Sports: Chess on the Gridiron

I'm a big fan of American football. A lot of this stems from my family - both Dad and Grandpa watch football, so I got a good dose of it growing up. I also remember vividly my first (and last) full contact childhood football game - and decided pretty quickly that I'd leave the tackling and blocking to the professionals. But it wasn't until I realized that all those guys on the field weren't moving chaotically, that there was a play someone had called, that I truly appreciated the game.

Other team sports have plays, of course, but not to the degree of American football. Everything on the field is, to a large degree, choreographed, with a complex series of tactical decisions involved: Where is the mismatch where this defender or that blocker can be overwhelmed? How are the weather conditions on the field? How much time is on the clock? Dozens of considerations go into what play is called in a game, making for a sport that's pretty fun to watch just for the strategy.

Even off the field, the planning continues. Trading and drafting players is practically a sport in and of itself, with every team looking to fill positions and to find diamonds in the rough. Even coaches can get on the carousel based on performance - witness the turnaround Tony Sparano has orchestrated with the Miami Dolphins. Move up to the final level - where owners wrangle with the players' union, the media, and local governments to divvy up revenue - and you have an economic contest that's easily as interesting as any computer game.