Time to re title the thread I think as its gone from a truly global sport to some sort of parochial North American sporting ritual.

Touch football. Isn't that a dichotomy :-)

>UPDATE: I read that the house where Vince Lombardi and his wife lived when he was coaching the Packers during their glory years has become sort of a shrine to football fans. (Like Lambeau Field itself). This was before sports went big time. It's not any special kind of house, the kind of house a head coach making probably 30K a year could afford. The fans come by and ask if they can play touch football on the lawn. The current owners say, sure, go ahead. Good Wisconsinites.
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>That's a good observation. Butkus. Nitschke.
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>>Or could it be that with a name like 'Gronkowski' he reminds you of a time is seemed like ALL the football players had names like that. Ditka, Nagurksi, Lombardi.....
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>>>He knows what to say, which is not necessarily the same thing as true humility. I respect him but have never really liked him. Kind of a phony. Maybe I just don't like the Patriots. Starting with Bill Belichick, they seem a little like Martians. The one Pat I do like is Rob Gronkowski. He is a breath of fresh air on that team.