Do you have a difficult time following football?

[ktgrok]

1. I follow the person with the ball not really the ball. And even then, sometimes it is hard. that's why they have replays 🙂

2. I have a VERY odd reaction to the sounds of football in the background - it makes me very sleepy. Now, if it is my team and I'm actively watching it doesn't make me sleepy. But if I'm in the next room or not following the game instant nappy time. BECAUSE....my dad used to make us kids go take naps so he could watch the 1pm Dolphins games, lol. So football commentators in the next room were my weekend nap soundtrack. Now it is just ingrained. 

huh...wonder if I could put on a game on low volume to help my perimenopause insomnia....

[Bootsie]

Reading people say they don't know the importance of "downs" in football made me think of many of the terms used in American English--punt, Hail Mary pass, run interference, move the goal posts... that come from the game.

[Lady Florida.]

Just now, Bootsie said:

Reading people say they don't know the importance of "downs" in football made me think of many of the terms used in American English--punt, Hail Mary pass, run interference, move the goal posts... that come from the game.

And a song - Backfield in Motion.

 

[ScoutTN]

29 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

Reading people say they don't know the importance of "downs" in football made me think of many of the terms used in American English--punt, Hail Mary pass, run interference, move the goal posts... that come from the game.

Yes. A bit of cultural literacy. My Ds realized this as he has a teammate from an immigrant family who is learning the verbiage as he learns to play the game. 

[ScoutTN]

@ktgrok I think pro fb on in the background is very conducive to a Sunday afternoon nap!

[fraidycat]

9 hours ago, ktgrok said:

1. I follow the person with the ball not really the ball. And even then, sometimes it is hard. that's why they have replays 🙂

2. I have a VERY odd reaction to the sounds of football in the background - it makes me very sleepy. Now, if it is my team and I'm actively watching it doesn't make me sleepy. But if I'm in the next room or not following the game instant nappy time. BECAUSE....my dad used to make us kids go take naps so he could watch the 1pm Dolphins games, lol. So football commentators in the next room were my weekend nap soundtrack. Now it is just ingrained. 

huh...wonder if I could put on a game on low volume to help my perimenopause insomnia....

As newlyweds, football on Sunday was a ritual for DH & I and another couple. We took turns hosting to watch all the games. Except, I fell asleep every Sunday - my house or theirs didn't matter. I just could not stay awake. So I get it. Football = Sunday afternoon naps.

It's not even a matter of not liking or understanding the game. I both like and understand and have attended both NFL and CFL games live. It was just something about the sounds and the t.v.
 

 

[Terabith]

I can't follow football but I also can't follow basketball.  Really, baseball is the only sport I can follow.  And to some weird and limited extent, hockey.  I have always assumed it's a processing speed issue.

[Ginevra]

Another hate-watching-football person here. I don’t understand much of the game strategy and there’s just close to nothing I want to spend time on less than watching football, whether on TV or in person. 
 

I do like watching baseball (by comparison; I don’t seek it out but I’ll watch if I’m not busy). I liked watching my kids when they played baseball. I understand most of baseball strategy and good hits/catches/running really is thrilling to watch, especially when it’s your kid, your nephew or their teammates. 🙂 

All of my kids played soccer for years and years and I never understood the Off Sides call. It was explained to me forty thousand times but it still doesn’t make sense to me. 

[2squared]

#1 son - running back and linebacker
#2 son - left tackle (converted from running back) and linebacker
#3 son - running back/wide receiver and safety/corner

My #2 son has turned into a lineman, so I am learning that the real action is ahead of the ball. Each play’s success depends on the big guys opening holes for the running backs to run through or holding off the rush for the passing plays.  If my son does his job well, the ball and ball carrier travel through his hole. If my son doesn’t do his job, the ball and ball carrier get tackled very quickly. 

On defense, same thing. If the big guys hold the line, the linebackers are able to get to the ball and make tackles. If the big guys can’t hold the line, the ball moves forward before the linebackers can make the tackles. 

Edited September 9, 2023 by 2squared

[KrissiK]

3 hours ago, Ginevra said:

 

All of my kids played soccer for years and years and I never understood the Off Sides call. It was explained to me forty thousand times but it still doesn’t make sense to me. 

It took me a while to understand that one, too, but when I did, I look for it all the time. “Hey ref, watch for off-sides.”

[2squared]

3 hours ago, 2squared said:

#1 son - running back and linebacker
#2 son - left tackle (converted from running back) and linebacker
#3 son - running back/wide receiver and safety/corner

My #2 son has turned into a lineman, so I am learning that the real action is ahead of the ball. Each play’s success depends on the big guys opening holes for the running backs to run through or holding off the rush for the passing plays.  If my son does his job well, the ball and ball carrier travel through his hole. If my son doesn’t do his job, the ball and ball carrier get tackled very quickly. 

On defense, same thing. If the big guys hold the line, the linebackers are able to get to the ball and make tackles. If the big guys can’t hold the line, the ball moves forward before the linebackers can make the tackles. 

Hence the saying, “the game is won or lost at the line of scrimmage”

[fraidycat]

12 hours ago, Ginevra said:

Another hate-watching-football person here. I don’t understand much of the game strategy and there’s just close to nothing I want to spend time on less than watching football, whether on TV or in person. 
 

I do like watching baseball (by comparison; I don’t seek it out but I’ll watch if I’m not busy). I liked watching my kids when they played baseball. I understand most of baseball strategy and good hits/catches/running really is thrilling to watch, especially when it’s your kid, your nephew or their teammates. 🙂 

All of my kids played soccer for years and years and I never understood the Off Sides call. It was explained to me forty thousand times but it still doesn’t make sense to me. 

I'll watch kids play ball, but I'd rather watch paint dry than watch an MLB game on t.v. 😂😂😂 Live might be a smidge better, but on t.v. it is soooooooo sloooooooooowwwwww.

[Frances]

No, but I grew up watching it on TV with my dad and playing touch football with my older brother and his friends, so lots of experience, although these days I rarely choose to watch it.

[Frances]

4 hours ago, fraidycat said:

I'll watch kids play ball, but I'd rather watch paint dry than watch an MLB game on t.v. 😂😂😂 Live might be a smidge better, but on t.v. it is soooooooo sloooooooooowwwwww.

So agree. Watching or listening to MLB is incredibly painful for me. Going to MLB games when we lived near it was more fun because it was more like a social event. However, I watched tons of Little League and high school baseball in person growing up because my high school was and still is highly ranked and that was almost always fun because I knew most of the players or at least their siblings. 
 

Similarly, while softball was my favorite sport of all the ones I did, I generally found the games boring because there was so much downtime. I loved, loved, loved practice and would have done it all day. But didn’t really like the games.

[KrissiK]

So, did anyone watch football this afternoon? I did. Raiders won by a point and so did the Saints. I was cheering for them.

[Sneezyone]

Not today, yesterday. I watched the SEC collapse for the second week in a row while my beloved (if doomed) Pac-12 rose to the occasion against other P5 teams. Sigh.

[Tenaj]

6 hours ago, KrissiK said:

So, did anyone watch football this afternoon? I did. Raiders won by a point and so did the Saints. I was cheering for them.

Yes, watched my Bengals lose to the Browns.  Boo!  Bengals looked really bad but they looked bad last year on the first game against Pittsburgh, too, so I haven't lost hope for the season.  I would sit and watch games all day on Sunday but my dd hates football so I took a break and let her watch her current show (S.H.E.I.L.D.) for a few episodes during the 4:30 games.  

[Carrie12345]

On 9/6/2023 at 11:47 PM, Lecka said:

But that’s how I am with hockey.  The puck goes whiz, whiz and I have no idea what the players are doing or why.  They just cruise around the ice, to me.  

Same! Dh grew up playing hockey and used to watch a lot more than he does now. I got him tickets for our first Christmas. In person or on TV, I have zero idea where the puck is!

Football is easy by comparison. But only by comparison!

[popmom]

My oldest dd created a "meme" today that made me think of this thread. Then she added a comment and her twin responded, too. I thought it was cute. 🙂

She's not kidding when she talks about those Sunday debriefing talks with my dh. It's intense. 😂

Edited September 19, 2023 by popmom

[Bootsie]

This weekend I was watching my college football team play on TV.  My mom, who is another city, was also watching.  I received a text from her that read "TOUCHDOWN!"  I was like ?????? what was that about?  They just made a first down, and the chains are being moved--nothing close to a touchdown (and my mom knows football).  I would like a touchdown, too, but, we are about mid-field and it is not a touchdown-critical play.  Then, the ball is snapped, the quarterback throws a pass and the receiver runs almost 50 yards for a touchdown.  There was apparently that much of a delay between when my mom was seeing the "live" broadcast and I was receiving the "live" broadcast.

[popmom]

1 minute ago, Bootsie said:

This weekend I was watching my college football team play on TV.  My mom, who is another city, was also watching.  I received a text from her that read "TOUCHDOWN!"  I was like ?????? what was that about?  They just made a first down, and the chains are being moved--nothing close to a touchdown (and my mom knows football).  I would like a touchdown, too, but, we are about mid-field and it is not a touchdown-critical play.  Then, the ball is snapped, the quarterback throws a pass and the receiver runs almost 50 yards for a touchdown.  There was apparently that much of a delay between when my mom was seeing the "live" broadcast and I was receiving the "live" broadcast.

Yes! my dh will not look at social media at all during broadcasts because he knows our TV coverage has that delay! lol It really messes with him.

[popmom]

On 9/10/2023 at 11:31 PM, Sneezyone said:

Not today, yesterday. I watched the SEC collapse for the second week in a row while my beloved (if doomed) Pac-12 rose to the occasion against other P5 teams. Sigh.

Alabama does not = the SEC 🤣🫠🫠😉I am joking. I don't follow much other than Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, and TN. Ummm and LSu, MS state, and Ole Miss. Sigh. Hadn't heard about any SEC collapse. Sounds like wishful thinking from another conference. 😉

Edited September 19, 2023 by popmom

[Sneezyone]

4 minutes ago, popmom said:

Alabama does not = the SEC 🤣🫠🫠😉I am joking. I don't follow much other than Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, and TN. Hadn't heard about any SEC collapse. Sounds like wishful thinking from another conference. 😉

Everyone's hearing is affected by earmuffs and la, la, laaaas! 😂

[popmom]

2 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Everyone's hearing is affected by earmuffs and la, la, laaaas! 😂

We'll see who gets that natty!

Sadly won't be my team. ((War Eagle, anyway))

Edited September 19, 2023 by popmom

[TravelingChris]

On 9/9/2023 at 6:06 PM, fraidycat said:

I'll watch kids play ball, but I'd rather watch paint dry than watch an MLB game on t.v. 😂😂😂 Live might be a smidge better, but on t.v. it is soooooooo sloooooooooowwwwww.

I hate baseball- way too slow, I was so pleased my city got a minor soccer team this year.  I watch soccer, hockey and American football- mostly college.   I sometimes watch tennis on tv too.

[KrissiK]

7 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

I hate baseball- way too slow, I was so pleased my city got a minor soccer team this year.  I watch soccer, hockey and American football- mostly college.   I sometimes watch tennis on tv too.

I enjoy baseball, but I only really watch the playoffs and the World Series.  I am too busy to actually sit down and watch any kind of game, except the NFL on Sundays, but I bought a tv for my kitchen so I can have sports on while I work in there. Love college football. 

[ScoutTN]

9 hours ago, popmom said:

Alabama does not = the SEC 🤣🫠🫠😉I am joking. I don't follow much other than Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, and TN. Ummm and LSu, MS state, and Ole Miss. Sigh. Hadn't heard about any SEC collapse. Sounds like wishful thinking from another conference. 😉

Hahahaha! 

I am married to a Vol. I think the satisfaction of last year’s win over Alabama will see him through this year, even if UT is terrible. 😆😆😆

Personally, I am an ACC grad and no not have an emotional stake in SEC football. 

We were recently gifted tix to the Vandy-Georgia game. Dh was uninterested, but Ds wants to go and take friends, so Dh is going anyway. 😎

[ktgrok]

I meant to watch the Dolphins on sunday night but then got busy getting kids to bed and forgot! 

[knitgrl]

Both of my ds follow football. (No idea where that came from!) Last year, we started watching games because we love ds10. I had no idea what was going on, but really appreciated Tony Romo as a commentator. I learned a lot about the game from him.

[Lady Florida.]

I said earlier in the thread that I don't watch football but I used to and have no trouble following it. 

On Saturday I met a group of friends for lunch at a sort of waterfront, sort of sports friendly restaurant. We were seated in the back of the place with one side of our table against a wall. I was seated opposite the wall and a tv was above me. I looked up and noticed my alma mater (FSU) was playing Boston College. Every now and then I'd glance up mostly to look at the score rather than the action. Oh, they're tied. Uh-oh, BC is ahead. Oh, we must have scored because now we're ahead. Go 'Noles! After we left the restaurant I forgot all about the game. It wasn't until yesterday that I looked up the final score out of curiosity. FSU won but just barely. 

[Sneezyone]

11 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Hahahaha! 

I am married to a Vol. I think the satisfaction of last year’s win over Alabama will see him through this year, even if UT is terrible. 😆😆😆

Personally, I am an ACC grad and no not have an emotional stake in SEC football. 

We were recently gifted tix to the Vandy-Georgia game. Dh was uninterested, but Ds wants to go and take friends, so Dh is going anyway. 😎

I am planning to take my dad to homecoming this year since we are playing his Penix-led Huskies. Lord help me if we lose!! Dad's memory may be slipping but he will remember THAT! 🙂

Edited September 20, 2023 by Sneezyone

[popmom]

12 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Hahahaha! 

I am married to a Vol. I think the satisfaction of last year’s win over Alabama will see him through this year, even if UT is terrible. 😆😆😆

Personally, I am an ACC grad and no not have an emotional stake in SEC football. 

We were recently gifted tix to the Vandy-Georgia game. Dh was uninterested, but Ds wants to go and take friends, so Dh is going anyway. 😎

I can SO relate to this. lol