Oh... a fair discussion. Cool. I enjoy footy. I understand footy (Aussie Rules Football - ARs). Only took watching about twenty minutes to learn the basic rules and watching about two games to most of the rules. (Even kinda pissed me off when they changed the uniforms.) As for Yankee Football (YF), learning the rules would prbably take two or three times as long. And, I may as well say it now... nobody will ever fully learn the rules of rugby, but that is a discussion unto itself. I love rugby.

ARs certainly does flow. YF certainly does stop and start...unless, you understand the game "beyond" the rules. That takes watching at least ten to tewnty games and studying the organiztional structure of "off-field" team. During play, there are 11 players on the field and 29 players on the sideline. The off-field team consists of coaches, coordinators, trainers... 30 some of them. They are constantly observing and analysing the play and the performance of all players, constantly trying to determine how the opposing team will react to different formations, etc, etc, etc.

This is why YF can be so much fun to watch. If you understand the game on and off the field, it never really stops. YF is as much a game of chess as it is of physical prowess. I find that YF allows the spectator to be much more "into" the game because of this. And, fans can actually disrupt play by cheering loud enough to make audible communication by the offense prior to the snap... ah, sorry... fans can make a difference simply by being noisy when the opponents have possession of the ball.

The start and stop nature of the game also adds one more element of uniqueness to YF. In ARs and the like, the players have to balance between pacing themselves and being left behind. They also get a bit of resting time when not directly involved in the action. In YF, every player is at full speed on every "play", and sixty minutes of play time takes about two and a half hours. Instead of continuous fast-paced action, YF is a series of lightning-fast actions. It's like the marathon versus the 100m... over and over.

I enjoy footy. I enjoy rugby. I enjoy football. I enjoy Yankee football. If I had to choose between them, I would say that I would watch the game of most importance and tape as many others as I and my buddies could.

Go St. Kilda.