Football 101

[JamesSavik]

After putting up my annual NFL Preview in my blog, I got a note from a friend:

 

I like watching football but having never played it, I often don't understand what's going on. It's obvious that you know your football. Heck, you picked the Giants as a wildcard team last year. Could you do a few blog issues and explain how the game works?

 

Yes! I would be delighted too. You might be surprised how many gay football fans (and players) are out there!

 

Let me know if there are any specific topics you want to know about.

 

 

Here are a few reasons you might want to watch...

 

 

Chris Sims, Tampa Bay

 

 

A younger Peyton Manning on the sidelines during his college days at at Tennessee.

 

 

Philip Rivers, San Diego

 

 

Carson Palmer, Cincinnati

 

 

"Big Ben" Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh

[Razor]

I went to football games every Friday night for three years.

 

 

I still do not know how the game is played. All I know is that when my guy runs across the line with the ball, I play the fight song.

[glomph]

You might be surprised how many gay football fans (and players) are out there!

 

With all those tight ends and wide receivers, it's no surprise. And the QB looks pretty chummy with the center on most plays.

 

A guy told me that his real estate agent in Charleston, SC, is gay and used to be a football star.

 

The pictures are nice, but you really can't see what the players look like during a game. I always thought Doug Flutie was worth watching, though.

 

 

All I know is that when my guy runs across the line with the ball, I play the fight song.

 

That's basically it. If one of your guys kicks the ball between those big vertical bars, that's good, too. It helps if you can stop the other guys from doing either of those things. You get four shots at moving the ball 10 yards down the field. That's 0.9144 meters or about 20 cubits, for those of you who don't use the US system. Then the other team gets their four tries. The rest are details.

[Bondwriter]

I played a little scrimmage way back then (James, you had to be in your early years of college...) I never got to play myself. I tried to make up with your blog entry, but sorry, I still don't get it. I'm a sucker for baseball, though, even if we get very little to watch over here.

[Krista]

I like to watch football and play flag/touch/easy tackle football for fun with the friends sometimes, but the guys get a little rough... and I'm not really a star in the making either. As far as Pro-Football goes I don't like watching it until the Superbowl, but College football I'm a huge fan of and I can sit for hours and watch games. I like to watch and play basketball. Watch softball and baseball as well. I'm a sports freak.

 

 

Krista

[Graeme]

I was chatting online with an American friend a couple of years ago and got him to explain the game to me. I can't say that I really understand it, but I can appreciate it more than I used to.

 

For many sports, you have to have some sort of buy in before you can become passionate. What that buy in can vary from person to person, but if you don't have it, you'll never understand how others can be so mad on the subject.

 

There's not enough American football on Australian TV for me to ever become passionate about your game -- sorry . But then I'm not even passionate about Aussie Rules football, though I do follow what's happening. Especially since my team is currently top of the ladder

 

Wait until the Beijing Olypmics, though, and I'll be more interested in sports. My only complaint, though, is that the American Gymnastics Team appear to pick their male competitors based on appearance. The fact that they are also great gymnasts is an added extra, but their good looks makes it difficult to concentrate on the actual sport...

 

Hmm... I seem to be diverting this thread into sports in general, rather than American football. Feel free to hijack it back

[GK1219]

anyone who needs it explained i played defensive tackle and running back before i blew my knees out

in highschool none the less

[Rakuten06]

I was chatting online with an American friend a couple of years ago and got him to explain the game to me. I can't say that I really understand it, but I can appreciate it more than I used to.

 

For many sports, you have to have some sort of buy in before you can become passionate. What that buy in can vary from person to person, but if you don't have it, you'll never understand how others can be so mad on the subject.

 

There's not enough American football on Australian TV for me to ever become passionate about your game -- sorry . But then I'm not even passionate about Aussie Rules football, though I do follow what's happening. Especially since my team is currently top of the ladder

 

Wait until the Beijing Olypmics, though, and I'll be more interested in sports. My only complaint, though, is that the American Gymnastics Team appear to pick their male competitors based on appearance. The fact that they are also great gymnasts is an added extra, but their good looks makes it difficult to concentrate on the actual sport...

 

Hmm... I seem to be diverting this thread into sports in general, rather than American football. Feel free to hijack it back

 

Hey, even if you follow what's happened, I narrowed the list of potential supporting teams down to St. Kilda and Hawthorn. Go Nick Riewoldt or Buddy Franklin!

[canundra]

After putting up my annual NFL Preview in my blog, I got a note from a friend:

 

I like watching football but having never played it, I often don't understand what's going on. It's obvious that you know your football. Heck, you picked the Giants as a wildcard team last year. Could you do a few blog issues and explain how the game works?

 

Yes! I would be delighted too. You might be surprised how many gay football fans (and players) are out there!

 

Let me know if there are any specific topics you want to know about.

 

 

Here are a few reasons you might want to watch...

 

 

Chris Sims, Tampa Bay

 

 

A younger Peyton Manning on the sidelines during his college days at at Tennessee.

 

 

Philip Rivers, San Diego

 

 

Carson Palmer, Cincinnati

 

 

"Big Ben" Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh

 

Wait, what?? That's not Philip Rivers. That's Scott Porter who plays Jason Street on 'Friday Night Lights' on NBC. (Excellent show. Go watch it ) This is Philip Rivers.

 

 

And he's a douche. Wasn't he the guy who got into a shouting match with a member of the crowd during a football game? Yeah. Douche. That smile just screams, "Douche!"

 

And you forgot Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. (Whoo! Go team! )

 

 

And Eli Manning of the New York Giants. (Who I think is sooooo much better looking than his older brother.)

 

 

Oh! And Brady Quinn of, I believe, the Cleveland Browns.

 

 

So yes. Lots and lots of reasons to watch football. These are only three

[YaP]

Lol, i'll never get what American football is about.. (or why you guys even call it football - except for those field goals (??) it's never played with the foot ).. except for watching some cute guys of course.. but you can't see much of them the way they are dressed up, can you? I rather watch "real" football (what you would call soccer).. at least the guys don't hide their bodies behind armor and masks.. and they even go shirtless after the game (if they won ).

But its probably as Graeme said.. if you don't have some sort of "buy in".. you'll never get passionate about the game. And American football still isn't really popular here, although there are a few teams now - but they never show a game on TV (at least as far as I know)...

[LittleBuddhaTW]

I like to watch football and play flag/touch/easy tackle football for fun with the friends sometimes, but the guys get a little rough... and I'm not really a star in the making either. As far as Pro-Football goes I don't like watching it until the Superbowl, but College football I'm a huge fan of and I can sit for hours and watch games. I like to watch and play basketball. Watch softball and baseball as well. I'm a sports freak.

 

Yeah, I'm much more of a college football fan than pro, but that may because my team, the Detroit Lions, absolutely suck.

 

My college team, however, the Florida Gators, is going to spank every other team in the SEC this year. Tim Tebow is the greatest college quarterback ever to have played the game ... and he's H-O-T!!!

[Cynical Romantic]

I'll probably never "get" American football either. I do have a relative liking for the other kind (that's "soccer" to us North Americans).

 

But hockey will always be the ultimate sport. Everything else pales in comparison.

 

Admittedly it's a bit further down on the eye candy scale, mostly cause of the preponderance of mullets, broken noses and missing front teeth among players, but there are still some nice ones worth watching. Still, I've never been one of those girls who can watch hockey just for the players. I'm a hard-core fan of the sport, and anyone who disagrees with me will probably end up with their sweater over their head and a few choice punches. (Just kidding!)

 

Okay, enough hijacking...