NFL schedule is out. Do people outside the States really care?

@duggshammer said:

I felt bad for you in Detroit for a few years there... but, being from Chicago, we have a much darker future now.

I'll trade this guy for megatron, what do u say?

Sure, just throw in about 5 or 6 1st rounders.

@pyromagnestir: I was more trying to gauge how people outside the States feel about the sport in general. The schedule coming out just provided a segue into the whole thing for me because I saw the London game on there and have always been curious whether the efforts the NFL is making to expand their reach are actually working at all.

The NFL is the only sport that would have a 3 hour special to announce their schedule.

Patriots in London again to likely blow someone else out again? Fine by me

@frankfartmouth: That's what I figured but I was a little unsure. Like most things I'm sure some people do, most don't. Not very in depth analysis, that. But it's the best that I can do.

@artgarcrunkle: It's all cyclical so I know they'll be shit eventually but for now I'll enjoy it while I can.

@YI_Orange said:

I'm inside the states and don't care if that's relevant.

^this

@Jams said:

@Ravenlight said:

@YI_Orange said:

I'm inside the states and don't care if that's relevant.

What he said.

Same

What they said.

@MikkaQ said:

Nope. Sports that actually stop mid-game for commercial breaks and who have players that are basically obese come off as some kind of joke to me. I get having a long commercial break at half time, but between plays? Are football players that fat and out of shape? Rugby is like football for real men.

This is a terrible misconception of football. First of all, half time in the NFL and CFL is only 15 minutes. I hardly call that a large break after more than half an hour of play. Also, I've never seen a professional sport that doesnt have some sort of a half time. Soccer, hockey, baseball, and basketball all have breaks in between periods of play. Second, the "fat" football players is only a small subsection of all of the athletes. The linemen as they are called are the biggest football players mostly weighing around 300lbs but that is basically 300lbs of muscle. The STANDARD bench press for these linemen is 220lbs and most can do well over 20 reps. I dont know if you work out or anything but benching 220lbs is extremely hard. Furthermore, the so called fatties can usually run the 40yrd dash in under 7 seconds. The fastest people in the NFL and CFL can do it under 4.5 seconds. That is 36.5m in less time it takes you to take a piss in the morning. Yeah, the linemen are probably bigger than most other athletes but it is what their position requires and it also does not mean that they are out of shape. Lastly, this whole notion of rugby is better than football or football is better than rugby is probably the most childish thing people say. It's two different sports that have similar conceits. In fact, contact football used to be called rugby before changing its name so people would not get confused. If I am not mistaken the Canadian Football League (CFL) evolved out of a rugby league. Saying rugby is for real men is like saying the colour green sucks because red is much better. Does not make sense. Rugby is a fine sport that requires specific skills and football is a fine sport that requires specific skills. The reason football players wear padding is that the way tackles are made is very different from that of rugby. Trying to tackle a person in football sans pads would probably give you a concussion or a broken bone.

I dont know if you were joking or what, but the whole idea that football is just a bunch of obese people running around is a frustrating misconception of the game.

On topic: Im from Canada and I care about football.

@PeasantAbuse said:

The real question is why would anyone in Europe be a fan of the Rams?

The same guy who owns the rams also owns Arsenal FC in the UK - one of my friends has chosen to support the rams because of that. :P

Let's see....2 games against each of the other 3 teams in the division and a smattering of other games. Yup,same as every year.

@drugged said:

I didn't think I did until I started watching it this past year - for me I like the US' approach to sport - for such a capitalist country they put a hell of a lot of emphasis on trying to be fair and equal! Along with that they think about and change the rules accordingly - a lot of sport in Europe is bogged down in tradition and has rules that need changing or updating, but they refuse to do so.

I'm glad to hear that international people appreciate how even Football's rules make the game.

Hell no!

@YI_Orange said:

I'm inside the states and don't care if that's relevant.

No!

Fellow Detroit Lions fan reporting in. Whats up homie? I'm super excited for the San Francisco game in week 2, that's gonna be a hell of a game.

Guy asking to trade Megatron for Jay Cutler - lol, get outtahere

I hope people outside the states do appreciate football. Just like any sport that is foreign to you, it can be difficult to understand or appreciate what it going on. Being in the US, professional association football is not very popular, but I have been trying more and more to get into it. A lot more premier league games are on TV, and I can find almost all of them online. One of the hardest things I have found is trying to find a team to root for. The only team I had heard of was Manchester United, but from what I have read they are like the Yankees of the premier League, which I would rather not be a part of. So anyway, it's nice to get a feel for other countries' sports.

Rugby is just a better version of football anyway so why would they care

I couldn't care less about a schedule release. Even for sports I do care about rugby, rugby league, football and cricket. I usually watch the superbowl though. However Gridiron suffers in pace compared to other sports. Only 11mins worth of actual gameplay per game during what, a three hour broadcast. Don't believe me, my source: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwNTExNDUyWj.html

@artgarcrunkle said:

@MikkaQ: There are 350 pound guys running 40 yard dashes around 5 seconds. That's not out of shape. Good to see rugby trolling is as tired as ever.

Aaah you got me. Actually, I don't even watch rugby, or any ball sports so it was more about trolling sports fans as a whole. I think it's fair, given that this is a game site. Trolling about games would just be... malicious :p

Still, when I saw a football match live a few years ago it was the most frustrating thing ever, at least with TV you can actually watch the commercials, here I'm twiddling my thumbs wondering why they're just kinda wandering around for a while after every play.

Football has got to be the only non-combat sport you're gonna see 400 pound dudes as an asset. I was joking about the being in shape thing (that was more about the commercials) but still, that's not a very good sport to encourage youth to play because no matter how much muscle you have, being that heavy is going to strain your heart, and effect your overall health. Soccer's a healthier game that encourages lean musculature.

I feel like New England plays in the London game all the time, whatever at least we are against the Rams so who cares. Even as a huge Patriots fan I don't really care about the schedule until the season starts. We don't even know who is good yet. Let's wait for the draft and then get excited.

@Animasta said:

Rugby is just a better version of football anyway so why would they care

Yeah I feel something in me when I have watched a bit of American Football and throw the ball long to a player at the touchline like its wrong, just feels like its cheating to me. That said I did kind of get into the strategy of the PS1 era games, managing formations and that but watching it is another thing.

I am a Canuck and love NFL, CFL is a good supplement but can't compare (4 downs will always trump 3 downs).

Nope (and I find Rugby Union to be pretty terrible as well. Rugby League is where its at though).

@will_leisure said:

NFL schedule doesn't really matter because we know who's facing whom already, just not in what order. The London game is always going to be a blow-out or the worst teams in football because season ticket-holders (or fans, in general) wouldn't appreciate the best game of the season for their team or even a division/rival game on the other side of the pond. Plus, it's mostly just teams that volunteer, like the Rams. In fact, I think the Rams will play a game in London for the next few years to develop some sort of a devoted fan base over there, which might lead to London getting their own team (worst plan ever).

The NFL schedule only applies to season ticket-holders. I couldn't care less about the order.

This. It's amazing how many football fans don't understand that 14 out of the 16 games are determined years in advance, and the last two are determined at the end of the previous season. There's no magic here.

@frankfartmouth: It's finally good to see them winning, isn't it!? And we got five primetime games this season. Not too bad, considering the 0-16 record not too long ago. Go Lions!

You mean Handegg? ehh probably not, the Barcelona is playing this week that's what most people care I think.

@leebmx said:

It drives me mad the way teams can kill off games or slow them down using Time Outs, which are unheard of in UK sports.

So dudes falling down on the ground, pretending to be hurt every five minutes doesn't drive you mad? I can't speak for every american, but to me football is a way slower game than american football.

I'm in the states and I hate football so god damn much.

@Kedi2: Why? That's a real strong feeling about something you can ignore and can't have an appreciable negative affect on you.

As an Australian, I find the NFL to be a ridiculously boring, stop-start monstrosity of a sport that seems to have taken what is good about rugby and mercilessly butchered it with the addition of nonsensical rules and body armour and god knows what else.

Apart from that it's fine though.

I know very few people with any interest at all in the sport here (or baseball, for that matter, which somehow manages to be even more boring to watch than cricket), and I dont honestly see that changing, as we tend to like our football fast, athletic, and tough.

@artgarcrunkle: When I was in high school most of my friends were on the football team and they would CONSTANTLY talk about football. As someone who does not like football it drove me insane.

@artgarcrunkle said:

@Kedi2: Why? That's a real strong feeling about something you can ignore and can't have an appreciable negative affect on you.

Football killed his family. He's now the Punisher, except for like, footballs instead of the mafia.

@will_leisure said:

@artgarcrunkle said:

@Kedi2: Why? That's a real strong feeling about something you can ignore and can't have an appreciable negative affect on you.

Football killed his family. He's now the Punisher, except for like, footballs instead of the mafia.

And this also.

@Kedi2: Oh so instead of being happy your friends are happy with their hobby you decided to get pouty and bitter because people didn't talk about what you wanted to talk about all the time? Sounds like a you problem, friend, not a football problem [gronk spikes].

I live in Canada and couldn't give any less of a fuck about the NFL. Hell, I don't even care about the CFL. Or the NBA. Or MLB.

God... what do I like?

I care, cause I get pretty big into the NFL when the season comes around. I started 2 seasons ago and have been pretty avidly devoting my sundays and mondays to the NFL when its season is on since then. I've adopted ST Louis Rams as my beloved team and so I'm delighted that they are coming to London, it was a dream come true, tickets are already booked.

@YI_Orange said:

I'm inside the states and don't care if that's relevant.

I'm British, and am a huge American football fan. I religiously follow the NFL, and have done so for 10 years now, both during the season and during the lengthy off-season, and I've actually recently started getting involved in the fledgling British American football scene (don't think too hard about the name...).

I kinda feel like it's still definitely a very niche thing. I see people every now and then with NFL shirts and such, and it's enough of an event that I always notice it. Also, I've been to four Wembley games, and the atmosphere is nowhere close to the true NFL experience, but they still get into it when the game is close and exciting, and plenty of people there seem pretty knowledgeable, although there are plenty who don't have a clue what's going on but cheer when a big play happens. The Wembley games and the increasing popularity of the Super Bowl have only helped grow the sport in terms of image, but I don't think it'll ever become a truly national phenomenon in the same way it has in the States. It's just such an inherently American thing, for starters, and that puts some people off. Also, we have rugby, which people here will always argue - erroneously - that it is a more physical and rougher game than football. Also, absolutely nothing in this country even comes close to touching the beautiful game of association football (or footy). Every other sport, people only get really excited about when the national team does well. No one really cares about cricket except for old people, but when we won the Ashes and then beat India all of a sudden people were talking about cricket more...and then the team started losing and no one gave a shit any more.

I couldn't care less as I don't watch sports. I find watching them extremely boring as I have zero investment in the teams, players or the sport itself. Sad that this will be my 10,000 th post, but whatever.

In all my time living here in England, I have never once heard anyone mention American Football without the intention of openly mocking it (usually around the beginning of the Rugby season). Sometimes I think that if given the choice, this country would rather watch lawn bowls than american football.

And personally, as a big rugby union fan who has tried to watch the super bowl for the last two years, I'd rather watch Lawn Bowls over american football too.

Ha ha, they get the Rams for the next few years.

As an American, I've always wondered how American Football is popular outside of the US. I probably wouldn't care were I not born in the U.S. That being said, I follow the NFL and college ball pretty closely.

On the other hand, I love international soccer. It's always been a big deal when our local MLS team has an international friendly match. It was pretty frequent when the team was first founded. Real Madrid came to Utah and played Real Salt Lake when I was in high school, which was pretty awesome.

@CookieMonster: Are you Australian, or from Northern parts of England, or South Auckland NZ? Then I wouldn't be surprised. I'm guessing Australian.

@Getz: Yeah diving pisses me off as well. Especially during World Cups where its crazy (apart from 2002 where they cracked down on it a bit). But the ball is in play for a full 90 minutes. When someone is down for a bit its added as injury time at the end anyways. Thats a full 90 minutes of sport as opposed to 11mins of Gridiron. Don't get me wrong I appreciate Gridiron and defend it against my mates who hate it, but it stop/starts a lot.

Some people in the states don't really care...

@damnboyadvance: No shit. After Ford Jr. finally got Wormtongue (Millen) out of the old man's ear, the ship caught wind. Mayhew and Schwartz have really done a great job in a short time. It's going to be a tough fight in the division for awhile, but the future is bright. I'm going to buy tickets to the final home game against the Bears. Can't wait

I don't care about sports in any form, but I know that a lot of people in Nova Scotia watch the Superbowl if nothing else.

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

As an Australian, I find the NFL to be a ridiculously boring, stop-start monstrosity of a sport that seems to have taken what is good about rugby and mercilessly butchered it with the addition of nonsensical rules and body armour and god knows what else.

Apart from that it's fine though.

Ha ha ha. That's funny. I do have to say though that the rules are not nonsensical. I can see how they would come across that way. Convoluted, yes. But once you get them down, it's a stat junkie's dream.

@Tim_the_Corsair said:

As an Australian, I find the NFL to be a ridiculously boring, stop-start monstrosity of a sport that seems to have taken what is good about rugby and mercilessly butchered it with the addition of nonsensical rules and body armour and god knows what else.

Apart from that it's fine though.

Ha ha ha. That's funny. I do have to say though that the rules are not nonsensical. I can see how they would come across that way. Convoluted, yes. But once you get them down, it's a stat junkie's dream.

@artgarcrunkle said:

@Animasta: I'm surprised it has any traction overseas considering how hard it is too get into football if you aren't into the metagame on some level or have a home team to root for. Especially now that Roger Goddell (uh...basically the Football Boss if you don't know) is dedicating his career to making the game less fun.

@McShank: How could you not like a sport where guys get hundreds of millions to be fat and stand in the sun? That's unpatriotic, bro.

lets not get ahead of ourselves now.. If we are talking about how much they get paid for doing so little, then I am all for that. But to enjoy watching it is another thing. Hell I cant even play it anymore and enjoy it >.<

Fuck professional sports. Its a waste of god damn fucking time, money, human effort, water, food, and air! WE SHOULD BE IN FUCKING SPACE PEOPLE WHY THE FUCK AM I NOT ON THE FUCKING MOON YET?! FUCKING FOOTBALL THAT'S WHY!! IF YOU IDIOTS HAD WORRIED ABOUT FUCKING SPACE, WE COULD BE PLAYING MARS FOOTBALL!!! BUT NO!! YA'LL HAD TO WATCH FUCKING MONKEYS RUN AROUND ON SOME GRASS IN A BIG CEMENT BOWL SMACKING EACH OTHER AROUND LIKE NEOLITHIC MAN!! Fucking space.