1. akbarthoff says:

    “Unfortunately, this SME-music-content is not available in Germany because GEMA has not granted the respective music publishing rights.”

    Is this a music video? 🙁

  2. Miguel says:

    Yup, what we Europeans love about America – that small town spirit magnified about seventy two million times or so 🙂

  3. Miguel says:

    Not a music video, but there’s music in it… Maybe music is becoming verbotten in Europe…

  4. OneOfTheOthers says:

    I have it on good authority the insane hoopla and massive expense is all about getting laid.

    Everything in the US of A is just too damned expensive, neh?

  5. Rob Leather says:

    Isn’t this from the excellent

    Stephen Fry in America

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Fry_in_America

    He’s actually very complimentary towards the US. Definitely NOT what you might expect, which makes it even better.

  6. ben-in-the-woods says:

    I wonder if British university’s could afford all that hoopla for Rugby they would get soft and also want all the padding that American football players need ….

  7. chuck says:

    #5 – I’ve seen the series. Stephen Fry seems to genuinely like America – the people, culture, etc. But he can’t seem to avoid making condescending comments.

    Such as referring to the event as “preposterous”. He must have been to a English football (soccer) match.

    Outside the Premier league there are hundreds of small-town football clubs, with their own loyal followers. With one minor difference: the fans in Auburn drink beer and have a good time. The fans (hooligans) in England get drunk (before the match) show up and have a fight.

  8. aubie says:

    WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!!!

  9. Uncle Patso says:

    To see true obsession, he should look at high school sports. In my small rural Indiana home town, the basketball arena has a seating capacity approximately twice the population of the entire town. The town water tower is emblazoned with the name of the team’s most successful coach. They don’t call it Hoosier Hysteria without reason. I’m sure it’s the same for high school football in Texas, etc.

  10. JIm says:

    #4 Ahh, ok, I understand now.

  11. Thomas says:

    American view of soccer: lots of running, no scoring, no idea when it ends.

    No idea why Fry thinks American football is ridiculous unless he also thinks that soccer matches are ridiculous.

    Some years ago, a player (forget which) claimed that each college football game was like the HS championship game and each NFL game was like a college bowl game in terms of intensity.

  12. Steve says:

    I”d like to see a tiny fraction of this enthusiasm get behind the elevating the quality of education these institutions provide. The things the current graduates of these places don’t know could fill a million stadiums.

  13. ben-in-the-woods says:

    Thomas (#11): It is not the sport that he finds surprising, its the number of fans, the cheerleaders, marching bands, size of the stadiums etc, especially for amateur sport.

    Its not a criticism on Fry’s part, he is just surprised … it just isn’t something that is done in the UK …

  14. bobbo, why do you think what you think and when do you change your mind says:

    Ha, ha. And nobody is really disgusted.

    Thats America.

  15. noname says:

    # 7 chuck said

    But he can’t seem to avoid making condescending comments.

    Such as referring to the event as “preposterous”

    So American, so fragile and so childish. Look mommy he thinks differently, he’s not one of us!

    # 7 chuck, your so sad, no giving of any allowance of original thought or thought freedom. It must be a very scary thing for you to experience something other then mindless conformity.

  16. bobbo, words have a meaning and a context and often ultimately affect actions says:

    noname–viscerally, I agree with your post “but” the second half of chuck’s post really does balance off the insular orientation you lament.

    Yeah, gotta read the whole thing.

    What did Fry call it? “Hoopla” I think.

    conclusion: you are both right. chuck: you’d have a perfect post if you had said nearly the same thing: “while pointing out America’s over involvement with even state localized sporting events, he missed a telling difference……”

    In you heart of hearts, which version really speaks for you?

  17. foobar says:

    #7 chuck

    What a condescending remark.

  18. Johan says:

    Is this really a college football game? Wow, that’s oversized. I guess I wouldn’t fit in at all in the US, because to me this seems absolutely ridiculous.

  19. gm_solex says:

    If you think this is bad, I went to McKinley High School in Ohio. Lets just say my school was about a football field away from the Hall of Fame and that football field was where they play the NFL opening game (well unless there is a lockout).

    When I went there, my senior year we had major budget cuts to our arts departments, and one of my favorite teachers was forced to go to another school and replaced with a crazy cat lady (I’m not exaggerating).

    That same year we hired a new head coach for the team, and actually RECRUITED players from other schools. Lets just say it wasn’t cheap. It wasn’t exactly legal either, but the investigation into it went nowhere.

    It’s really sad when it’s like this even in HIGH SCHOOL!!!!

  20. jeroen says:

    i’ve seen the superbowl and it had as much ‘sports’ action as i have seen in this short video.

  21. dans says:

    Wow, thats pretty intense. How do they pay for all that?

  22. Red says:

    Johan,

    You’d be amazed at how quickly European exchange students get into this stuff. It’s part of the experience of going to school in the U.S.

    Also, the only reason the players are amateurs is because it’s illegal to pay them. College football is a billion dollar business. Someone somewhere is making boatloads of cash.

  23. TroubleMaker says:

    Sports are for the feeble minded that like to think they somehow had a hand in the achievements of others while doing nothing but but sitting in front of a TV eating pizza and drinking beer.

  24. mharry860 says:

    Looked to me that “The Star Spangled Banner”, brought tears to his eyes.

  25. Jcox says:

    R. Lee Ermey said it best: “Great Britain my ass…there’s nothing ‘great’ about Britain.

  26. Holdfast says:

    #25 fair enough but there isn’t much united about the United States.

    Names for countries often do not fully reflect the country. The Democratic Republic of Germany was the classic example but lots of countries are still like that today. It goes back a long way. Look up what SPQR stood for on the standards of the Roman Legions.

  27. Gildersleeve says:

    Of course it’s ridiculous – wouldn’t be any fun it it were austere and regal, would it?

    Stephen, when you going on tour again with House?

  28. sargasso_c says:

    In his defence, an Oxford accent makes everyone sound condescending. I thought he did rather well.

  29. Meanfest says:

    #24 – It wasn’t “The Star Spangled Banner” they were singing, when he had tears in his eyes. It was “God Bless America”. But hey, you were close enough.

    #9 – I can imagine that high school basketball is crazy in Indiana. As you said about high school football in Texas….it’s HUGE over here. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I live in Texas.

  30. kerpow says:

    WHAAAAA! He called us ridiculous so thats when I stopped listening to pout and I missed the other big words he used to describe us, like “wonderful”.

    If you were offended by anything he said in this clip please grow the fuck up.


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