3 Reasons Why People Love Football

[Serenity595]

3 Reasons Why People Love Football

Introduction

The Superbowl.

It's the big game of the year that people all across America watch while huddled close together in front of their massive plasma TV screens. The football commentators call out every play that is happening before their eyes. The action is fast. The results are brutal. Thousands of shouts from adoring fans is heard throughout the country as each touchdown is made.

But what causes this love for football? Is there something deeper going on inside people's heads when they cheer for their team? Read these 3 reasons why people love football, and you'll be able to figure out the game plan that's going on inside the mind.

Reason #3. Football gets people excited

Football is intense. There's a reason why fans sit at the edge of their seat as soon as the quarterback huts the ball. The hype alone is enough to give people an adrenaline rush. Emotional highs are like a drug. When your favorite team makes that a long run to the touchdown zone in the last few minutes of the game, you can't help but feel overwhelmed with joy.

It's not just the good feelings that keep people coming back to the TV screen, though. It's the passion. Even if you are a San Francisco 49ers fan, the sheer emotional extremes you experienced during that loss can be addicting. For some people, it's not the specific feeling they're feeling that draws them, but that they're feeling something at all.

Reason #2. Football gives people something to talk about

Humans are social creatures. We love being around each other. We love to talk. It's the reason why you're on this forum right now. For many people, football is the perfect conversational avenue to take when you have nothing else to do at the office's water cooler. We like discussing sports, not simply because we enjoy the thrill of talking about entertainment, but because we enjoy the thrill of talking to others.

As a society, we love knowledge. We crave it. Why do you think people read the news? It's no different with football. It's not just having that information in our heads that makes us desire it, however. It's sharing that information with others. Think about this: how much would you watch football if you could never talk to anyone about it? Exactly my point.

Reason #1. Football makes people feel like they're a part of a team

Football is all about teamwork. Each player must put in their work and effort to get that trophy. But as people, players need more than that. They need encouragement and support. That's where fans like you come in. You are the one that's got their backs. You feel like you're with them on the field. Every win and loss hits them just as much as it hits you. You're family. You're connected. And that's why you love football.

When people talk about football games, why do you think they use words like "we" when describing what happened? It's because, in some small way, they are a part of the team. The fans is what keeps football alive. Our empathetic nature is what draws us close. Either we go big, or go home. But at least we went together.

Conclusion

There's many reasons why people say they love football. But it goes deeper than the surface. It's not just a game. Football is more than that.

It's a hobby. It's a community. It's a team.

It's a lifestyle.

So the next time you talk to someone about football, tell them why you absolutely love it. Then come the next Super Bowl, show them.

 

[Patchouli]

Super Bowl? More like Super Boring.



And that about sums up my love for sports.

 

[Zennai]

Until Grifball and Spleef become official sports I'm not interested. A nice article, though.

 

[xHallucinationx]

Your avatar makes me conclude you put way too much thought into making this thread.

 

[Serenity595]

Super Bowl? More like Super Boring.



And that about sums up my love for sports.

To each his own.

Until Grifball and Spleef become official sports I'm not interested. A nice article, though.

Haha, thanks!

Your avatar makes me conclude you put way too much thought into making this thread.

:|

 

[Creeper]

'Merica.

 

[Unismurfsity]

But... so does every other sport... in the Olympics? That are much cooler than football.

 

[TheGurw]

At first I assumed this was about football. I am disappoint.

This sport is more logically known as handegg, since the rest of the world plays the football you 'Mericans know as soccer. Silly 'Mericans, pretending they're the only people on earth.

 

[Serenity595]

At first I assumed this was about football. I am disappoint.

This sport is more logically known as handegg, since the rest of the world plays the football you 'Mericans know as soccer. Silly 'Mericans, pretending they're the only people on earth.

Well, we call it Football here... I don't see how that makes us pretend like we're the only people on earth...

 

[GreenEarth]

Pretty much applies to all sports, but mostly to team sports, you will never get that much excitement from a singles sport like tennis or whatever

And that about sums up my love for sports.

I think a big reason why you feel that way is because the sports are broadcast in a specific way. Drowned in corporate interests, so they constantly interrupt the action for commercials or retarded replays brought to you by Toyota. Don't even get me started on NBC and how they butcher the Olympics every 2 years.

The recent winter X-Games were pretty entertaining, I liked the ski big air 15 minute heats where it was non stop jumping and tricks. Rally racing or Formula 1 is also perdy cewl, but seldom ever shown. I mean for fucks sake Austin Texas spent huge amounts of money to construct a new Formula 1 Circuit and they didn't even broadcast the fucking race for Texans unless you had cable ._. common man...

 

[Patchouli]

Pretty much applies to all sports, but mostly to team sports, you will never get that much excitement from a singles sport like tennis or whatever

I think a big reason why you feel that way is because the sports are broadcast in a specific way. Drowned in corporate interests, so they constantly interrupt the action for commercials or retarded replays brought to you by Toyota.

No, that has nothing to do with it.

 

[Zennai]

so they constantly interrupt the action for commercials

But the commercials are the interesting part! ESPECIALLY during the Superbowl.

 

[Serenity595]

But the commercials are the interesting part! ESPECIALLY during the Superbowl.

 

[TheGurw]

Well, we call it Football here... I don't see how that makes us pretend like we're the only people on earth...

It makes y'all look ignorant/stuck-up to take the name of a game that worldwide and in several languages is called football (or something very similar, for example Ukranians call it футбол; pronounced fute - `bowl) and then apply it to a game that has almost nothing to do with feet, and is played with a pointed prolate spheroid (which can hardly be called a ball).

Granted, the sport has (very limited) roots in Association Football (what you would call soccer, and most of the world just calls football). However, it more strongly derives from rugby, as made obvious from the style of play and the ball itself. I would think something related to rugby would be more appropriate - but how hard is it to just make a new name when inventing a new sport? Apparently pretty difficult for professors of some of the most prestigious colleges in the USA; namely Rutgers, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, and Princeton.

I'd prefer to see it named something like Snap Rugby. Just my opinion, hate all you want.


Also my opinion, I dislike American Football to begin with. I don't even like the Canadian version of it. Too much pansy, too many rules, too many reasons to stop play. Rugby is harsh, dirty, and much more like a battlefield, which is really what team sports are about - civilized mankind's way of testing our capabilities against each other. Jus' sayin'.

 

[Serenity595]

It makes y'all look ignorant/stuck-up to take the name of a game that worldwide and in several languages is called football (or something very similar, for example Ukranians call it футбол; pronounced fute - `bowl) and then apply it to a game that has almost nothing to do with feet, and is played with a pointed prolate spheroid (which can hardly be called a ball).

Granted, the sport has (very limited) roots in Association Football (what you would call soccer, and most of the world just calls football). However, it more strongly derives from rugby, as made obvious from the style of play and the ball itself. I would think something related to rugby would be more appropriate - but how hard is it to just make a new name when inventing a new sport? Apparently pretty difficult for professors of some of the most prestigious colleges in the USA; namely Rutgers, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, and Princeton.

I'd prefer to see it named something like Snap Rugby. Just my opinion, hate all you want.


Also my opinion, I dislike American Football to begin with. I don't even like the Canadian version of it. Too much pansy, too many rules, too many reasons to stop play. Rugby is harsh, dirty, and much more like a battlefield, which is really what team sports are about - civilized mankind's way of testing our capabilities against each other. Jus' sayin'.

It'd be nice if you kept your nationalistic libel to yourself...

I appreciate part of your opinion, though.

I'd prefer to see it named something like Snap Rugby. Just my opinion, hate all you want.

 

[brantbren]

Not to say I dislike American Football (cause I like it), but when is this going to be a national sport?

 

[xHallucinationx]

The superbowl: The only time you WANT to see a commercial.

 

[StTheo]

It makes y'all look ignorant/stuck-up to take the name of a game that worldwide and in several languages is called football (or something very similar, for example Ukranians call it футбол; pronounced fute - `bowl) and then apply it to a game that has almost nothing to do with feet, and is played with a pointed prolate spheroid (which can hardly be called a ball).

Granted, the sport has (very limited) roots in Association Football (what you would call soccer, and most of the world just calls football). However, it more strongly derives from rugby, as made obvious from the style of play and the ball itself. I would think something related to rugby would be more appropriate - but how hard is it to just make a new name when inventing a new sport? Apparently pretty difficult for professors of some of the most prestigious colleges in the USA; namely Rutgers, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, and Princeton.

I'd prefer to see it named something like Snap Rugby. Just my opinion, hate all you want.


Also my opinion, I dislike American Football to begin with. I don't even like the Canadian version of it. Too much pansy, too many rules, too many reasons to stop play. Rugby is harsh, dirty, and much more like a battlefield, which is really what team sports are about - civilized mankind's way of testing our capabilities against each other. Jus' sayin'.

Right after the US beat Algeria in the 2010 World Cup:

If we go all the way this year - if we win the World Cup - the whole rest of the world has to then refer to the sport as "soccer".

 

[oozinator]

3 Reasons Why People Love Football

Introduction

The Superbowl.

It's the big game of the year that people all across America watch while huddled close together in front of their massive plasma TV screens. The football commentators call out every play that is happening before their eyes. The action is fast. The results are brutal. Thousands of shouts from adoring fans is heard throughout the country as each touchdown is made.

But what causes this love for football? Is there something deeper going on inside people's heads when they cheer for their team? Read these 3 reasons why people love football, and you'll be able to figure out the game plan that's going on inside the mind.

Reason #3. Football gets people excited

Football is intense. There's a reason why fans sit at the edge of their seat as soon as the quarterback huts the ball. The hype alone is enough to give people an adrenaline rush. Emotional highs are like a drug. When your favorite team makes that a long run to the touchdown zone in the last few minutes of the game, you can't help but feel overwhelmed with joy.

It's not just the good feelings that keep people coming back to the TV screen, though. It's the passion. Even if you are a San Francisco 49ers fan, the sheer emotional extremes you experienced during that loss can be addicting. For some people, it's not the specific feeling they're feeling that draws them, but that they're feeling something at all.

Reason #2. Football gives people something to talk about

Humans are social creatures. We love being around each other. We love to talk. It's the reason why you're on this forum right now. For many people, football is the perfect conversational avenue to take when you have nothing else to do at the office's water cooler. We like discussing sports, not simply because we enjoy the thrill of talking about entertainment, but because we enjoy the thrill of talking to others.

As a society, we love knowledge. We crave it. Why do you think people read the news? It's no different with football. It's not just having that information in our heads that makes us desire it, however. It's sharing that information with others. Think about this: how much would you watch football if you could never talk to anyone about it? Exactly my point.

Reason #1. Football makes people feel like they're a part of a team

Football is all about teamwork. Each player must put in their work and effort to get that trophy. But as people, players need more than that. They need encouragement and support. That's where fans like you come in. You are the one that's got their backs. You feel like you're with them on the field. Every win and loss hits them just as much as it hits you. You're family. You're connected. And that's why you love football.

When people talk about football games, why do you think they use words like "we" when describing what happened? It's because, in some small way, they are a part of the team. The fans is what keeps football alive. Our empathetic nature is what draws us close. Either we go big, or go home. But at least we went together.

Conclusion

There's many reasons why people say they love football. But it goes deeper than the surface. It's not just a game. Football is more than that.

It's a hobby. It's a community. It's a team.

It's a lifestyle.

So the next time you talk to someone about football, tell them why you absolutely love it. Then come the next Super Bowl, show them.

But I think the same can be said of any team sport.

What you should really ask is why people like American football, in contrast to other team sports.

Personally I really get peeved when people knock off American football, especially saying the other football (soccer in the US) is much better.
It's like saying apples are better than oranges.

If we compared the two, soccer is to American football as RTS is to TBS (turn-based strat).

In soccer, events are dynamic - there's a lot of player movement on the offensive side, but a lot of the time is taken up by passing and coordinating attacks. When the attack is set up perfectly and makes it through the other team's defenses, the shot is still blocked 80-90% of the time (provided that the goalkeeper knows what he's doing). There's a lot of emotions that come with this though, which is the draw to soccer. Soccer is also much more improvisational than American football, which I believe alienates many soccer fans to American football.

In football, events are punctuated, but they too have a certain dynamic element to it. You can tell when a team has momentum when they break out of hustle (a short informal, on-field planning phase) or skip it completely. But what's so great about American football is the old adage: Even the best laid plans go awry.

A bull-dozing offensive momentum can be stopped dead with an interception. Good teams will understand it's part of the game and move on, while bad ones will lose confidence and begin to doubt. These things happen because football is substantially riskier than soccer.

In soccer, the winning strategy is to keep possession of the ball (pretty simple and straightforward). For the offense, deciding whether to pass or shoot is what it boils down to. If you fail, it just means that the other team's goalie will get possession of it. Turnovers happen all the time, so it's not a big deal to miss a shot, especially if you have plenty of time left in the game.

However in football, the winning strategy is having to risk the ball - and you have to do it with every single play. Despite all the muscle behind it, football is a thinking man's game. It's about knowing when and how to risk the ball. I say "how" because you may think a running play is much safer than a passing play. It is, but not by that much. A defensive line ready for a running play can force back the other team's offensive progress or even force a fumble (losing the ball in your possession). However, if you can fake out the defense into believing you're doing a different play (passing versus running), you have a huge advantage. But if the other team sees right through you, you are S.O.L.

To me, soccer is about playing it safe, and football is all about the gamble. The closest soccer gets to this is the mind game between the goalie and the striker, and that's only two players. In football, the risk is borne by all - all the on-field players and the coaches.

Speaking of coaching, football coaches are much more invested in the game than soccer coaches by game mechanic. Soccer players operate with much more independence than their football counterparts. Thus as a spectator, "playing coach" for football engages more of my strategic thinking than soccer does. Whenever I watch a soccer game, I keep thinking I'm playing "connect the dots". What I mean is I look at who has possession of the ball and then I figure out who should be moving where, who the ball handler can pass it to, or what he'll do with it. And I'm often right. No big surprises.

For football, it's much different. When the teams line up at the line of scrimmage and I'm "playing coach", it's more difficult figuring out what play they're trying to do (or should be doing), and even when I'm totally sure of what's going to happen, I'm not 100% sure that it'll play out correctly. So much can happen once the football is hiked. The offense can pull off something unexpected, or the opposing defense can force a passing play into a running play on the fly. It's these kind of things that make football interesting and in my opinion, funner to "play coach". The inherent unpredictability of the game causes you to re-think the plays and keeps you wondering how things would have been different if another one had been done instead. Vocalizing these alternate strategies to other fans can create interesting conversation.

But when amazing plays do happen, they are extraordinarily beautiful things. Can you imagine how difficult it is to find a running receiver 50 yards upfield and throw the ball within one yard of him? Can you imagine how difficult it is to navigate at full sprint through defensive gaps that can easily close in under a blink of an eye? In football, windows of opportunity are short and fast reaction times are crucial. In my opinion, soccer is much more forgiving for the players in these aspects (amazing goal saves aside).

It seems to me that until football and soccer fans can get it through their heads straight that the two sports shouldn't be judge by the same standards, there will always be argument among the two camps over which is "better". For critics of football that say the sport isn't fast-paced enough, football's already tried that. It was called "Arena Football", and either because of the game (or perhaps the lack of marketing), it was a flop.

But I like to think that football fans prefer the game to be "slow" because it lends itself to more strategizing this way. And you probably can't sway football fans otherwise.

 

[bbgunshot]

It makes y'all look ignorant/stuck-up to take the name of a game that worldwide and in several languages is called football (or something very similar, for example Ukranians call it футбол; pronounced fute - `bowl) and then apply it to a game that has almost nothing to do with feet, and is played with a pointed prolate spheroid (which can hardly be called a ball).

Granted, the sport has (very limited) roots in Association Football (what you would call soccer, and most of the world just calls football). However, it more strongly derives from rugby, as made obvious from the style of play and the ball itself. I would think something related to rugby would be more appropriate - but how hard is it to just make a new name when inventing a new sport? Apparently pretty difficult for professors of some of the most prestigious colleges in the USA; namely Rutgers, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, and Princeton.

I'd prefer to see it named something like Snap Rugby. Just my opinion, hate all you want.


Also my opinion, I dislike American Football to begin with. I don't even like the Canadian version of it. Too much pansy, too many rules, too many reasons to stop play. Rugby is harsh, dirty, and much more like a battlefield, which is really what team sports are about - civilized mankind's way of testing our capabilities against each other. Jus' sayin'.

If I'm in another country, I'll call football American football, and I'll call soccer football. I don't see how the name of a sport implies ignorance. In Bulgaria, you shake you head left to right to say yes, and up and down to say no. If I do it the opposite way in my country am I ignorant to other countries culture? I admit a more distinct name would have eased confusion... But there isn't a way to please everyone. That's my opinion.