Football Games Have 11 Minutes of Action - WSJ.com
Via peterwknox
And I wonder why the girlfriend detests watching American football… She’ll put up with proper football, because that’s basically non-stop for 90 minutes, but American football bores the crap out of her.
It wasn’t until I went to see a game live (Giants - Dolphins at Wembley a few years ago) that I realised just how much the game is dictated by TV. The players spend so much time waiting to come back from commercial breaks that it’s quite funny to see them all standing around in the middle of the field, needlessly delaying the game taking place.
I still love watching it though. Looking forward to this weekend’s games already.
Reblogged from: peterwknox
Originally posted on: Peter W. Knox
This time last year, I was somewhere near Walnut Creek, on the outskirts of San Francisco, at a friend’s mum’s house for Thanksgiving. It was a proper Californian Thanksgiving, with my friend’s parents both there, along with their new partners, having been recently divorced.
It was my first experience of Thanksgiving in the States, and I loved it. Stupidly large amounts of food, including desserts that seemed to go on forever, and then a good whack of NFL on the TV for the rest of the day. Ideal.
This year, I won’t be partaking, other than probably watching some of the American Football later this evening, but I’m glad that I’ve done an actual Thanksgiving whilst on the correct side of the Atlantic.
"Eating the Dinosaur" breaks down the game of football - ESPN
excerpt on ESPN.com from Chuck Klosterman’s upcoming book of essays. If you’ve EVER enjoyed a football game, I demand you read it. It’s glorious in its intellectual celebration of the NFL’s unique marketing/innovation/leadership. STRONG suggestion.
peterwknox
Well that just cost me 20 minutes of my afternoon, but it was definitely worth it. I may not be completely au fait with all the subtleties of American football, but I could follow this essay. It starts as an appreciation of the way in which the sport has marketed itself through constant evolution, and then details the various stages during this evolution.
A very, very good read, even for a football newbie like myself.
Reblogged from: peterwknox
Originally posted on: Peter W. Knox
America's Team
A brief summary:
Quarterback: #35, JFK
Wide Receiver: #16, Abraham Lincoln
Safety: #1, George Washington
Memorable Plays
QB JFK pulls out a win with a Hail Mary play known as the “Cuban Missle Crisis”
Safety Washington takes out King George III’s knees in his signature move, the Cherry Tree
WR Lincoln runs the reverse, frees slaves
Awesome. I helped with this!!!
Reblogged from: pterodactyls
Originally posted on: vicky j dot org
After a weekend spent watching both NFL and college (American) football, I’ve decided that one of my favourite things about the sport is watching people get their first ever touchdown. Especially when those people are the lard-ass linemen who probably touch the ball once a season if they’re lucky.
Eagles Defensive End Victor Abiamiri scored one from two yards yesterday, and I loved how he celebrated. It wasn’t exactly a graceful TD, picking up a fumble at the 2-yard line and basically falling into the endzone, but he went off as if he’d won the Superbowl.
Understandable, given that it was apparently his first ever touchdown, having not even got one in high school or at college, and he gave a delightful quote to the Philadelphia Daily News when asked if it genuinely was his first ever TD:
“Yes it is. Maybe on Madden a couple of times, NCAA a couple of times. But in real life, this is when it counts.”
I’m actually really glad that I don’t have to go into the office this morning, as the damn Superbowl didn’t finish until gone 3am. And, of course, I stayed up to watch it. More fool me.
I was considering going to bed during the third quarter, because the game looked done and dusted, but am thoroughly pleased that I didn’t because the fourth quarter was one of the best periods of football I’ve ever seen.
That safety by the Cardinals just turned the game around completely, and I genuinely thought that they would win it after that. Fitzgerald’s second TD was mind-blowing, but then Roethlisberger connected with Holmes, who made a stunning catch, and that was that.
Epic.
