It’s a joke because the clock running is not synonymous with “action.” Yet by the self-serving definition of hockey and soccer fans the whole running time of the game is considered “action,” but substitutions, changing formations, men in motion, and extra points in football are not. Endless and fruitless passing back and forth, the goalie waiting for his teammates to get ready before inbounding the ball/puck, the puck gliding down the ice until icing is called all count as “action” but only the time from center snap to tackle gets the same definition in football.