Super Bowl Sunday is nearly upon us—the biggest sporting event in the U.S.A. For many fans around the world, this is the most exciting game of the year.
But I’m here to offer a new perspective on the issue. Wait for it…dare I say it…football is…uhh, well, kind of boring.
Now before I’m bombarded with hate mail from every fan base in America, hear me out.
To begin with, there is a 30 second stoppage between every play. Nothing screams excitement like players huddled around in a circle doing nothing athletic whatsoever.
According to a study done by the Wall Street Journal, there is only 11 actual minutes of action in a football game. This study also mentioned that an average NFL broadcast shows more replays than actual game footage.
By the time the quarterback gets everyone in position and the center finally snaps the ball, the play lasts for a solid seven seconds.
And seven seconds is a generous amount of time; most NFL plays don’t last that long. According to the same study, an average NFL play only lasts four seconds.
Now when the ball is actually live some exciting things can happen. It is extremely cool to watch a receiver make a one-handed diving catch. But in reality, this doesn’t happen very often.
Most NFL plays are either short runs that get stopped three to five yards from the line of scrimmage or quick passes that go no more than 20 yards down the field. The league average per team was 5.6 yards per play this season
After that, it’s back to the thirty second Kum Ba Yah circle.
Now let’s get to the bread and butter of the game: the violence. Nothing ignites a crowd like a booming tackle. The hit-stick plays are definitely fun to watch, but in the modern-day NFL, something almost always happens after these whalackings.
Tweet, the whistle blows, and a yellow hanky is thrown. it’s always good to protect players especially due to information regarding concussions and CTE. Nevertheless, in this day and age it feels like on every big hit a penalty is called. Last week in the AFC Championship game a flag was thrown when Tom Brady was literally touched on the shoulder.
The new rule changes have left defenders unaware of where they should aim their tackles. It’s extremely hard to hit a grown man exactly in his chest when both players are running full speed.
Furthermore, all of these rule changes have left players legs extremely vulnerable. With more players aiming low on their tackles, it’s inevitable that there will be more knee injuries. No sane person likes watching these types of hits. They are gory and may leave the viewer with vivid nightmares.
The sack that broke Alex’s Smith leg this season is something that no one should have to witness in their life.
The next problem I have with the NFL is how confusing the sport actually is. And trust me I grasp the concepts of football—I was once the fourth-ranked Madden player in the world in Draft Champions mode: “nerd talk.”
In comparison to other major sports, this game is very difficult to understand. Imagine watching soccer with someone who has never seen the sport before. It would be fairly simple to explain the game: kick the ball into the back of the net and you score a point.
Now apply this same exercise to football. The average viewer is most likely not going to be able to understand the intricate details of the game. There are huge distinctions between cover two, cover three, and cover four defensive schemes. Unless a person actually played football or spent way too much time playing Madden,these concepts are foreign.
According to worldatlas.com, football is not even a top-10 popular sport in the world.
Look, I still like football and think it is an awesome game. But some of the reasons mentioned above may account for the fact that this sport has not gained international notoriety.
https://qz.com/150577/an-average-nfl-game-more-than-100-commercials-and-just-11-minutes-of-play/
WSJ Study
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-most-popular-sports-in-the-world.html
World Atlas
