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

[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.

[TitoFan]

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.

Speaking of the Washington Redskins, M... have you seen this?

Washington D.C. Mayor Reportedly Wants to Talk About Changing Redskins' Nickname | Bleacher Report



I think it's unfortunate that we're putting so much weight on a damn team name. It's been the Washington Redskins since the beginning of time, and we're talking about a storied franchise. I don't think it's meant to denigrate anybody, and logo is quite dignified, IMO.

As if we didn't have more important things to worry about....

[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.

Speaking of the Washington Redskins, M... have you seen this?

Washington D.C. Mayor Reportedly Wants to Talk About Changing Redskins' Nickname | Bleacher Report



I think it's unfortunate that we're putting so much weight on a damn team name. It's been the Washington Redskins since the beginning of time, and we're talking about a storied franchise. I don't think it's meant to denigrate anybody, and logo is quite dignified, IMO.

As if we didn't have more important things to worry about....

I guess if it a derogatory term then it does need to change. I also read somewhere that the previous owner was racist and did not allow black players in the team and the black fans of Washington and nearby supported the loacl rivals which would be Dallas Cowboys. Is that true?

[VictorCharlie]

Absolutely not true Master

[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?

[TitoFan]

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.

Speaking of the Washington Redskins, M... have you seen this?

Washington D.C. Mayor Reportedly Wants to Talk About Changing Redskins' Nickname | Bleacher Report



I think it's unfortunate that we're putting so much weight on a damn team name. It's been the Washington Redskins since the beginning of time, and we're talking about a storied franchise. I don't think it's meant to denigrate anybody, and logo is quite dignified, IMO.

As if we didn't have more important things to worry about....

I guess if it a derogatory term then it does need to change. I also read somewhere that the previous owner was racist and did not allow black players in the team and the black fans of Washington and nearby supported the loacl rivals which would be Dallas Cowboys. Is that true?

I don't doubt that the previous Redskins' owner may have been racist. But unlike baseball, I've never heard of color discrimination in the NFL... maybe a long, long time ago. And for Washington fans of any kind to support the Dallas Cowboys is practically unheard of. The Cowboys and Redskins are in the same division, and are hated rivals.

[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?

[TitoFan]

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?

Oh yeah... baseball's immensely popular in Puerto Rico, as well as in most of the Caribbean. I thoroughly enjoy playing baseball... but watching not so much. The game's a bit too slow for me. However, I am a student of the history of the game, and enjoy its statistics. I'll also watch international competitions, such as the World Baseball Classic, where countries from all over the world compete in elimination brackets, much like the World Cup. And I'll watch World Series games, although for the life of me I've never figured out why they call it the "World Series" when it's only the championship of Major League Baseball in the U.S.

Regarding AF, I don't find it inflexible at all. Maybe it's a matter of what you've grown up with... or maybe it's just a matter of personal taste. I like the play calling, the strategy involved, and the many possibilities when both the offense and defense line up for a play. I find it fascinating that the defense is constantly trying to outguess and confuse the offense into a turnover or a negative play.

I think every sport has its pros and cons... and one thing I like in a sport is the willingness to tweak the rules every so often if it merits tweaking. Not constant changes, mind you. Just the occasional tweak.

[0james0]

I quite like American Football and wish I'd played it when I was younger. I'll watch it if its on TV, but I'm not a fan who follows it or knows players.

Quite enjoy playing the games on Xbox too.

If I had grown up in the US, I would have played it instead of Rugby I expect.

[VictorCharlie]

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?

Colonials and Redcoats

[mrbig1]

You Cats play British football aka soccer. 4 hours of play for a score of 1-0. I rather watch paint dry.

[mattboxingfan]

You Cats play British football aka soccer. 4 hours of play for a score of 1-0. I rather watch paint dry.

I don't particularly like football but even I know it's 90 minutes (1:30 hours) of play with usually a couple minutes of extra time.