.jpg)
A loud whistle sounds over the field, and the play is called dead. Players get up from the ground, coaches shout directions, and the refs place the ball about 20 yards from the goal line. Now the tension rises. Players on both sides of the ball are taking positions. Some defensive players form a kind of wall. The crowd is holding its breath; some people are standing up. Suddenly, the action erupts, and a few fractions later the ball soars through the air.. and.. the ball is caught! Boos and cheers from the crowd fill the air! No score! The goalkeeper has it!
Wait.. what? Wasn’t this about American football?
No, it wasn’t—it was a free kick in a soccer match. You probably thought it was a football game because you’re a fan of American football. You read this blog on a website covering American sports, maybe even living in the United States. Where I’m from, the Netherlands, people are far more soccer-orientated—it’s essentially a national sport. People live and die for their soccer teams, kids play it on every available square, and everybody experiences it as a national spectacle.
In such a soccer-minded environment, it’s hard to make people enthusiastic about the beautiful sport of American football. Here’s why American football is actually more entertaining and exciting to watch than European football:
Every player has a specific assignment… Of course every soccer player has a different task, but they’re all practicing the same basic skills. Defenders, midfielders, and forwards alike are playing the ball with their feet, dribbling, passing, and moving back and forth on the field. Of course, one exception is the goalkeeper, who stands in the goal and is allowed to use his hands, but you get the premise. In football, every player has a different job. A receiver is catching, a lineman is blocking, a quarterback is throwing, a running back is running, and so on. This is actually one of my favorite aspects of football: 22 players on the field with 22 specific and vastly different tasks. How cool is that?!
Get the excitement of 120 free kicks or penalties in a single game… Recap the story I started with, but this time imagine the free kick in soccer like I suggested. That’s really exciting, isn’t it? You can feel the eery silence before the storm as the players wait for the signal to kick the ball; at the same time, a sensation of hope and expectation runs through your mind. Are they going to score? Will they make a defensive stand? What will be the outcome of this high-pressure situation? That’s exactly the excitement you can experience over a 120 times in a single football game, as every down is filled with that same tension and expectation. A big play can truly occur on any snap, no matter the situation. How much more excitement can you ask for?
American football is full-throttle all the time… As I type this, I sigh in frustration over the ‘playback ball’ that is so characteristic of my Dutch national soccer team. First, the ball is passed endlessly from one defender to the other, and when it finally begins to look like a charge on enemy soil, the ball is played back again, and it starts all over (ugh… even more frustrating when there’s a deficit). These lame pauses in action are not present in American football—every snap is designed for an all-out attack, an attempt to get the ball as far as possible with as much force and tactics as necessary. No leaning back.
The entire team is involved in every snap… Can you imagine an American football player on the field with his hands on his hips during a play? No way! Everyone on the field is 100% involved in the action—to be honest, it took some time for me to realize that even the receiver to whom the ball is not thrown is helping his team by luring/blocking defenders away from the ball. Football may not always be continuous action, but it’s intense and explosive between the whistles.
Faking injuries Do I really need to explain this one? Soccer players fall and grab their legs if someone looks at them the wrong way. American football players.. well.. you get the point (just ask Julian Edelman).
Time to get drinks or visit the bathroom Soccer is a game of continuous play, and a true fan never leaves his TV during these precious minutes. One advantage to the many commercials during a football game is the time you get to refill and refresh.
If you’re a soccer fan and you’re reading this, I hope I helped to illuminate the beautiful and entertaining aspects of American football, which are often lost in the sport’s reputation as one of brute force and excessive violence. American football is worth your time; give it a try.
Written by Maarten Frankuizen, Zaandam Netherlands
Want to be featured on the Guest Blog? Message us at Third and Long on Facebook.
Comments