Smuts' NFL Thread

[ALC Fox]

1 hour ago, The Bear said:

Get yourself down to a game in London. They're great fun. Take 3 hours and you can take alcohol to your seats. 

That would be pretty awesome actually

[Bert]

3 hours ago, ALC Fox said:

I've always wanted to give NFL a go but the time difference, length of the games, and the fact I know very little about it always seemed like too much of a barrier.

 

But I caught up with the Super Bowl the next day on iPlayer and absolutely loved it! Now I'm gutted that it was the last game of the season 

 

I subscribe to The Athletic so I'll probably read some American Football articles on there before September. Can anyone recommend any good podcasts or written media to consume in the off-season?

 

When I was very young, my dad went to the States and brought me back some 49ers merch so I think they will be my adopted team from next season. 

I used to be “Can’t stand NFL, takes too long, too many breaks”. 
 

8/9 years ago my friend had a spare ticket so I thought why not, I’ll go along. Being there in the flesh almost instantly changed my perception of the sport. The stoppages didn’t seem anywhere near as long, you got to see all the different formations and set ups etc. 

[The Bear]

The stoppages are still noticeable at times. Like when they're standing round waiting for the adverts to finish. 

 

But they're good regardless. 

[purpleronnie]

That's why I love the RedZone, one play to the next, no breaks.

[SouthStandUpperTier]

If you can cope with watching cricket, where they have breaks in play twice a day so the players can eat cucumber sandwiches and a slice of Victoria sponge cake, then watching NFL is a doddle.

[Scotch]

1 hour ago, purpleronnie said:

That's why I love the RedZone, one play to the next, no breaks.

Redzone is great. Wish there was a PL equivalent. Kind of SS but they show you the goals as they go in as well as other flash points. 

[Jattdogg]

4 hours ago, purpleronnie said:

That's why I love the RedZone, one play to the next, no breaks.

CFL over here. Bigger field and 3 downs

 

https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Top10-NFL-vs-CFL-Differences

Edited 17 February 2022 by Jattdogg

[lildave3]

10 hours ago, SouthStandUpperTier said:

If you can cope with watching cricket, where they have breaks in play twice a day so the players can eat cucumber sandwiches and a slice of Victoria sponge cake, then watching NFL is a doddle.

I once had a cricket player tell me American football was too slow, blew my mind. Standing in a field for hours on end. Even football now we see people taking 3/4 minutes to get a free kick lined up and then they put it into the wall.

[Golden Fox]

17 hours ago, ALC Fox said:

I've always wanted to give NFL a go but the time difference, length of the games, and the fact I know very little about it always seemed like too much of a barrier.

 

But I caught up with the Super Bowl the next day on iPlayer and absolutely loved it! Now I'm gutted that it was the last game of the season 

 

I subscribe to The Athletic so I'll probably read some American Football articles on there before September. Can anyone recommend any good podcasts or written media to consume in the off-season?

 

When I was very young, my dad went to the States and brought me back some 49ers merch so I think they will be my adopted team from next season. 

Will be good to have a fellow Niners fan!

 

I half adopted them back in 1992 when I saw my first US teams in the flesh at Wembley & then became full time after spending time working in Santa Cruz & the demise of my first team: the Houston Oilers...

 

Its been a roller coaster few years. They have been pretty poor since the turn of the millennium other than an intense 4 years under Jim Harbaugh resulting in a close Superbowl loss and 2 close NFC Championship games and then an implosion in year 4 - but the reset button was pressed in 2017 giving matching 6 year deals to GM John Lynch & Head Coach Kyle Shanahan (a very unusual move) and then have built steadily and intelligently from then. They got them to the Superbowl in year 3 in 2019 - (another heartbreaking loss), then 2020 was a write-off with injuries, and 2021 was heading off the rails before a fantastic second half: they ended up winning elimination games at LA, at Dallas and at Green Bay (unprecedented to win 3 consecutive away games against 12 win teams) and they just fell away in the last quarter at LA again with the Superbowl in their hands.

 

LA will lose some key pieces, so the 49ers look set for a strong run again next year with a very good team. But the biggest story is at quarterback: Jimmy Garoppolo is a good quarterback and can be elite, but not consistently. They heavily invested in his replacement last year: Trey Lance, who is young, mobile and can makes thing happen, but he sat on the sidelines for all but 2 games last year. Chances are Jimmy will be traded this off-season and the reins handed over to Lance. He will have the whole weight of expectations on his inexperienced shoulders - so will be a fascinating storyline to watch play out!

 

I get most my news from the Athletic and they have 2 or 3 dedicated 49ers writers who are all very good, but the podcasts I used to listen to have fallen by the wayside, so not much help there.

 

Go Niners!

[ajthefox]

The other thing about the breaks is that a lot of the time you do get to see more replays of key moments and sometimes tactical analysis in game. I love those bits.

 

@ALC Fox - I've been listening to Around The NFL Podcast since the Pandemic started and I love it. Informative but also a good laugh. I don't miss an episode.

[Scotch]

My advice on picking a team is spend some time on fan groups and forum type things. 

 

When I first got into A.Football, I just picked the Cowboys at random and have followed them since but since the development of the Internet, I can now connect with their fan base more and it makes me regret my decision but I feel I can't really stop now. 

 

I'm low-key desperate for a UK based franchise so I have an excuse to jump ship. 

[SouthStandUpperTier]

21 minutes ago, Scotch said:

My advice on picking a team is spend some time on fan groups and forum type things. 

 

When I first got into A.Football, I just picked the Cowboys at random and have followed them since but since the development of the Internet, I can now connect with their fan base more and it makes me regret my decision but I feel I can't really stop now. 

 

I'm low-key desperate for a UK based franchise so I have an excuse to jump ship. 

Stay with me @Scotch. Don't desert me now.

[The Bear]

I still don't have a team and I've been watching for years!

 

I semi-chose The Seahawks because I bought a really nice hoodie of theirs 

[ajthefox]

6 hours ago, Scotch said:

My advice on picking a team is spend some time on fan groups and forum type things. 

 

When I first got into A.Football, I just picked the Cowboys at random and have followed them since but since the development of the Internet, I can now connect with their fan base more and it makes me regret my decision but I feel I can't really stop now. 

 

I'm low-key desperate for a UK based franchise so I have an excuse to jump ship. 

Why do you regret the decision?

 

I became a Ravens fan because the friend who introduced me to Madden (I'd never seen any NFL at this point) was a Ravens fan. It's now 15 years and counting for me and I wouldn't dream of jumping ship. I'm very fortunate to have landed on one of the best run franchises in the game, but still.

[Scotch]

1 hour ago, ajthefox said:

Why do you regret the decision?

 

I became a Ravens fan because the friend who introduced me to Madden (I'd never seen any NFL at this point) was a Ravens fan. It's now 15 years and counting for me and I wouldn't dream of jumping ship. I'm very fortunate to have landed on one of the best run franchises in the game, but still.

Nothing to do with the team. Cowboys fans though.... They are essentially the Man Utd fans of American sport. Entitled and embarrassing and I say that as one myself. 

[Bayfox]

7 hours ago, Scotch said:

My advice on picking a team is spend some time on fan groups and forum type things. 

 

When I first got into A.Football, I just picked the Cowboys at random and have followed them since but since the development of the Internet, I can now connect with their fan base more and it makes me regret my decision but I feel I can't really stop now. 

 

I'm low-key desperate for a UK based franchise so I have an excuse to jump ship. 

You regret it ?

 

I picked miami in the 80s/90s FFS

[Scotch]

Just now, Bayfox said:

You regret it ?

 

I picked miami in the 80s/90s FFS

Like I said, I picked it based on nothing really and enjoy watching them. I just can't stick the fan base. 

[Bayfox]

7 minutes ago, Scotch said:

Like I said, I picked it based on nothing really and enjoy watching them. I just can't stick the fan base. 

Fins twitter is akin to ours at times

[SouthStandUpperTier]

2 hours ago, Scotch said:

Nothing to do with the team. Cowboys fans though.... They are essentially the Man Utd fans of American sport. Entitled and embarrassing and I say that as one myself. 

It's 26 fruitless years and counting. I doubt the Cowboys have many fans under the age of 35. We're embarrassing in our delusion, most certainly. But I'm not sure we're entitled anymore. We try to convince ourselves otherwise, but most of us know deep down that we're not sniffing another championship while the Jones family runs the team.

[Golden Fox]

15 hours ago, Scotch said:

My advice on picking a team is spend some time on fan groups and forum type things. 

 

When I first got into A.Football, I just picked the Cowboys at random and have followed them since but since the development of the Internet, I can now connect with their fan base more and it makes me regret my decision but I feel I can't really stop now. 

 

I'm low-key desperate for a UK based franchise so I have an excuse to jump ship. 

This is good advice: after a break from US sports, I got back into it around 2007 when suddenly there was the internet, podcasts, Channel 5 showing games etc, and I was able to get into ice hockey... My team had always been the Maple Leafs (mainly from playing EA sports games), but I'd had my time working in California, and the only game I'd seen live was watching the Flames in Calgary, so it was difficult to pick between the 3.

 

Rather than making an early decision, I ended up downloading podcasts for all 3 teams and it gradually became apparent over 3 or 4 months that the Sharks were team I was following most without trying to force choosing 1 team (there are a lot of parallels between "Cowboys Nation" and "Maple Leaf Nation"). Although a mixed fanbase, it was where I'd spent time in the US, so could understand the culture more. (and podcasts leak references to other sports, so plenty of references to the Giants and Niners helped that synergy).

 

If you do read the Athletic though, I'd take some of the readers comments with a pinch of salt. Particularly on the 49ers articles, where there are a lot of fans who are think they are still in the 80s days of winning multiple Superbowls and anything less is a disaster - and they are the ones who feel the need to vent at any opportunity... look deeper and there are often much more balanced views that are more representative.

 

That said, it the London Monarchs were to make a return and hit the NFL, the 49ers would be relegated pretty quickly to 2nd team status!

[Scotch]

1 hour ago, Golden Fox said:

This is good advice: after a break from US sports, I got back into it around 2007 when suddenly there was the internet, podcasts, Channel 5 showing games etc, and I was able to get into ice hockey... My team had always been the Maple Leafs (mainly from playing EA sports games), but I'd had my time working in California, and the only game I'd seen live was watching the Flames in Calgary, so it was difficult to pick between the 3.

 

Rather than making an early decision, I ended up downloading podcasts for all 3 teams and it gradually became apparent over 3 or 4 months that the Sharks were team I was following most without trying to force choosing 1 team (there are a lot of parallels between "Cowboys Nation" and "Maple Leaf Nation"). Although a mixed fanbase, it was where I'd spent time in the US, so could understand the culture more. (and podcasts leak references to other sports, so plenty of references to the Giants and Niners helped that synergy).

 

If you do read the Athletic though, I'd take some of the readers comments with a pinch of salt. Particularly on the 49ers articles, where there are a lot of fans who are think they are still in the 80s days of winning multiple Superbowls and anything less is a disaster - and they are the ones who feel the need to vent at any opportunity... look deeper and there are often much more balanced views that are more representative.

 

That said, it the London Monarchs were to make a return and hit the NFL, the 49ers would be relegated pretty quickly to 2nd team status!

#BringBackTheClaymores

[KingsX]

On 17/02/2022 at 18:56, Scotch said:

Nothing to do with the team. Cowboys fans though.... They are essentially the Man Utd fans of American sport. Entitled and embarrassing and I say that as one myself. 

 

Very, very perceptive on your part.  I've always seen the Cowboys as Man United, a self-important club whose main reason for being is marketing to people who don't really watch much football.

 

One is owned by greed-mongers who managed to turn it into their ATM.  The other, by a guy who vies for the amazing feat of being the most obnoxious of the 32 obnoxious billionaires who own NFL franchises.  And insists on being his own GM

 

Both are marketing triumphs used as case studies in business schools.  The parallels break down when you compare the two clubs' actual laurels ... Man U have historically been quite important, the Cowboys another club whose fortunes rise and fall like a sine wave in a league designed to produce that kind of result.

 

The "America's Team" branding is directed at the same type of ignorant, four-TV-games-a-year-plus-a-shirt casual fans as watch United all over the world.  And goes over just about as well with the fans of every other team.

 

Don't compromise your enjoyment any more.  Just pick another team whose players you like and owner you can tolerate.

[SouthStandUpperTier]

7 hours ago, KingsX said:

 

Very, very perceptive on your part.  I've always seen the Cowboys as Man United, a self-important club whose main reason for being is marketing to people who don't really watch much football.

 

One is owned by greed-mongers who managed to turn it into their ATM.  The other, by a guy who vies for the amazing feat of being the most obnoxious of the 32 obnoxious billionaires who own NFL franchises.  And insists on being his own GM

 

Both are marketing triumphs used as case studies in business schools.  The parallels break down when you compare the two clubs' actual laurels ... Man U have historically been quite important, the Cowboys another club whose fortunes rise and fall like a sine wave in a league designed to produce that kind of result.

 

The "America's Team" branding is directed at the same type of ignorant, four-TV-games-a-year-plus-a-shirt casual fans as watch United all over the world.  And goes over just about as well with the fans of every other team.

 

Don't compromise your enjoyment any more.  Just pick another team whose players you like and owner you can tolerate.

@Scotch Ignore this Browns fan. Embrace the Darkside.

[Golden Fox]

17 hours ago, KingsX said:

 

Very, very perceptive on your part.  I've always seen the Cowboys as Man United, a self-important club whose main reason for being is marketing to people who don't really watch much football.

 

One is owned by greed-mongers who managed to turn it into their ATM.  The other, by a guy who vies for the amazing feat of being the most obnoxious of the 32 obnoxious billionaires who own NFL franchises.  And insists on being his own GM

 

Both are marketing triumphs used as case studies in business schools.  The parallels break down when you compare the two clubs' actual laurels ... Man U have historically been quite important, the Cowboys another club whose fortunes rise and fall like a sine wave in a league designed to produce that kind of result.

 

The "America's Team" branding is directed at the same type of ignorant, four-TV-games-a-year-plus-a-shirt casual fans as watch United all over the world.  And goes over just about as well with the fans of every other team.

 

Don't compromise your enjoyment any more.  Just pick another team whose players you like and owner you can tolerate.

 

10 hours ago, SouthStandUpperTier said:

@Scotch Ignore this Browns fan. Embrace the Darkside.

The Browns are a marketing case study all of their own. "Lets not bother with a nickname... we'll just name them after the color - brown is a good, strong color, right? What about the helmet logo? No need to bother, we'll just go with brown. Actually, make it orange. The merchandise sales will roll in!" 

 

And when it actually is time to modernise the look and do something unusual... "Lets write Browns down the side of the pants."

 

Still, it could be worse...

[SouthStandUpperTier]

1 minute ago, Golden Fox said:

 

The Browns are a marketing case study all of their own. "Lets not bother with a nickname... we'll just name them after the color - brown is a good, strong color, right? What about the helmet logo? No need to bother, we'll just go with brown. Actually, make it orange. The merchandise sales will roll in!" 

 

And when it actually is time to modernise the look and do something unusual... "Lets write Browns down the side of the pants."

 

Still, it could be worse...

They actually take their name from their founder Paul Brown, rather than the colour brown. Isn't that right @KingsX?