Only 11 minutes of play in a 3 hour NFL game

[Agent 47]

I just heard someone on the radio say that in a 3 hour game of NFL football, the ball is actually only in play for a total of 11 minutes.

It was a journalist from a newspaper that said that, and he sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

Can that be right?

Could anyone record the Super Bowel, and run a stop-watch over how long the ball is actually in play for?

That would be fascinating to verify.

Cheers.

[ChrisOH]

Agent 47:

I'd say that's pretty accurate. There's only 60 minutes on the clock to begin with (the three-hour games are due to timeouts, TV commercial breaks, and other clock stoppages), and much of that time is spent huddling up, walking up and down the field to begin a new play, etc. (Consider it takes 30 to 45 seconds to huddle and plan a play that takes about 5 seconds to run.) That's one of the things that became so boring to me about football (and well, about sports in general) is how much time is spent doing *nothing*.

[Safety]

That's true. There are multiple graphs on the internet that show how most minutes in an average football game are spent. Here's just one of them.

[abitagirl]

OK, that's it, I'm playing for an NFL team. Just think, I can make millions of dollars just for standing around, and I only have to play football for 11 minutes! And if they won't take me since I'm female, I can just sue their sex-discriminating asses.

I don't know how the heck anybody can watch an entire game of football. I have occasionally watched small parts of games while waiting for the clock to run down for one reason or another, and the constant stopping and starting drove me nuts. JUST LET THE DAMN CLOCK RUN DOWN.

[recovering_fan]

The incredible thing to me about Safety's graphic is that the minutes only seem to add up to 1 hour, 38 minutes of ANY kind of coverage.

That makes 1 hour, 22 minutes of commercials, although I guess some of that unaccounted for time could be devoted to the short studio half-time show, which I remember only being about 4 or 5 minutes long.

Only 3 seconds of cheerleader shots?

We's bein' robbed, mahn!!!

--RF

PS---I have decided to celebrate different posting milestones from everyone else.

This, for example, is my (7^3)th post...



Hell yeah...

[Indurrago]

OK, that's it, I'm playing for an NFL team. Just think, I can make millions of dollars just for standing around, and I only have to play football for 11 minutes! And if they won't take me since I'm female, I can just sue their sex-discriminating asses.

Lol, I wish you could sue them but its you know how it is, they segregate alot of professional sports by gender.

[Earl]

OK, that's it, I'm playing for an NFL team.

Hey, I could be a cheerleader for your team! I can see it now ...

Give me a W! Give me an H! Give me an O! Give me a D! Give me an A! Give me a T! What does it spell? ...

[abitagirl]

OK, that's it, I'm playing for an NFL team.

Hey, I could be a cheerleader for your team! I can see it now ...

Give me a W! Give me an H! Give me an O! Give me a D! Give me an A! Give me a T! What does it spell? ...

Uhhh...DIE, EARL?

Go ahead, but I'm not sure the outfit would work on you.

[Earl]

Good grief! Definitely not. (Besides, Mrs. Earl wouldn't approve. ) This reminds me of what a professional football player named Don Meredith once said, remarking on the immodest attire of cheerleaders: "We give the American people what they want -- sex and violence."

[Agent 47]

So it's true then. Eleven minutes of actual play in an NFL game. Holy crap. That's even worse than I thought.

*resists making any wisecracks about the cheerleader outfits*

I watched a bit of the Super Bowel today to see for myself. I was watching the coverage, and they didn't seem to be doing much. Just a couple of seconds of activity, and then nothing for a half a minute.

I initially thought I must have tuned in too early, and they were still only going through the pre-game warm up drills or something. But then I started listening to the commentary, and after a while I realised that this was the actual game! Holy shit! What a dull way to spend a couple of hours!

*still resisting...*

But that was the big, end of season, championship deciding game for you guys, right?

Well now that it's over, just think - now is the maximum amount of time until the next footbore season starts!


*ok, that's it...*

PS - I really think you should try on one of those cheerleader outfits for size, Earl!

Go on - you know you want to!

[Skul]

Go ahead, but I'm not sure the outfit would work on you.

Would it work on you?

Sorry, sorry...

PS - I really think you should try on one of those cheerleader outfits for size, Earl!

Go on - you know you want to!

...That may be the greatest idea in the history of mankind!

[Earl]

*ok, that's it...*

PS - I really think you should try on one of those cheerleader outfits for size, Earl!

Go on - you know you want to!

Oh, no, I don't! (But I do think DrMengele would look good in one, especially one bedecked in swastikas. On second thought, maybe not. Clothes of any kind can only do so much.) Tell you what, I'll just wear my workout duds. At least they're modest.

[OMGdudeWhat]

sadly, 0 seconds of cheerleaders last super bowl.

[Fat Man]

sadly, 0 seconds of cheerleaders last super bowl.

Oh! Boo hoo!

I feel so sad for you.

Well, time for me to get out my world's smallest violin and . . .



. . . play it just for you!!!

[i_like_1981]

sadly, 0 seconds of cheerleaders last super bowl.

I bet quite a few sports players really only get into the games in a hope of "pulling the chicks", to use their terminology. Heck, one of these days you may see me in rugby or soccer kit chasing a ball whilst grunting and grabbing other men... it seems to be a real turn-on for the ladies!

Best regards,
i_like_1981