Why do people hate football?

I was reading the band thread and it appears many folks hate football.

I don't get it. I couldn't play HS football for many reasons (too small, not a good athlete, had to work) but I liked going to the games. I still go to one or so a year.

Football is a sport and a very entertaining one at that.

Can folks explain why the particular hatred of football?

Especially HS football! Season starts pretty soon and I can't wait.

:hi:

At least, that's my guess.

But Orrex..I have one thing to say about your opinion...:popcorn:
(and people think I am a glutton for punishment):rofl:

when in football there are 30 seconds between plays, and more than twice that if there's a penalty.

I don't understand the need for constant action, anyway. But if that's what you're into, a football game ain't the place to look for it.

It's that I know I can magically summon you to any thread simply by invoking the magic words "Slow Baseball." :P

But if I'd have to guess, I think the fact that football has more players directly involved in each play and therefore scrambling around during each drive, which to the casual viewer imparts the impression of a greater overall level of action.

But in baseball, the game is (again, to the casual viewer) apparently about one player at a time interacting with the ball: first the pitcher, then the batter, then the catcher (or the infielder/outfielder), maybe with a followup to the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd baseman. So at any given time the camera can (generally) focus on one guy or the ball.

But since football has more simultaneous activity directly related to the motion of the ball, it gives the impression of a greater degree of relevant action during each play.

IMO, of course.

I fell into your little trap. x(

But, like you said, that's it to the casual viewer. I feel sort of sorry for anyone who's seen baseball only on teevee, because all they've seen is what a camera director decides they need to. There's so much more going on than that. Every player on the field (and some in the dugouts) is involved in every pitch — most of it extremely subtle, granted. You have to know what to look for, and I'll also grant you that even then it isn't "exciting." But it can tip you to what might be about to happen, and I love that element of it.

Most of what goes on in football is fairly evident, whether watching at home or at the stadium. That's because teevee uses the wide shot for at least a few seconds on almost every play. Not so with baseball, since camera directors reinforce the notion that only the principals are involved — they show the batter-pitcher shot, then cut to the fielder when the ball is hit, then to some sort of reaction shot. If it's a play of some consequence, there'll be a replay or two from different angles, but they rarely let you see how it all works together.

If you want to really appreciate baseball, you've gotta go to a few games. It's an entirely different experience, altogether.




"It's an entirely different experience."

A Test Match goes on for DAYS. About four or five of them. Sometimes three days works.

I has an Aussie friend who swore that cricket is so much more exciting than american football because it had nonstop action that went on for days...:D

I liked music but couldn't stand having to go march for the glory of those privileged coddled assholes.

Boiled down, it's a bunch of big guys running into each other while some other guys chase a ball. It's about as thrilling to me as golf, where a bunch of guys hit a ball with a club. Or basketball, where a bunch of guys throw a ball at a hoop.

As well, I think football has been a bit bizarrely hyped. Look at the commercials. I'd lay down money the ad will say something along the lines of: "Football. The glory, the sacrifice, THE PASSION." ;)

I don't think "people" hate it. I think some people hate it, because they find things unlikable about it. The way I hated Lord of the Rings. The way some people hate Coca Cola or Hillary Clinton or watermelon. It's a beautiful, intriguing, diverse world in which we live.

:) In other words, I don't know.

Mostly I saw hatred for marching with the band during football season. The only post I saw that took aim at football was Rabrrr's masterly rant but... well, that's Rabrrr. :shrug:

It's slow, the pauses between plays (especially commercial breaks), dumbass rules (the tuck rule), horrible officiating, bad handling of replay, practically top-to-bottom mediocrity), etc...I still follow the NFL to remain competitive in fantasy leagues, but I really don't give a shit who wins and don't watch the games on TV anymore.

get higher ratings than most college games? :shrug: As far as I have heard most people think the NFL football is better quality than college football.
I think alot of what you pointed out (correctly) is also a problem in college, its more endemic to the nature of football itself in this country, not the NFL itself

Even at 1PM on a Sunday there are at most something like 8 games on while on Saturday there could be 6 games on at one time depending on starting time and cable package (this isn't considering buying into more games) so it isn't fair to compare ratings.

The NFL very closely guard "the shield" and its product. Some say too closely, I would agree with that.

the NFL is much better quality than college football if you're talking about skill of the players, but most people I know would tell you the college brand is more exciting.

What hurts college ratings is, in my opinion, the BCS system and the fact that so few teams have a shot at the title. One loss eliminates almost every team (who can lose a game and still win the title this year besides a few schools such as USC?). A lot of people I know give up on watching the games once their school drops a game or two and it becomes clear that their teams can't get anything more prestigious than the Twix Twin Bar Bowl or whatever other worthless bowl.

With the NFL, almost anything can happen once you get to the playoffs, especially if you root for an NFC team these days. An NFC team can get a playoff spot with a record as low as 8-8, and the conference is so bad that Chicago represented it last year. In the AFC, in my opinion anyway, the only reason Indy got there was that the Pats took out the Chargers last year; the Colts then won a squeaker against New England at home instead of having to get shelled on the road against the Chargers. As such, in the NFL a team usually still has a chance to win it all until it's officially eliminated, whereas in college 95% of all teams are out of it before Opening Day and the rest of them are generally sunk by their first or second loss.

what also hurts college football, IMO, is all the padded schedules with opponents who have no chance. In the NFL, its entirely possible for a 0-8 team to beat an 8-0 team whereas you rarely if ever see that in college football

You know, like USC vs. Fred's Community College :)

The Oakland Invaders! The Boston Breakers! The Memphis Showboats! The Arizona Outlaws!

I can't really explain all the subtleties that go into my hatred for it. They include: the violence, the hypo-macho-male culture that surrounds it, the ridiculousness of the game itself (there's a big scramble, they all fall down, who the fuck knows where the ball is), the commercial hype tied to it (Superbowl, etc.), the many misogynistic felons that have played the game (not all, not all, I know), the way my dad imposed his viewing of it on the family, its summer-is-over connoctations, the way we were expected to support the steroid case nitwits who played for out highschool at big rallies (meanwhile the kids who got good grades were never lauded like that), the way we were supposed to want to slit our wrists if our stupid high school team didn't win or something (I was always secretly glad when our H.S. team lost) ... et cetera.

Whenever I get even a glimpse of football on TV, I'm flooded with overwhelmingly negative associations.

And I loved marching in the band at football games. It was fun!

My father coached HS football for 33 years and we grew up in football stadiums. Our whole family are devoted fans and we watch Michigan games over the phone with each other.

In fact, I'm counting the days to kickoff -- September 1!

I hate the ultra big $$$$ it brings to colleges and swells atheletic departments so much that it sqews resources more to it than other deprtments like Literature or money for science labs. At the college level, it feeds on itself. You gotta have a big dept to get on TV so you can have more money. You gotta have more money so that you can have a big dept so you can get on TV... At the regional an municipal level, teams hold cities and fans hostage screaming for public financing of newer bigge stadiums with more private boxes .... to bring in more money. The fans who just want to go to a game get screwed by this.

I'm not against all sports. I used to be because I myself am not atheletic nor competative in the physical sense. But now, I can enjoy that other people have this talent and enjoy watching them for that. I enjoy basketball and soccer now too. But those are games that keep a constant pace and don't stop every freaking 30 seconds for another 15 minutes. That's stricting from a supernova spectator POV.

In American Football the only one playing the game seems to be the kicker and occasionally the quarterback

The action always gets halted just as it's getting interesting.

Bunch of guys in warrior gear mill around. Then someone blows a whistle and they all scramble after a peculiar pointy object - and trying to inflict grievous injury on each other in the process - for a few seconds before someone blows a whistle again. Then they all mill around again forever, until someone blows a whistle again.

Maybe it's because I have ADD, but I always wander off to see if there's anything else going on before the end of the first quarter.

I dont hate football, i just think it is boring...................:hi:

colossal waste of time & money. played by meat head thugs, rapist, and dog killers.

Only much, much, MUCH more SLOOOWWWWLLLLYYYY. :boring:

I also can't stand the hype machine--"FOOTBALL IS COOOOOLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!"--and the overload of testosterone.

Not just at the NFL level either (although at that level the amount of money thrown at players makes me sick, but that's not exclusive to football)--the town I live in is football crazy, and I can't bear to see the little 6-year-old buried under all that padding, practicing in the August heat. :cry:

And while I'm venting...:evilgrin:...how come everything is measured in terms of "football fields" anyway? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Or only in large doses?

I have no problem with testosterone--with three exceptions, all overly large doses:

1) When too much of it makes beer-swilling menfolk roar like demented Bumbles and high-five each other whenever other, heavily padded, too-highly paid menfolk crash into one another;

2) When too much of it makes portly white guys in starched white shirts and ties swagger around the workplace sneering at everyone who is not male, portly, white, and wearing starched white shirts and ties; and

3) When too much of it makes that single damned hair grow on my chin.

In baseball, they normally have to wait for a half inning to be over. In soccer, there's half-time. In football, however; they can put a commercial break every other fucking minute and it's extremely irritating. The game moves in spurts. The uniforms look stupid. It has a brutish culture. I fucking hate football, and I won't deny it. Soccer is the real football.

An excuse for people not to give a shit about anything that matters.

;)

Sports fans are obsessed to a degree regular TV programs would LOVE to manage.

all the commercials... the standing around between plays. The commercials.

It's tiring. I got fed up years ago... now I just read about the results... don't even bother trying to watch. I only get ticked off at all the damn commercials and guys standing around dragging their feet.

Though I still can't keep myself from watching it.

I hate the fanatics who throw shit at people, overturn cars, beat people up, piss on the street, litter, clog up traffic, take all the parking spots, and whose stadium is paid for by everyone else. I also tend to dislike the institutionalization of it - that as a guy I am expected to love football. I do enjoy playing the game, i just can't stand most of the people watching it, or the fact that many of my friends can't seem to do anything all weekend because they have to watch the game religiously.

I couldn't take my niece and nephew to a game for the longest time because of the public drunkenness and the language. I'm no prude and I played the game in high school. I have no problem with good natured rowdyness but I don't like the swearing around the kids. And yes, I realize that it's not the opera.

Like baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, there is beauty in the game in spite the fans. Check out this drive our backup QB made against Auburn last year in a losing effort. Yeah, the Auburn safety blew the coverage on our tight end over the middle on the last play, so that was a little bit of a gimme, but he picked it up and the rest of that 90 yard drive was golden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qeb83DEEX68

I can barely stand to watch it anymore because of the 100,000 drunken fans.

I know what you mean though.

ratio of talk to action is about 20 to 1 -- 45 seconds of huddle, player rotation and ball setting, 2.5 seconds of play. You could watch every play of a 60 minute game in about 3 minutes.

It's supposed to be a 60-minute game, but it lasts at LEAST four hours (which feels like four days). DH (who doesn't like the game either) and I have a joke--if we're hoping to catch a show that's on after a game, and the game clock says there's three minutes to go, we always say, "Oh, another hour?" And sure enough, it lasts at least that long. (And the show we want to see always gets bumped.)

Go, Nittany Lions!
Go, Eagles!

When I was a sportswriter, I loved talking to the kids after a high school game. Almost to a man, they were like, "Wow, that was fun!" And fun is what games should be.

I detest the NFL because of the way it markets itself. I have absolutely no use for mass public celebrations of unbridled testosterone.

BTW — if you're a fan who gets the connection between "semi-okay" and football, we might get along. :D

Cut out all of the boring shit. Same thing with baseball. I find both boring.

Every Saturday from September to the end of November I had marching practice then had to play at both the home and away games and sit on cold, sometimes wet bleachers and perform routines on the field in all sorts of weather including snow storms. Our band uniforms were twenty years old and there was no money in the budget to get new ones. We had to raise our own funds to pay for the drill instructor. In contrast,there were four paid coaches and assistants for the football team, new uniforms and equipment for each player were automatic budget items.

The whole football season ran from August to November. The rest of the year the team did nothing to represent the school. The band played at other team sports events, did concerts at other schools and community events and parades through the school year. We were constantly reminded that we had to project a good image for the school while in the same breath told that the football team was more important. That 's a recipe for bad feelings about football.

I don't think our experience was that unusual based on the stories told to me by other band geeks.

There was no good reason to treat the two activities so disparately -- the same way the girls' teams resented having so little funding and support while the boys' teams were fully supported prior to Title IX.

For me personally, I also thought the game and its rules were not that interesting. Still feel that way.

It just makes me sick to think of the worship heaped on (mostly undeserving) male football players at high schools across the U.S. Meanwhile everyone else is expected to grovel at their feet, support them, and care deeply about the outcome of their silly games. It's inherently sexist, because the teams are male. It's been like that for decades, but it doesn't have to continue.

They should be allowed to play, but they shouldn't be treated as gods because they can tackle and throw.

and recently Mike Ditka (or was it Dick Buttkiss?) was giving a pooh-pooh tearjerky story to congress because all their players tend to get injuries that compel them to retire early (and most likely to do television adverts for smelly cremes and ointments).

Uh, given their salaries, they can afford every scrap. It's part of the job and why they chose it.

I've just never enjoyed playing it or watching it and resented the fact that, as a male growing up in small-town Texas, I was viewed as weird for not liking it and regularly pressured to care about it. I think for many, especially males, the strong dislike or hatred stems from the pressure they may have felt to be into something they didn't care anything about.

Tax money builds the stadium and they get the profits. It's a scam.

And why is it more popular to love football than, say, basketball? People weren't always this crazy about football. There was a time when you could actually watch television in prime time without at least one football game going on at the same time. I think football is slow. And clumsy.

There's Association Football, sometimes known as Soccer.
There's Rugby Football, sometimes divided into Rugby League and Rugby Union.
There Australian Rules football, that has the misnomer of people beliving there's no actual rules to Australian Rules Football.
There's Gaelic football, which looks to me like Soccer with hands on the ball.
There's medieval football, where whole villages will play each other and there are no real rules except get the ball to the goal and that's the winner.
And there's American Football, known in America as erm.. football.

Minus the hippie movement. NFL is ok, but they don't seem to try much until playoffs.

It's just a game, but people act as if it's some earthshakingly important ritual, so much so that the players are the royalty of the school and can get away with murder and the school cancels classes so the students can be herded into the auditorium for forced pep rallies.

I don't hate it -- I just don't understand why so many people think it's such a big deal.

...it's because the grad school I went to was steeped in football mania, and just gave the whole place a repellant atmosphere to me. I still think of the place largely as frat-boy jock-land.

The second day I was there, my car got towed from a parking lot (in the panic of the morning, new student and all, I had missed the teeny-tiny sign that said all cars had to be moved by 4 PM) because the band had to practice there for the football game.

I also several times drove in on a Saturday to use the library, having fought the insane traffic all the way down, only to find the library was closed due to the football game. Oh yeah, I could see where that school's priorities were!

Previous to these experiences, I was just indifferent to football, as I am to most other sports. After this, I think it's safe to say that I hate football, at least to some small degree. And while I can't be bothered enough to obsess over it, I do always smile whenever that university football team loses.

so much attention and air time and all those other things. Entire seaons where there's nothing but football games on TV. Entire weeks dedictated to school spirit and supporting our football team. It just gets in the way of things I'd rather be doing.

I wish more people disliked it so it wouldn't be so goddamn difficult to get Eagles tickets. 30 year season ticket waiting list here.

I'd much rather watch REAL football. A bunch of guys in nothing but shin guards running around balls to the wall for 90 minutes. THOSE are tough dudes now!!
All American Football is is a bastardized form of Rugby with pads and whiny guys who think they need to get paid more(NFL).
Duckie

They may run around for 90 minutes - but if they get within 10 feet of another player they start rolling round on the floor pretending to be mortally wounded, only to be up once the referee tells them to stop being so damn stupid. Nothing tough about them.

Rugby is the only real form of football. They don't wear the padding and they have bodily contact without feigning injury at every possible moment - that's tough.

I also think it's weird that some guys I work with can get so caught up in supporting "their" team that they feel terrible and get all pissed off when their favorite team isn't doing well. Uh, hey dudes, you do realize you aren't actually on the team, right? Anybody? Guys?

I don't hate football. but for god's sake, why the hell should a pre-season football game be more important than regular season baseball. and why does pre-season football get tons of news coverage when spring training hardly gets any.

but as an academic/band nerd in high school, it always irritated me no end that the football players got super-special treatment, despite the fact that they SUCKED and were a total disgrace to our school (at least on the field - some of the guys on the team were nice enough, but talented at football they were not). Our band and academic teams did really well - the band won a few awards, and the academic team made it to the state championship several times - but we never got to miss school without having to make up work if we were out late at a competition the night before, or park in the best spots normally reserved for teachers, or leave the school grounds during lunch to go out for fast food whenever we felt like it...etc., etc. So, yeah, I think that may have jaded my opinion of football a little.

:rant:

Baseball is my very favorite sport, but football is a very close second.

1)Start and stop nature of the game is aggravating, especially with the tv commercial issue.

2)Football fandom is more irritating than most. They're like Trekkies who haven't figured out that most of us aren't interested in the proper conjugation of the Klingon language. (I'm not talking about casual fans here)

3)Players and coaches draw outlandish salaries "because the market supports them" and yet owners suck shamelessly at the public tit. If they can pay out tens of millions a year in salaries, they can figure out how to finance their own stadiums.

Big padded guys trying to kill the quarterback.

I HATE spectator sports. I see no reason for team owners to suck all the money from cities for sweetheart stadium deals. We can spend billions on stadia but can't feed the hungry, or take care of the homeless and sick.

The opiate of the masses -- spectator sports.

Colleges are for learning, not for watching guys smash the living crap out of each other according to "rules".

NFL isn't very interesting to me.

College football is all about the traditions, emotions, songs, rivalries, and innovations. It's a great time.