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Why do Brits pretend to care about the Superbowl?

For 364 days a year no one outside of the US really gives a damn about NFL, but come Super Bowl sunday everyone's a massive fan (and mysteriously has always been a fan of whoevers in a final).
Now I think, NFL is just plane awful, so stop start and over commercialised. I try to watch it but just give up after the tenth break in as many minutes.
The only thing I think is excellent is the build up and the shear enthusiasm for it, gotta give credit for that.
Thoughts?

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Reply 1
Avatar for Simes
Simes
16
I have never in real life (i.e. not on telly) heard anyone ever talk about whatever it is you are writing about. Is this SuperBowl thing their version of rugby, or their version of rounders?
I see a couple of friends of mine who have recently gotten quite into american football, and while I see some of the appeal, as you've mentioned, it's too stop start to really engage me.
So while they care about the superbowl, no one else I know really does, so I don't think we even pretend to care, we just don't care at all for the most part.
Original post by Simes
I have never in real life (i.e. not on telly) heard anyone ever talk about whatever it is you are writing about. Is this SuperBowl thing their version of rugby, or their version of rounders?

Genuinely don't know if you're trolling me here
Reply 4
Avatar for Simes
Simes
16
Original post by BenLynch9
Genuinely don't know if you're trolling me here
... Googles 'superbowl' ... Oh, so it's their rugby-for-girls.

I don't pretend to care.

I just don't care.

Bye now, I'll let someone who cares respond.
Original post by H0PEL3SS
I see a couple of friends of mine who have recently gotten quite into american football, and while I see some of the appeal, as you've mentioned, it's too stop start to really engage me.
So while they care about the superbowl, no one else I know really does, so I don't think we even pretend to care, we just don't care at all for the most part.

Yeah I've been invited to a Super Bowl party. Would I be hypocritical to attend?
Original post by BenLynch9
Yeah I've been invited to a Super Bowl party. Would I be hypocritical to attend?


Tell the people who've invited you to reciprocate and watch the six nations with you. All of it. You'll have weekends in the pub sorted for the next month or so.
I don't know anyone who really cares about it, but I suppose for those that do, it's a bit of a novelty day like Halloween or something, an excuse to have a little party and be bored to tears before the game is 20% over.

As to why people claim to be lifetime fans of something when they're clearly not, probably think it makes them 'cool' or gives them some credibility when responding to the question of why they're having a superbowl party.
Original post by moonkatt
Tell the people who've invited you to reciprocate and watch the six nations with you. All of it. You'll have weekends in the pub sorted for the next month or so.


Haha, that would be excellent. Can't wait for Friday, love the six nations.
Original post by russellsteapot
I don't know anyone who really cares about it, but I suppose for those that do, it's a bit of a novelty day like Halloween or something, an excuse to have a little party and be bored to tears before the game is 20% over.

As to why people claim to be lifetime fans of something when they're clearly not, probably think it makes them 'cool' or gives them some credibility when responding to the question of why they're having a superbowl party.

I think youre correct, sir.
Original post by BenLynch9
For 364 days a year no one outside of the US really gives a damn about NFL, but come Super Bowl sunday everyone's a massive fan (and mysteriously has always been a fan of whoevers in a final).
Now I think, NFL is just plane awful, so stop start and over commercialised. I try to watch it but just give up after the tenth break in as many minutes.
The only thing I think is excellent is the build up and the shear enthusiasm for it, gotta give credit for that.
Thoughts?

You may not care about the NFL, personally I follow it religiously :h:

Partiots!!! Also Seahawks are going to take it, #DeflateGate will get in Brady's brain IMO.
Reply 11
Avatar for Loyota
Loyota
11
We don't care. End of.
I never cared for Superbowl or american football in general. I think it's lame and overrated, just like NASCAR.
Original post by tehFrance
You may not care about the NFL, personally I follow it religiously :h:

Partiots!!! Also Seahawks are going to take it, #DeflateGate will get in Brady's brain IMO.

Then credit to you, I have no beef with that. It's just the people who don't follow it and then become a huge fan come SBS
Original post by Vlad_Tepes
I never cared for Superbowl or american football in general. I think it's lame and overrated, just like NASCAR.

Yeah NASCAR's dreadful. I've Hockey and Basketball aren't bad though.
Reply 15
Avatar for Wade-
Wade-
10
I wondered how long it would be until some called it 'rugby for girls' - it'd be funny seeing someone say that to someone like Laron Landry's face. I think you underestimate the popularity of american football here. It's being growing for a while and with the NFL games at Wembley is likely to keep becoming more popular. I think most people do use it as an excuse for a party, I wonder if Americans so the same for the champions league
Original post by Wade-
I think most people do use it as an excuse for a party, I wonder if Americans so the same for the champions league

My experience is yes, many an American that enjoys football, tend to follow the European traditions of getting hammered while watching a game :h:

I won't forget when Beckham had a go at a Galaxy fan in LA once, they wanted the European version of football and they got it :lol:
No idea. Maybe they think it's cool? Personally i find it ridiculous when they stay up to watch it without a valid reason. I stayed up until 4am to watch it before once, and only because my local team were in the Super Bowl :P (Balitmore Ravens)
Reply 18
Avatar for Wade-
Wade-
10
Original post by TheTechN1304
No idea. Maybe they think it's cool? Personally i find it ridiculous when they stay up to watch it without a valid reason. I stayed up until 4am to watch it before once, and only because my local team were in the Super Bowl :P (Balitmore Ravens)


I live in London so the New England Patriots are probably my local team
Reply 19
Avatar for Olie
Olie
20
Maybe because some people in the UK do genuinely care about it and enjoy American Football, the fact they've managed to sell out Wembley 3 times this season for the NFL shows that people do genuinely care about it. Personally I'm certainly not a 'massive' fan, like I am of proper football, but I've shown a casual interest in it since I first went to America and got interested in it and I'm delighted that the team I've supported for 7 years now, the Seahawks are in the Superbowl for a second year in a row.

People criticise it for the padding the players wear and the fact its stops and starts so regularly, but if you actually sat down and properly watched an NFL game, you'd see why the pads and helmets are necessary, these players are no girls, they're all huge guys and players will get hit a lot harder in the NFL than in a rugby game. And if you watch it closely, then you start to get a sense of what a tactical and complex game it really is, yes it takes some getting used to with all the stopping and ad breaks, but I really think people dismiss it too easily, it'll never rival proper football for me, but I still genuinely enjoy it and staying up to watch the Superbowl. And I found an interesting article that assesses the age old view that its just 'rugby for pussies':

http://plymouth.tab.co.uk/2013/12/13/merry-christmas-from-the-tab/

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