- The sport is extremely complex, it has too many complicated rules, and it's just not appealing to watch for an person who's not familiar with it. Imagine a 15-year old girl who watches tennis just because she's in love with Roger Federer. Even though she may not know the details about the scoring and the tie-break rules, she can still follow the game, and have a very good idea of what's going on (ball out, ball in, simple as that). The same happens with soccer: I know many people who are only interested in games that are big (World Cup finals, national team's games, etc.) and watch only 2-3 games per year, but they can still get excited and follow the game. They know what's going on.
I feel like this matters more than I originally realized. I think back and realize that I was basically raised on Football. I have a friend who got into Football in his late teens, and the reason he was able to do this is because he used Madden to teach himself the game.
- The slow pace and constant interruptions also detract the uninitiated from watching it.
I still don't get this. For me, the stops between plays were opportunities to ask my parents what just happened so I could understand next time.
- It's difficult to expand it to other parts of the world simply because it's an expensive sport, which requires a lot of resources accessible only to people with high income. Being an American, you may not think of this as a big factor, but if you were from almost any other country you'll see my point. Parents and schools cannot afford all the necessary equipment, not to mention the fields with all the specifications. The games need to we timed acurrately, and such systems require technology not accesible everywhere. Compare this to football: you only need a ball to feel you're playing the real thing, while playing a dumbed-down version of American football like ultimate football is not attractive at all.
Good point.
- Unlike other many sports that are reasonably safe (not only tennis but even football or basketball, contact sports where almost any form of violence is against the rules), you need to significantly commit your physical well-being in order to play it. Not many people is willing to make that commitment. Small, thin guys are already discarded. Women won't play it. Seniors say guacala. 6-year olds won't get permission form their moms (I think that even in the United States many moms don't like their children playing it). If you think about it, only a small fraction of the population has the physical condition (being big enough) and mental condition (enjoying getting beat enough) to play it. On the other hand, a 4'6 kid playing football against a 6'0 guy is the most natural thing in the world, short stature is not an obstacle to being good at it. My dad is 62 and he still plays football in a competitive league for veterans. A 5-year old can get permission to play and enjoy the game. We have girl's football teams everywhere that don't require putting lingerie on.
The part about the physical risk of the game is important. In elementary schools in this country, flag football instead of tackle football is apparently becoming more common.
The part where you talk about the equal opportunity nature of Soccer is interesting though. I feel like there's an implied undercurrent to your argument that says "In Football, you have to be able to meet certain standards. In soccer you don't. Everyone can play!" If your mindset is more collectivist, this is probably more innately appealing, as opposed to America which is at least ostensibly more individualistic. (Not judging either for the sake of this thread, just pointing out how mentalities influence other things).
Heck, after writing this, I've realized the real question is why is American football popular in America. The rest of the world doesn't care about it, and it has every reason for that.
Football is intellectually and viscerally entertaining. There is no part of your brain that isn't engaged while watching Football.
This clip says a fair bit about the perspective of other cultures of American sport and in a lot of ways of American culture in general. Though to be honest, Stephen Fry was trying to create a positive image of America on this show, so he sugarcoats a bit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cl-f8NABMM
Maybe this is what really matters. When the Jets flew over, all I could think was "God, America is awesome."
There have been two, maybe three occasions in my life where American football's on TV and I spend fifteen minutes watching and trying to make sense of things and give a shit.
Well......
Reapsta, it kind of says it all that you're trying to pass off the extreme complexity of the game and the amount of downtime during the game as a good thing.
Normally, I feel like I'm insane when I argue these things. But in this case, I know I'm not. It's not like Football is some marginally popular thing, and I'm explaining why the play stoppages are only theoretically part of the appeal. I've watched Football with other human beings, and I know for a fact that the play stoppages are crucial to the viewing experience. During parts of the game where there are fewer stoppages of play (no huddle comeback drives at the end of games for example), the game becomes a completely emotional and primal experience. But the human brain can't watch a sporting event this way for 3 hours. The play stoppages are chances to breathe and digest during the game. And to socialize. It's totally gotten a bit out of hand because of the commercials, but the natural stops in the game are good for it.
the game offers them very little opportunity to display talent, and at the end of the day, watching athletes display talent is what makes sport entertaining, to me, at least.
Mmmm? Every play inevitably features at least one borderline super human act.
This is why I've never understood the argument that American football is more of a "coach's sport" than most other sports and less of a "player's sport", and that that's somehow a good thing. I don't watch sports to see two coaches match wits while a bunch of players stand around doing fuck all. I watch sports to see two coaches match wits within a game system in which athletes can actually perform. If a sport is written in a way that I can't turn on the TV and rely on seeing players doing that, on a minute for minute, or even second for second basis, why would I watch it?
- I can't think of a sport where the coaches have a bigger role than in Football.
- It's a good thing because it means that every play, no matter how interesting, has a level of overall strategic depth to it that no other sport has. The beauty of Football is the way 11 different players are acting in concert to achieve a result, and seeing if the play succeeds or fails. This is actually impossible in other sports because of the level of improvisation. There's a reason stars matter in Hockey, Basketball, and Soccer moreso than they do in Football, because the team aspect of those games is less important. The regimentation of Football means that every member of the team, from the quarterback to the right guard, is crucial. In Basketball, you can have a bad player on the court to simply absorb a defender while your star player makes things happen. In Football, a bad player potentially ruins everything.
- I don't feel like you're appreciating the level of split-second decision making that goes on in the game. Partially this is because they don't really show the defensive backfield on TV, which is the NFL's fault. But I don't see how you can't appreciate how hard it is to be an NFL QB. I can't think of a more difficult job in any professional sport.
That doesn't make it pansy, it makes it fundamentally negligent. Why should any sport be written in a way that if you aren't wearing an insane amount of padding, your life is at threat? Especially where all you're doing is running a ball towards a line and your only obstacle is other human beings.
Not-so-coincidentally, safety in Football is becoming a huge deal in this country. I expect/hope this will pay off in better protection for the players.
But also, people make choices. No one is forced to play Football. I think it's a good thing that people are now better understanding the neurological effects of the game. Uninformed choices aren't really choices. But if you know the risks and still decide to play, that's on you.
Not to mention that people wearing massive padding are limited in what they can do, and thus in its current form, we're seeing a diluted version of what those athletes could do were the sport written properly and they weren't wearing cushioned space suits from the waist up.
I also feel less inclined to watch a sport where I can't recognise, and thus can't really empathise with, the people underneath cushioned space suits. A fairly vital human element is gone.
Both of these arguments are completely valid. They're why I've started watching Basketball in addition to Football. It's a different experience.
I feel like Football is more like Gladiatorial combat in a Roman Colosseum though. It's like watching miniature armies marching up and down a battlefield. The fact the people mask up is actually part of the aesthetic. Remember - a lot of watching sports is following them outside the game. I know what Michael Vick looks like. The helmet in the game doesn't take from the experience.
Topic: Why Isn't American Football More Popular Outside of America? (Read 27180 times)