A female friend of mine years back used to play American Football locally. It was a passionate affair. For my friend the whole scene seemed completely immersive, and the Super Bowl was the pinnacle of her enjoyment and involvement. She told me it was because it appealed on so many levels. Passion of being a supporter was obvious, but for her it was the chess-like intricacies of the game, and the fact that every facet of the game / every player / every play could be studied. Perhaps the fact that the game plays out over a longer period of time, with plenty of ad breaks, mean that there’s more time for this to happen than in a rugby match?
I asked her questions to bring this fascination out and enjoy it with her - ‘So this Mahomes guy, what makes him so special??’. She’d tell me about Mahomes’ high school years and NFL career since, along with social and family background, and why he’s such an amazing sportsman as well as human being! My eyes would glaze over as we got deeper into stats so I’d switch to another question about defensive formations, why the whole offense seem to go and sit down after one play, or whatever!! I don’t think she was too fussed about the half time concert
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missF wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:06 pm
…and the fact that every facet of the game / every player / every play could be studied. Perhaps the fact that the game plays out over a longer period of time, with plenty of ad breaks, mean that there’s more time for this to happen than in a rugby match?
I think of football as being a series of coordinated set plays executed over a 60 minute period as part of an intricately planned game strategy as opposed to a 60 minute continues game. I think that’s partly why I don’t like it. 15 seconds of action, then the clock stops, repeat for 60 minutes. I think only Americans could take two to three hours to play a one hour game. I remember reading some where once that in a particular Super Bowl, out of the 60 minute game there was only something like 10 minutes of actual action.
I asked her questions to bring this fascination out and enjoy it with her…
What an amazingly generous thing to do with and for a friend! I love this!
jkbarnes wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:30 pm
I think of football as being a series of coordinated set plays executed over a 60 minute period as part of an intricately planned game strategy as opposed to a 60 minute continues game.
Yes! That’s absolutely how my friend saw it.
I think another aspect that thrills some people is the sheer amount of stats that are generated by a season of games and then a super bowl
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missF wrote: ↑Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:39 am
I think another aspect that thrills some people is the sheer amount of stats that are generated by a season of games and then a super bowl
If we’re talking stats, then you’ve got to look at baseball. Hardcore baseball fans take stats to a whole new level! It can be insane.
I feel the same, but Mahomes often manages to find a way
I start off thinking I'll go to bed at half time, but often I stay to the end, but tomorrow I need to do some work in the morning.
I used to have a recorder that had a 30 second advance, so you could watch a play, and then press the button and go straight to the next play. My current record has a 60 second button which isn't so good.
Im still hung over from last night so no beers but still looking forward to it. Being a Rams fan its KC for me all the way!!! Mahomes is just crazy good!