i think if you`ve ever played football, this question is a no brainer. it`s the teamwork, the daily grind, the crowd, the hits, the hustle, the excitement, the opponents, the teammates. what makes it popular, why do we love it? well cause it`s the best sport there is.
I think it has something to do to with its similar approach of two nations going to war(some of us subconsciously love war and like to parade with a group under a flag), and the way an overall strategy(so many formations, planning, and co-ordination) or yet an individual can change the game at any notice.
The combo of strategy and Violence. Nothing like a flea flicker or a running back throwing the ball to liven up the action No flopping on the ground and crying when someone bumps you. There's always action and the threat of something big happening (some of those defensive struggles can get boring) Soccer fans love to say Goals are the ultimate release. But tight football games have 4 or 5 jump out of your chair moments in every game. Interceptions, Big Passes, Big Hits, Big Returns. Football and Basketball to me are the only sports I can really get into when I don't have a rooting interest. I find I only like Baseball when the Astros are good, otherwise I'm kinda indifferent. I think I could like Cricket and Rugby if it were more available to me.
echo: Strategic planning (if you have never been involved in the game, you may not know how extensive the planning is, on every play every man has responsibilities and techniques) Physical execution (the strongest humans you can imagine in a physical man a' mano battle on every play) Jingoistic group association (humans love to be a part of a group, shared exuberance is contagious) plus, someone always scores and someone always wins. But I almost never watch on real time. Commercials do kill the flow and make it boring. Program the DVR and turn on the game 1 hour after it starts, you catch the up to real time at the last couple of minutes and feel the live action excitement. (use the extra hour to exercise or listen to music)
I think people like the violence and the big hits. There might be 60 plays on each side and each take 10 seconds or so. There is probably 20-25 minutes of action in a 3+ hour game.
Totally forgot about that. This is probably the number 1 reason why. It's the best sport to bet on. At least the easiest one to figure out how to place bets.
Football is war. It's primitive and tribal, simple in its goals but layered with complexity and specialization. The physicality and speed of the game is unlike anything else. From a practical standpoint, the fact that there's only one game each week provides opportunity for a lot of build up, hype, and anticipation that doesn't exist in the other sports. A team fan waits all week for that game whereas if you're a NBA fan and you miss a game, there's another game the next day or the day after. College football is a lot about tradition and alumni. Plus the fact that the players have a short window to perform and then they're gone. Also, the college game allows for more variation in the types of offenses and defenses you see. Every conference has an identity so to speak with certain styles and things they excel in and things they're known for. There's a ton of variety in college football to compensate for the quality of athletes teams are able to recruit.
It is the best television sport there is. There's a lot of intense, violent action and lots of breaks, during which they show replays of the intense action. It's still enjoyable to fans live, but I enjoy it less live than basketball, baseball, and even hockey. But it's just a little behind basketball for 2nd best TV sport.
I think the voilence and strategery are very important aspects, but then why don't we watch rugby? the missing ingredient: the forward pass. how exhilirating (or deflating) is it when a team goes from a potential 5 yard loss on 3rd down when the DE is inches from the QB, to a 20 yard gain the next second - knocking on the door of the next touchdown. I don't think any other sport has more instances of pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat, per game.
