The Appeal of Football

[Boysboy]

There's no other sport in the world that can compare with football. Don't bother giving me examples, they won't wash. Every sport has its appeal to the fans for something. Everything about football dominates the sports fan.

Think about it for a minute. Hours before the game fans are in the parking lots having tailgate parties and just having a great time. Walk by a tailgate with the same gear on and people want to talk to you. They may even offer you a drink or some food. It happens all the time.

Then the game itself. Fans brave the worst weather imaginable, paint their faces and yell themselves hoarse. It isn't just a game to the fans. You don't sit there and make your own scorecard and chart plays. That's too relaxing. Football fans are into it and the volume is up.

Baseball plays 162 regular season games, Basketball plays 82, Hockey also plays 82, football plays only 17 weeks. Yet more money is wagered on football than all of the others. On sports radio the days before the games many of the sports jockeys have entire segments of their show just to discuss the lines on the game and how they feel things will play out. Not the other sports.

The Super Bowl is annually the biggest draw in all of television. The pre-game show alone lasts hours. Halftime artists agree to perform for free because they know it will boost tickets and CD sales.

We countdown days, hours, minutes, and seconds to the NFL Draft, and the day of the Draft it is the biggest sports story in the news. The other sport's drafts can't even begin to measure up.

We also countdown the days to the start of Training Camp and the season. We learn the ins and outs of the basic principles of the salary cap and we plot, plan, figure, and scheme how to get the players we like the best into our favorite team's uniform.

There isn't a single site out there that has every scrap of information we need, so we bookmark dozens of them so we can have that info at our disposal in an instant's notice. A growing segment of the game is the sheer number of sites dedicated to the Draft and scouting what teams will do and posting Mock Drafts. We aren't satisfied with just analyzing what they have to say, we make our own Mock Drafts and give each other feedback.

We're months away from games starting and yet here we all are completely consumed by every action and inaction that the Cowboys do, and every other team too.

The only thing I can think of where football doesn't outclass the other sports by a mile is the price of the collectable cards. So we collect helmets, and footballs, and jerseys and add autographs whenever we can.

I tell ya, football is king.

I agree-in recent years, I've grown to be fed up with baseball and basketball, for many reasons being that they've gotten greedy, the talent level has gotten worse, players hooked on steroids, coaches cheating their butts off, etc, etc.

This is NOT to say these reasons have also been the case with football. Heck-yes, the greediness in this salary capped/FA era has crippled teams year in and year out, which has all but screwed us fans, however-unlike with other sports, it HASN'T diminished my love for the game.

Don't know why-but part of the reason is probably b/c it's only once a week, which gives the rest of the 6 days time to talk everyone's arses off when you win/lose, what went right/wrong, and so many unanswered questions.

So when people say they're boycotting the Super Bowl, boycotting football b/c of the greediness of the players, etc-they are LYING.

 

[Everlastingxxx]

Nothing compares to American football.

 

[Zaxor]

here are a few of the complaints I hear about American Football... from europeans

too many stop and starts (the game is played that way but still I guess it is hard for them to understand)

WAY TOO many Comercial breaks ( I have to say I sadly agree )

The inability to see the whole field on TV but to only see what the producer wishes you to see...( I would like to see the whole field also )

Too much clutter on the screen i.e. graphics, stats and stuff

 

[THUMPER]

here are a few of the complaints I hear about American Football... from europeans

too many stop and starts (the game is played that way but still I guess it is hard for them to understand)

WAY TOO many Comercial breaks ( I have to say I sadly agree )

The inability to see the whole field on TV but to only see what the producer wishes you to see...( I would like to see the whole field also )

Too much clutter on the screen i.e. graphics, stats and stuff

All but one of those reasons have to do with the networks, not the game itself. The one that doesn't is part of the game. I guess they would rather see the players running around aimlessly most of the time. Stupid soccer fans.

 

[Kobal]

It's hard to change people's mind. I myself enjoy every sports that I can understand the rule of it. Except cricket. :laugh2:

 

[zack]

Football is the best and I don't see that changing. The problem with the other sports, especially baseball is that the season is way too long. Who has time to watch 162 games? Especially boring slow games. Baseball needs to shorten the season, cut the games in half. There is no sense of urgency with baseball.

What is the players motivation to make a play on the ball when he knows that there is still 100 games left to play. I only see baseball losing its appeal going forward.

 

[BAZ]

The inability to see the whole field on TV but to only see what the producer wishes you to see...( I would like to see the whole field also )

Yeah, I would like to see wider camera angles. It can be frustrating only seeing half of what goes on.

 

[Vtwin]

here are a few of the complaints I hear about American Football... from europeans

too many stop and starts (the game is played that way but still I guess it is hard for them to understand)

WAY TOO many Comercial breaks ( I have to say I sadly agree )

The inability to see the whole field on TV but to only see what the producer wishes you to see...( I would like to see the whole field also )

Too much clutter on the screen i.e. graphics, stats and stuff

All are good points.

A couple ways the NFL has changed for the worst in my opinion:

Trying to use the heavy hand to legislate some sort of "sportsmanship". It absolutely kills me to see a drive killed and potentially a game lost because a player throws the ball down after making a great play. Let them play the game.

The ever growing number of "judgement" calls the officials have to make. They need to make the game simpler for the officials not more difficult. How many times do you see calls being made in one game that were called completely different in another game? The rules about what is a catch are good example. Did the ball move at all in the receivers hands before he stepped out of bounds. Did the receiver make a "football move" before he lost the ball. It didn't used to be this complicated.

I think that the NFL is becoming a victim of it's own popularity. I hope they remember that once you hit the peak of your popularity there is only one way to go from there.


I would offer up PLAYOFF hockey as a more exciting game to watch then football. No one in pro sports has a harder road to the championship then an NHL hockey team. The regular season is brutal but the playoffs take it up up several notches from there. Every shift of every game is so important and the intensity is... well.... INTENSE. As well as non-stop. The team that wins the cup has to do well in the regular season then play at in insane level for as many as 28 games over a two month period. Many of those games go to OT and double OT making the grind even harder.

Football and hockey are the only two sports I give any time to.

 

[Avenging Hayseed]

Nothing compares to NFL football. NOTHING. Been addicted since the age of 10. Cant stop myself. Heck, I was Roger Staubach in my backyard, those passes sizzled through the air into the waiting hands of Drew Pearson, er, I mean , my best friend Dwayne....LOL 44 years old and my heart STILL pounds when im watching the Cowboys. No different now then 34 years ago. Havent missed ONE game in those 34 years, NOT ONE. Thats gotta be almost a record for a kid growing up in wisconsin??/LOL I tell ya something else. Finally made it to my first Cowboys game 6 years ago. Been going back every year after. There was nothing like being able to walk that field on the stadium tour, just a great feeling. To stand where Roger did, Randy white, Drew,.....WOW!

 

[Bleu Star]

Ditto that.

How can college football be so great if a computer practically determines the champion? It is ********.

agreed.

 

[UKCowboysFan]

here are a few of the complaints I hear about American Football... from europeans

too many stop and starts (the game is played that way but still I guess it is hard for them to understand)

WAY TOO many Comercial breaks ( I have to say I sadly agree )

The inability to see the whole field on TV but to only see what the producer wishes you to see...( I would like to see the whole field also )

Too much clutter on the screen i.e. graphics, stats and stuff

Most of the negative comments I get from people in the UK about Football are one of these

the players are all pansies cause they have to wear pads & helmets (usually from Rugby Fans I have to say)

how can they call themselves World Champs, when no-one else plays the game

Why does it take 3 1/2 hours to play a 60 min game.


I know most of you guys don't like our Football (Soccer if you like), but just as most of the population over here don't understand football, I'm pretty sure you don't really get the point of soccer.

Just because a game ends 0-0, doesn't make it rubbish, and FWIW, most of us (who like soccer) get really annoyed with the rolling around like big girls when the players get tackled.

There's no doubt (to me) that Football is Americas Game.

But Soccer is the World's Game (over 200 countries play in the World Cup), and over 30 billion people watched the last World Cup Finals, with up to 600 million watching some part of the Final between France & Itlay.

I'm just one of a growing band in the UK, who not only understand, but love the NFL. And many of these fans have been, or are planning trips to the US to watch their teams