Is American Football popular anywhere in Europe? (UK, Russian, Europeans)
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It's not popular at all and I doubt it ever will be.
I like American football more than football, which is rather boring to me as most of the time nothing significant happens. American football is much more action packed, makes for a better entertainment. It's like comparing 100m sprint to some long distance runs (3000m, 5000m etc.), where for the most part it's just 'meh, they're still running...'.
I actually enjoy long distance runs a lot more. 100 m only lasts 10 seconds and you don't understand anything. That's probably why I pass out if I want to watch some american football.
I've attended several NFL games in London and plan to see the Vikings play the Browns in October. In Denmark, amateur Ameriacn football has been around since at least the 90s. One thing that constrains football in Europe is the institutional nature of Amateur football. In most cases, there is no primary school or college sports. Everything is based around amateur sport club facilities, subsidized in many cases by local governments, where kids through adults are organized into club teams. This is after-school, after-work sports and there just isn't the level discipline associated with mandatory attendenace. Still, new sports do pop up and hold on in some countries. Lacrosse in the Czech Republic is a good example.
I agree and have tried watching it a couple of times. What is it with all the long breaks? It is like watching paint dry. I also hate American sports commentators. They all sound so phony.
"The NFL’s popularity is all the more remarkable when you inspect the fare it has to offer each week on television. An average professional football game lasts 3 hours and 12 minutes, but if you tally up the time when the ball is actually in play, the action amounts to a mere 11 minutes."
What is also amazing is that an NFL team only play 16 regular games per season!
What is also amazing is that an NFL team only play 16 regular games per season!
Actually that's too many. The season used to be 14 games. On top of that, it used to be mostly on Sunday afternoons and one game Monday night each week, and two games on Thanksgiving Day, a Thursday, just one day a year, one day.
Over the years the season has expanded to Sunday nights, Thursday nights and even early Sunday mornings with the Wembley games.
One reason why US spectators withstand all the play stoppages and advertisements was/is because the game is so rare: it used to be just 17 Sundays many games and a few Saturdays including the playoffs, and 13 Mondays per year, plus one single Thursday. Per year.
Now it's a few more days and nights and mornings a week and a couple of weeks longer, but still a relatively rare occurrence.
And that's the way it should be. Exceptional.
Many people already feel that even now the presence of the game has reached the point of oversaturation.
At that point it becomes disgusting.
Personally I hope it never becomes popular in Europe and that the NFL even fails in its attempt to score niche markets in London, lately talk of Mexico City, and elsewhere around the world.
I have heard Europeans call it American football, but more humorously call it "air ball." The latter seems to make a lot of sense.
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