywhere. And I don't get the appeal of any of them.

Hakoshen
In short, we're a violent, senseless people who like to sensationalize our lives with brief, chaotic outbursts, and football epitomizes that.

Woohoo! And how!

Now I'm-a go shoot some guns at beer bottles, and drive my car with reckless abandon, aggressively cutting off other drivers and running little old ladies off the road! ;)

I don't like American football either. I tried to learn the rules at the insistence of an American friend, but I still didn't enjoy even when I did know what was happening. I suppose you need to follow it faithfully and figure out which players to yell at when your team loses.

Skullbie
except lesbian mud wrestling

Bekefel
I was under the impression you were a woman?

Hint: click the banner in her signature.

I've had to edit this post like five times so far.

STEELERS WON BIIIIIIETCH!

i usually watch it for the commercials.

subcultured
its a good excuse for friends to come together.
i celebrate st patrick's day because it's an excuse to have drinks with friends.

That covers a lot of why I watch football, except it's more of a family thing. Especially when the Bears play the Packers, we have family from both Wisconsin and Illinois so those games are a lot of fun.

I do like the game itself, though. I used to play a lot of pickup games when I was younger. From experience I'd say flag football isn't as much fun as tackle football =(

Commercials.

Pure and simple.

I never could understand why a game where you BARELY touch the ball with your feet is called “football” :P

As for the proper football. It's dull (as most group sports are)… unless we're talking about something like THIS.



Now THAT I'd pay for to see in reality.

Aurora Borealis
I never could understand why a game where you BARELY touch the ball with your feet is called “football” :P

As for the proper football. It's dull (as most group sports are)… unless we're talking about something like THIS.


Now THAT I'd pay for to see in reality.

Lol I'd pay twice to see someone kick a ball so hard it breaks orbit! But a good manga/anime/movie can make any sport interesting. I mean, on the subject of football I was an avid reader of eyeshield 21 for about half a year. Then I started reading slam dunk.

Skullbie
I hate it too, but then i hate all sports.

How could you hate sports? Except baseball, it's all steroids and chewing tobacco.

Football originally started as a way for men to stay home from church and get drunk instead. And any excuse to stay away from church is friggin awesome.

The look of the thing gets me. It's so… EXAGGERATED!

All the men are GIANTS, with MASSIVE shoulderpads, chest pads, leg pads! Big shiny helmets! Steel mesh facegaurds!

It's like a Mad-max version of a sport…

I mean, That 1970's film “Rollerball” was supposed to be some sort of ultra violent, hyper exaggerated version of what sport was going to become. But Gridiron was already pretty much there.

Walrus
How could you hate sports?

If you don't find it entertaining, then it's possible to hate sports.

If i was playing a game who's other team's sole purpose was to capsize my lungs with 6ft 300lb steroid abusing players I'd better have my goddamn shoulder cocoon and steal helmet.

I'm not saying that shouldn't protect themselves :)
Just that… well, why even make that necessary?

ozoneocean
I'm not saying that shouldn't protect themselves :)
Just that… well, why even make that necessary?

I think I can explain with a few bullet-style answers from the perspective of America.

American Football- Pansy ass rugby for those too wimpy to be willing to call a knee to the balls fair play and feel the need to wear a cup. Also loved by very large, sweaty men who wish to wear spandex and grope other men on a field. Quite similar to wrestling in this manner. Often loved because of cultural institution in the form of high school.

Soccer- Wussified version of European sport. Typically only played by women with over-aggressive tendencies.

Rugby- Violent, more fun form of American Football. Lacks any notable form of padding. Generally considered too dangerous to have school children play and is thus replaced in schools with American football leading to cultural institution.

Baseball- Supposed to be America's pastime. In reality, American population stopped caring when steroids were outlawed sometime around the previous century.

Hockey- Sport typically reserved to only those insane enough to live in northern states and the wackjobs in Canada. Involves large burly men with sharp pieces of steel strapped to their feet and wooden sticks violently brutalizing each other in an attempt to shoot a piece of hard black rubber into a net or the stomach of what appears to be a slow-moving fat man with pads on, depending on how many strikes to the head the player has taken and whether or not they have recovered from being thrown through a plate glass window.

And someone will be getting pissed at this in 5…4…3…

lba
American Football- Pansy ass rugby for those too wimpy to be willing to call a knee to the balls fair play and feel the need to wear a cup. Also loved by those who wish to wear spandex and grope other men on a field. Very similar to wrestling in this manner. Often loved because of cultural institution in the form of high school.

I would change only one thing, inserting “very large, sweaty men” somewhere in the line “Also loved by those who wish to wear spandex and grope other men on a field,” given your average American linebacker masses about as much as any two rugby players.

Hakoshen
I would change only one thing, inserting “very large, sweaty men” somewhere in the line “Also loved by those who wish to wear spandex and grope other men on a field,” given your average American linebacker masses about as much as any two rugby players.

An inexcusable omission on my part. I'll add that.

I think I may have actually made myself sick on a mental image I just had. I'm going to have to withdraw from this conversation XD .

I don't think it's wussified at all. Rugby is dangerous, but so is Grid-iron.
I just wonder why they make it so dangerous that you need that sort of protection?

It's basically making the sport so unplayable that not even giant men with titanic strength can play it unscathed… Seems to me that common sense went missing at some stage.

Ruby is dangerous, true, but they don't have a whole heap of protection because they don't need it. Not as much anyway.

Maybe it's like this: because the guys have the protection, they CAN go beyond normal, more safe attacks and be more reckless, more aggressive? so in that case, the “protection” actually makes the sport much more violent and dangerous…?

ozoneocean
Ruby is dangerous, true, but they don't have a whole heap of protection because they don't need it. Not as much anyway.

That was exaggeration for humour effect, but I'm sure you know that.

And in all honesty, at least here in the States I would say the rugby players need the protection more than the football players. Most rugby games here result in more than a few bloodied noses, larger scrapes, broken fingers/toes, etc. Rugby might get played different elsewhere, but at least in my experience it's the much rougher of the two sports.