Which is the best code of "handling football"?

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There are several codes of football in which the foot makes relatively little contact with the ball. The four I have in mind are American Rules, Australian Rules, Rugby Union and Rugby League. The code that that is generally known as soccer (Association Football) cannot form a true comparison with the others because of its non-use of the hands (except by goalkeepers). I am familiar with the two rugby codes, slightly aware of American Rules and not at all aware of Australian Rules. My first impressions of American Rules are not good ones. There seems to be very little variety in the play, with a constant repetition of the same moves at very short intervals, interspersed with the players rearranging themselves while the clock is stopped. The sport is also infested by that appalling American innovation, the time-out - no wonder they need cheerleaders to keep the crowd awake! I also find it amazing that the players need to be encased in body armour and wear protective helmets - not something that is thought necessary in the other codes. I have seen a description of American Rules as incorporating two of the worst aspects of American life - extreme violence punctuated by committee meetings! By contrast, Rugby Union is a free-flowing game in which the action is continuous for 40 minutes (80 minutes divided into two halves). There can be interruptions for scrums and line-outs, but these are nothing like as frequent as the American scrimmages, and there are far more varieties of play. Rugby League is the closest non-American code to American Football, and is more stop-start than Rugby Union, but even it produces much more flowing play, uninterrupted by constant decisions over whether a ball was taken cleanly or was moved forward the requisite number of yards. I find it hard to understand why Americans get so enthusiastic about their code of football. There must be something in their psyche that finds excitement in constant interruption! Whatever it is, it's escaped me entirely!