Impaled Nazarene wrote:Boxing! I take it you are from across the ocean where boxing is still good?
Anyway local team is arbitrary. Look up the histories of the teams, their rosters, jerseys, etc.
I recommend the Cleveland Browns they were juggernauts 50 years ago but after they were screwed over by their owner became the worst team in all of sports, but now they are a hungry young team with massive upside and are just so likable.
As for a game you should try Super Bowl XLIII (43) between the Arizona Cardinals (historically the worst team in American Sports) and The Pittsburgh Steelers (Who up until last year were the most successful team post merger).
It's got a great narrative of a hot team led by legendary quarterback in Kurt Warner making his career comeback leading his team in several upsets. It has a team with the youngest coach in the league and a quarterback with a monkey on his back after finishing one of the toughest schedules in football history.
The game also happens to feature a wide variety of Football's rules and mechanics like
Challenges
Interceptions
Fumbles
Safety
The rules of catching
It's filled with great moments like
The best catch of all time
a 4th quarter comeback
the best receiver in the league with a go ahead score
the longest play in super bowl history
The players are incredible too
A hall of fame quarterback
The best receiver in the league
The toughest defense in the league
A receiver who can catch the most ridiculous passes
Young players with a lot to prove
Granted I am biassed by being a Steelers fan but even so I believe this is one of the best games of all time.
I live in the Middle East. Boxing’s always been a little bipolar, we have our ups and downs. I think there’s a lot of talent in the States right now, unfortunately a lot of good fighters don’t get a lot of public exposure and I sense there’s not much interest anyway. I have to admit I used to loathe football. Maybe I blamed it for my own sport’s state? NFL was becoming very popular at a time when boxing was banned by the NCAA and shoved off television. Then the whole concussion crisis came over and you start reading all these stories about football players going back out on the field with broken bones and playing while they’re basically punch drunk, that takes a lot of heart and nerve. The take away from that was that I think the two sports share a common problems: more and more parents don’t want they’re kids strapping on helmets or lacing up gloves and brain damage is a persistent issue.
We do have a tiny football league here, it’s mostly run by American expats but it’s pretty diverse overall. I think a lot of them are people who used to play it in high school or college. I’m not sure how good they are quality wise, but it’s fair to say they’re not winning a super bowl anytime soon. I don’t think football can really compete with soccer here, especially with the World Cup being in Qatar. The NBA have had more success promoting their sport here than the NFL, maybe because basketball have global superstars like Michael Jordan, most people know who MJ is even if they don’t follow the NBA but couldn’t name you a single football player, the NFL doesn’t really have that big world famous star. The great thing about a small league is you can get a ‘ringside’ seat right up close and see the action live from the ground, it doesn’t have that stadium atmosphere you guys have in the States but hey beggars can’t be choosers.