NFL Team Recommendation for an Australian to follow and support.

[BanzaiCat]

But Brees is long gone, and so too is the Saints' pertinence

you know Brees is still there, right?

Is he? Who knew?

[bayonetbrant]

Is he? Who knew?

pretty much everyone except you, since they've been talking about how Tony Romo (calling the game) is younger than either of the starters (Brees & Brady)

[BanzaiCat]

Meh!  :D

[MetalDog]

Leaving aside their owner (albeit the source of much drama), the Titans are a team you can expect an exciting game of will-they-or-won't-they-win. Technically proficient but tend to get lost in their own hype.

If you want to cheer for winners who win, there are maybe two or three Tier I teams (led by the Patriots). If you want to cheer for contenders, who win more often than not, there are selections available. If you want to cheer for a team that you have no idea from week to week whether they have any chance, and so generate excitement and drama that way, the Titans are a good choice.

Also, they have a solid state-wide fanbase, as a side effect of having a contender-level college football team with a massive fanbase -- which is arguably the reason why the Titans are "Tennessee" and not "Nashville" (or "Memphis" for that matter. Almost all NFL teams are metro-urban based, not regional or state.)

Fixed that for you, JP. ;)  The Vols suck out loud and can't even contend in the SEC East.  Unless you were talking about Vanderbilt.


Destraex, I think the best suggestion by far is to watch as much of it as you have a taste for and form your own opinions.  But, if you somehow find your way to the dark side, a.k.a. rooting for the Cowboys, wash your brain with bleach and try again.  Dallas is just evil.

[Destraex]

Thanks for the replies so far. Especially BanzaiCat.
There are a whole bunch of teams that at least I can strike off my list for one reason or another. The teams that harbouring criminals or have bosses that are into drugs are the stuff of hollywood movies about NFL we get over here. Like the replacements with keanu. I know that the cowboys and oakland raiders were favourites for people that just loved wearing the gear here to be cool when I was a kid. Most of them knew nothing about it. When I met my wife she had a cowboys shirt and did not even know what it was. She just liked the star design and had got it from some cheap copy stall at the markets.
We played rugby union for school and rugby league at lunch here as well as soccer because we all grew up playing that when really little. We tried playing grid iron in the playground at school once and had no idea what we were doing except this one kid who was a fan. We just did not find it fun to seemingly run around and not get any action with the ball and then stop.
Now that I understand it a bit more I like the coach strategy involved and the careful planning of each chess like move. For kids though, I don't think it's the best game to play for fitness and endurance. Unless their is a mode that plays faster than touch footy (rugby league). I guess I would have to have grown up with it for that to be understood.
As a kid of 18 my best time was 11 seconds on the 100 metre dash and loved playing winger, the equivalent of wide receiver for rugby. I might take a close look at these boys... what is the fastest position for running in NFL?

[Destraex]

Just thinking as well. All the teams that have moved even once are off my list.
One of my pet hates are clubs that don't represent their community well. Ideally I would love it if teams represented their area so well that they only hired local talent.
That would be amazing but unrealistic. However it is one of the reasons that I became disenfranchised with rugby league here. It got so commercial and players were being swapped around so much for money that there was no spirit in it. No soul. NFL is probably the same but at least the strategy is more interesting. Where rugby league although it has plays, flows so well that their are really only a finite number of "off the cuff" moves that a team performs. There is no time to setup grand strategic plays. It's all whatever happens according to the moving conditions from second to second on the field. It never stops. Half time is it. And it's an 80 minute game of two halves.

[bayonetbrant]

Especially BanzaiCat.

there was a mountain of sarcasm and inside jokes in his write-up, so take it all with a grain of salt :)

what is the fastest position for running in NFL?

Usually wide receivers/kick returners and cornerbacks, several of whom, over the years, have appeared on Olympic teams as sprinters

[bayonetbrant]

Ideally I would love it if teams represented their area so well that they only hired local talent.

the way the amateur draft process works in US sports virtually guarantees that rarely happens.

[MetalDog]

If you're looking for teams that haven't moved to root for, it'll depend on how you want to parse it.  There are teams like the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins who have been there since professional football started in the 20's.  There have been several waves of expansion/rival leagues/consolidation since then and some of those teams have stayed put since their inception: the Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and more.  And as noted, some franchises have moved, some several times: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Chargers, and one or two others. 

Learning the game, its rules, strategy, and tactics, will aid in your decision, too.  Watch as much as you enjoy and ask questions.  We'll be glad to help.

[JasonPratt]

Also, playing Madden on a console or PC. ;) It has its cons as well as pros, but it does help give a visceral feel for the offensive and defensive tactics and operational strategies, so to speak.


MD: yes, the Vols have been terrible (spiced with random genius) for years now; I was regressing back to college days.  :'( The SEC generally used to be the powerhouse of college competition, but has devolved seriously in the past ten years. Not sure exactly why.

The Vols have a team that sure plays very 'young' this year, but our turnovers and errors in the first game were pretty clean. (I don't count the second game which was a curbstomp against a sacrificial opponent whom I felt very sorry for.) Considering our psychology has long been our own worst enemy (and a cruddy defensive secondary for decades), that gives me a bit of hope.

Whether we can level up sufficiently against Florida tomorrow remains to be seen -- also a shell of their former glory.

[MetalDog]

Yeah, the Gators suck, too.  Their offense has no QB worth the initials. 

And I second the playing of Madden.  A great way to look at and study plays and formations and the tutorials for how to play the game help in understanding what you're seeing and why you are doing what you are doing.

[Destraex]

I don't really think I want to play PC games on it. But if I did it would not be Madden as that does not seem to be on PC.
Anything for PC recommended?

It sounds like the Vikings may be the team to stick with in the end. Not too bad or good, fairly well set in the community, no violent fans or criminals. Not overly bandwagon style cool or popular but with a solid fanbase. Not gonna get lynched if I ever visit America and get some of the gear.

I realise their was loaded sarcasm in Banzaicat's post. But I think I can read between the lines there.

[SirAndrewD]

I know that the cowboys and oakland raiders were favourites for people that just loved wearing the gear here to be cool when I was a kid. Most of them knew nothing about it. When I met my wife she had a cowboys shirt and did not even know what it was. She just liked the star design and had got it from some cheap copy stall at the markets.

That traditionally is the thing that makes the Cowboys and to a lesser extent the Raiders so hated.  They're both marketed as much as brands as they are football teams, sometimes even more so. 

For the Cowboys, that's part of their history and identity.  In the early 70's the Cowboys GM and President, Tex Schramm, decided to make the team as much of an event as possible.  He added the Cheerleaders, which were really just very attractive women who danced, not a real cheerleading squad.  He sold the idea that the Cowboys should always play the late game on Thanksgiving.  He took the media moniker of "America's Team" and ran with it.   He made the team a brand, and one that's endured.  They started to permiate movies, TV, pornos, comic books, honestly it was, and has continued to be hard to avoid them if you're even remotely interested in football, and many times hard even if you're not interested.

But, beside that, they have been a great team at many points in their history.  They have five Super Bowls, Eight Conference Championships, the longest seasonal winning streak in NFL history and so many Hall of Fame players that the team can't even retire numbers. 

And yeah, they've got Jerry Jones.  And he's a TERRIBLE football man who managed to torpedo the franchise with bad front office decisions after they won Super Bowls in three out of four years.  But, he's also been a great business owner, and has continued to successfully market the team and make it vitally important to the entire NFL to the point where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.  Currently the team is worth $4.4 Billion, now the most successful sports franchise in the world.

But, I'm not trying to sell you on them.  Honestly, one of the biggest frustrations for me as a Dallas born Cowboys fan has been to see all of the out of state fans that are bandwagoners and fair weather and really don't represent the people that grew up caring for the team.  In the 90's everyone and anyone became a Cowboys fan, and sometimes I actually felt compelled to carry a picture of myself at 4 years old wearing a Roger Staubach shirt so that I could prove to others that I wasn't a bandwagoner. 

So, I'd say pick the team that speaks to you.  Game wise, the Cowboys are about a power running game, strong offensive line and aggressive offense.    They've traditionally also had strong defenses, but they're kind of a question mark in that respect this year.  They have in the past however had some legendary defenses, the Doomsday Defenses, that brought them great success.

If that doesn't appeal to you, there are others.  One I'd suggest that is a very inoffensive, very well run organization with a good fanbase is the Denver Broncos.  I've always been partial to them in the AFC, and they're a team that I don't think will let you down in the future.   

[Con]

Interestingly enough this was published on 538 blog today.  I am a huge diehard pats fan since before the days of Bellichick and Brady when the pats put up 8-8 seasons or worse in the crappiest stadium in the NFL.  I froze my but off in sub zero temps sitting on metal benches while idiots drenched me in beer and you usually had to get into a fight in order to get out of the parking lot.
That being said here is an innovative way to see who you should root for and against

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/who-hates-the-patriots-the-most/

[SirAndrewD]

Interestingly enough this was published on 538 blog today.  I am a huge diehard pats fan since before the days of Bellichick and Brady when the pats put up 8-8 seasons or worse in the crappiest stadium in the NFL.  I froze my but off in sub zero temps sitting on metal benches while idiots drenched me in beer and you usually had to get into a fight in order to get out of the parking lot.
That being said here is an innovative way to see who you should root for and against

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/who-hates-the-patriots-the-most/

You know, I've got zero problems with the Patriots or their fans.  But they're getting a lot of the stuff the Cowboys got back in the 70's-90's.   

The list makes a good and strong case for the Packers too.  They have a huge amount of appeal objectively.  They've got a great past, great present, collective ownership and a fanbase that really can't be faulted.  Only thing I'd say is that the Packers are SO the property of their town that I'd almost feel odd as an outsider picking them.  They're really a true home town phenomenon.  I am a fan of Aaron Rodgers though, even after he knocked my Cowboys out in two playoffs. 

It also makes a good point about how the Cowboys are so hated because of the deep rift with the Redskins and Eagles.  I'll never forget the Eagles coach Buddy Ryan putting injury bounties on Cowboys players, or any of the bordering on violent experience I've had with the fans of those teams.  Heck, there's even a documentary being made on how deeply and sometimes physically violent Eagles fans react to the Cowboys in the works.  That's a stadium I would NEVER wear my colors into.  I've heard too many nightmare stories of people being assaulted from verbally to physically.  A lot of them, especially Eagles fans, get deeply more angry because the Cowboys don't hate them back with the same vigor.

Humorously enough I have a lot of great friends who are both Eagles and Redskins fans.  They all agree that some of their fellows would actually murder Cowboys fans if they could get away with it.

The rivalries in the NFC East run deep.