AT


Yes, the clock starts when the receiving team touches the ball - a play at the end of the quarter or game itself lasts until it is over, not when the clock hits 0.

World champions?  Who else plays football?  I mean the Canadians, but ...  Besides, even the Cowboys could beat any other foreign team, so World Champions is correct.  It ain't like the other football where they don't use nothing but feet.  But that game is the Seinfield of sports - "nothing ever happens."  You watch for a couple of hours and the score is still tied -- 0-0.  Then they let them kick balls closer and closer until someone can score.  Funny.

;-)  @

The Brits feel the same way about American football, on the whole. To us, it seems like the game is constantly stopping and starting. I have never been able to sit through a game of American football, sorry I find it boring. Actually I find sports in general boring, but at least with soccer I can appreciate the grace and finesse of the players. I remember being dragged to a Newcastle Utd game sometime in the 90's, and was blown away to see the magic of David Ginola in the flesh. At one point he intercepted a long pass in the air by doing a backflip and kicking the ball behind his head and straight into the net in the process. There is a lot of artistry involved in soccer. 

This is the kind of thing that gets people excited about soccer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8OPLHcIvJE

The pacing of football is perfect for TV w/ natural breaks in the action to sell commercials.  Probably why it is so popular here in the states.

And yea, the "other" football has its own charms.  what is funny here in the US it has been the next big sport for 40 years.  Always the bridegroom.

But if you want to see athlete's basketball is hard to beat.  See it live and you find out it is much rougher than it looks on TV.  I do watch it, tho it, like soccer, is not a natural fit to TV.  And that is where the big money is.  I get kicks out of people talking about how much sports figures gets compared to a teacher or such.  Why don't they pick on hollywood, too?  It is all just entertainment.

It was a good game, tho.  I thought the Ravens would run away w/ it, then the power outage.  I wonder if Ray Nagin accepted money to pull a plug or two?  Nothing about San Francisco and Debartolo would suprise me.  He had one of his players almost beat to death after badmouthing the ownership.  Of course, nothing ever came of it.

@

@

Was there some kind of important sporting event today?

sharke


There is a lot of faking injury artistry involved in soccer. 

Frenched.
 

I tend to catch at least part of the super bowl ... as it tends to be a somewhat important game.

I got up and did some other things during the halftime show and the 30 minutes or so when the lights were out.  Seriously? You can't play a game with only half the lights? Both teams are at the same advantage/disadvantage.... it's easier than playing in a snow storm or the rain.... neither of which seem to stop the game as I recall. 

The return kick out of the halftime was very cool... 108 yards returned... it seemed like the 49ers had finally come to play.... to bad they didn't play that way in the 1st half.... not that I rooted for either team, however, it would have made for a much more interesting first half. 

The last few seconds of the game is all about strategy (for what little I do understand about this game) and the hope that somehow the team that is behind, but still within reach of a possible win, can some how pull that victory out of it's posterior regions, while the team that is ahead is planning to prevent that by running the clock out. 

The commercials were for the most part lame..... by super bowl standards.  The Bud commercials were the worst I've ever seen....  

All my life I've been so involved with music that I use to think that a superbowl was one of those restaurant menu items; Supersized!! 

Seriously, didn't have much time for sports. 

As I've mentioned earlier, American football should be called Pit Ball , 'cause it's the armpit where the "ball"  is most of the time. In soccer you control the ball with your feet, so football is the correct name. :o)

Or is the name due to the lenght of the ball?? :o)

However, it's a fine sport (even though I prefer rugby to it). My brother and son are passionate about it, and have tought me lots about it. IMO, American football is too expensive and complicated, requires too much referees and equipment, that's why it'll never spread like, say, basket ball, volley ball or hand ball. It's like the Formula 1 of team sports, only for the selected, too expensive/hard to arrange for most. The world domination of soccer is simply due to the fact that all you need is the ball.

I'm not a fan of either team and I found most of the game pretty boring.  It followed the pattern of most of the playoff games--it was one-sided.  The first half was one-sided in favor of the Ravens and the second half favored the 49ers.  The last few minutes were exciting, but it was like they played two separate games divided by the blackout.  

Not for the first time, I actually tried to watch it to see if I could figure out why Americans find it so captivating. There must be something to it I thought, they can't all be stupid, surely?
 
I'm sorry Americans, I really tried, but lost the will to live after 30 minutes which mostly consisted of people talking about the 10 seconds of actual play that happened a few minutes ago. Just don't get how that could possibly hold anyone's attention for four freaking hours.
 
The only thing I could think of was that American men don't actually watch it either and  just put it on the TV to make the womenfolk leave the room, so they can get a few hours of p&q. Am I right ?  ;)