My Favorite Sports - FOOTBALL (Part 2)

I love to watch sports. I enjoy the competitive nature of sports and the thrill of winning, being recognized as being the best and the stories behind the athletes. Over the next few posts I will rank my favorite sports and give a little background about myself.

FOOTBALL

Canadian Football League

  My first exposure to North American Football is through the Canadian Football League. Although this league is small (currently only 8 teams) the tradition of the Grey Cup goes almost as far back as the Stanley Cup. This 101 year old trophy is an amazing symbol for a sport and the country. The differences of the CFL to National Football League rules are quite large and I won't go into all the details in this blog.

  I started watching the BC Lions but was never really a fan that followed the team throughout the season, or closely followed the player transactions. Honestly I find that a football team is very large and its difficult to commit all the names to memory especially when some will only play a few downs during the whole game. But I digress... My interest in the CFL corresponded to my move to Montreal and their team the Alouettes. The main reason for my increased interest was primarily due to the location of the playing field (Percival Molson Memorial Stadium) on the McGill University Campus. Although it is a small stadium it was very intimate and allowed for a great atmosphere. It was very accessible and affordable for students and the level of competition provided was very enjoyable. I knew more about this team during my stay in Montreal then any other CFL team and I am still somewhat partial to them and the BC Lions.


National Football League

  I have become a much bigger fan of the NFL during the past 3 seasons. My natural choice was the San Diego Chargers as I have family in and around the SD area which has allowed me to travel there on numerous occasions. Over the past three seasons I grew to enjoy the intricacies of the NFL game and rules and feel that I have a great understanding of how the game is played. I know I love the game when I enjoy watching any NFL game regardless of the teams.

  One of the main incentives to learn a sport as a fan or observer is to gamble. It doesn't need to be a lot of money but whenever money is on the line the stakes are raised. The football pool I joined costs $100 for the whole season and every week you pick a winner for every game. My pool does not take into account the spread so it is much easier for beginners. Having the most correctly predicted games in any given week pays you $200, 2nd place for the week pays $100 and 3rd place is worth $50. Knowing that you only need to come in 2nd place once out of 18 weeks to break even gives you great odds. This forced me to start to research teams, get expert analysis, watch for injury reports, etc.

NFL football has climbed the ranks of sports favorites to 2nd overall only after my beloved Hockey.