Do Brits really like American Football - Page 2

**ultimatewarlord** · July 20th, 2017, 05:44 PM

I've been a Pats fan since 1986. The NFL was a fad for several years in the UK. We had four monthly magazines for a very short while Quarterback which soon became First Down was a weekly newspaper I bought religiously for years. Panini did sticker albums for two years. A couple of small sets of trading cards were issued and other items crept into shops. The World League was formed and I became a die-hard London Monarchs fan. I still consider myself a Monarchs fan even 19 years after their demise. But did I know anyone to talk to about the sport? No. The fad soon died down. The magazines closed. Only First Down kept going with it's small but dedicated fanbase.
Then years later came a resurgence. Whether it was down to Sky and increased exposure I don't know. But now I meet fans who actually talk about it and know their stuff. Keen viewers who tune in every sunday for three games. Yeah it's getting popular. However, all this shit about a British franchise is laughable. It's a ploy to keep the merchandise selling. A franchise here will be a flop. We all have our teams. I'm not giving up the Pats for the British Jaguars. And yeah......I've still got my panini sticker albums.

**ultimatewarlord** · July 20th, 2017, 05:51 PM

On the subject of tv coverage. It was always Channel 4s baby and I felt sorry for them when Sky muscled in. Despite the year of the Vicious Boys when 4 seemed intent on committing Hari Kiri, they did a good job. The Mick Luckhurst years were probably the best even with his faltering delivery. BTW. Channel 4 also covered the first World League season in 1991 and was presented by a young, unknown reporter called Jeff Stelling. I still have every Monarchs game on tape. Need desperately to digitize them.

The best Channel 4 intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2ZCgcDO6Ho

**Roubignol** · July 20th, 2017, 06:48 PM

I remember the first time that we watch an American football game at the TV.
We, 5 college friends, reunited in front of the TV to watch this sport that we only read in newspapers and saw some pictures of these huge guys dressed like gladiators.
We were ready with chips and beers and the game started.
We were so impatient.

30 minutes later we turn off the TV and went outside to the bar to drink and hit on girls.
It was the most boring game that we never watched in our life.
Sometimes I watched 10 minutes of some games, but... it was not intense enough.

At the same time, it was possible to watch Australian football. Damned. This sport was far more intensive. Nothing to compare. But there was no internet and impossible to find the rules in my mother tongue.

I exactly had the same boring sensation with baseball, Nascar and Indycar. Long, long, long... far tooo loooonnngg. Basketball was a little bit more fun. It was the beginning of the career of Michael Jordan.

I definitively decided to stop to watch US sports... until 10 years ago, when I spoke with a Swedish guy who told me that the NHL was far more intensive than the European hockey.
I could not really believe it. I remembered that I already heard these same stories about the other US sports I mentionned before.

Finally I decided to watch one NHL and the Swedish friend was right. It was huge.
The same years I watched all the Play-Offs between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

I stopped to watch NHL two years ago. I had the strange sensation that the American referees try far too much to make the game interesting and are not always very fair.

**Old Jud** · July 21st, 2017, 07:31 AM

'Do Brits really like American Football?'.......Not this one.
(Thanks for taking the time to read this deep and thought provoking reply.)

KayCeeGee · July 21st, 2017, 08:44 AM

I got into American football through a mate in 1991, the year that the NFL did the world league. I took my two daughters (both under 10 at the time) to all the London Monarchs home games, at Wembley Stadium, right through to the final, which was great family (including the cheerleaders for Dad !) entertainment. The downtime, between plays, was kept to a minimum, and the game seemed to flow just fine. The atmosphere was fantastic, we had tailgate parties in the car park, the whole U.S experience.
A few years later we lived in San Diego for a while, so started going to see, and support the Chargers. Again the downtime didn't seem so long, and there was always something (there's those cheerleaders again) to keep you entertained in between.
We watched some of the 'on the road' games in sports bars, and the breaks didn't seem too bad.
But, trying to watch live NFL on TV here, just doesn't work for me. The downtime is so large, the game so long, and I just drift off to the internet, or sleep, in between plays and lose interest.
I don't know if this is because we all seem to have much shorter attention spans these days, or not, but as much as I like the game itself, I've just drifted away from it.

**Motorboater** · July 21st, 2017, 11:37 AM

An inferiority complex is developing within me, since the op hasn't asked if Aussies like American football.

**Roubignol** · July 21st, 2017, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motorboater

An inferiority complex is developing within me, since the op hasn't asked if Aussies like American football.

As Aussie, you are Brits.
I'm born in Central Europe, but 4 generations ago some of my ancesters were Brits (Scottish and Wales)...
Even if I only learned English at school and lost the Brits passeports, I've decided byyyy myself, that I'm Brits too and by the way, Aussie too.

That's not to other people to tell you who you are. WTF.

That's what we call freedom of opinion.

**rosestone** · July 21st, 2017, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xyzde69

As Aussie, you are Brits.
Even if I only learned English at school and lost the Brits passeports, I've decided byyyy myself, that I'm Brits too and by the way, Aussie too.

That's not to other people to tell you who you are. WTF.

Something tells me he's not going to think he's British........

MaxJoker · July 21st, 2017, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosestone

Something tells me he's not going to think he's British........

Certainly considering I don't and neither do most English folks or Welsh , Scottish and Irish. Let alone Australians

**tygrkhat40** · July 21st, 2017, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackoutFOB

Seems like a lot of UK friends on here. So honest question. The NFL and US Media make you think there is really a fan base and the game is picking up traction. There is always talk about a team moving to London. But does anyone really care about the game. Is it more a spectacle one off event to watch.

I for one do not see it happening. No way the US Football can compete with actual Football

I do believe there is a fan base for American Football in the UK. However, I don't think it's large enough to support an NFL team full-time. As far as a team in London, the logistics are too big an obstacle to overcome, IMHO. There are the problems when Miami and Seattle play, imagine a London team having to play a US West coast team. Then you have to deal with housing players, getting them to want to play overseas, the exchange rates, taxes, etc.

NFL owners (collectively, not the brightest bunch) look at how much money they could possibly make, but fail to take into account how much mony it will cost them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motorboater

An inferiority complex is developing within me, since the op hasn't asked if Aussies like American football.

One NFL exhibition game was played in Australia. The Aussies were generally of the opinion that the players were wimps for wearing all the armor.

July 20th, 2017, 05:44 PM	#11
ultimatewarlord Vintage Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,474 Thanks: 8,328 Thanked 15,982 Times in 1,441 Posts	I've been a Pats fan since 1986. The NFL was a fad for several years in the UK. We had four monthly magazines for a very short while Quarterback which soon became First Down was a weekly newspaper I bought religiously for years. Panini did sticker albums for two years. A couple of small sets of trading cards were issued and other items crept into shops. The World League was formed and I became a die-hard London Monarchs fan. I still consider myself a Monarchs fan even 19 years after their demise. But did I know anyone to talk to about the sport? No. The fad soon died down. The magazines closed. Only First Down kept going with it's small but dedicated fanbase. Then years later came a resurgence. Whether it was down to Sky and increased exposure I don't know. But now I meet fans who actually talk about it and know their stuff. Keen viewers who tune in every sunday for three games. Yeah it's getting popular. However, all this shit about a British franchise is laughable. It's a ploy to keep the merchandise selling. A franchise here will be a flop. We all have our teams. I'm not giving up the Pats for the British Jaguars. And yeah......I've still got my panini sticker albums. __________________ The British Government is a disgrace.

July 20th, 2017, 05:51 PM	#12
ultimatewarlord Vintage Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,474 Thanks: 8,328 Thanked 15,982 Times in 1,441 Posts	On the subject of tv coverage. It was always Channel 4s baby and I felt sorry for them when Sky muscled in. Despite the year of the Vicious Boys when 4 seemed intent on committing Hari Kiri, they did a good job. The Mick Luckhurst years were probably the best even with his faltering delivery. BTW. Channel 4 also covered the first World League season in 1991 and was presented by a young, unknown reporter called Jeff Stelling. I still have every Monarchs game on tape. Need desperately to digitize them. The best Channel 4 intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2ZCgcDO6Ho __________________ The British Government is a disgrace.

July 20th, 2017, 06:48 PM	#13
Roubignol Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mice Planet Posts: 3,882 Thanks: 15,974 Thanked 29,727 Times in 3,826 Posts	I remember the first time that we watch an American football game at the TV. We, 5 college friends, reunited in front of the TV to watch this sport that we only read in newspapers and saw some pictures of these huge guys dressed like gladiators. We were ready with chips and beers and the game started. We were so impatient. 30 minutes later we turn off the TV and went outside to the bar to drink and hit on girls. It was the most boring game that we never watched in our life. Sometimes I watched 10 minutes of some games, but... it was not intense enough. At the same time, it was possible to watch Australian football. Damned. This sport was far more intensive. Nothing to compare. But there was no internet and impossible to find the rules in my mother tongue. I exactly had the same boring sensation with baseball, Nascar and Indycar. Long, long, long... far tooo loooonnngg. Basketball was a little bit more fun. It was the beginning of the career of Michael Jordan. I definitively decided to stop to watch US sports... until 10 years ago, when I spoke with a Swedish guy who told me that the NHL was far more intensive than the European hockey. I could not really believe it. I remembered that I already heard these same stories about the other US sports I mentionned before. Finally I decided to watch one NHL and the Swedish friend was right. It was huge. The same years I watched all the Play-Offs between Detroit and Pittsburgh. I stopped to watch NHL two years ago. I had the strange sensation that the American referees try far too much to make the game interesting and are not always very fair. Last edited by Roubignol; July 20th, 2017 at 08:00 PM..

July 21st, 2017, 07:31 AM	#14
Old Jud Vintage Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 840 Thanks: 7,251 Thanked 8,633 Times in 819 Posts	'Do Brits really like American Football?'.......Not this one. (Thanks for taking the time to read this deep and thought provoking reply.)

July 21st, 2017, 08:44 AM	#15
KayCeeGee Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 20 Thanks: 6,805 Thanked 493 Times in 15 Posts	I got into American football through a mate in 1991, the year that the NFL did the world league. I took my two daughters (both under 10 at the time) to all the London Monarchs home games, at Wembley Stadium, right through to the final, which was great family (including the cheerleaders for Dad !) entertainment. The downtime, between plays, was kept to a minimum, and the game seemed to flow just fine. The atmosphere was fantastic, we had tailgate parties in the car park, the whole U.S experience. A few years later we lived in San Diego for a while, so started going to see, and support the Chargers. Again the downtime didn't seem so long, and there was always something (there's those cheerleaders again) to keep you entertained in between. We watched some of the 'on the road' games in sports bars, and the breaks didn't seem too bad. But, trying to watch live NFL on TV here, just doesn't work for me. The downtime is so large, the game so long, and I just drift off to the internet, or sleep, in between plays and lose interest. I don't know if this is because we all seem to have much shorter attention spans these days, or not, but as much as I like the game itself, I've just drifted away from it.

July 21st, 2017, 11:37 AM	#16
Motorboater Vintage Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 4,333 Thanks: 41,558 Thanked 38,533 Times in 4,306 Posts	An inferiority complex is developing within me, since the op hasn't asked if Aussies like American football.