# UK Dopers...excited about American football this weekend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044 "2007-10-25T22:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/41 "2007-10-26T20:14:44Z")
[QUOTE=jsc1953] Really? There’s a channel that carries US sports? Are they showing the (baseball) World Series at the moment? [/QUOTE] “Five”, as it is known, is now the home of US sports on British free-to-air TV. It used to be Channel Four’s preserve. But I had missed the fact that the World Series had started, and I quite like baseball (more than cricket, anyway). Thanks for the reminder! ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/42 "2007-10-26T20:16:21Z")
Oh, you missed a _hell_ of a game yesterday. With all of its commercials, World Series baseball normally bores me to sleep (and I say this as a formerly rabid baseball fan), but yesterday’s game was a classic pitching duel. Download it if you can. ETA: Game 1 was worthless, a 13-1 drubbing. Boston won both games and the series is now going west to Colorado, which means games will probably start two hours later, so fire up that TiVo. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/43 "2007-10-26T20:18:35Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Given that a pretty substantial number of Americans (myself included) were willing to stay up through ungodly hours of the morning to watch live 2002 WC matches, would you say that any substantial number of Britons are staying up to watch the World Series? [/QUOTE] I don’t think the ratings are easy to come by unless you subscribe to a TV ratings company. But given that it’s on Five (the youngest, cheapest and least-watched channel, but growing) and it’s on in the middle of the night, I would expect that the audience is well down in six figure territory. Well down. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/44 "2007-10-26T20:18:43Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Given that a pretty substantial number of Americans (myself included) were willing to stay up through ungodly hours of the morning to watch live 2002 WC matches, would you say that any substantial number of Britons are staying up to watch the World Series? [/QUOTE] Not a chance. You’ll probably find quite a few shift workers have ended up following it! And actually, I think yesterday’s game is being played on Setanta at the moment, if **Usram** is interested. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/45 "2007-10-26T20:22:04Z")
With the Miami Dolphins playing there won’t be any sort of a game. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/46 "2007-10-26T21:49:18Z")
This reminds me of a joke on \*The Tonight Show \* a few years back when the World Cup was going on. Jay Leno mentioned that several million Americans are all excited about the World Cup, and then added “…and they’re called _immigrants_”. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/47 "2007-10-26T22:28:47Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] They had an NFL game here in Sydney a few years ago so me and some like-minded friends went along. [/QUOTE] Was that the one in 1999? I was in Sydney on business shortly after that 1999 game was played, and one of my Australian business associates was at that game. He had a great time and quite liked it–but he also said that most people found it dull. Maybe it’s an acquired taste. AFL, on the other hand–wow! Yes, I did go to a game when I was in Australia. If that’s what you’re used to when you think “football,” I can see why NFL (and all its play stoppage) might be seen as dull. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/48 "2007-10-26T23:45:19Z")
Will the UK metric laws allow the field to be measured in yards? How about when it is “fourth and inches”? Will that have to be “fourth and centimeters” or “fourth and centimetres” or “fourth and millimeters”??? Damn metric system… ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/49 "2007-10-26T23:49:41Z")
That’s a good point. They recently enacted the death penalty for anyone who even mentions miles. I guess the teams will have to advance 9.144 metres in four downs, because Metric is stupid like that. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/50 "2007-10-27T00:02:02Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] That’s a good point. They recently enacted the death penalty for anyone who even mentions miles. I guess the teams will have to advance 9.144 metres in four downs, because Metric is stupid like that. [/QUOTE] Yeah, and we can’t have only 4 downs anymore. It has to be multiples of 10. Ten downs for a first down.. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/51 "2007-10-27T00:19:33Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Yeah, and we can’t have only 4 downs anymore. It has to be multiples of 10. Ten downs for a first down.. Ten deci-downs for a first down, you mean. Tsk. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/52 "2007-10-27T10:38:20Z")
It’s too bad that a lot of first time viewers will be seeing such a bad game. It’ll probably be among the most boring games of the season. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/53 "2007-10-27T12:56:28Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] It’s too bad that a lot of first time viewers will be seeing such a bad game. It’ll probably be among the most boring games of the season. [/QUOTE] Very much like (soccer) World Cup Finals then. Most of the recent ones have been stinkers. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/54 "2007-10-29T02:31:49Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] Was that the one in 1999? I was in Sydney on business shortly after that 1999 game was played, and one of my Australian business associates was at that game. He had a great time and quite liked it–but he also said that most people found it dull. Maybe it’s an acquired taste. AFL, on the other hand–wow! Yes, I did go to a game when I was in Australia. If that’s what you’re used to when you think “football,” I can see why NFL (and all its play stoppage) might be seen as dull. [/QUOTE] Yes, 1999 sounds about right. Yes, I’ve become somewhat converted to AFL after seeing the Swans play over the last few years. Whatever its flaws as a game, it basically doesn’t stop for 2 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Lipid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Lipid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lipid)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/55 "2007-10-29T03:13:29Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] It’s too bad that a lot of first time viewers will be seeing such a bad game. It’ll probably be among the most boring games of the season. [/QUOTE] It probably won’t be a close game but I don’t think it will be boring. Giants are going to beat on the Dolphins so fans should enjoy seeing a beating. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044/56 "2007-10-29T03:30:16Z")
Those fans who stuck around until the last 5 minutes or so saw some real excitement at that point, although Miami’s kicker flubbed the onside kick badly. For the uninitiated, he used a strategy that’s rather common and rather efficient on this side of the pond, _in good weather_ or on an artificial surface: kick the ball hard but low so that it bounces off the ground and flies almost straight up, and then hope that your dudes are taller than the other side’s dudes. On wet ground, of course, the ball just skipped off to the side and possession went back to New York. The Londoners, judging from their sheer volume, seemed to enjoy the game, even though it was a pretty bad one. But then, they’re used to low-scoring snoozefests 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-excited-about-american-football-this-weekend/424044.md?page=2)