Why is American Football the best game in the world?

I was always amazed to see how much Americans are crazy for “home” football. Several times I tried to watch, but I was a fool – square twenty-two men wearing helmets and armor just hit at each other and then get up, and those who didn’t get up, were carried away. Even baseball seemed clearer and less complicated.

But things had changed two years ago when I decided that as a sports fan can not stay with this education gap and read all kinds of American football for dummies’ guides and reviewed several matches.

In the beginning, it was not easy – even in the understanding of the rules of American football viewing learning curve. Players still ran, crash one to another, and you often only after a replay to understand what it is he. Perhaps only now – after two years of intensive viewing, and even playing American football games online, I start to see the court otherwise noted last second tactical changes and to understand the different players in the positions adopted by the decision logic. It has long been realized that the stereotypes about armored bully incorrect, the comparison of it with the rugby and say that rugby is a game for real men because they are not afraid to go without the armor to play, there is no reason.

Observing the extreme complexity of chess parties, which fights not only living figures, but they are moving the coaches, again and again, to make sure that American football is the best sports game gunned down.

And a few points I will explain why.

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 1. The game complexity and depth.

If you manage to overcome the first barriers and begin to focus on what’s going on and how – American football slowly reveals its charm and strategic depth. Imagine that each team is made up of three parts – attack, defense, and special players – and each part of the team has its tactics and tasks. The defenders and attackers are still divided into several groups, which also has its own tactics. And even the particular position player receives a separate function for each phase of the game. American football is the start-stop game, and that is different from the so-called total free flow of games like football or control the free movement of games like basketball, where the action takes place continuously.

American football game one phase lasts just a few seconds, and then the teams have forty seconds to prepare for the next step. You say, dull? By no means. It is during the preparation phase when you can understand exactly what tactical schemes carried the team and saw what they plan to do next step.

The non-game action takes place in a non-stop: changing players, the vertical order passed out a hierarchy (from the head coach to the ball thrower or quarterbacks). Quarterback sets out the chosen tactical scheme of their attack. The defense is trying to understand what they expect, one is going to attack quarterbacks, others keep their Square areas. Attack abruptly changes the player’s field position, the defense respond, quarterbacks during last seconds adopt a solution that can completely dislodge defense of crayfish. And it all happens in a few seconds before the actual start of the game when the ball ends up in the hands of quarterbacks. Easy to get lost? Yes, but incredibly absorbing.

Much of what I said, and team volume – there are 53 players in the game appears 40-45. Chief coach has three coordinators, and these, in turn, coaches each position. The whole team is trained by 22 coaches – some of which are monitored by the action of the highest point of the stadium and transmit radio observations. During the match, the square is seven judges. Team an average of about 100 different game chart showing each game uses about 20-30.


 2. Openness of technologies

While the football authorities stubborn as goats, trying to follow in the nineteenth century, created the rules and did not accept any innovation, the NFL and the American Football takes them with open arms. For the win and the players and spectators. During the match, quarterbacks, and head coach keeps contact radio assistance to each other instructions and tasks stadium supporters to cause as much noise that the opposing team would be difficult to hold a conversation. An interesting thing – the stadium murmurs when attacking opponents. When the attack is going to insiders stadium quiet and only after a successful phase all stood upon their feet.

Technology helps judges. Coaches have the right several times to challenge the decisions of the judges and the judges then meet in a special shack and review different angles recorded episode video.

Well, the biggest pleasure of the viewers – neither one sports broadcast did not see working directors and computer graphics professionals. Real-time drawn computer lines, operators manage to draw lines and arrows to help the viewer understand what tactics used by both teams and in which players need to pay attention, and the minute breaks you get so many and so interesting “cut” the statistics that one can only wonder television crews notion. And the audience does not suffer the stadium – an image is displayed and repeated on giant screens – Jumbotrons. The new Dallas Cowboys stadium of the team at the top of the screen hanging length than a lot or a little sixty meters.

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 3. Competition System and deadly details

Admit how often we lose interest on the part of the season the football championship, when at twenty rounds for what it turns out that the champion of this year will be “real.” As blunt out regular NBA season routine, when the team has to play more than 80 matches. As we almost always know that two or three of the clubs with the most money will become champions of their country, and only once every ten or fifteen years strikes lightning from a clear sky.

American football is not all that. Its regular season short – just four months and at the time the team has played only sixteen matches. And each of its gold value. Playoffs even shorter – one match, and either you travel to the next stage, or your season is over. And of course, Superbowl. The biggest sporting event in the United States.

Of the 32 NFL teams, you can not predict which will be the champion. Yes, always, there are four-five chores, but very often fired any average healthy person or even “dark horse.” American football you can not buy success and champion title – the whole team has a salary cap and the weakest annual sustipėja getting the highest newcomers NFL draft choices.

It appears little raffle items? Maybe, but as a spectator and fan, I always better to choose a league, but not the championship, which has ten years there are only two contenders for the champions, while the remaining eighteen clubs perform extras role and importance only local Derbi or fighting for survival in the league.

The importance of the match and transmitted to the micro level, where every decision can change their course and outcome. Everyone – from the ball and kicked with feets tiny error catching it. Therefore, the resulting position, which at first glance looks ridiculous, like a player whose only job correctly help the ball spiriančiajam. Funny? Absolutely not. This is a surgical precision skill because everything happens within fractions of a second and centimeter than there being placed ball, the kick may be inaccurate, losing points and maybe even Lost match or lost all season. The constant tension charms.

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 4. Tradition and the attitude of the fans

Most countries are similarly crazy for football or basketball as US residents for their American football and the NFL, so there is not anything exceptional. Anything else is the same fans, the NFL, and club management approach.

NFL stadiums are not the visitors’ fans for zones, no fences, and armed security. Guest crowd mixes with the home team’s fans and not afraid to make them out of the stadium will bear feet forward. In the worst case, they will receive a good faith mocks the singing, but most will be left alone, or even invited to drink beer.

Very exciting NFL tradition – the so-called “tailgate parties” when the crowd well before the match at the stadium uses, setteth grill, scrape the meat, drinks beer, throwing the ball and communicate with each other to face their own and foreign supporters of the team. Some tailgate organizers even do not go to the stadium and the match views per TV set near a stadium and feeling the atmosphere.

NFL league is a money machine, and it does not hide, so the audience is given special attention, in particular for families, because the League is well aware that this was growing their customers for decades. Families around the stadium and it should feel comfortable and safe (for the NFL’s curse punished quickly and severely), and football has become a pastime. This leads to tailgate parties, dancing cheerleaders, games, and sweepstakes, music bands, over the stadium clearing military fighter (NFL maintains very close ties with the army), small football shows and other things that create a great holiday. The festival, which is the city stadium occurs only eight times a year.

To say that this is pop and popcorn? I agree. But, again, what is more, useful and more fun – a celebration or anxiety constrained city and mobilization of riot control officers?

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5. Fantasy Football

Fantasy football is played in Europe, but the scale of America striking socks off, undermining the legs. The system is very simple – the different players in the event of an own fantasy team, players assessed points, and if your team collect more points than your fantasy league opponent, you win. Everything. Children’s game.

Only in America (and beyond, as most fantasy football leagues going online) by playing all – even the senators, congressmen, Hollywood stars or the most powerful NFL commissioner. It is estimated that only in America playing fantasy football for more than twenty million people, about it is written in the book is the New York Times bestsellers about it for a TV series, and even appeared in a separate profession – fantasy football analysts.

The biggest Internet portals – ESPN, CBS, and Yahoo – have invested millions in the most modern fantasy football software to attract players to himself, even in a direct match during the major television channels always running out of lines that inform how many fantasy points currently has collected the one or the other player.

Why fantasy football so popular? You might feel like to be a team manager, to participate in the draft and select a dream team. Fantasy league can only play with your friends for the main prize – a glass of beer or try to win thousands of prizes, but you always feel they have an enormous friendly community.

Fantasy football had tremendous economic benefits. More people began to take an interest not only for the team, for the sick, but also to other NFL teams whose players belong to their ‘Fantasy League’ increased viewability match rose hips and income from television broadcasts.

Fantasy football uniqueness and importance are demonstrated by the fact one – to two years; the NFL ordered the clubs during the match publish fantasy points collected during the big screens in stadiums that fantasy football players immediately see what they are doing.


It’s madness, but very fun madness.

And that’s not all the arguments, but my suggestion is very straightforward and clear – if you like sports, get rid of unnecessary stereotypes, take a look at American football, dig deeper into the nuances and perhaps then agree with me that this is the best game in the world.