4 reasons why football is the best pastime in the military

Troops come from every walk of life before they serve in the military. Rarely will you find any kind of unifying thread among them like a shared love of American Football. And it's a service-wide love. Whether the troop was a hardcore fan of their team before they enlisted or it's just a hobby that they picked up to be part of the conversation, troops love football in all forms.

These are the 4 top reasons why football is the best military pastime.

4. Football as PT

Coming up with an in-depth PT schedule is tricky. You need to balance what makes for a great, full-body workout while also keeping morale up. This is where sports PT comes in.

You'll see troops who went on a "no ruck march" profile from the doctor earlier in the week be miraculously healed when they hear it's football day.

How NCOs look trying to catch people breaking profile. (Image via GIPHY)

3. Playing Madden with the boys

After work is done and the lower enlisted go back to the barracks, one of the most common games they'll pop in the Xbox or Playstation is that year's edition of Madden.

It's all fun and games until someone loses and a controller goes through the TV.

But hey! It's the only way a Cleveland Browns fan can go to the Super Bowl. (Image via GIPHY)

2. Fantasy Football leagues

Every now and then, one of the nerdier troops brings up playing Dungeons and Dragons. They'll probably get mocked for even suggesting the idea.

But if you change the fantasy setting to "Football" and then add a cash prize and a cheap $20 trophy... all of the sudden, everyone knows every player on every team.

Calvin Johnson gave everyone a reason to watch a Detroit Lions game. (Image via GIPHY)

1. Watching the actual game

While deployed, it doesn't matter what time it is: If your team is playing, you're finding a way to watch the game on AFN.

At the end of the day, no matter who you cheer for or whether you watch NFL or NCAA, troops will latch on to their home team and use them as an anchor to their friends and family back home. For a few hours each week, it bonds troops who cheer together and poke fun at fans of the other team — even if they're sitting right there.

All for the love of the game. (Image via GIPHY)