Why I Don't Like (American) Football

[RazzmaTazz]

So I'm sitting here watching the Atlanta Falcons vs Philidelphia Eagles (American) Football Divisional Playoff Game while I'm uploading a backlog of pics to the forum.

Football is HUGE here in the U.S., but the amount of time that is actually spent playing the game is so small it's crazy. I have a stopwatch out and I'm timing how long that the football is actually in motion. If you watch a game, you will notice that the clock is counting down most of the time while the players are standing around getting ready for the next play. I dare you, watch on the next game.

Football is divided into four quarters of 15:00 minutes each, and a 15 minute "halftime" between the 2nd and 3rd quarters. I've been timing the 2nd quarter of this game and came up with ONLY 04:14 of actual play time.

Now here is the crazy part. It has taken almost an hour and a half just to get through the first half of the game with only 04:14 of play time. Could you imagine how long the games would be if it was required that the ball be in play for an entire hour? It would take nearly 30 hours to complete a game.

Here is the craziest part yet. Think of how much these guys are getting paid per season. Take Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. His 2017-18 salary is $20.5 Million. Now, taking only that there are 16 regular season games, that means he gets $1,281,250 per game. And he is not on the field for the entire game. Let's say that the offense and defense evenly split the time of the game 50/50. (Not Likely!) That means that he is effectively working for only eight minutes a game! That means he is getting paid $9,609,375 per hour.

Now try to tell me that football players are not slightly overpaid!

 

[larryisreal]

I don't want to disagree with you, but you might want to consider training in your calculation to remain fully supportable.

 

[W!nston]

I grew up loving football. My brothers played football but I wasn't into getting roughed up or injured. I took up music instead.

I know all the rules and used to enjoy calling the plays before each play and I can spot the penalties before they're called. I grew up loving football.

I stopped loving football in the 90s. I stopped watching it all together when Elway retired.

It's nothing but garbage these days. Dishonorable thugs showboating from start to finish. There is no team anymore. There is no reason to support any one city's team. It's all about the individual players. And they are not worth my time.

I agree with Razz about the minuscule amount of actual play time. It was not always this way. It's a result of the end of the "team" era and the birth of the "me" era.

I watch Aussie Football now. I'm learning the rules & plays slowly. I may never be as proficient with it as I was with American Football but at least I enjoy watching the Aussie players behaving as a team not so much about individuals.

Soccer or Futbol just doesn't hold my attention, lol.

 

[haiducii]

A majority of Europeans (incl. me) don't really understand how the hell it's meant to be played. American football can seem like a bunch of guys repeatedly crashing into each other.

But I love watching the Super Bowl, especially the halftime show. I have to stay up a bit late and get to join in on all the excitement, even though I don't really care who wins!

 

[brmstn69]

One hour of game play mixed in with three hours of watching them standing around scratching their asses...

 

[Shelter]

So please let me introduce me to European Football (Soccer!?). It is running vor 2 times per 45 minutes and sometimes a so called additional time from some minutes. And during the play time there is no place for scratching the ass! -

I'm a great fan of it. So perhaps change from Football (American) to Football (European).

 

[gorgik9]

So please let me introduce me to European Football (Soccer!?). It is running vor 2 times per 45 minutes and sometimes a so called additional time from some minutes. And during the play time there is no place for scratching the ass! -

I'm a great fan of it. So perhaps change from Football (American) to Football (European).

But what do you mean with "European"? Fussball (or "Football" as they say in Anglophonia) is Gobal, OK!?!



And when it's time for World Championship, Germany almost always wins! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

(And if Germany doesn't win it's most probably Brazil!)

 

[Shelter]

Well I've written "European" Football in contrast to "American" Football. And that because both sports nothing have in common but both are called "Football".

So the Europeans are playing really Football and the American Football for me is more a catch-as-catch-can! -

And I'll hope that your prediction will be a dead-on prediction - but not for Brazil!!! -

 

[Stonecold]

RazzmaTazz

Football is HUGE here in the U.S., but the amount of time that is actually spent playing the game is so small it's crazy. I have a stopwatch out and I'm timing how long that the football is actually in motion. If you watch a game, you will notice that the clock is counting down most of the time while the players are standing around getting ready for the next play. I dare you, watch on the next game.

I don't disagree at all with what you said, but I don't think European football is any better.
Maybe it’s part of the instant gratification culture but 90 minutes of kicking with zero or one or two goals doesn’t exactly move heaven and earth.

And because scoring is such a lightning striking rarity, once a team gets up by two or three goals, turn the lights out, it’s like being down 49-0 in American football, European football lacks one of the best parts of watching a sport: the comeback. It almost never happens. If a team gets up by three goals they might as well invoke the slaughter rule.
Because scoring is so nearly impossible, many of the matches come down to faking a penalty (flopping) in order to get a penalty kick. The referees are the most important people on the field, seems the key to being a good Euro football player is to be a really good actor.
Thankfully there are a lot of hot guys to watch. I seen the pictures haiducii posted of his nation's team and I could watch them any time.

 

[hueng]

I'll sometimes watch the condensed version of NFL games. I forget which channel they are shown on here in Canada.

But it's a totally different experience. Good for the casual fan.

 

[RazzmaTazz]

So here I go watching the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguares game today. I'll say that the singing of the National Anthem was probably one of the best sports renditions that I've heard in a long time.

Go JAX! The Pat's have won to many. Time to give another a chance.

 

[tonka]

So here I go watching the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguares game today. I'll say that the singing of the National Anthem was probably one of the best sports renditions that I've heard in a long time.

Go JAX! The Pat's have won to many. Time to give another a chance.

Sorry. Tom Brady is the GOAT!

Tommy lives two miles from me. I've decided that Tommy and I are ageless. It must be the local water. I'll never get older than 64!
Of course, I creak when I stand up, but let's not focus on that.

 

[dargelos]

I have a theory that I'd like to test out on you all, that, with the world being divided into cat people and dog people, it's the dog people who are the football fans.
Both styles of the game, American and soccer, need the players to obey the rules. For dogs, that comes naturaly. Cats, of course don't obey anything or anybody. Is it possible that people like me who have never given a damn who wins a ball game are that way because we are cat lovers, and it's the dog lovers who obsess about men chasing balls? I could be completely wrong, what do you think?

 

[Stonecold]

Well let me start by saying I am glad to know you are a cat person, I believe what Mark Twain said
"When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction" - Mark Twain"
I like football but I think you are right that dog lovers would tend to be more into football.

 

[loretta]

European point of view


nuff said