Football reminds me of warfare, but like, the gentlemanly warfare where armies fight with "honour".

Going for it on 4th and long when it's not towards the end of the game is like refusing to retreat when you've been routed, and instead charging the enemy rather than regrouping and living to fight another day. Most of the time, it's a foolish thing to do and can leave your enemy in a very advantageous position. After all, while you were charging, they were gunning you down. Or in football, you don't get the first down and now they have excellent field position from which they can more easily score.

But sometimes, going for that charge can overwhelm your enemy who thought they had just gotten the upper hand, and it can shake their morale after taking many heavy losses in close combat. And in football, it can really shatter the confidence of a defense to give up a first down after having three consecutive, successful stops. Now they have to stay out there longer than they expected, and they get tired that much quicker.

It's just not gentlemanly to go for it on 4th down when there is still a lot of time on the clock.