What's the deal with FOOTBAL!!! ?

[Vegosiux]

Okay, not a thread about why "soccer" if football and "football" should be called something relse, but...

You American folks, what's the big deal about it? Having worked in sports TV production for a while, I'll admit I can appreciate the expertise of Brady's passes, or the power of Tebow's comebacks. There's more to the sport than just "Oh look, ball, let's all pile up on top of it!". I admit all that.

But, I don't get why it's such a "big" thing? To the point of a local TV blackout if NFL games aren't sold out 72 hours prior to kick-off[footnote]Source is wikipedia, so it might be wrong[/footnote]? Why is it that Super Bowl commercial airtime is measured with more zeroes than I'll ever see in my life?

In short? I get it, football may be more than just a bunch of thugs having it at each other, even if it does involve a lot of thuggery and thugs; but what's such a big deal about it?

 

[Euryalus]

You American folks, what's the big deal about it?

It's a fun sport to play, but I've never really gave a damn about watching it on tv (any sport 'cept Boxing and MMA really) so I can't actually say much to the whole advertising/stopping thing.

And to Europe/world what's the deal with football (soccer). If you answer that then you've probably answered the footba...er Handegg question.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Don't ask me why Americans and Canadians go nuts over it. I like a good game but I won't drop the money to drive into Regina every time to see a home game. Too much money. Also I kind of resent how the film budget in Saskatchewan was cut away completely to fund a new football stadium. A football stadium that our home team has not put any money towards.

 

[Shadowstar38]

It's just a fun sport to play and/or spectate. Other countries seem to be just as much into soccer as Americans are into football, so I dont see where this is coming from.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

I'm American, and honestly, I have no idea what the deal is. I'm from New Hampshire... and while Patriots fans aren't an uncommon sight around here, it's not like society revolves around Football. Now, when I went to university in North Carolina, it was completely different. It seemed like everything revolved around the game. Whenever I met someone new the first topic they'd always bring up was football - and if I dared to make the mistake of telling them I have zero interest in football (or sports in general), they'd give me a look like they were speaking to a three-headed Martian wearing a tutu.

 

[Lionsfan]

Because if you don't like it you're not a AMERICUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

And please, refer to it by it's real name "Hand Egg". Thank you.

Oh wow, that's such an amazing joke! I've never ever ever heard that before! How did you come up with such witty banter?!?!

snip

To answer your question, people like it because it has just about everything in a team sport. Skill, grace, violence, drama, teamwork, etc. etc.

Really it's just the biggest teamsport for America. Canada/Russia has Hockey. Latin America has Baseball/Soccer. Australia has Rugby? I'm not up to date on Australian sports. Asia has Baseball/Soccer, etc. etc.

And I guess you could add Basketball in their as the No. 2 sport for pretty much everywhere

 

[CleverNickname]

Why do you ask about (American) Football specifically? I don't understand why ANY spectator sport is a gigantic multi-billion Euros business. They should all be on the level of... I dunno, Darts or something. Crowds, yes. TV broadcasts, sure. Tickets, prizes and niche-fame, have at it. But how nuts people go over the big ones? Absolutely beyond me.

 

[Dragonclaw]

Football lends itself to TV viewing better than most sports IMHO and I think that's a big part of the appeal. Baseball can be downright boring to watch on TV, Soccer doesn't have enough scoring for most audiences to enjoy, Hockey hasn't really caught on in much of the country, so other than basketball, football has become the big thing. Granted this is coming from a guy who is right in the middle of 49ers / Raiders country

 

[tippy2k2]

Why do you play video games? Why do you enjoy soccer? Why do you watch movies?

It's entertaining

Also:

To answer your question, people like it because it has just about everything in a team sport. Skill, grace, violence, drama, teamwork, etc. etc.

Bam! You can go right on ahead and put a fork in it cause this thread is done.

 

[Aedes]

"what's such a big deal about it?", you ask? That's one subjective question you got there.

Though I'm not from the U.S., I can see why it can be such a hit. Probably for the same reason I like to watch football or someone else watch volley or any other sport for that matter.
We like to see the grace of the moves withing the set of rules of the game, we like to cheer for every scored point, we like to see the match unfolding on the field. It's like moddern days colliseum, we watch it for the spectacle the sport brings with it.

Of course, every sport can sound silly if dumbed down enough:

Handegg - bunch of people trying to get a 'ball' across the field while jumping on each other;
Football - bunch of people running after a ball to kick it inside a rectangle;
Basketball - bunch of people bouncing a ball to pass it through a circle;
Volleyball - bunch of people trying to get the ball hit the floor on the other side of the net without touching it more than 3 times;
Formula One - bunch of people inside cars running a closed street several times.

They all seem stupid if looked by simply what they are but they're more than that. Unless it's golf. That one could burn on the fires of hell for all I care.

 

[Ljs1121]

It's pretty fun to play and I'll catch the occasional game if nothing else is on, but I don't understand how people can watch it as their main source of entertainment.

Also, Chicago Bears for life.

 

[MysticToast]

I'm American and I can't stand Football.

Hate watching it, playing it, and hearing about it. This boner our country has for it is really annoying.

So, I'm just as confused as you are, I guess.

 

[Aprilgold]

Because its skillful and at the end of the day it actually goes somewhere unlike soccer [you know which one, you damn prick who is going to quote me on the difference on the UK definition of Football and Soccer] which I can't stand because it honestly feels like "OK, he kicked the ball, good job, spent twenty minutes practicing that kick... OK, someone else is jogging up to kick it back. Alright now they will continue to volley the ball like a giant table-top game until one person fails to kick it right and then the other team scores."

I know some of you have seen that arcade game based off of Soccer? Yeah, that is what I think of Soccer. It takes ages for anyone to score and most of the time its just kicking back and forth with no real skill due to most players being positioned with enough in the front and back to catch the ball quickly. At least with Football it can get violent. Also, Baseball is America's national pass time and I don't see it dropping so, yeah, go baseball. Almost forgot, Hockey, it is almost legalized brawling at some points and at others it is a delightful, deadly skating match.

 

[DugMachine]

Well i'm not into football so I can't say the exact appeal but I believe europe is just as crazy about soccer soooo

 

[Lilani]

I'm an American and I don't like American football, either :-\ There's way too much faffing about. They stand around for like 10 or 20 seconds, posturing and hooting like a bunch of gorillas about to fight for mating rights, then somebody throws the ball and they all run into each other like an overstuffed bumper-car rink. And then they stop for like a minute, unpile themselves, reposition, re-posture, and do it all over again. And sometimes they throw it just to shake things up, but it hardly happens enough to give the game any sort of a flow.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Okay, not a thread about why "soccer" if football and "football" should be called something relse, but...

You American folks, what's the big deal about it? Having worked in sports TV production for a while, I'll admit I can appreciate the expertise of Brady's passes, or the power of Tebow's comebacks. There's more to the sport than just "Oh look, ball, let's all pile up on top of it!". I admit all that.

But, I don't get why it's such a "big" thing? To the point of a local TV blackout if NFL games aren't sold out 72 hours prior to kick-off[footnote]Source is wikipedia, so it might be wrong[/footnote]? Why is it that Super Bowl commercial airtime is measured with more zeroes than I'll ever see in my life?

In short? I get it, football may be more than just a bunch of thugs having it at each other, even if it does involve a lot of thuggery and thugs; but what's such a big deal about it?

You know how there is some thinly veiled nationalism/ethic-pride in soccer(which results in fans acting like this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=fvwp&v=Ukqo_3f-sB4], this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hosf86OLxM] and this [www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmxsnplMtb8]), well football is kind of like that but with states. Yes we are all part of the same country but people from different parts of country like to show some state pride in the form of football.

Heck it doesn't even stop with state pride, because when it comes to high school or college rivalry, football is one of the main ways school pride is shown.



......At least, that is my take on it. *shrug*

Here is an example of said behavior....

 

[LooK iTz Jinjo]

It is the athletes version of chess. It is the most tactical sport in the world and if you watch it with an open mind it is incredibly intriguing. That being said it's just like any sport, I honestly don't get how the entire world seems engrossed by soccer (yeah I called it soccer) and tennis. Anyway as an Australian all sports seem inferior when compared to this

 

[Cabisco]

I suppose many NFL fans feel the exact same way about games "well done, you managed to press buttons, it's so cool that i've watched you click A for the last half hour to skip dialogue." In both cases it's either you like it or just not understand what the fuss is about.

The only sport I really enjoy is football (soccer) and I used to hate it, then one day I was playing Fifa with my friend and I started to understand what was happening, what was involved etc. If anyone who games wants to get into a sport, I'd suggest buying the game.

It is the athletes version of chess. It is the most tactical sport in the world and if you watch it with an open mind it is incredibly intriguing. That being said it's just like any sport, I honestly don't get how the entire world seems engrossed by soccer (yeah I called it soccer) and tennis. Anyway as an Australian all sports seem inferior when compared to this

Never really thought of it like that, a couple of my friends love it but I find I can never enjoy it much because of the constant stopping, I enjoy things having more of a flow I suppose. Soccer can be pretty damned tactical itself mind