Pile it on me. I do not understand frickin' football.
I just don't. I don't get it. My team sports as a child were soccer and baseball, and individual sports were skiing, snowboarding, and whatever.
The only thing I ever understood was something I watched in college where some guy jumped over the other during the lineup, then jumped back, then jumped back over again, causing the other player to stand up and say WTF? only to be called for "movement on the offense". That's it.
I don't even know what a down is.
Announcers rattle off stats so quickly my brain turns to mush. Is it just me?
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OK, I just hadda.
In Alabama you are either Alabama (university of) or Auburn.
Also a university, but considered the red neck cow college.
At least by Alabama fans.
Their are several other colleges and universities in the state, but they don't matter.
Your college affiliation/rooting section is more important than whether you are a Methodist or Baptist.
Methodists and Baptists can usually iron their differences out, or at least agree to co-exist, but Alabama/Auburn fans never can.
ESPN once rated it the second-worst college team of all time. Between 1973-79, they lost 50 consecutive games, an NCAA record until some other school lost 80 in a row during the 1980s. I had graduated by the time this awesome losing streak started, but while I was there they were already a laughingstock on campus. Nobody went to football games because they were almost always a disaster. So I come from a somewhat different football tradition. 
A screamingly gay guy whose character isn't actually supposed to be gay?, but you can just SEE that he is.
And the actor actually comes out as gay and everyone is all "Whoa! How BRAVE of him to come out, etc., etc., etc.
American football is an unusual sport. The key to enjoying football is understanding the basics and a bit of the rules. After a while things clear up and you might find yourself looking forward to a game.
The offensive team has four downs to gain 10 yards of distance toward their goal line. That is why the ten yard increments are marked off on the field. The team on defense tries to stop the offensive team from achieving their aim of reaching ten yards where they will be awarded an additional 4 new downs.
That is why 1st and 10 is a positive achievement. 
But it's like anything else.
Gain an appreciation for it and it opens the door to rapport with other people who love the game.
I have a story behind how that happened for me, but it's not important.
For me, football is a matter of "how bad do you want it?" And as I am a self-employed Web Designer, a sole proprietor who has to go out and get my clients or there ARE no clients, that is a key thing for me.
I live in South Carolina now, which means I am in "Panther Country." My girlfriend and I both originally came from the same small town in Massachusetts. That means she and everyone in her orbit are Patriots fans. I don't care for Tom Brady...I think he's a prick. I'm a Broncos fan (for reasons found in the story I mentioned above).
So I watched the Patriots / Broncos game, and it became very clear early in the game that through either arrogance or ignorance, the Patriots had a fatal lack of awareness when it came to the Broncos' defense. That's what won the game. You could see Brady early in the game and he had the face of a man who was going to be defeated, and he was.
Same thing yesterday. Regardless of what people may think of Cam Newton's personality, I think few will question his skills as a quarterback. But yesterday, the whole game was on him. The Panthers, just like the Patriots, were ill-prepared to deal with the Broncos' defense, and that's what won the game. The Panthers' offense didn't stand a chance.
I probably will never get to the point where I paint my face and upper body in my team colors and scream their name while clutching a beer. I've never been that guy. But I do have an intense appreciation for the power of intention, specifically intending to win, and that's what makes or breaks a football game.
A rudimentary understanding of the game allows me to have conversations with fans. In the past, my response was "I don't really care for football." That was usually met with a disappointed "Oh...OK," followed by the end of the conversation. Now, a couple of minutes worth of banter elevates the mood of the other person. They either get jazzed because we like the same team or they get that "We're going to BEAT you" team spirit for the team of their choice.
It's a little thing. In my heart of hearts I will always be a Web Designer / Photographer / Musician / Chef BEFORE I give a thought to sports, but the punchline, I guess, is that if you make the effort to appreciate the things others like, it makes you a more well-rounded and approachable person, and that enhances the quality of all of your relationships, from casual acquaintances to your inner circle.
I grew up in Dallas so I'm a Cowboys fan since the days of Roger Staubach. I remember my 5th grade teacher coming into class and announcing bemusedly "Well we just drafted a fellow named Too-Tall Jones". My dad took me to my first pro game and we saw Roger Staubach accomplish one of his patented come from behind victories against the Eagles.
I was the Offensive Lineman of the Year for my team in the Irving Boys Football Association but, to be fair, I think they gave it to me because I played a lot of positions and was good at all of them but not the best at any of them. I didn't care, I got pizza and cake at the award party.
I played in Jr high and High school as well however my high school was a small private religious school so we only played non-contact* flag-football. They finally moved up to full contact my Senior year but we weren't very good lol.
On a side note, the defense is no longer allowed to cause an illegal motion penalty by making the offensive line move after being set... More often than not, if they move first, the defense will be called for a neutral zone infraction even if the offensive lineman moves afterward.
My wife and daughter suffer (not very silently) during football season as I will watch any game and scream at the TV for various miscarriages of football justice without regard to volume or even correctness. For the record, my TV got an unusually long harangue over that called incomplete pass that led to Denver sacking Cam and scoring. But we did watch much of the puppy bowl too so they didn't complain as much as they do during the regular season.
I was pulling for Cam and Carolina as my dad loved that team until he died. He lived in Charlotte from before they got an NFL team and embraced them whole-heartedly.
But I also didn't mind Peyton getting a Superbowl Championship even if he does own a lot of those disgusting Papa John's franchises. His commercials are often funny and Denver's Defense certainly deserved that win. And I have friends that live in Denver so I know they were happy (They have season tickets and their house has more Broncos stuff than mine has Cowboys stuff)
But yeah, just because I love football there's no rule or law that says you have to. Some of my best friends hate football.
*Supposed to be non-contact but that didn't stop me from getting knocked the eff out once. In flag football if the defender is set, the runner must make an attempt to avoid contact. In other words, they gotta run around you instead of through you. But this one time I was set, ready to grab the oncoming rushers' flag when he just decided to put his arms up and run over me - he outweighed me by at least 70 pounds. I wasn't gonna be the guy who jumped out of the way so I stood my ground and caught his forearms full in the face at top speed. The next thing I remember was hearing my coach saying "Holy crap he's alive!" as I woke up inside the school some 10 minutes later. Still worth it. That kid got ejected and suspended. We won the game. Not because of me or anything but it's nice to hang that on top of them cheating. They couldn't even beat us by cheating us.
I rarely watch it anymore, although I did watch some of yesterday's game.
I get it because I repeatedly made big $$ betting every adult a quarter that the local team would lose when I was dragged along to large football parties.
It wasn't the game itself. It's that I could make some decent money (for the 70s) while watching all the adults around me gnashing their teeth and tearing their hair, both at the games and at losing, again, to a kid.
So I had some motivation to learn. 
I do not understand the rabid adoration of the fans. I guess people have to do something with their free time. 
