Baseball - My new craze!

Yes, my seemingly insatiable hunger for new and different sports (scarily they're both american..) has moved on to Baseball and this drive has once more been caused by starting up a fantasy league with a few mates. I'd seriously recommend that if you want to get in to a new sport you use a fantasy league because it really gets you interested and involved.

As with the NFL I don't really support a team, just follow the action and marvel at the incredible detail in the rules and regulations - it certainly ain't like school rounders! I think the sport is much smaller in the UK though, and in America too, though it gives me something to do during the lockout and off-season of the NFL.

From batting average to home runs to stolen bases to ERA the game seems to have every single fact and figure nailed down and the sport takes on a much more precise offering than something like the NFL. The amount of concentration required by a batter (not batsman!) to watch a 95mph fastball and make a split second decision about whether it is going for the corner of the strike-zone or is missing completely is simply mind-boggling. Some of the astounding athleticism involved is underrated either in the field, on the mound, at the plate or behind it - how do the umpires make these decisions?!

If you're someone who loves to become completely immersed in a sport you'll love baseball. If you want a quick sport to catch a look at every now and then you'll either hate it or become absolutely absorbed. As you can tell, after a couple of months of friendly fantasy competition, I've become interested to the point of obsession!

The NFL - America's Game?

American football always has been and always will be a hotly debated topic in the UK, with many followers of the game over here but a lot of fierce critics, who believe the sport is inferior to those like rugby.

What doesn’t help the sport is that it is one of the most complicated in the world. There seems to be a never-ending list of rules and regulations the players must comply by, there seem to be penalty flags thrown on every play. For a newcomer, this must make the sport very daunting, though I believe it makes it more exciting and complex.

The pinnacle of the sport is of course the Superbowl, which involves the top team from each ‘conference’ playing against each other for the title of worlds best. The event is massive, and this year had the highest viewing figure ever on US TV, with 111 million people tuning in to watch the game.

However, also interestingly, 3.5 million people are believed to have watched the game in the UK, despite it being at a very unsociable time. Wembley stadium has hosted four NFL games, all of which have been completely sold out. It is clear there is a reasonable deal of interest in the UK, and that the sport is rapidly growing in popularity.

Although a Wembley game in 2011 is under jeopardy, the interest is apparent, with many teams wanting to spread their popularity, and many people wanting to watch games in the UK. There are several months until the beginning of next season, and many people both here and in the US will be keen to come to some sort of an arrangement regarding a fixture in the UK.

Whatever happens, it is apparent that American Football is a sport on the rise in the UK, and however complicated it may seem at the beginning, it is a thrilling and incredible sport, one unrivalled across the globe.

Ben Carter