Why Isn't American Football More Popular Outside of America?

[Fourth Horseman]

You can say what you want about the sport in terms of your interest and your preferences, but the bottom line is that the skill position players in football (Wide Receivers, Running Backs, Linebackers and Defensive Backs) are some of the most if not the most athletic people in the world. Much more so than any European sport, (not taking anything away from the sports themselves, which are great)

I have a hard time imagining any AF player running a straight 90 minutes on a soccer field. They get a lot of rest in-between plays. They are very buff, I give you that, but in terms of endurance I think soccer players beat AF players.

Yes, but that doesn't mean either group is more or less athletic.  Sprinters don't necessarily make good marathon runners, and marathon runners probably aren't quick enough to win a lot of sprint titles.  But I would have a hard time saying that either group is somehow a lesser group of athletes than the other.

Yes you are right, most football players do not have the endurance. But when I talk about athleticism, I'm talking all physical attributes (Speed, Strength, Power, Agility, Endurance, Stamina) combined.  Soccer players are great athletes in that they have speed, endurance, stamina, and agility. But when you look at the overall athleticism of someone like Calvin Johnson, there's just no contest in my opinion.

[Riceball]

If we are talking altheticism, I think you need to consider Australian Rules players here too. They routinely travel 10-15kms (~6.5-9 miles) over the course of a game which involves tackling, jumping, kicking and hand passing. After doing some research, the record for a player to travel in a single game is 19.4 kilometres...

Plus the game is way better anyway

[Implode]

Just had our first game of the season. I play in the marching band, so of course I see every home game. I don't know the ins and outs of the strategy or the metagame, yet I still find it enjoyable at times.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Just had our first game of the season. I play in the marching band, so of course I see every home game. I don't know the ins and outs of the strategy or the metagame, yet I still find it enjoyable at times.

Awesome! What do you play?

[Implode]

I play trumpet. And our college isn't really big on football. Usually only 100 fans show up to each game. :/

[cyberdrummer]

Sky Sports has just announced a new 3-year contract to show 60 live NFL games per season here in the UK. I'm no American football fan, but I think I'm right in thinking that's a significant increase on what had been shown before.

[Nekov]

I went to see an American Football match the other day with a manager that came from the US. It was the Michigan vs Alabama game. I brought up the discussion on why that sport isn't popular outside the US and he mentioned the fact that the sport requires a lot of money for equipment and stuff as the main reason.
Regarding the game itself, I still think the problem is that the game itself lasts 1 hour yet I spent more than 3 hours at the bar before it was finished. Don't get me wrong, I drank a lot of beer, ate some chicken wings and fries (all for free) and had a good time but I can do that without a game on the screen.

[Lynxo]

[6sAllTheWay]

I went to see an American Football match the other day with a manager that came from the US. It was the Michigan vs Alabama game. I brought up the discussion on why that sport isn't popular outside the US and he mentioned the fact that the sport requires a lot of money for equipment and stuff as the main reason.
Regarding the game itself, I still think the problem is that the game itself lasts 1 hour yet I spent more than 3 hours at the bar before it was finished. Don't get me wrong, I drank a lot of beer, ate some chicken wings and fries (all for free) and had a good time but I can do that without a game on the screen.

Yup this, the 3 hours it takes to finish a game and the fact that the networks cram commercials in whenever they can. You get a block of commercials every time there is a small stop in the game. In European football a game is 90 mins and that is 2 times 45 minutes of game and NO commercials as long as the half is on.

[yorost]

Chess can have mere minutes of action over hours, yet it is fascinating to people around the world.  Strategy can hold people's attention as well as action.  It may not be as immediately visible to new viewers, but it also doesn't take more than basic learning to be able to appreciate.

[hefdaddy42]

Chess can have mere minutes of action over hours, yet it is fascinating to people around the world.  Strategy can hold people's attention as well as action.  It may not be as immediately visible to new viewers, but it also doesn't take more than basic learning to be able to appreciate.

This, exactly.

[Nekov]

Chess can have mere minutes of action over hours, yet it is fascinating to people around the world.  Strategy can hold people's attention as well as action.  It may not be as immediately visible to new viewers, but it also doesn't take more than basic learning to be able to appreciate.

This, exactly.

i agree, but there are no commercials in between that get you distracted every 5 minutes

[ReaPsTA]

i agree, but there are no commercials in between that get you distracted every 5 minutes

No one's defending the commercials in Football.  They've become overabundant.  Sports leagues are trying to figure out how to not lose the attention of their audience to smart phones.  Less commercials would go a long way.

[King Postwhore]

Chess can have mere minutes of action over hours, yet it is fascinating to people around the world.  Strategy can hold people's attention as well as action.  It may not be as immediately visible to new viewers, but it also doesn't take more than basic learning to be able to appreciate.

This, exactly.

i agree, but there are no commercials in between that get you distracted every 5 minutes

Try going to the games.  I get to look at the bench and figure out their strategy.  Thank god for binoculars.

[Nekov]

Sure, the next time I'm in the US I'll stop by your place and you can invite me 

[cramx3]

Not defending the commercials , but at least football usually has the best commercials.

[Jaffa]

i agree, but there are no commercials in between that get you distracted every 5 minutes

No one's defending the commercials in Football.  They've become overabundant.  Sports leagues are trying to figure out how to not lose the attention of their audience to smart phones.  Less commercials would go a long way.

From my perspective (and I believe quite a few others share my perspective), it's not just that they have too many commercials, it's that there is room for so many commercials.  Staring at the coach as he talks to the players to call the play wouldn't make it any more interesting for me. 

[jammindude]

I will say that the counterbalance for this argument (play stoppages) is that there is actually MORE riding on every single play.   And in a close game, the tension builds because *EVERY PLAY* is "make or break"...

[robwebster]

You know?

https://deadspin.com/5941348/they-wont-magically-turn-you-into-a-lustful-cockmonster-chris-kluwe-explains-gay-marriage-to-the-politician-who-is-offended-by-an-nfl-player-supporting-it

I might have judged American football too soon.

[Scorpion]

You know?

https://deadspin.com/5941348/they-wont-magically-turn-you-into-a-lustful-cockmonster-chris-kluwe-explains-gay-marriage-to-the-politician-who-is-offended-by-an-nfl-player-supporting-it

I might have judged American football too soon.

Great stuff, though it has very little to do with American football itself - the person involved simply happened to be a football player, and it therefore doesn't really change my opinion on American football.

Still, a rather refreshing read - thanks for sharing. 

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Not sure how much this has been discussed thus far, but the psychology of fandom is important here. If you're not raised with a sport, you're less likely to like it. Furthermore, if the culture you live in doesn't care about a sport, you're even less likely to like it. Add in the fact that American Football is so strongly associated with America and suddenly you've got a sport that isn't so appealing to a Frenchman, or a Russian, or a Japanese dude.

[King Postwhore]

So very true.  We know what we know.

Though I do like to check out sports from other countries.  it's just hard if you don't understand the rules and that is the hill to climb.

[rumborak]

Well, and then there's also the fact that AF has "simmered" for long enough in one country that it has acquired a lit of American elements. Look at Kendo. It has acquired such uniquely Japanese features that it's never going to be big outside its native country.

[King Postwhore]

I think that's even true for sports played in both continents.  Look at hockey.  The styles are so different in Europe to the American/Canadian style of play.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Social benefits are important too, I think. In America, there's a substantial social benefit to liking American Football, especially in college. No such benefit exists from liking the sport in Germany or India.

[Gadough]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in this country who doesn't give a shit about American Football.

Which sucks, because I live in a college town.

[ReaPsTA]

I woke up and just spent my entire day either watching Football or driving to different friends' houses to watch Football.

How can anyone not care about this again?

[GuineaPig]

I woke up and just spent my entire day either watching Football or driving to different friends' houses to watch Football.

How can anyone not care about this again?

We Canucks are just as in love with hockey.  Why don't you obsess over it and maple syrup?

[Jaffa]

I woke up and just spent my entire day either watching Football or driving to different friends' houses to watch Football.

How can anyone not care about this again?

Very very easily, I assure you.

[ReaPsTA]

We Canucks are just as in love with hockey.  Why don't you obsess over it and maple syrup?

Hockey has a legitimate following in America.  Its fans are super duper passionate.

To me, Hockey seems like it appeals to a very specific kind of person that happens to be very common in Canada.  I guess you could say that American Football applies to a specifically American mentality as well.  Who knows.

[yorost]

I woke up and just spent my entire day either watching Football or driving to different friends' houses to watch Football.

How can anyone not care about this again?

We Canucks are just as in love with hockey.  Why don't you obsess over it and maple syrup?

Actually, some of the northern States do obsess over those things.    Curling is big around the Great Lakes, too.

[hefdaddy42]

We Canucks are just as in love with hockey.  Why don't you obsess over it and maple syrup?

Hockey has a legitimate following in America.  Its fans are super duper passionate.

To me, Hockey seems like it appeals to a very specific kind of person that happens to be very common in Canada.  I guess you could say that American Football applies to a specifically American mentality as well.  Who knows.

I think that has been the gist of the entire thread.

[Fluffy Lothario]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19549703

Article doesn't say much that's new or that will surprise anyone, but yeah.

There's also a link in there to this article, which is a kind of reverse of the topic of this thread.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14725789

[Nekov]

Those are two very interesting articles. I'm eager to see if rugby can make a way into popular sports in the US

[Fluffy Lothario]

Aaaaaand today, I saw this article.

https://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwNTExNDUyWj.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

"According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.

In other words, if you tally up everything that happens between the time the ball is snapped and the play is whistled dead by the officials, there's barely enough time to prepare a hard-boiled egg. In fact, the average telecast devotes 56% more time to showing replays.

So what do the networks do with the other 174 minutes in a typical broadcast? Not surprisingly, commercials take up about an hour. As many as 75 minutes, or about 60% of the total air time, excluding commercials, is spent on shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps. In the four broadcasts The Journal studied, injured players got six more seconds of camera time than celebrating players. While the network announcers showed up on screen for just 30 seconds, shots of the head coaches and referees took up about 7% of the average show."

Man, I'd watch the shit out of that. Even without the ads, 75 minutes of players standing around with their thumbs up their asses. 7% of the time (about thirteen minutes, by my trusty laptop calculator) spent on shots of coaches smiling and pumping their fists/raging and ripping their nighties, and referees. That's the smallest percentage given, and it's still longer than the actual gameplay. Gotta get me some of that.