Have any of you British saddo'ers tried to like American football?

[boyla]

English here
I watch the super bowl live every year, and enjoy it immensely.

I played American football, in school, a America coach came and sparked our interests, we tried organizing a team outside of school, but tag American football(using ribbons not physically tackling players), was while fun a diluted game and totally different from what we practiced, eg the real game without pads and helmets.

In uni I was told there was a team, I trained and played without equipment, had fun then they expected us to shell out £300~500usd for our own equipment, can not be sure on the price, but I didn't have the money to continue, felt like a loser borrowing equipment every session, so I quit.
I could of done some traveling and got pieces of 2nd hand equipment for around £80, but didn't even have that spare money or a car to collect the equipment.


I played Corner Back, but liked to be a Lineman as well, big build with a fast sprint.

In my town rugby was never a big deal, football was the be all and end all and it is no exaggeration to say I played football every day from 10-16.

I miss AF, and might give rugby a try, because I know I will not have to fork out lots of money just to practice with pads.

I would say the following of American football outside of uni, is very low, UFC is well know and popular, even Ice hockey is more popular we actually have semi-professional teams.

It is hard for American football, to achieve a following when rugby is a established sport which any kid can play, where as their is few(any) AF teams outside of uni, the costs of participating are astonishing.

[TitoFan]

English here
I watch the super bowl live every year, and enjoy it immensely.

I played American football, in school, a America coach came and sparked our interests, we tried organizing a team outside of school, but tag American football(using ribbons not physically tackling players), was while fun a diluted game and totally different from what we practiced, eg the real game without pads and helmets.

In uni I was told there was a team, I trained and played without equipment, had fun then they expected us to shell out £300~500usd for our own equipment, can not be sure on the price, but I didn't have the money to continue, felt like a loser borrowing equipment every session, so I quit.
I could of done some traveling and got pieces of 2nd hand equipment for around £80, but didn't even have that spare money or a car to collect the equipment.


I played Corner Back, but liked to be a Lineman as well, big build with a fast sprint.

In my town rugby was never a big deal, football was the be all and end all and it is no exaggeration to say I played football every day from 10-16.

I miss AF, and might give rugby a try, because I know I will not have to fork out lots of money just to practice with pads.

I would say the following of American football outside of uni, is very low, UFC is well know and popular, even Ice hockey is more popular we actually have semi-professional teams.

It is hard for American football, to achieve a following when rugby is a established sport which any kid can play, where as their is few(any) AF teams outside of uni, the costs of participating are astonishing.

Excellent insight from an Englishman on American football! Obviously cost is a big issue. AF equipment is definitely not cheap. And unless you play for a school or another organization which supplies the equipment, it puts a big burden on those who'd like to participate. Rugby, in comparison, requires little or no investment at all and is obviously a more feasible alternative to young kids.

I played in high school and one year of college, where I didn't have to worry about forking out money for equipment. So I think it's admirable when people get together to play AF without that sort of backing, and still shell out the money for the gear.

You mentioned flag football. Flag football is basically AF without the tackling. Flag football is pretty popular in the U.S., not only because it's cheaper, but probably also because less risk of a serious injury, especially when you have to report to work the following Monday.

And then there's the Super Bowl. I also enjoy immensely and watch it every year. But you'd be interested in knowing that sometimes the playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl are as (or more) enjoyable as the SB itself. Thankfully, the SB has been more competitive in the last several years. But there was a period of time when SB's were generally blowouts, and most people tuned in to watch the halftime show.

[Gandalf]

Good God, hell no! I've watched it for periods of 20 minutes, thought 'WTF?' repeatedly and then given up.

That is not my idea of fun. It seems to be the same with me for all US sports. I deplore basketball, baseball, and American football all for different reasons.

[TitoFan]

Good God, hell no! I've watched it for periods of 20 minutes, thought 'WTF?' repeatedly and then given up.

That is not my idea of fun. It seems to be the same with me for all US sports. I deplore basketball, baseball, and American football all for different reasons.

I have to admit... I myself am not much into watching baseball (too slow) or basketball, particularly during the regular season. I will watch playoff games, however. But I'm curious. What is it specifically about American football that you don't like?

[Gandalf]

Good God, hell no! I've watched it for periods of 20 minutes, thought 'WTF?' repeatedly and then given up.

That is not my idea of fun. It seems to be the same with me for all US sports. I deplore basketball, baseball, and American football all for different reasons.

I have to admit... I myself am not much into watching baseball (too slow) or basketball, particularly during the regular season. I will watch playoff games, however. But I'm curious. What is it specifically about American football that you don't like?

I just find it boring. If you are going to play a sport like that then just play rugby. It's done in 80 minutes.

I just don't enjoy it.

[VictorCharlie]

Good God, hell no! I've watched it for periods of 20 minutes, thought 'WTF?' repeatedly and then given up.

That is not my idea of fun. It seems to be the same with me for all US sports. I deplore basketball, baseball, and American football all for different reasons.

I have to admit... I myself am not much into watching baseball (too slow) or basketball, particularly during the regular season. I will watch playoff games, however. But I'm curious. What is it specifically about American football that you don't like?

I just find it boring. If you are going to play a sport like that then just play rugby. It's done in 80 minutes.

I just don't enjoy it.

Can't a game of cricket go on for days?

[Master]

When I was a teenager during the Refrigerator days who played for Chicago Bear on channel 4 I tried to follow it. I was a Washington Redskin fan just because of the Red Indian/Native American angle and I even had a mug.

At school we played the game after school with no protection and it was well attended. However I have never watched a full match and have not followed it since. It was a fad more me.

Rugby is even worse and the people that I know who play it have serious injuries.

[Cressa121]

I really like it, I've been to a couple of the International Series games at Wembley which have been a lot of fun too (49ers v Broncos and Bucs v Bears).

It can be quite difficult to really get into a sport when you don't have a "home" team to support, which is why I'll always prefer football. I was at our (Sunderland) FA Cup match at Bolton on Saturday and it was mental when we equalised. You can't really experience that kind of passion and atmosphere as an outsider imo.

I do prefer AF to rugby though, I only really watch rugby when the World Cup or 6 Nations is on. I tried to play it when I was in school but decided it wasn't worth it when I tried to tackle one of the biggest lads in our year, went too low and took a savage knee to the face.

Cricket is shit too. If I'm going to spend 5 days watching a sport then there better be a fucking winner at the end of it.

[Andre]

Good God, hell no! I've watched it for periods of 20 minutes, thought 'WTF?' repeatedly and then given up.

That is not my idea of fun. It seems to be the same with me for all US sports. I deplore basketball, baseball, and American football all for different reasons.

I have to admit... I myself am not much into watching baseball (too slow) or basketball, particularly during the regular season. I will watch playoff games, however. But I'm curious. What is it specifically about American football that you don't like?

I just find it boring. If you are going to play a sport like that then just play rugby. It's done in 80 minutes.

I just don't enjoy it.

Can't a game of cricket go on for days?

Yes.

Choice: watch Cricket /watch grass the grow. Same shit over and fucking over.

They even have the name for the sections of the game correct, so as to warn people who are into adrenaline and real sports to stay clear.

[Beanz]

Cricket, football and rugby are played by billions all over the world. Their ubiquity is not merely dictated by how easily even a street kid with no money can easily improvise without a marked out grid/pitch or full set of equipment, but by the very nature of the games. There are regular international competitions and enough variables and spontaneity to always provide room for individual creativity and a spectacle for even the neutral. AF seems more gridlike and inflexible, and insular. Is baseball not huge in Puerto Rico then?

[Beanz]

On a sort of tangentially connected note. Did any of you American guys play Cowboys vs Indians as kids? Or War where one side was German and the other side, in our case British, in yours American?