I Like Football Because

[crokett]

I am a goal-oriented guy. I do much better when I can see a finish line or have measurable progress. A football field has both a finish line and progress lines. None of the other sports have them. Baseball comes closest with the bases. Soccer is the worst. A field bigger than a footall field with lots of people running around for 90 minutes (not including stoppage) and a score of 1-0?

[dbhost]

I guess you aren't a big SCORE fan are you? I'm more of a motorsports kind of guy... Never could quite figure out football. Guess that comes from spending too much time in the shop with my Dad as a kid...

[LCHIEN]

someone once compared basketball and soccer.

B- Goal is 10 feet in the air
S- Goal is on the ground

B - Goal is about a foot in diameter.
S - Goal is goal is about 8 feet high and 30 feet wide

B - about 100 goals are scored in an average game lasting 48 minutes.
S - 1,2,3 or 4 goals are scored in an average game lasting 90 minutes.

[scmhogg]

I like tennis because: To win the match you must win the last point. You can be down two sets, at 6-0 and love 40 and still win.

Steve

[germdoc]

If you ever have a kid playing soccer at a decent level you WILL become a fan, as I can attest.

Like any other sport, it has its own rhythms. Once you learn the intricacies of play and strategy it becomes infinitely more interesting.

I still like football, but I'd rather watch a 1-0 soccer game than a 47-7 football game.

[shoottx]

Nothing is more boring than watching the Cubs lose 1-0 in a pitchers duel.

[Ed62]

I enjoy football, but I don't consider myself to be a real fan. Basketball is O.K., but it was much better when Michael Jordan and company were around in Chicago . Baseball beats both.

Ed

[leehljp]

Nothing beats Sumo - as M•A•S•H's Charles Emerson Winchester III described it: "watching gargantuan buttocks locked in mortal combat!"

[crokett]

I guess you aren't a big SCORE fan are you? I'm more of a motorsports kind of guy... Never could quite figure out football. Guess that comes from spending too much time in the shop with my Dad as a kid...

I tried watching NASCAR. Lived in Charlotte for 8mos and then visited friends down there on a fairly regular basis. Went to maybe half a dozen races, even was down by the track watching the cars come off the turn but concluded there were better places to drink beer. I mean - a couple hours of going round and round? Shorten the race to a 20 lap sprint or something and it would be a lot more exciting.

[JR]

I think sports break down into three categories:

1. Good TV sports
2. Good live sports
3. Not fun to watch sports

Pro football is an outstanding TV sport: Instant replay of top athletes doing wonderful things. College football is a live sport: it's about the school colors, the bands, the cheerleaders, the tailgating.

Baseball is a live sport: a day in the park, relaxing as the tension slowly ebbs and flows.

Basketball is a TV sport: none of us can afford tickets.

Hockey is a live sport: you can't see the puck on TV (except HDTV) and can't really appreciate the speed or contact on TV.

Soccer bites: score, please score, sometime soon just score a flippin goal. And get up off the ground, that rolling around holding your ankle stuff is for sissies. (BTW - can you imagine what Terel Owens' antics might be after scoring a soccer goal? Yikes.)

Motor racing bites: You can't see the athlete, the difference between the cars is nil, it's too loud at the track, and WAY too boring to watch on TV.

And then the foreign sports, team handball, girls beach team handball (yes, I saw this written up in the China Daily last week), table tennis, badmintion, cricket (crikey), Australian rules football (put some clothes on for cryin out loud! And what's up with your Uncle Bob in the lab coat and fedora waving the flags around like a tommy gun?). Don't get me started.

Rugby's not bad. See football, above, but with more blood.

JR

[Richard in Smithville]

I tried watching NASCAR. Shorten the race to a 20 lap sprint or something and it would be a lot more exciting.

That's why I like Dirt Track racing. Watching small block, open wheel, dirt modified cars running a 35 lap sprint around a 3/8 mile track is really exciting. As long as you can get past the flying dust you will be fine.

We took my cousin( and family) to the track last time they came from England. They couldn't describe in public how good it was because they would have to swear!

[jussi]

My favorite sport was Basketball. I'm really excited this year as both LA teams have a good shot at the playoffs. But lately I've been into MMA. I like both the brawls and the more technical fights. The early UFC fights are really interesting in which there was no weight classes. Where you could see 150lb light weights take on 300lbs heavy weigts. And in some cases win, useless by submission.

[Pappy]

I like to watch football and an occassional baseball game. To both watch and participate, my favorite is drag racing. With the street cars it is 1/4 mile in 15 seconds. Pro stock cars and bikes, 6-7 seconds. The big boys on nitro are running 1000 feet now for safety reasons. Most tracks didn't have the shut down area to safely stop/slow down from 330 mph. They cover that distance in around 4 seconds at speeds still over 300. The feeling of being in the stands when 2 drivers hit the throttle and unleash 7-8,000 HP each is beyond description.

[LCHIEN]

I like tennis because: To win the match you must win the last point. You can be down two sets, at 6-0 and love 40 and still win.

Steve

Ain't that the truth, no other sport can have such a complete momentum change as tennis. Steve's (SCMHogg) example compared say to winning a football game after being behind 42-0 with one minute left to play.

[crokett]

JR's post made me think of another reason I like football - immediate gratification. By that I mean the play is over in a few seconds and you see something different on the next play, rather than, say, staring at the same batter at the plate for what seems like forever with him stepping out of the box to check his gloves/pants/laces/bat/etc.

I actually like hockey, I just don't watch it until the playoffs (which are too long IMO) and yet another reason I like football. The playoffs last a month (well 5 weeks) and it is win or go home. Any playoffs should be win or go home. If there is a series it should be 3 games for the quarters and semis and 5 max for the finals.