Yeah, well, I don't understand why any country would prefer cricket to baseball. So we're even. Not.
I would say Rugby is the most dangerous team sport to play in regards to violence resulting in potential injuries, then both football and soccer being second, and then hockey third...aside from that opinion, I prefer soccer as a sport because it allows each individual the freedom to make his or her decision in what action to take on the field of play once in possession of the ball. I don't like the idea of playing a sport where my actions are already pre-determined by the coach, like in Football...its like putting on a costume of a chess piece, and then sitting there on a chess board square, waiting for my master to move me at his whim, and having no say as to wherer I will be placed... Having a short experience in training and playing with a college football team during a pre-season program, I must state that I have the outmost respect for each football player, because they go through some intense training, only to have a knee injury during a friendly game...putting such hard work into a game where you have to play someone else's game, is a shame, and in some terms, a waste of one's efforts...unless you sign a contract with a pro football team, then maybe all that pain, agony, and lack of freedom to play the game for yourself, is paid off...otherwise, soccer for me, rules. Now, in reference to the element of diving in the game of soccer...personally, in my 36 of playing soccer, I never faked a dive...I always played the game to win by playing my heart out, and my aim was to win by the game by virtue of my skills, my cleverness in game play, alway trying to outwit my opponent, and anticipate the next move of my oppoenent, etc...I never planned to fake a dive, that to me is a coward's way of gaining advantage, and it does not belong in the game...and I believe there is present activity to outlaw the element of diving, if not heavily penalized, and hopefully eliminated. I have played the following organized team sports; baseball, softball, hockey, basketball, football, and of course soccer. And I respect all athletes, of all sports, because each sport has something unique to offer to the athlete. But overall, I prefer soccer, to me soccer is the most creative and athletically challenging, and what is most important, the skill level today has tremendous room for improvement, hence making the future of the game even more entertaining.
Hey rmiller8171, as far as the Super Bowl being a world championship goes ...I'd love to see the Rhine Fire take on the Steelers next year..... cmon
In response to the idea that you can't take a dive in american sports i'd say thats very wrong. kickers do it all the time, oftenleading to second chances that cost the other team the game. and to say that you can't fake catching a ball, maybe you need to play/watch more baseball. it's called trapping, and im damn well sure theres a handful of players who have faked a catch knowing full well all they did was trap it. should i go back to football and mention WR begging refs for calls on pass interference? maybe you should watch a game of aussie rules football to see the shit those guys go through to get the ball, and you wont say "american sports dont allow divers"
Yeah, I don't buy the diving thing either. Batters also pretend that they get hit by balls. I do think that a lot of kids leave soccer because of the length of the season. In high school, you could pretty much do soccer and nothing else. The other sports had shorter seasons, which allowed participation in both fall and spring sports. And, I definitely agree that it would take the U.S. somehow winning or being dominating for Americans to get interested in soccer. We like to be better than everyone else.
There is a fine line between diving and cheating. American sports and sportsmen embrace cheating whole-heartedly. It's a big part of competition, and we can all think of numerous examples to support it. But diving is considered outrageously bad for some reason. It think it comes down to the macho-bullshit debate: Diving is emasculating in the American sense, whereas stand-up cheating is manly (American's national pastime has a long and storied tradition of cheating. It's practically woven into the fabric of its history). Frankly, it's just splitting hairs (or just out and out bullshit - there is plenty of diving in basketball, hockey and football) as far as I'm concerned - but there does seem to be a specific distinction.
how can you call the super bowl a true world championship, when they don't play the rest of the world. Exactly who would you suggest they play? CFL's top team might be able to beat the bottom teams in a division but that's only a maybe. No team outside the US can compete with the NFL play off teams and most of the non playoff teams either.
how can you call the super bowl a true world championship, when they don't play the rest of the world. The European football league is a feeder system for the NFL. Therefore, by design, it is going to be inferior than the NFL. If you were good enough to make the NFL, you wouldn't be playing in the European league. The CFL, while independent of the NFL, is well known for being a league of a different design than the NFL. It uses less downs, more passing, more kicking and smaller players (on a larger field). Since a large portion of the CFL players are either failed NFL players or players in need of more training before being picked up by the NFL (or never even being drafted by the NFL), then it too is probably an inferior league. On any given day, I suspect that a European football team or a CFL team might beat an NFL team, but in a 16 game season, I suspect they'd probably go 2-14 or 3-13.
Hey rmiller8171, as far as the Super Bowl being a world championship goes ...I'd love to see the Rhine Fire take on the Steelers next year..... cmon You kind of made your own point there, sprdave. Very few people outside America want to play our version of football and even fewer want to watch it. So the point is, why call yourself a "World Champion" when very few outside your own country play the game? Isn't "Super Bowl Champ" a big enough title? Do our sports teams in America have to be "Champions of the World"? Anyway... Good story. Soccer is great. Divers suck. Can't wait for June. I think there's a Beach Boys song in there somewhere.
Do our sports teams in America have to be "Champions of the World"? Of course, a great many Americans like to feel superior to everyone else in the world. It's part of the American charm, isn't it?
Why are we dicussing the Super Bowl, here? I think the point that will stick with me in this article is the one he makes about diving. I agree there is diving in other North American sports, but it's openly frowned upon, whereas diving seems to be a defining part of soccer's culture. Hell, I've seen kids diving in pick-up games, when there's not even a referee to dive for. They're just imitating futbol's big boys. That's never going to fly in North America (think Don Cherry).
On any given day, I suspect that a European football team or a CFL team might beat an NFL team, but in a 16 game season, I suspect they'd probably go 2-14 or 3-13. I think that is a good analogy grum, and it doesn't apply to just football, but most sports as well. While the Detroit Tigers can beat any team in the MLB on any given day, they are not going to win the World Series because they are not good enough to be consistant.
uhm...Americans are arrogant as hell. They don't understand that soccer is a popular sport and that just because their precious football sport is not played anywhere else they can't get over that. Football, I mean why is it even called that anyways. They hardly ever use their feet except for punts and field goals. They stole the name from original football. Football (soccer for all you people who are too stupid to realize that that is what i am talking about) is played around the world and is a great sport to watch and play and "No team sport approaches soccer's [football's] popularity" (www.soccernova.com). so there ya go. americans, and by saying this i must say i am american, but seriously get over yourselves. there are more countries out there than just us and most countries hate us and this is the reason. we are arrogant little cry babies.
