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Football For Nerds

2013-02-01 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Sports · explainer learning

In a pre-recorded 'Nerd's Guide to Football' for Super Bowl season, Hank uses statistics to argue that American football succeeds because it is a game of anticipation with close results, and that its many breaks make it an advertising and money powerhouse.

What is said

00:00:00 — Hank is flying to England; video filmed weeks earlier for Super Bowl season; the UK cares little for 'hand egg'; welcome to a Nerd's Guide to Football

  • ★★ Hank says he is on a plane to England right now; three weeks earlier he decided to film this video, knowing America would be in a Super Bowl frenzy. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank says one in three people in America will spend time watching football this year. — 00:00:00 · United States

00:00:29 — Why is football so successful? Viewing hours vs Wikipedia; a three-hour broadcast holds 11 minutes of play

  • ★★ Hank says Americans will collectively spend 300 million man-hours watching the Super Bowl this year, which he calls the time it took to create Wikipedia. — 00:00:29 · Wikipedia
  • ★★★ Citing a recent study, Hank says a 2h54 televised football broadcast holds an hour of ads, 75 minutes of milling around, replays, 15 minutes of other things and only 11 minutes of play. — 00:00:29

00:01:30 — A game of anticipation; most games close; attention plus breaks make it an advertising powerhouse; Americans watch 500+ hours of ads a year

  • ★★★ Hank says outsiders may be puzzled by a sport where apparently nothing happens, but the numbers explain it: football is a game of anticipation, short bursts of action after build-up, each play a small victory. — 00:01:30
  • ★★★ Hank says football games are very often close: over half are decided by single digits, over 40% by one scoring opportunity, and the most common spread is three points. — 00:01:30
  • ★★★ Hank says football's ability to hold attention, and its many breaks for advertising ('America's second favorite pastime, being advertised to'), have made it an economic powerhouse. (playful) — 00:01:59
  • ★★ Hank says the average American spends over 500 hours a year watching TV advertisements, 12 full-time work weeks per adult. — 00:01:59 · United States
  • ★ Hank says that when people ask how he has time to do so many things, he tells them he doesn't watch TV (wording garbled in the audio). (playful) — 00:01:59

00:02:27 — Ratings (MASH finale, Monday Night Football) and money: Cowboys' value and profit, cost of attending, salaries, Dwight Freeney

  • ★★ Hank says the top US broadcast ever was the MASH series finale (over 60% of households), but last year Monday Night Football was the top-rated series, ending American Idol's eight-year streak. — 00:02:27
  • ★★ Hank says the most expensive US football team is the Dallas Cowboys, projected worth over $2.1 billion, with $226 million profit in 2011, more than the Raiders' revenue. — 00:02:27
  • ★★ Hank says it costs an average American family of four over $500, including food, drinks and merchandise, to attend a football game. — 00:02:57
  • ★★ Hank says the NFL minimum salary is $300,000 a year, and 2011's top salary, $19 million, went to linebacker Dwight Freeney. — 00:02:57
  • ★ Hank says Freeney's financial advisor was just arrested for embezzling two million dollars from him. — 00:02:57

00:03:33 — Players broke after retirement; how the game works in one sentence; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank says high paychecks do not bring financial stability: 78% of football players are broke two years after retirement. — 00:03:33
    • number check: 78% — doubtful

Humor (significant)

  • Hank says that in the UK, where he's headed, people care little about American football. — 00:00:00 > «they care about as much about hand egg as they do about spices other than salt.»
  • Football's many breaks in play make room for advertising. — 00:01:59 > «allow opportunities for America's second favorite pastime, being advertised to.»
  • Hank compares himself with the top-paid player, Dwight Freeney: same birth year, same height. — 00:02:57 > «and weighs exactly 100 pounds more than I do.»
  • After all the statistics, Hank finally explains how the actual game works. — 00:03:33 > «it's all very physically impressive and seems quite dangerous.»

Threads in this video

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