Even with all the protection gear, players get hurt very badly, some becoming paralyzed for the rest of their lives. There is a lot of pushing and shoving between the players, who are allowed to do almost everything in the field in order to prevent the opposite player to advance the ball. The main referee, who wears a different hat, can overrule the others, and sometimes they disagree, and a long conference takes place in order to make a decision. The game is suppose to last one hour, but the average length of a game is about three hours. They stop the clock anytime the play stops.
Television has more control over the length of the game than the players, coaches or referees.
When the play is interrupted it cannot start without permission of the TV man who from the sidelines signal the referee when it is time to resume the game. Television tells the referee when it should stop the game in order to broadcast its commercials. The climax of this game is the final match which they call Super Bowl, and whoever wins it is known as the football champions of the world. Baseball is even stranger. The players also wear drawers, but unlike their football counterparts, they don't wear any protective gear, except for the player who catches the ball.