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In your opinion, why is American football the most popular sport in America?
doubledragon
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This survey was conducted in 2019, it is the most recent I could find. In your opinion, why do we love American football so much, what is it about this particular game that intrigues us?
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Fantasy football and gambling are the top 2 reasons.
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Why was "Gladiatorial Combat To The Death" so popular when the Roman Empire was in it's death throes?...Hummm.....?
Team sport, crazy fans, cheerleaders and beer.
For me, I love the atmosphere of a good football game, especially at night under the lights and also when it's snowing. I also love the hits, the excitement that can explode at any minute, and the violence of the game, you have to be a tough SOB to play football, and I also love the chess like mentality of the game, it's kind of like a chess match with real, living, breathing pieces on a huge board, a game of matching wits. And yes, beer goes great with football!
Fast, hard hitting action.
One game a week, no burnout during season gotta be a factor, builds up excitement or fanstruggle resentment.
one game a week for a very short season compared to other leagues. very simple to keep the attention span of a society that hardly has one these days.
There's several reasons:
1) The season is easy to follow - 16 (now 18 or whatever) weeks, mostly on Sundays.
2) A great combination speed and power - but with a ball/action that is easy to follow on TV (unlike hockey for a lot of people)
3) Gambling
4) Fantasy Football
I also enjoy a delicious, mouth watering pot of tasty chili to go with a good game.
Wash that chili down with an ice cold Coca Cola, woo doggies!
season held in the winter with games on the weekends, monday night & during the holidays also is key.
Football really lends itself to communal watching. Lots of action, but lots of downtime. Even when scores are low, someone gets hit hard on almost every play.
Also, Americans haven’t embraced soccer, so there’s a big sports void there that doesn’t exist in many other countries.
Yep! Me too! I just love the colors of the uniforms in the clear cool winter air of Southern California. The sky with the snow on the mountains in the background and the clouds floating overhead! The city skyline in the distance. And.....real grass turf! The L.A. Colesieum! Best sports venue in the country. I'm gonna miss it! The cheerleaders at Corona Island! And....when the song "I Love L.A." by Randy Newman is played after the game when I'm in tunnel #9. I don't care who wins or loses. Never have. I love the game......the Colesieum....the Rams.....and I love L.A.!
Agree.
Ive worked in LA for 15 years but only have lived here the past 7. I commuted for the first 8 from NYC and Michigan. Never thought I could live here. I had an east coast bias. My first winter in LA is all I needed to be a total convert. Yes we have lots of douchey people, yes we have lots of traffic pre Covid, yes it's expensive. BUT no place I'd rather live. I hope more people leave ; )
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Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Few games compared to the other major sports. So it makes every game special.
Kinda wonder why Football hasn't caught on in other countries? I guess they love their soccer and Tennis.
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the metric system?
Maybe if we marked the field in meters and called it a “pitch” they’d like it more.
The season is almost entirely in the fall though.
sure, by seasons i guess. fall in denver, green bay, new england, pittsburgh, philly is basically winteresque conditions. you certainly arent at the beach, golfing, sitting poolside or on summer vacay. and certainly the best part of that nfl schedule is the playoffs, div championships & super bowl is held in the dead of winter. season and temperature wise. the point being made is not necessarily when do the cornucopia crop come in but basically theres not much else to do besides huddle around the fire and tube inside w a nice pot of chili on the stove or some wings on the grill.
Yes, who doesn't love football, that year my Panthers made it to the playoffs, we were so excited, the pregame party, the food, the beer, the fans pumped up and ready to play, the kickoff, watching our team take the field and drive down to the opposing team's goal line only to have our quarterback throw an interception, and then on the next possession he throws another, and then another, and then another, and then another, what the hell are you doing Delhmomme you stupid idiot, that's five interceptions you big dumb ape, you cost us the game! Leave me alone, go away, I never want to see football again!
In boxing you can protect yourself from the majority of blows, in football you cannot. Football is more dangerous in my opinion
Rugby
Succinct action and higher levels of emotional investment. Throw in gambling and you have a must watch for any team on a Monday or Thursday night for even non-regional fans.
with the overall global popularity of soccer & footie, i would think a lot of other countries scoff at the term “football” being applied to the sport. especially when the ball is prolly only kicked 10 - 15 times tops a game.
Football is exciting and fun to watch on television.
Baseball is slow and boring. It’s especially so when the pitchers dominate.
The NBA should move to China when it is appreciated. I refuse to watch it.
Hockey is second to football, but a distant second.
I just checked - the season actually starts during the summer.
and yet still missing the point. 😉
Yes, the best part of the season is in January, in the winter.
But ask 100 people and 98 of them will say that football is a fall sport. Yes, even in Denver where it sometimes is 80 degrees in October and the average temperature is always above freezing.
yes. and the thread is about why football is popular, right? to which i supplied a reason in regards to the time of year and the weather associated w that timeframe. and great. you picked denver in october where it “sometimes” is 80. it also drops into the 30s “sometimes” in atlanta in october. and sometimes below freezing too. take your time. go ahead and dissect this post apart too. what would you like to nit-pick next?
eta: during the hottest point of the day, it avgs 67. doesnt take into account the windchill. towards night its in the 40s. percentage wise, youre way off even on your occasional 80 degree heatwave.
and they call baseball players the “boys of summer”. they also play during the spring, summer & fall. one could certainly say the “summer” games are the most dreadful ones. prolly cause its hot as balls and makes the games unbearable. and “unbearable” is the opposite of “popular” which is the basis of the question posed in this thread.
Well, if we're talking about why football is popular - which I answered with several reasons - "it's a winter sport" is simply just not true.
and:
too funny. on top of the conflicting statements above, ill flip the semantics and nit-picking back around on you. football is played during the winter, correct? and actually most of the winter at that. even “the best part of the season” is in the winter, as ya stated above. the championship of all sports championships is in…february. another fact that works against your argument is that the super bowl is played on a sunday. which was in the beginning of february last year. this year however, its pushed deeper into winter and will be held on feb 13th this year. so i have to respectfully disagree with your second quoted statement above. its 100% a winter sport by sheer definition, dates and facts. not too mention, by your own words above. now what? 😉
Me as a 30 year old
Football
Baseball
Hockey
Basketball
Soccer
Me now
Football
Soccer
Hockey
Basketball
Baseball
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
well, we are. thats the title of the thread. please brush up on the troll game. 😂
Because not enough people grow up playing hockey.
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Ralph
I quit watching all four of the major pro sports several years ago. I prefer College sports . Only pro sports I watch is tennis.
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Yes but I'd like to do away with the Thursday games. I'm tired of them (especially for Fantasy timing)
agreed. other than on thanksgiving.
Baseball is too slow, too many games (making them less meaningful), season is too long. Same with NBA. Football games are more of an event. I do like college basketball tho, season is shorter (fewer games) and the fans are rabid.
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I think also that football presents exceptionally well on television, which is how the vast majority of fans experience it. Baseball is very slow on tv. Hockey, while very exciting in-person, doesn't translate very well to television.
Combine that with the things said above - big hits, night games, etc., and I think you get your answer.
what do you like most about the 13 minutes (on average) that the ball is actually in play during an NFL or college football game?
I have no interest in gambling, fantasy football, watching fat guys or whatever you first pint means. I have a interest in three teams, New England, Philadelphia and now Tampa since I live in the area and team has become worth watching. I enjoy rooting for those teams. That’s it.
Baseball is interesting for background noise. Hockey has its good points, and I can’t stand the NBA. If it shut down or moved the China, I’d never miss it. That’s a big change from when I was in high school and followed the 76ers, but politics has ruined basketball for me.
Soccer is boring. Maybe I would feel differently I had grown up with it.
there was no real point. I just find it funny when people say baseball is boring, but somehow football isn't when they are essentially the same, action wise, when you consider that the majority of the respective games there is really only roughly 12-13 actual minutes where there are plays being made and the rest is "down time" or commercials. You're just subbing pitchers holding the ball cycling through signals, for linemen standing in a circle watching the QB cupping his hands over his helmet's earholes waiting for plays to be called and run. Yes different sports, but it's the same amount of action.
Nothing wrong with preferring football over baseball, but "downtime" can't be the reason for it when it's exactly the same. So if one likes the tackling and physicality of football but hates the "downtime", you'd think rugby would have a larger following when those matches last no longer than 80 minutes.
fantasy football is clearly the main decision why NFL is King !!!! Even if the Seahawks are bad like below .500 I still watch every game and on Sundays with the NFL package I will still flip through every game because of Fantasy football, plus because of Fantasy Football I will still watch some horrible Thursday and Monday night games. Sports like baseball (my favorite) when the Mariners are bad which is every single year I will stop watching baseball as soon as football pre season games start
Same as some of the above comments (more exciting, etc) but also add that at any time either team can score (vs Baseball where only the team up to bat can score). Also, football can be played by youths on any open field with a football whereas baseball needs bases, bat, balls, gloves. Football can be more easily played with fewer kids too.