I must say, I am a bit surprised by the news today that the NFL has decided Brit's are either too drunk all the time or perhaps brain dead, that they'll welcome a re-run of last years game at Wembley Stadium between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. Yes, the game was a sell out, but in the nineteenth century P.T. Barnum's freak shows where a sell out, but they didn't last. I don't think the European temperament is suited to a game that has one hour playing time, yet can last for four hours, because the teams spend more time falling down or sitting on the sideline than actually touching the ball. Which reminds me, why do Americans insist on calling it football, when virtually no one touches the ball with their foot. Shouldn't it be handball. Oh, and finally, why does each team have 80 players on the sideline, many of which never actually get on the pitch? Then again, stupid me forgets that unlike Soccer, as they call it here, when the rest of the world calls it football, because American football has more non-playing time than playing time... It's actually the perfect TV sport. Because the commercial time far outweighs the playing time.
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The greatest footballer who ever lived. And I did say "Football!"
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A typical response from someone with little or no interest in the sport. I follow football (in the traditional sense) and rugby. I believe the sports could learn alot (and already have) from American football.
For your information here are some facts
1. SKY shows more live American football than premiership football (they think there's a market for it. The BBC has bought the right to show this years superbowl live (not cheap).
2. More people watch the superbowl than the entire formula one season added together.
3. Yes the game lasts for three hours. That's is one of the reasons it has proven popular in the us. Families make a day of it rather than the English football where the money grabbers try and get fans in and out as quick as possible. Much like other sports Cricket, tennis, golf American football recognises fans want value for meney and don't rip off their fans.
4. American football teams operate a salary cap ensuring no one team can dominate for any length of time.
5. The following have all been taken from American football and introduced over here, cheerleaders, players names on shirts, playing of music after a score, anouncers at the ground.
6. The word soccer came from an abbreviation of association football and has been in use for over a hundre years. Some of the first records of matches refer to the games as socca games.
7. The reason its called football is in the late 1800's sports were normally played on horseback. football was used to explain the sport was played on foot.
8. The tickets for the last game at Wembley sold faster than the tickets for Robbie Williams at nebworth.
You have every right to not like the sport. Just don't pretend no-one else does, the facts stack up against you.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 19, 2008 9:48 AM | Permalink to Comment