Why I Watch Football

It was January, 1998 and the Green Bay Packers were facing the Denver Broncos in one of the most memorable Super Bowls in the NFL's history. I was sitting on my couch with my father and watched John Elway get hit mid-air, sending him into his famous "helicopter" spin. From that point on, for the first time in my life, I was completely sucked into the game. I didn't care about the commercials, the chicken wings or the halftime show. I was focused on the amazing football game unfolding before me.


I am a Broncos fan. I somewhat inherited from my father (who grew up in Denver), who most likely also became a fan because of HIS father. Therefor I like to refer to myself as a third generation Denver Broncos fan. I follow the Broncos through the good times and the bad, unfortunately in the past few years there has been a lot more of the latter, but I still watch optimistically until my team routinely gets eliminated from playing in the playoffs.

I don't simply just follow the Broncos. I follow the NFL pretty closely, as well as participate in Fantasy football (which if you have not tried, I highly recommend doing so). College Football is somewhat a stranger to me still, although I get more and more acquainted to it every year. I especially pay attention to the NFL prospects playing College ball.

You may wonder why I like football so much. The answer is that I think it's one of the more complex, and engaging sports in the world. I ofter hear people describe football as "just people running into each other". This is definitely not the case. Though football does involve a large amount of physical contact, it is by no means the only factor in the game. The game can also be looked at like a game of chess, due to the huge amount of strategy involved. There is a huge amount of strategy involved in play calling, personnel hiring, time management, the draft, practices, trades, and even certain elements in stadium construction. One team could have the the strongest players in the world for running into the other team's players but without a good strategy, they'd get blown out of the water by the other team, assuming it's well coached.

The Super Bowl is today, and I suggest that everyone watch it. Maybe it will be the game that gets you hooked like the Super Bowl 12 years ago did for me. Even if you still feel indifferent to the sport after the game ends, the Saints and the Colts, the Who, as well as the famous super bowl commercials are sure to entertain you this evening.