Ed note: To help further the discussion brought up by the6thJayhawk concerning the appeal of basketball over football, I took to the streets and talked with fans about which they prefer. The following is a couple responses to that article, the first from a reader who only identified himself as RedneckFootballFan, and another from a reader I dubbed USASnob.
"I read that there word-thingy, and I's gots to say, iz jus' completely wrong.
Firstly, there's jus' no ways that the basket ball game can be more wide and spread then the foozeball, 'cause the field is more wide than the basketball floor. Plus, I've never heard of no spread offense in basketball. And about it being in all of them other countries, I don't care about them other countries. I knows that they play football all over the county, and even in some of the other states, and that's the most far away I ever went. It's even way up in Canada, that place that's gonna be a state soon.
Also, the lady says in her words on the paper that it's bad that all them little tiny schools don't have those football teams too. But really, I don't know no one that's ever been there, so it don't matter much. Plus, the bitty little schools not having football means we don't gotta watch the bad teams play, cause all the teams can get themselves a good player. It's like when me and the other people down in the swamp go to the market to buy us some guns. If lots of us go, then we can't find enough of the good ones to buy, but if we don't have too many peoples, then i can get a good one that shoots kinda straight.
But it taking a lot of money to play the football is a good thing, 'cause them polerticians in the capital place says that helps to "stim-er-late the economicals" or sumethin. So our football players help us to spend our moneys so it doesn't sit too long and get all moldy or sumethin like that.
Number 2. Basketball sucks. women can play it doesn't make it good. No one wants to see the wimpier plays. And even when the girls do play, they don't play as good as the men do. They can't dunk the ball into the hoop, and that is the bestest part of the basketball game.
And some of them girls do play the football. I've seen some of them kick the ball through the yellow poles, and that good 'nuff for me.
For three, Football is super easy to un'rstand. When I played on the D, I just had to tackle the quarterback, unless he give the ball to somebody else, in which case, I tried to tackle that person. Basketball has too much bouncing and passing and jumping and shooting.
4, football on the same day each week is good. I never have to wonder when the game is. Friday we go to the high school, Saturday we go to the college, and Sunday we watch the big men play.
I don't know what photo-genetic means, so it must not be important."
-RedneckFootballFan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So first, we all know that 'Murica is the best country in the world, so just because basketball is all over the place, that doesn't mean it is better. We have kept the game pure and good by refusing to let the other countries ruin the wonderful game we have. Think it's bad that other countries call it "American Football"? Wrong! That just means that we took their sport name, and made it so much better that we had to rename their game something else.
There's nothing wrong with the small colleges not having football programs. You gotta spend money to make money, and those small schools don't got the money, right? Besides, why do we need more football teams when we have the big boys to watch. Plus we have enough little big boys to keep it interesting. I mean, c'mon, Purdue, right? The problem with basketball is that there are too many teams to keep track of. I can't remember who plays on the little teams like Stony Brook or IUPUI, or why those teams even matter.
As for men vs women, I mean just because women CAN do something, that doesn't make it better. This is America, where we want to see all the best. If girls want to play football, they get to play with the boys. Put everyone together and see who comes out on top, Royal Rumble Style!
Basketball may be easier to understand, but since when do we Americans want things nice and easy? Have you ever paid attention to our government? 'Murica!!
The schedule a problem? You have to do other things? Football gives you less to catch up on when watching the DVR. And the time between plays lines up almost perfectly with the skip forward button on my remote.
Basketball has too many games. If I'm on vacation for a week, I have to catch up on 2 or 3 instead of just one.
For holidays, who doesn't remember watching John Madden talking about eating a turducken on Thanksgiving? Football is part of our best traditions in 'Murica.
As for being photogenic, football has so much more going on at once, so it's like a "Where's Waldo?" book. Every time you look at the play, you see something new. Besides, Americans don't care about looking pretty when working in the trenches. I mean, have you been to Walmart lately?
In conclusion, Football='Murica!!!
-USASnob