NHL and NFL fans are one and the same.
Hockey and football. Both the NHL and NFL are fantastic sports of great competition and high octane battles. When it comes to fans of each sport, some fans love both sports. Most fans either love hockey and hate football or love football and hate hockey. While they are different games with different structures, the basic structure of what it is to be a fan of either of these sports in its simplest form is the same.
I love both hockey and football, so I know exactly what loving both sports is like from an objective standpoint. I see the same intangibles from all sides of the spectrum.
The excitable busts of action that can be created unsuspectingly is the common denominator in both sports. Passionate, acceleration driven fans looking for fast paced action and huge moments to cheer. Bursts of energy and celebrations with constant flow of action.
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Both sports are physical and contain heart racing aspects throughout the game. Both have 60 minutes of playing time in standard games, which tell a story in every interval, whether it’s a quarter or period. Both have fights for territory and defensive sets can score in the blank of an eye. Both sports have huge scores and pivotal moments leading to accelerating celebrations.
Whether it’s a big hit that has fans and media outlets talking about it for days, an unsuspecting defensive play that turns into a quick score to change the game, offenses working time of possession to create a score or a quick big play for a huge score, these tremendous bursts of excitement that can be found in each sport. These moments of jubilation are the best part of watching a game from a fan’s standpoint. Whether your team wins or loses, there will be bursts of excitement in a game that gets the endorphins pumping.
I can understand football or hockey not being compared to other sports. Baseball is a slower paced game that can drag with a lot of walks and high pitch counts. Soccer is also a slower paced game that can drag with long lapses of time in between pivotal moments. Both baseball and soccer have sequences that could take a long time to develop but a lot happens at one time when it does.
Basketball doesn’t have the physicality aspect although a lot of scoring that leads to many bursts of cheers. These are all little to no contact sports, which is the biggest difference. All sports have their own uniqueness and one isn’t necessarily better than the other. Hockey and football just have different adrenaline rushes that are very different from these sports.
Hockey and football are not carbon copies of each other. They are both different in their own way. Hockey is free flowing action whereas football has sets of breaks with small intervals of dead time passing. In hockey hits happen throughout the game, but in football the hits are constant and in some positions happen on every play. Long list of reasons how they are different sports but for fans of each sport, the accelerating bursts of energy are the same and what we all look for is the same.
I see the same types of people loving one sport and not the other because they either don’t understand it or don’t want to. They are literally the same types of people in the basic form of loving the type of competition and acceleration that both hockey and football provide. The biggest roadblock is understanding the rules of whichever sport you don’t like as much. Understanding the other sport is the biggest part of the battle.
Once you understand what’s going on and what makes moments so huge, it becomes just as enjoyable. At the very least, attend a live game before completely writing it off. Ask someone you know with great knowledge of the sport you don’t like as much that can take you through the game to understand it better.
You can also do some research through the internet to have a better understanding of what’s happening in that sport. There are a lot of short videos that give simple rule explanations with videos to support so you can better understand what is going on.
If you are a fan of one sport and not the other, I highly recommend giving the other one a shot. If you don’t like the other sport, you don’t like it. I believe that if given the proper open minded chance with a full explanation of the rules and importance of situations, there would be more crossovers between the two sports.
Hockey and football are both beautiful sports in their own ways, but in similar ways when it comes to fans. If you are a fan of hockey and football, than you already know the joys of both. For those who like one and not the other, there is plenty of time, energy and resources to love both sports. With so much more exciteable moments to gain loving both.