American football,why is it so popular in the states.?

Question

I mean stop start stop start stop start.
A bloke in pads just for kicking goal? whats all that about?
Apart from the Quarter backs and receivers it doesn't seem very skillfull.
And the forwards wouldn't cut it in rugby or would they?

Answer 1

You obviously have never played the game. Our football is the ultimate team game. There are 11 guys on each team on the field at a time. If one guy doesn't do his job right, their whole team suffers. The game is a combination of intelligence, strategy, finesse, strength, and power.

What makes this sport stand out is that each position is extremely specialized. Whereas in other sports, many guys can play different positions, in American football each player has a much more specific role and is detrimental to his team.

The quarterbacks have to be very intelligent as well as talented. They have to be able to read the entire defense (11 guys, mind you) and try to figure out who is blitzing, who is covering what receiver, and who is playing a zone.

The runningbacks combine speed, finesse, and power. They are the workhorses.

The receivers have speed and great hands.

The offensive linemen aren't your traditional "skill" players. They have to learn how to use their size to their advantage.

The defensive ends are some of the most impressive players, because they are surprisingly fast for their size. Line backers have to be pretty aware of the entire field. Cornerbacks have to be fast, and able to shadow a receiver's every move. Safeties act as the defense's last hope.

But, no matter how skillful the players on a team are, they won't win many games without a good coach. This is where the games are really won. It is a game of strategy, and the coaches have to keep one step ahead of their opponent. This sport has more trick plays than any other game. I think that is one element that makes the sport so popular here - the element of surprise. You never, ever know what is going to happen on each play.

As for the place kickers and punters wearing pads...If you had 11 guys, all of whom nearly twice their size using all their might to come after you, when you have no way to defend yourself, are you saying you wouldn't wear padding? If you don't, you are pretty masochistic.

Answer 2

I respectfully disagree, having played both rugby and football. Football requires a lot more speed, conditioning, and brains.

First of all, the hits in rugby aren't nearly as savage as those in football. Have a 320-pound nose guard hit you at a full sprint and you'll see why those pads are necessary. Or, if you're a receiver, try catching a pass at a full-out sprint with the full knowledge that the other team's linebacker is about to bury himself into your chitlins. You have to concentrate on catching the ball, even though you know that your combined speed of collision will be close to 40 miles per hours. That's why you need the pads.

As far as the start/stop/start goes, the plays are far more intricate in football than in rugby. There's a lot more strategy and a lot more structure. If you bothered to spend more than 60 seconds analyzing the blocking schemes, you'd realize that.

Kickers need to wear pads for a simple reason. If a kick gets blocked, or if the kick returner manages to break out, then the kicker has to make the tackle just like any other player on the team. And if you have to tackle a 240-pound running back at an all-out sprint, then you'd need pads too.

Now, I'm a fan of the All Blacks, but the sheer velocity of runners in rugby is actually much slower than football. Plus, because the ball can only be run, it's actually a more one-dimensional game than football.

In short, bother watching the game and learning its nuances rather than belittling it. By the way, why do you even care?

Answer 3

Guess you never saw a Kicker get run into, or a Punter forced to make that tackle. Sure when they are kicking fieldgoals there are rules against running into them but that doesn't prevent it from happening, there is no force field around them. As to the Start stop thing if you actually watched it you don't really pay attention to how they start and stop. After all you have to understand they need to call plays. They have to reset themselves and such. Kicking is actually rather skillful depending on where it is done. Now when a team plays in a dome and it is the home stadium then the only skill is in what the distance is. If it is on the road though you don't really know the stadium. Outdoors presents another set of challanges from the weather. As to if the forwards(which I'm not sure which postion you mean exactly so I would guess like running back and recievers or something) would cut it in rugby I think some would but not all of them. It is really a different game and FOOTBALL DIDN'T EVOLVE FROM RUGBY. Sorry get tired of people claiming that. It evolved from a soccer game actually. A guy picked up a ball ran it the field and threw it in the net, and this was a college game as it was started as a college game long before the pros. People kept talking about it and slowly new rules started coming up to make that a new game.

Answer 4

If you want to know why it's so popular in the United States, throw out all of the answers from people who obviously aren't American and listen to those of us who are.

To answere your questions in order:
Kickers wear pads because they not only kick field goals, but also kick off, at which time they may have to make a tackle or can often get blocked. If he's not wearing pads, he's going to end up in the hospital, as guys on the Suicide Squads (special teams) have no problem taking a kicker's head off.

Those who think that only the QB's and WR's are skillful doesn't know the nuances of the game. There are so many different blocking schemes and defensive patterns to study it's pathetic. Most teams have a playbook that is massive, and covers all different types of plays. The blockers need to know not only their assignments as to the man they're blocking, but where the RB or WR is headed, to know if they'll be blocking downfield and which direction.

There are no forwards in American football. If you mean the linemen, I believe many of them could make it in rugby. They would tend not to bulk up as much as they do for American football, where your typical lineman now tops 320.

As for the popularity, frankly, it's a great sport. It's brute force, combined with a lot of skill and strategy. It's action and thought together.

Answer 5

I used to play rugby until I got a back injury and help coaching an American Football side. It's incredibly skillful, a combination of predicting the plays of the other side, the fastest sprinters in the world (Justin Gatlin is currently being scouted as a second ahead of the other guy could be worth a Superbowl) and being able to place your throw, kick or run in exactly the right place. I agree that some of the padding is wussy and unnecessary, but some of the guys are absolutely MASSIVE and i wouldn't want to run into them. Try watching it on Five sometime, it's a great spectator sport. Go Carolina!

Answer 6

I'm from the state of Victoria, so any Australian's reading this would know that I hate rugby. It's a crappy sport cos you can't even pass forwards and you can only get hit if you got the ball. American football is savage and requires a lot more skill. It's also a very glamorous sport in America.

But in terms of a mans game, try Australian Rules Football. No pads, better skills, no stop starting. Greatest sport in the world!

Answer 7

I would have to agree. Rugby is awesome. American football is based more on strategy. Although talent isn't without it's merits. The first time I saw rugby, (in England), I was taken aback. I never saw anything like it before that. American football players tend to be whiney, overpaid and over-rated. (see the Detroit Lions training camp) Sad to say for an American that likes football, but it's true. I like the strategy and the finesse of the plays

Answer 8

The reason it’s so popular is mostly a couple of reasons. First it’s only on once a week. When you can watch a game once a week it’s more exciting then a game every day or every other day. Second you only play a team once a year in school so you have to live with the lost to your rival for a whole year while they brag, unlike the other sports where you usually play a home and home against them. Third and most importantly it allows for big parties, Imagine the party you have when England plays in the world cup, that the party we have every Saturday (for college teams) and Sunday (for Pros), and this is in every college town in America.

Answer 9

It's just a preference...as for saying there's little skill, that's rubbish. That would be like me saying "soccer is just kicking a ball around, no skill, and score only every so often." We both know that's not fully the case. We were raised on football, it's just a sport, and it's all for fun.

So we shouldn't enjoy it cause 1000's of miles away some pituitary case is BIGGER and plays rugby??? slag off

Answer 10

The impact is greater in football....ruggers don't like it...it hurts.

The good news is...football players LOVE rugby, but we have no longevity when we play the sport...there's only so much blood you can shed before it gets old...

I'm in Germany...Frankfurt...next time you come out this way...contact me and I'll let you try it...

just remember...I was the one that said it takes 5 times more skill...and I was the one that said you're gonna get hurt.

I've had 5 ruggers this year...
all 5 got hurt in the first, padded practice and quit.