4 ms·

I've long compared an NFL game to a game of chess - it's much more about incremental position playing than, say, soccer where a freak move can swing a game rapi

I've long compared an NFL game to a game of chess - it's much more about incremental position playing than, say, soccer where a freak move can swing a game rapidly. This analysis seems to bear out my comparison - watch a grand master chess game, and there's a lot more time between moves than actually moving. Maybe we need a speed version of the NFL?

sparky 17y ago
Arena football ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_football#Rules_of_the_game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_football#Rules_of_the_gam... )fits that bill, though it would be nice if we could also have NFL-caliber players, full-size field, etc. Sadly, the long and frequent delays allow for the spectacle at the stadium itself (cheerleaders, dancers, contests) and advertisements elsewhere, so I wouldn't count on the NFL itself doing away with them.
johnswamps 17y ago
I agree, but I still think the commercials are too much. It's a lot of fun to argue with friends about whether the player was down before he fumbled, whether they should go for it on 4th down, whether the ref made the right call, etc., which is all possible because of the breaks in action. But commercials after a touchdown and then AGAIN after the kickoff? Really?
- lionhearted 17y ago
  Each football team has three units - Offense, defense, and special teams (kickoff, punting, field goals, etc). When teams are required to shift units (turnover, score, kickoff) there's a short official break for them to switch units and get onto the field.
wallflower 17y ago
Great article on the literal orchestration of the camera shots/angles in a Monday Night Football program: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/17/sports/inside-monday-night-football-truck-booth-look-abc-s-no-2-program.html?pagewanted=1 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/17/sports/inside-monday-night...
mynameishere 17y ago
Chess? Well, you're making the wrong comparison. Football is like war. War is two things: Extended, pointless boredom, and short bursts of energy and terror and injury, all of which is encompassed by years of unseen strategic, economic, logistical, and tactical planning. Chess is some freak memorizing combinations of opening moves from past games.
- michael_dorfman 17y ago
  George Will famously said "Football incorporates the two worst elements of American society: violence punctuated by committee meetings."
- alanthonyc 17y ago
  Saying: "Chess is some freak memorizing combinations of opening moves from past games." Is about as accurate as saying: "NFL Games Have 11 Minutes of Action" And incidentally, chess also happens to be a game about war.
  - mynameishere 17y ago
    chess also happens to be a game about war. So is the game RISK. But the actual relationship of both games to war is exactly nothing.

sparky 17y ago

Arena football ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_football#Rules_of_the_game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_football#Rules_of_the_gam... )fits that bill, though it would be nice if we could also have NFL-caliber players, full-size field, etc. Sadly, the long and frequent delays allow for the spectacle at the stadium itself (cheerleaders, dancers, contests) and advertisements elsewhere, so I wouldn't count on the NFL itself doing away with them.

johnswamps 17y ago

I agree, but I still think the commercials are too much. It's a lot of fun to argue with friends about whether the player was down before he fumbled, whether they should go for it on 4th down, whether the ref made the right call, etc., which is all possible because of the breaks in action. But commercials after a touchdown and then AGAIN after the kickoff? Really?

lionhearted 17y ago
Each football team has three units - Offense, defense, and special teams (kickoff, punting, field goals, etc). When teams are required to shift units (turnover, score, kickoff) there's a short official break for them to switch units and get onto the field.

wallflower 17y ago

Great article on the literal orchestration of the camera shots/angles in a Monday Night Football program: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/17/sports/inside-monday-night-football-truck-booth-look-abc-s-no-2-program.html?pagewanted=1 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/17/sports/inside-monday-night...

mynameishere 17y ago

Chess? Well, you're making the wrong comparison. Football is like war. War is two things: Extended, pointless boredom, and short bursts of energy and terror and injury, all of which is encompassed by years of unseen strategic, economic, logistical, and tactical planning. Chess is some freak memorizing combinations of opening moves from past games.

michael_dorfman 17y ago
George Will famously said "Football incorporates the two worst elements of American society: violence punctuated by committee meetings."
alanthonyc 17y ago
Saying: "Chess is some freak memorizing combinations of opening moves from past games." Is about as accurate as saying: "NFL Games Have 11 Minutes of Action" And incidentally, chess also happens to be a game about war.
- mynameishere 17y ago
  chess also happens to be a game about war. So is the game RISK. But the actual relationship of both games to war is exactly nothing.