Why Men Watch NFL Football Games

Have you ever wondered, why men watch football?  Well in this post we're going to get into that.  Why, well, because E.C. Henry is a big-time, NFL football fan.  I preface that because I'm not too into college football, and I definitely tune out all high school football chatter.

Football is soap operas for men

Are football games like soap operas?  Yes, but with decided masculine, testosterone package.  Lemme explain.   Why do men watch football?  Listen to common discussions.  Our team in the playoff hunt, this game in crucial to us staying the hunt.  Think we can beat these guy?  I can't wait to prove that our team is ready to take the next step up.

Watch enough NFL football, and you'll find most games have a distinct drama element to it.   

I love the NFL.  I can watch almost any game and get into it.  Why?  Because, in my mind I have my own hierarchy of "hero teams" and "villain teams" which I have a natural bend to root for or against.  And I believe a lot of NFL enthusiasts do the same.

• Teams E.C. Henry has a rooting interst for: 1) Seattle Seahawks, 2) Pittsburgh Steelers, 3) Green Bay Packers 4) New England Patriots
• Teams E.C. Henry has a rooting interest against: 1) San Fransisco 49ers, 2) Dallas Cowboys, 3) Oakland Raiders, 4) Denver Bronkos, 5) Baltimore Ravens

Significance?  If a games on for a team I have a rooting interest for, I'm very likely to tune in.  Conversely, sometimes I'll tune in JUST for a team I have rooting interest against, with the hopes I'll see them lose.  What about all the other NFL teams not listed on either side of the rooting ledger?  Ambivalence.  Not really too into them.  Buffalo Bills v.s. Cleveland Browns?  Good luck getting me to watch that one.   Or in other words the soap oprah on that network isn't working good enough to solicit my interest.

Football is soap oprahs for men

So who did the the best?  Who was best at delivering the "drama" element of NFL football.  That's easy ABC's Howard Cosell from their Monday Night Football broadcasts in the 70s through the early 80s.  I can still remember how I used to "have to watch" the halftime highlights where action from around the league was played in slow motion and Howard Cosell stepped us through the action and how it played into the drama unfolding through the teams competing for playoff spots.  This was GENIUS.  And NOBODY and I mean nobody has EVER done it as good as Cosell did it back in the early 80s.  Too bad eventually Cosell lost his edge and eventually his job for saying inappropriate thing during his commentary on a kick-off return.  Once Cosell left Monday Night football, the broadcast suffered.  Lot of good broadcaster, but no one had the flair for accenting the drama like Cosell did.  He was unique.  He was the best -- in my opinion.    

Why men love watching football:

1. A masculine form of drama that appeals to their inner need to conquest.  Read the book of Genesis.  What did God originally want men to do? Conquer and subdue the earth.  Men have in heart to be conquerers.  Football and the drama therein appeal to a primeval desire to be heroes and conquer foreign lands.  Football is an easy transition from the that inherent desire God place in man.
2. Simple strategies that men can relate to.  Most men while watching an NFL game will discuss the strategy of the moment in a given what.  What should and shouldn't be done.  Watch enough of these games and you'll find pretty much the same strategies are discussed over-and-over-and-over again.  YET, men somehow feel there being smart, making the right call in a given situation.  Actually, the simplicity of thought in some circumstance is quite funny, after a while NFL strategy is quite predictable and easy to follow, unless you're a retard or something.
3. Football is like an avatar where men envision themselves as something physically greater than they currently are.  When watching football commonly men get sucked into the fantasy element of the game.  They start acting barbaric and sometimes act out in violence.  This is really accent if one is inebriated or not too smart to begin with.  
   
4. The inner need to be part of something bigger than themselves.  Men typically tend to be solitary creatures, but football provides the allure of communing with other men and being part of a common horde.  Ever watched how fans filing out of a stadium cheer and goad other fans to do the same.  It's a communal bonding thing.  Sure its ridiculous, bonding over a sports team.  Most times you don't even know these people.  But the bonding is real.  I've felt it before.  It's a shared reaction.  "Yeah, I'm elated that our team just won," and I'm able to share that with like-minded strangers.  
5. The hoopla element.  Marketing my the networks, and the newspapers.  Standings watching and the hope that your team can do enough to make the playoffs, and maybe, just maybe do something extraordinary like win the Superbowl.   
6. Human interest stories that appeal to men.   Take for instance the Michael Vick saga years ago, where Michael Vick actually did prison time for his role in dog fighting, then came back and was restored as a starting quarterback in the NFL.  Really cool story, makes you want to watch Michael Vick in games.  Or the Brett Farve saga, will he or won't he retire?  Which franchise is ge going to string along next.  Brett's is a case of how an elite hero can wear out his welcome, and end up being the villain in many people's minds.  Like I said, a soap oprah for men.   Only the action isn't romantic, it's action driven.  Kinda like an action adventure movie; a soap opera for men.  Sorry, I just keep coming back to that thought.

Now it's time to consider the flip-side argument.   Don't you hate it when writers do that?  This is where you get to see a different side of my personality and make-up.  The FACT that I CAN look at an opposing viewpoint and articulate that perspective in reasoning.  It's a hallmark that you're in the presence of a writer; his or her's ability to see things for a different point of view.  How do you think writers write credible villains? They're forced to look at through a different lens.    

Why watching football is a complete waste of time:

1. You are an uninvolved party who is actually celebrating or commiserating someone else's accomplishments.  This a truly weird delusion, if you think about it.  When a football team wins, spectators pump their arms in the air boasting how "they" won.  No, you the spectator didn't win.  You were merely watching a game being play by two participating factions.  YET a lot of people get caught up into the fervor, and actually behave like they won and were part of the winning team and their success.  
2. The 2 to 2 and half our commitment that ONE game takes up.  And guess what, the NFL has now orchestrated it so that on Sunday you can watch up to three games live and in real time, back-to-back-to-back.  OR in essence spend the WHOLE day watching the boob tube.  
3. You do not affect the outcome.  The game is being played by professionals.  One team's going to win, one team's going to lose whether you're there to watch it or not.  Again, this hearkens back to the delusional element of being a spectator, thinking your role is bigger than it actually is.
4. Sometimes a game is a lemon.  They don't announce that upfront, but sometimes even when so-called "good" teams meet on the grid iron, when you go in with the expectation that you're in for some excitement, as game plays out you find it's quite boring, with things not living up to your pre-game expectations.     
5. You can always catch the highlights of the game in the newspaper the next day, or watch video highlights on-line, or on the local sports cast, as part of some ESPN summary of the day's action.

Okay, so now you're probably thinking that I, E.C. Henry, am NOT a big fan of watching NFL football.  Well, nothing could be further from the truth.  I'm a HUGE fan of watching football.  It's just over the years I've done a lot of thinking about it, and come to a more mature of the whole thing.  And basically a quick summary of why I think men watch football can be succulently summed in the following statement:

Football is a soap operas geared for men

When all's been said about the NFL and being a spectator out there watching it, I'm learning over time to watch it in spots, but not get carried away by like I used to when I was younger.  I'll give you an example of how carried away a fan can get.  Back in the 80s after the Seahawks flirted with a Superbowl run, I got so into their playoff runs, and how they would lose and fall short, that after one game I cried.  I was teenage boy at the time.  And yes, this crying was ridiculous and over-the-top, but I did it.  And it was then that I realized how emotionally wrapped up I could get in something so frivolous as NFL football

You need a balance.  Over time I've become a much more seasoned, and savvy fan.  I enjoy the game for what it is: elite athlete doing amazing things in the context of a dramatized sporting event.  I have now reached the level in my fan-dom where it's not catastrophic when the Seahawks lose, and I can actually even appreciate it when the opposing teams makes a good play.  Note: this ability can result in violent flare-ups from less mentally strong watchers of football.  When cheering for Tampa Bay when they made good plays against the Seahawks last Sunday, my brother took it upon himself to walk to to me and beat me with the tassel of his Seahawk hat.  

When all's been said and done, enjoy watching NFL football, it is truly a great sport.  But learn to enjoy it in moderation.  Don't waist ALL DAY with it.  And don't let it get you down when your team fails to meet the expectations you place on them.  Try to enjoy elite athletes doing remarkable things.  That's ALWAYS a treat.  

This year's Seahawk team is turning out to be quite the enigma.  Right now as I type in this post their record is 8 regular season wins vs. 1 loss.  But that record feels misleading.  This year's Seahawks haven't been the dominating force that and an 8-1 record suggests they are.  Most of their wins have been squeekers, nail-biters, games that weren't decided until very late in the game.  HUGE fan of Seahawk players such as: Russell Wilson: the magician at quarterback, Richard Sherman: our Dion Sanders of this era of NFL football, Golden Tate: our play-maker who has a knack for the "big play" when Seahawks need it the most, and Marshawn Lynch: the Seahawks bulldozer of a running back.  

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

P.S. This post comes courtesy after watching NFL football this last Sunday with my family. That is those willing to participate in watching the Seattle Seahawks take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Namely, my 66-year-old father, my 40-year-old brother, his wife and two kids: 1-year-old Riley, who is too cute for words, and 5-year-old Brycen who's attention spand didn't even keep him engaged in the game until the first commercial, but I digress...

Truth be told the Buccaneer game was the first Seahawks game I sat down to watch in its entirely since the pre-season.  Been busy, AND until a couple weeks ago we didn't have much TV reception.  But that changed once my dad FINALLY broke down and decided to buy a cable TV package.  About 9 months ago our reception off a rooftop antennae went to shit and we we're no longer able to get network broadcasts (NBC, CBS or FOX) from Seattle broadcasting towers.  Trust me I tried, bought like four different antennas, tried different set-ups, nothing worked...  But that's forgotten history now that we've got cable...

P.S.S. The work remains on-going for "The Commune II".  Still line editing; before work, after work, during breaks at work.  Working on it.  All.  The.  Time.  Trying desperately to make this script as good as I'm capable of; very dedicated to maximising the idea.  This story has a very high concept.  Can't wait to share it with you all.  Stay tuned...  The goal is the have this story done, and to my guy in L.A. by Thanksgiving, as I really want to start work on my next project over the Thanksgiving holiday.