What is the appeal of professional football?  Why do hundreds of
thousands of Americans pay large sums of money to sit in a stadium and
watch grown men pulverize each other?

I guess you mean American football and not soccer?

Most US high schools have American football programs.  Having played
it as an amateur, I can better appreciate the talent of the
professionals.  Personally, I enjoy the sports where grown men
pulverize each other - American football, collegiate wrestling,
boxing, and Ultimate Fighting Championship, among others.

I don't wish to glorify violence, but the world is a violent place.  I
have learned my participation in violent sports.  I can tackle a
running purse-snatcher or pin a violent drunk to the ground without
seriously hurting him.

leah20-

It's funny that you ask. I had the same question about rugby, really. :)

In addition, I'm venturing to guess that you have an interest in
association rules football (aka soccer). Soccer can be more vicious
than you think, and man-marking can get quite physical and personal.

ralphs

I love both football (american-- what else is there?? ha ha), and
rugby, and played both in high school and college. There is just
something about finding out how tough you are. Now I don't play
anymore, but I still love to watch it. I love to see people push the
limits of athleticism. It's not like weenie baseball or something,
which is a game, not a sport.

Non-fans tend to overemphasize the role of violence in the popularity
of (American) football. Not that there isn't something impressive
about watching a vicious hit and seeing the victim pop right back up
for the next play. But what attracts me to football is the strategic
aspect of it -- both coaches trying to outmaneuver each other with
plays, formations and substitutions. You try to guess what the coaches
are going to do and get amazed when they do something really strange
or risky, like a fake punt (if it works).