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Football, as played in the United States, fits the American psyche better than any other sport at any level. It is (relatively) brief, violent and decisive. We like everything that way, from combat to microwave popcorn.

Compare NFL football to other major sports:

- Basketball is shorter in duration but it lack the raw violence of football. Great skill, accuracy and speed is on display, but hardwood floors make the athletes more careful.

- Baseball is decisive but it can drag on and violence is rare. The game is so slow most of the crowd occupies themselves doing math! What else do you call calculating averages, percentages and probabilities?

- Hockey has the violence and decisive outcome of football. It survives in America but there's something odd about ice sports that Americans don't flock to.

- Soccer doesn't have a chance. It drags on, the scoring is low and it just comes across as "wussy" to Americans. How violent is a game played in shorts by guys named Paolo?

Football, conversely, is the most intense group activity short of combat. There's a field of battle. The game goes on in all weather (except lightning). You have offense and defense, two sides matched in number, complex strategies and cheerleaders.

One side might be more talented but concentrated effort can produce major upsets. The 2007-8 season in college football was one for the ages. Small schools and weaker teams repeatedly knocked off legendary powerhouses. David knocking off Goliath resonates in the US.

I remember during high school in Germany. Some of my German friends said soccer (futball) was as tough as our game. One week a group of my teen friends and I played them in soccer. We were politely and easily beaten 5-3; the Germans are excellent people, exceptionally hospitable.

That weekend I invited them to attend a community level football game. Boys aged 14-17, no more than 163 pounds (I barely made weight) played against another base team. The violent clashes, pad-popping and helmet-cracking thunder shocked the Germans. They quickly admitted soccer was nothing like football. Imagine if it had been college or pro!

Certainly football is violent, noisy and agressive. Few other countries have totally embraced it, not like baseball or basketball. But that makes no difference to us; it's our game and we like it like that.

Learn more about this author, Morgan Johnson.
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