Quote Originally Posted by boyla View Post
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.