NFL (Freak) Continent

On Sunday, a new season of the American Football League, better known as the NFL, kicks off. Tens of thousands of fans gear up to dedicate their lives to predictions, fantasy leagues, plenty of chicken wings, and even more beers.

From September to February, the dynamics of whole families are conditioned by the rituals surrounding this sport, which is (almost) only played in the United States but is followed in Mexico with inexplicable fervor. Although there are also enthusiastic fan communities in England or Germany, American football is a multimillion-dollar sport that is played, and above all, watched in what I call the NFL (Freak) Continent, an area that spans two countries: the United States and Mexico.

Around the Thursday, Sunday, and Monday games, a series of activities have been created - very successfully - that go beyond the sport itself. Analysis programs scrutinize every detail of every decision that forms the criteria used to choose one player over another in fantasy leagues or to pick a difference of 3, 7, or more than 10 points in betting.

From the perspective of someone who doesn't experience this frenzy, fanaticism for the NFL is almost inexplicable.

The game pauses after every play.

An average game lasts 3 hours.

It's full of rules judged by interpretation.

Players wear very particular, if not strange, attire: tight knee-length "pants," protected by a sort of medieval armor, and helmets with medieval aesthetics but adorned with loud animal logos and colors. Yellow or red flags are randomly thrown without apparent explanation.

Sometimes the ball is thrown, sometimes it's run, and sometimes it's kicked. 🤷 

The ideal plan for many families, but especially for men, is to dedicate the entire Sunday to watching the three rounds of games. From 12 to 3 in the afternoon, from 3 in the afternoon to 6, and to cap off the Sunday, from 7 to 10: 9 hours straight of hits, lots of commercials, and plenty of carbohydrates and carbonated drinks that define Sunday's activity in the NFL freak continent. On Mondays and Thursdays, there's only one game, but the same enthusiasm can be repeated, albeit with a bit more restraint, since "work" comes the next day.

Various news reports indicate that one in three Americans claims to gain weight from September to February. Greasy wings and fizzy beers go perfectly with this sport, which is experienced with inexplicable fanaticism by the rest of the world, except for the inhabitants of the NFL (freak) continent.

Personally, American football excites me almost like a World Cup, but when I think about it objectively, I can't quite define the real reason for my liking for this senseless sport. However, like every September, I declare myself ready. 🏈 

¡Vamos Carajo!

Fran Michavila