Not for the first time I attempted to watch an American Football game on TV today. As before I lasted about 5 minutes before being bored to death. Even the first 45 minutes yesterday was 10 times more exciting Each to their own or am I missing something ?
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Just come out of Wembley. Persevere and it's well worth it. Easy for me to say as a big fan of one of the two undefeated teams, but it's worth giving a few games at least - and then if you still don't like it, fair play.
Rugby with sillier outfits and more delays
Totally agree .... its utter cack !!
Sounds like a marmite sport. Never seen any live games but Rugby League (seems to flow better than Union ) Gaelic Football and Aussie Rules look fun to watch in the flesh
It's not really similar to union, maybe league in a way - although I'm no fan of either of those. I do laugh at how irate some people (not on here) get about its growing popularity in the UK, though, as if its some kind of aggressively invasive thing.
If it floats your boat .....
I dare say before you mentioned the vast majority had no idea it was even on.
(Before micra shows up, add an "it" and a comma in the above...
I’ve seen lots of games at Wembley & last month saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Carolina Panthers at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (amazing by the way). However, the atmosphere at all UK matches is rather subdued compared with in America.
I’ve been to see the Buccaneers twice in Florida & the whole day is pure Americana. They’ve tried to replicate the atmosphere in London with fan zones but it struggles. In America most people drive to games and set up parties & BBQs hours beforehand & often afterwards. At Wembley & Tottenham most people arrive by public transport and aren’t allowed to take anything into the stadium. As a game overall you either get it or you don’t but it will never take over from football or rugby.
One interesting thing about the London games is the large number of Germans & Dutch that come to games.
I followed it avidly for years, before finally giving up. It is a three hour broadcast with an hour gameclock, but there is only ten minutes or so of action. I am not even making that up - as the clock is allowed to run between plays, they have timed the actual action as somewhere around the 11 minute mark.
Do they check their studs and do a shuffle before taking a kick?
Probably. I reckon there's no more than 250,000 people in the UK who actually support an NFL team.
I find it infinitely more interesting than any form of rugby, but even still, i can’t actually get excited watching a match. I wonder how much that comes down to knowing how many of the players end up with horrific brain injuries that often lead to suicide or murder. Call me a killjoy, but something stops being a sport for me when innocent people end up dead.
You could say similar for football, unfortunately. Much more needs to be done in both sports.
There’s not that many premier league players who’ve gone on to murder someone is there?
No, but head injuries are not taken seriously enough in football. The results of the recent study are worrying if not surprising.
Ah, I’m with you, and I agree. However, we’re still not at the point where we’re creating killers.
I like American Football and have watched it on TV off and on ever since Channel 4 first broadcast it. Also seen a few amateur games over here. But it’s so different from football or either of the rugby codes.
If you imagine football as a game where each team takes around 30 free kicks a game (with no other action) and the ‘play’ finishes as soon as a player has ‘interfaced’ with the incoming ball and where it ends up and you have pretty much the same type of experience.
I appreciate that doesn’t sound very exciting but the tactics can be fascinating. The drawback is to make it an ‘exciting’ spectacle they have to do it all with the clock.
Aussie Rules. Now there’s a sport...
Each to their own, Cricket can go on for 5 days so a few stop start hours with all the show business that goes with the NFL wouldn't put people off. Aussie rules is easily the worst excuse for sport I've had the misfortune to watch.
Not surprised if the atmosphere is a bit weird at Wembley as it's a Franchise game with almost no home fans.
They're trying to market the Jacksonville Jaguars as a London team, but that's just never going to work - the Jags struggle for support in their own city, let alone another country. It's effectively a neutral game. There's been plenty of talk about a franchise over here, but I can't see that happening - maybe a game every week though.
Money and numbers wise they are better as they are, doesn't really matter who is playing, give people a chance to see some US stars. Lots of issues trying to get a squad and club based here and travelling. Went to the old Wembley back in the day , was all good when winning and a bit of a running joke when they were on the slide.
If I had to rank some of these sports, I'd probably have American football at the "worst" end, and then go
Aussie Rules/Gaelic type fare
Rugby union
Rugby league
Rugby 7s.
Rugby 7s minimises the worst bits of rugby. The players are all fast and athletic.
You see a lot more of the "Best" bits of rugby - the flowing moves and tries.
None of this scrum nonsense, or winning/losing a game on penalties because of some technicality that is very hard for casuals to even understand.
Still no football...but if I had to rank em like.
I watched a Monday night game in a bar in the US years ago...i think I was half cut before anything actually happened on the pitch. I still find lower league football.more interesting than rugby or cricket but sport is sport and if it floats your boat it's not a bad thing I suppose.
As a regular visitor to NFL and NFL Europe games for alot of years this thread has made for interesting reading. The comment "you either get it or you don"t' sums it up best.
For me the regular pauses are much less noticeable live than on TV. Always something to watch or chat to someone about. I quite like every play being an event you can disect after.
A UK NFL team would be a disaster but I look forward to seeing some of the best athletes in world sport each autumn.
The one thing the NFL does do is create an opinion. Thus thread was started by someone saying they watched but didn't get it. That happens loads and for me is pretty unique in sports chat. Even those who don't get it watch and talk about not getting it
I definitely don’t “get it” but our son-in-law and grandson spent 10 days in the States a few weeks ago watching (I think) five games in that short time. I forget how many thousands of miles they had to drive.
My idea of hell.
I suspect the reason those of us who "don't get it" sometimes talk about it is a slight resentment of the American cultural imperialism that we seem so partial to. A serious incident in the US gets almost as much news coverage as it would in the UK (and far more than a similar incident in say central Europe would get), tomorrow is Guy Fawkes yet that has almost entirely now been taken over by Halloween and there is the lingering suspicion that at least some of American football's devotees are attracted more to the "American" than the "football". In this post Brexit world, that feels quite dangerous and very unattractive.
Judging the sport simply as a sport, for me its a little too stop start for my taste - I prefer more flowing games such as football or even rugby, from the US sports, ice hockey is watchable. That possibly though is because I don't pretend to understand American football intricacies (or frankly wish to learn them). for those that do and get enjoyment from it, I wish them no ill.
I think American football has a bigger difference in the experience between watching it on tv and being there than any other sport.
Must ask the lads about that @floyd. I’d be interested to their take on that aspect.
to hear their take.
Ah. The suspicions of @DevC turned on to a more general every thinks all in one post.
NFL UK have really dialled down the 'American' aspect of the UK matches. Much of the extra entertainment added to the early games doesn't happen anymore and match days are about the sport and not a Little Mix gig before the game. Last nights game was very low key on anything 'American' in production.
The Wembley matches especially are very much a European affair. Lots of German, Dutch and Spanish fans are there. Are they drawn for 'America'?
As I said above I know of no sport where so many detractors still want to talk about it.