Football? More Like Football!

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There is a reason why the World Cup finals is the single most viewed sporting event on Earth.  In the 2010 games, an estimated 700 million people watched Spain clash with The Netherlands in the final.  That’s roughly a tenth of the population of our planet.  It’s also almost seven times the number of viewers of the most watched Super Bowl, which was in 2012, and had 111.3 million viewers.  So why is football (pitch) so much more popular than football (gridiron)?  The answer is simple.  It’s a better game.

I think it’s a good time, given the upcoming World Cup, to spend some time thinking about the beautiful game, and why I, like the rest of the civilized world, love it so much.  It is also worth noting that I am a huge Liverpool FC supporter (like LeBron James) and that it has been an emotional week for me, being the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster that claimed the lives of 96 fans.  In fact, during today’s opening ceremonies at Anfield, I cried, and I’m not ashamed of that.

Football (American) is a sport of violence, anger, and intimidation.  I’ll freely admit that it is full of athleticism and passion, both important qualities of any organized sport.  It is also needlessly complicated, and even the players (and sometimes coaches) don’t have a full grasp of the rules.  Try condensing it into ten words or less.  I think you’ll find that a rather challenging task.

Football (World) on the other hand, can be summed up quite succinctly in less than ten words.  Try this:  Put the ball in the net.  No hands allowed.

Of course, as the game has evolved, there are a few more rules added in (offsides, goalkeepers hands, etc.) but the rulebook is significantly thinner than football (American) and much easier to explain.  Find me a professional football (World) player who doesn’t know all of the rules, and you’ll have found me a liar.  The same cannot be said for football (American) players.

I have also found (anecdotally) that football (World) players and coaches give better press conferences by leaps and bounds.  Let me give you an example from this morning’s match of Liverpool vs. Manchester City, a very important tilt in the Premier League title race:

Liverpool won the match 3-2, led by their captain, Steven Gerrard.  As soon as the game ended, he immediately called his team together for a huddle.  In said huddle, which the cameramen were desperately trying to get inside of, Mr. Gerrard was as animated and passionate as any man I have ever seen on a field of play.  You could see the intensity written all over his face.  Later, when he faced the media, he was asked what he said to his team.  He answered, “That’s none of your business.”

Professional athletes on both sides of the pond are contractually obligated to speak to reporters, but it is rare to find an American who is willing to be so blatant in his commitment to his teammates in front of the camera.  It reminds me of when Seal Team 6 visited the White House, and were asked point blank by the President of the United States which one of them had killed Bin Laden.  They refused to single out a man, instead responding that they had killed him as a team.  The British interviewer (like the President) pressed no further in his questioning of the Liverpool captain, another sign of the mutual respect between the media and the athletes.

I could go on ad infinitum with reasons that I prefer football (World), but I’ll leave you with this thought:

America has four major professional sports.  The rest of the world has, by and large, just one.  Are we really that split as to which one is the best?  Seems like everybody else has it figured out.  Let’s step up our collective game, and start playing the right one.

-Harry