For the love of the game: competition. Sacrifice. Strategy. Surprise. Raw emotion. The basic elements that comprise pro football also are the reasons the NFL has such a grip on us

Put off our chores on Sunday afternoons. Buy a satellite dish and TiVo. Invite some buddies over. Wear our favorite player's jersey. Rise and fall with each play. Curse our fantasy team's luck. Vent to a sports talk-radio show. Stay up late to watch the highlights.

What is it about the NFL that sucks us in and doesn't let go? Why do we love this game?

"I think," says Broncos safety John Lynch, "that it's the greatest thing going."

These are some of the reasons.

UNPREDICTABILITY

In no other sport are there so many unexpected developments.

There will be teams that rise from nowhere this season, as the Panthers did a year ago. And there will be teams that fall fast and hard, as the Raiders did in 2003.

This year's Panthers could be the Jets, a team that dipped last season in part because quarterback Chad Pennington missed seven starts. This year's Raiders could be the Cowboys, who are going into the season with too-ripe Vinny Testaverde and too-green Drew Henson at quarterback.

"We have a situation now where just about everybody feels they can win it all," Colts coach Tony Dungy says. "We have teams that don't make the playoffs the year before going to the Super Bowl. We have teams that go to the Super Bowl that don't make the playoffs the next year. I think that is what makes the country really want to watch."

DRAMA

In no other sport are so many survival struggles played out so vividly.

In the NFC Central, the defending champion Packers will be trying, futilely, perhaps, to hold off their border rivals, the up-and-coming Vikings.

With a proven brand of leadership, Denny Green will be attempting to drag the Cardinals out of the NFC West basement.

Travis Henry and Willis McGahee will wage a turf war for handoffs in Buffalo.

The Dolphins will be trying to prove--perhaps to themselves as well as America--that they can win without Ricky Williams.

Fading legends Rich Gannon, Kurt Warner, Tim Brown and Marshall Faulk will be trying to prove they still can do what once made them great.

The Bucs will try to show last year was an aberration, but they'll be doing it after a complete makeover of their team identity.

Second-year Ravens quarterback Kyle Boiler will try desperately to not let down a team that features what could be the best defense and running game in the NFL.

SPECTACLE

In no other sport do you see the combination of size, speed and strength you see in the NFL.

Ever see Jevon "Freak" Kearse with his shirt off?. The first time his new teammates in Philadelphia did, they jokingly asked him if he was taking a banned supplement.

Try to explain how someone the size of Cowboys safety Roy Williams (6-0, 235) can move like someone much smaller. Or how Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher can weigh 252 pounds and have 5.8 percent body fat. Want more to marvel at? Check out the arm strength of Falcons quarterback Michael Vick ... the quick feet of massive Ravens offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden ... the cutting ability of Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson ... the power of Raiders defensive tackle Ted Washington ... the speed of Vikings receiver Randy Moss.

"The difference in the level of play of the top guys is unbelievable--some of the things they can do, ground they can cover, catches they can make, moves they can make" Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna says. "I get in trouble because my coach always wants me to carry out my fakes, but I'm turning to watch the play."

STRATEGY

In no other sport do you see the planning for opponents made into such science.

One of the NFL's greatest strategists ever, Joe Gibbs, is back in charge of the Redskins, and everyone is talking about what his game plans will be like. "He probably will do things very similar to what he did before" Eagles coach Andy Reid says. "I think he has a base philosophy he's going to stick by."

Gibbs' strategy is of particular concern to the Bucs, who travel to Washington in the opening week. Gibbs' last victory in the NFL came against the same style of defense the Bucs play. It was a playoff game in January 1993 against the Vikings. The Vikings' defensive coordinator was Tony Dungy, who also implemented the Bucs' current defensive system during his reign as head coach, and the Vikings' linebackers coach was current Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. The Gibbs-style offense always matched up well against the Dungy-style defense, and on that day the Redskins held the ball for close to 43 minutes and ran for 196 yards.

For Kiffin, the delicious challenge will be to come up with a better game plan this time.

CHEMISTRY

In no other sport do you see so many personalities melding to reinforce a collective effort, or so many personalities failing to meld and sabotaging a collective effort.

The Patriots won two of the last three Super Bowls in part because their team chemistry was the best in the NFL. They threatened that chemistry this season by trading for running back Corey Dillon, who has a history of making waves. Dillon has been a model citizen up to this point. Then again, he always has been a model citizen when things are going his way.