I have to disagree with the suggestion that football is not an "intellectual sport." Much the same way an uninformed observer might see the Tour de France as a bunch of scrawny guys that ride their bikes way too much and get their kicks riding up the alps, an uninformed observer might see football as a bunch of brutes beating each other up while chasing a pigskin. However, in both cases, the superficial description doesn't do justice. There are atleast as many, if not more "strategic nuances" in football as there are in the afore mentioned sports (btw... is the world series of poker a sport? I guess that's another debate...) and I would go so far as to say as in ANY sport. It's simply a matter of understanding and appreciating what you're looking at. As with viewing just about any sport, ask someone who knows the game to take a step back and explain what's really going on and you can start to appreciate its subtleties.

Incidentally, I knew that the "intellectual" comment would piss somebody off; I wrote it anyway--probably to get a rebuttal for once. =)

It's true: I've tried so many times to understand American football, but it seems to be completely beyond me. Either it's too complicated, or my attention span is too damn short. Maybe someday...