I think a big reason is the schedule. They play once a week, for sixteen weeks, largely on the same day every week, and then a month of playoffs and it is done. It is considerably less time consuming to follow than something like baseball or basketball, which lends it more favorable to casual fans. It is also makes it easier for fantasy, which has played a big role in the growth of the sport.
Other sports are just way too long. Take the NHL for instance. The Stanley Cup ends in June (which is already late for a winter sport) and then pre-season starts in September. The NBA is almost as bad.
Also in football, almost every game matters until late in the season and playoffs are one and done. Every NFL playoff game is like a Game 7 in the other sports. In college this is really extreme, because a single loss in September can take a team out of the running for the National Championship.
Which like the NFL, is also a one and done tournament. That format makes every game exciting. Whereas a Cavs/Bulls Game 4 in the first round with the Cavs up 3-0 is not.
I agree with this....NHL, MLB, and NBA are all Best of 7 games. NFL is too dangerous to play that many games. Every game is important.
Also, NFL is the most popular sport in US. NFL is such a different vibe than other sports, I cant explain it. But football is just a monster event, and families watch it together too.
Super Bowl should be a national holiday. Got to be honest. Every business practically shuts down on game night. Everyone tunes in. As a fellow geek, I have lots of geek friends in real life. And those friends are NOT into sports. Not at all... They even live in big cities where they have sports teams, they could care less....However every single one of them are watching the Super Bowl. Its more than a game, it became an event.
This year might be the biggest year if you got Cowboys vs. Patriots in the Super Bowl. Cowboys is 'America's Team', and they have two new players Elliott and Dak Prescott who give Cowboys a whole new life. They are making things so interesting because we could be watching future hall of famers, who knows....But then there is the Patriots, NFL's most dominate team in the past decade. They are such a powerhouse in football. With that comes its fans from Boston and their haters. Throw in the football cheating scandal - and they are public enemy number one. But even if you hate the Patriots - you cant deny how freaking good they are.
But Cowboys vs. Patriots in a super bowl plus Lady Gaga, new movie trailers - its going to be a massive success...Plus the commercials are just as interesting as the game.
Last year, it was a terrible Super Bowl - Panthers vs. Denver. It was boring, and Cam Newton, the most interesting QB in the game, did not play well and Denver's defense was just too much. But it was a low scoring game and not that good.
However, 2015.......wow.....Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots. One of the best Super Bowls we've seen in a while. Came all down to the last game play where Seahawks could have gave the ball to Beast and win the game, but they chose an idiot play and got the ball intercepted, thus giving the win to Patriots. It was the most talked about sporting event along with Mayweather vs. Pacquaio that year as well.... But that Super Bowl was HUGE due to Seattle being former SB champs plus Patriots being former SB champs with huge players - Russell Wilson, Beast Mode, Richard Sherman, Tom Brady.
