To pick up the point made by Democoder about American Football, I would agree its similar to a turn based strategy game. But frankly, unlike in those games, the long breaks between two moves are so incredibly annoying to me that I have a hard time taking the sport seriously anymore. I mean for years I've met with friends and watched the superbowl and it certainly is fun - but not really because of the game. It's fun because of sitting together with friends, chatting, cheering for the team that lies behind, and consuming lots of unhealthy food and drinks. 
The game itself is like 3 hours of watching how big fat ugly men walk around, groan, take a break or get into position (which unfortunatelly involves pointing their ugly behinds right at the camera), and like 15-20 minutes of running, fighting and smashing fat bellies and helmets against each other. And once a team makes a really great and fun down and kicks some ass, some little flags get thrown onto the field and they have to start over or even move to a different part of the field. Often a team only scores if the other team screws up, so its not all that different from football (soccer) either in that regard. Two good defensive teams will usually have a score that's very similar to a regular football game, the scores are just artificially inflated by giving 6 points for a touchdown and 3 for a field goal. There really isn't much of a difference between the score of a football game ending 3:1 or an AF game ending 20:7 IMO (both scores that are not uncommon). Except that the later one takes 3-4 hours, most of the time waiting for the next down, while the first one is almost always over within less than 2 and has mostly uninterrupted gameplay (except for the 10-20 seconds it usually takes for a throw-in or free kick). There are "lucky" goals or wins in AF too, I've seen them several times enough even though I don't watch that many AF games. One team can be totally dominating and constantly in offensive, but they just don't manage to score to score more than a field goal, suddenly there's an interception or two and they're 10 points behind, oops.
If american football is a turn-based strategy game, then football is a real-time strategy game. There are tactics and strategy too, like in AF they're usually defined before the game, they just can't be constantly and extensively re-adjusted during a running game and not every move can be coordinated as there's too much going on at once. A trainer can try to adjust his strategy by a replacement or two if the previously devised strategy goes horribly wrong, but usually it has to wait till half-time. Which is also why often the second half of a game will be way better (or sometimes worse) than the first, as both teams got important advice or a serious kick in the ass from their trainer. If one team's defence is very effective, then the other team has to try and adjust during the game, which is why it often takes a while for a game to get going. AF is a bit reminiscient of a tactical war-game in its exectution, whereas football is more like a dynamic team sport. I personally like the later one better, but that's just me and most of the rest of the world...
Oh, some games can be real stinkers, but I think the same can be said for every other sport. I find football at its best during international events, as the different styles of playing often make for the most interesting games. Thanks to the Champions League there is int. football on a very high level on TV almost all year, which is cool. Still, nothing beats the World Cup, matches like Japan vs. Jamaica are always great fun!
The game itself is like 3 hours of watching how big fat ugly men walk around, groan, take a break or get into position (which unfortunatelly involves pointing their ugly behinds right at the camera), and like 15-20 minutes of running, fighting and smashing fat bellies and helmets against each other. And once a team makes a really great and fun down and kicks some ass, some little flags get thrown onto the field and they have to start over or even move to a different part of the field. Often a team only scores if the other team screws up, so its not all that different from football (soccer) either in that regard. Two good defensive teams will usually have a score that's very similar to a regular football game, the scores are just artificially inflated by giving 6 points for a touchdown and 3 for a field goal. There really isn't much of a difference between the score of a football game ending 3:1 or an AF game ending 20:7 IMO (both scores that are not uncommon). Except that the later one takes 3-4 hours, most of the time waiting for the next down, while the first one is almost always over within less than 2 and has mostly uninterrupted gameplay (except for the 10-20 seconds it usually takes for a throw-in or free kick). There are "lucky" goals or wins in AF too, I've seen them several times enough even though I don't watch that many AF games. One team can be totally dominating and constantly in offensive, but they just don't manage to score to score more than a field goal, suddenly there's an interception or two and they're 10 points behind, oops.
If american football is a turn-based strategy game, then football is a real-time strategy game. There are tactics and strategy too, like in AF they're usually defined before the game, they just can't be constantly and extensively re-adjusted during a running game and not every move can be coordinated as there's too much going on at once. A trainer can try to adjust his strategy by a replacement or two if the previously devised strategy goes horribly wrong, but usually it has to wait till half-time. Which is also why often the second half of a game will be way better (or sometimes worse) than the first, as both teams got important advice or a serious kick in the ass from their trainer. If one team's defence is very effective, then the other team has to try and adjust during the game, which is why it often takes a while for a game to get going. AF is a bit reminiscient of a tactical war-game in its exectution, whereas football is more like a dynamic team sport. I personally like the later one better, but that's just me and most of the rest of the world...
Oh, some games can be real stinkers, but I think the same can be said for every other sport. I find football at its best during international events, as the different styles of playing often make for the most interesting games. Thanks to the Champions League there is int. football on a very high level on TV almost all year, which is cool. Still, nothing beats the World Cup, matches like Japan vs. Jamaica are always great fun!
