Do you watch NFL?

[madhjsp]

This question is mostly directed towards our European members, but anyone can feel free to answer.

I know a fair number of people here in the US that watch Premier League and Champions League, but how many of you who are sports fans in Europe watch American football? When I stream NFL games online, a decent number of the broadcasts are British, and I know they've played several games in Wembley Stadium within the past few seasons, so I'm wondering how popular the sport actually is overseas.

If you do watch, post your favorite team (if applicable), and why they are your favorite.

Me, I watch every Sunday in the fall, can't get enough football. My favorite team is the Tennessee Titans because they're somewhat local and their quarterback Steve McNair was my favorite player when I was younger.

 

[Ben]

American Football is absolutely awful, so, no.

It's a really, really, really bad sport. Just watch Rugby. That's actually manly.

 

[kimahri]

Nope.

 

[Ian]

No.

I don't like football or any variation of it.

 

[Snoo]

American Football is absolutely awful, so, no.

It's a really, really, really bad sport. Just watch Rugby. That's actually manly.

lol.



No.. I don't watch the NFL. College football has passion and tradition.. and 100,000 fans cheering for 11 guys. Much more interesting.

Of course, I'd explain my feelings about soccer but Daniel Tosh explains it so much better..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slqK7mfuVic[/youtube]

 

[Ben]

American Football is absolutely awful, so, no.

It's a really, really, really bad sport. Just watch Rugby. That's actually manly.

lol.

Maybe if the pussies in American Football didn't wear helmets and padding, or stopped taking breaks every five minutes, to do what rugby players do, they could be more equal?

Do you not think there's perhaps a reason why American "Football" is hardly played, let alone loved, outside of America? Maybe if you all hadn't had such a stick up your arses about being linked to those who colonised you, you wouldn't have had to change Rugby so it didn't seem like you were playing an "Imperalistic sport"...

 

[Snoo]

I already linked my thoughts on the subject. Click play and enjoy!

 

[tks]

American Football is so boring. They huddle for about 10 minutes, throw the rugby ball a few yards, everyone jumps on each other.

Repeat ad nauseum.

 

[Mike]

If my dad has it on and I can't be bothered to get up from the sofa, then I'll watch parts of it. I also watched the Super Bowl earlier this year, mainly as there's not much else on TV at 2am in the morning and I couldn't get to sleep... Not that I actually cared about who was playing, what was going on, and can never get my head around why they need a million refs on the pitch at a time, or why they keep throwing pieces of cloth everywhere for no reason than to hold up the game a bit more.

 

[Dave]

Of course, I'd explain my feelings about soccer but Daniel Tosh explains it so much better..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slqK7mfuVic[/youtube]

That was a terrible explanation as to why 'soccer' is awful, was a shrewd, racist and bigoted rant.

Now I've tried to watch NFL, I've watched 2 superbowls which I assume is the two best teams in the US competing for the top prize in NFL? Each time I felt underwhelmed and couldn't get in to it, this could've been because of the constant stopping and starting, going to commercial breaks, horrifically long half time shows and I was never quite sure what was going on...

Here is the best player in the world showing why football is the 'beautiful game';

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TivoloYG-go[/youtube]

I don't mind watching Rugby which is more enjoyable as a whole...
Watch the tackle at 40 seconds in, pure power!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/9388318.stm

 

[Ben]

a shrewd, racist and bigoted rant.

Welcome to everything any American has ever written.

 

[kimahri]

Don't you love it when ben gets bent out of shape for no real reason?

 

[madhjsp]

College football has passion and tradition.. and 100,000 fans cheering for 11 guys. Much more interesting.

I don't get why so many football fans in America see it as an either/or thing. I love college just as much as pro, been watching it for years for the very reasons you mentioned. And my school's terrible!

My brief thoughts on the football vs. rugby vs. soccer debate are this.
Rugby: Never played it and only watched a little, so I don't have much exposure on which to judge it. It's more watchable than soccer though. Very physical game, which I appreciate. Not wearing pads doesn't really make it any more "manly" than football, though, in my opinion. Just more dangerous.

Soccer: I don't profess to understand all the intricacies of the game, but I've played enough and watched enough to know that it's just not that exciting to me. I think a lot of it has to do with it being such a low-scoring game, the ridiculous injury-faking, and the long stretches of time where absolutely nothing happens.

Football: Yeah the overabundant commercial breaks can get tiresome, and they're especially bad about it in the NFL. And I understand that the specific rules and variety of different penalties can be pretty confusing to someone who doesn't watch it much. But the way the game is broken up into individual isolated plays is actually one of the best things about the game, in my opinion. It allows for a HUGE amount of strategy to come into play between the offense and the defense that really isn't matched in any other sport. That, combined with the higher scoring and the more prolific opportunities for highlight plays, makes this by far my favorite sport to watch or play.

And for goodness sakes Ben, calm down. I don't think the invention of football had anything to do with Americans hating Brits. That was so 1776.

 

[Ben]

And for goodness sakes Ben, calm down. I don't think the invention of football had anything to do with Americans hating Brits. That was so nineteenth century.

Didn't think we'd notice that edit, eh?

It's weird how a lot of "American sports", with the exception really of Basketball, are just English/European sports that they butchered... Baseball = Rounders etc.

 

[Colossus]

I do watch and love the NFL, i watch every game thats televised here and watch any other games on the laptop, its my favorite winter past time when the parks are closed. I have been present at the last 3 international series games.

 

[Snoo]

I don't get why so many football fans in America see it as an either/or thing. I love college just as much as pro, been watching it for years for the very reasons you mentioned. And my school's terrible!

The NFL.. it just.. meh. I just don't see the PASSION I see with many of my fellow college football fans. It might be because many CFB fans are younger and based around colleges.. but once those guys move onto the pros.. its all about money. Sports based around money just.. meh.. bothers me. They either have that "There's always next year" or "I get paid.. so who cares?" mentality. In the college game.. you have.. in most cases.. less then 4 years to do work before its over. It shares many things in common with the high school game I loved when I played.

So, it really is an either or thing for me. Coming from a background within the game.. seeing what happens to the game once money gets involved (including this silly NCAA scandals going on.. including at my favorite Ohio State) really pisses me off. The purity of the sport is just.. demolished.

a shrewd, racist and bigoted rant.

It's a rant from a comedy show by a comedian. OBVIOUSLY something to take seriously.

But, to be honest, I really don't care. It was mostly a poke at Ben just to piss him off. I mean, football in America/all Americans must be the devil!

a shrewd, racist and bigoted rant.

Welcome to everything any American has ever written.

Clearly. That is all my posts ever are on here! Those damn whites! Oppressing half of me!

Silly Ben.

 

[madhjsp]

Why's it matter if I edited it? Didn't want to double post.

And why's it matter if American sports are based on European sports? We borrowed a lot of things from Europe and changed them: language, system of law, architecture, art... It goes on and on. It's what cultures do, none of them exist in a vacuum.

 

[Hixee]

No.

I don't watch (much, if any) sport, no reason why this would be any different.

 

[furie]

But the way the game is broken up into individual isolated plays is actually one of the best things about the game, in my opinion. It allows for a HUGE amount of strategy to come into play between the offense and the defense that really isn't matched in any other sport. That, combined with the higher scoring and the more prolific opportunities for highlight plays, makes this by far my favorite sport to watch or play.

Yeah, it's a bit like watching people play Risk, only after they roll the dice, they hit each other with pipe lagging to reenact the epic battle going on on the board

That's "not for me" then. Though I also dislike soccer. I used to play Rugby though and understand the game, we had an ex-England player as one of our PE teachers and Widnes used to be a massive Rugby town. My dad worked at the rugby ground for years and years and grew up with a fair few of the (going back 30 years mind) team. They used to come round for drinks and stuff on the weekend. Bobby Goulding was in the same Junior club as me and set the scene for my school team (he was the year ahead of me). So, huge Rugby association with me, but I never found the game interesting to watch really, but I did love playing it.

I find Rugby a fun, aggressive game - like pro-wrestling only without the scripting I just don't really enjoy any sports though, but the entire "Risk" thing with American football just really turns me off.

 

[Gavin]

No.

All sport is incredibly tedious to watch.

Fact.