(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) David Light wonders about American football
Football is the world’s sport. And when I say football I mean the game actually played primarily with your feet and a ball. Even cricket-mad India is in the throes of its inaugural Indian Super League a soccer derivation of the IPL. Robert Pires and Nicholas Anelka plying their trade is attracting crowds of over 100000 to the stadiums. India’s average weekend TV ratings for English Premier League matches are also over 100 million – more than the entire population of Britain Scandinavia and Belgium put together – so you could say it has taken hold.
The one country on the planet where football’s popularity is still questionable is the US. In the last 10 years interest in their primary competition Major League Soccer has increased but it still plays third or fourth fiddle to the home-grown games in particular the incomprehensible meeting of two teams they call football. Even the name is a contradiction. You barely use your feet. However with my 6ft7 American football playing brother visiting Dubai I have been forced to feign interest.
To play American football in England is rare. In Wales where he went to university it is more rare. Although having had a couple of chats over the last few days apparently more than three men and their dogs turn up for practice. There are even teams in Dubai and he has begun training with one – The Dubai Stallions. During these discussions he has also attempted to explain the rules. It is not quite as boring when someone you know tries to impart the rules. I’m still not a convert but it’s mildly more amusing than I first thought. This weekend I am going to watch my first ever game. I’m hoping the new experience will ignite more than fleeting curiosity but I can’t see myself swapping my United shirt for a Broncos jersey just yet. Let’s see.