Soccer v. Football - great article

[Celeval]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/6162963.htm

The GK for West Ham (David James) apparently spent a day in the Miami Dolphins minicamp - a good article about what he thought of the NFL coming in, and a typical NFL player's reaction to the other football.

Kevin

[Havok]

good read........ if American football ever seriously caught on in europe that would be great. Can you imagine a Global NFL???

"The big match-ups today is the Washington Redskins vs The London Lunitics and The Dallas Cowgirls vs The Berlin Bombers"

That would rock

[thealmighty]

Nice article Celeval.

[tucker342]

Great article

[Leonidas]

I'd like to see a world class rugby guy give it a shot. They have absolutley no respect for the NFL, but they have no conception of just how big and fast NFL guys are. Dr Z in Sports Illustrated played Rugby and football both I think at the collegiate level and has talked many times about the differences and how a good rugby tackler would get annihilated trying to tackle someone like Ricky Williams.

Personally, I love Rugby, but the disrespect their guys have towards the NFL ticks me off. They just don't understand the caliber of athlete that plays in the NFL. Glad to see the futball player give kudos to the football players, and vice-versa.

[Havok]

I'd love to see Lavar Arington on a rugby feel. Half the opposing team would be injuried before the game is over.

I've watched rugby before, those guys won't stand a chance in the NFL.

[Super Ugly]

"Personally, I love Rugby, but the disrespect their guys have towards the NFL ticks me off. They just don't understand the caliber of athlete that plays in the NFL."

I don't follow rugby, but I remember some guy from NZ that was being courted by a few of the NFL teams. He pretty much told them to get lost, which was a shame as it could've raised the profile of (American) football round these parts.

A lot of my friends are hardcore soccer fans, and they can't understand why I'm willing to sit in front of the TV for three hours and watch a game. They say it moves too slowly and that there's no skill involved. More than anything, though, it's the helmets and pads - I don't think many people here will ever be able to get past that. As the great Alan Partridge said: "American football? It's just futuristic rugby."

[kiwiLB57]

Personally, I love Rugby, but the disrespect their guys have towards the NFL ticks me off

Try playing American Football in the greatest rugby nation in the world! It is hard to get people to take you seriously, but I would say the ribbing is less now than when i started six years ago. Even my dad (who played provinicial rugby for Otago. A team that would beat any national side on any given saturday) now respects the hitting and strength involved.

Still I would have loved to have seen URL=http://www.jonahlomu.com/]Jonah Lomu[/url] play some American Football...

kiwiDE57

[Mac Howard]

Gridiron play takes place in explosive bursts of a few seconds, rugby and soccer runs continuously for 40/45 minutes. The athletic difference is similar to the difference between a 100 metres sprinter and a 10,000 metre endurance man. Just as a sprinter wouldn't perform well in the 10,000 metres and the 10,000 metre man in the 100 metres sprint, a gridiron player wouldn't have the stamina for rugby or the rugby player the power for gridiron.

As to the outright speed - I recall a TV series based on top players from different sports competing in athletic events some years ago. The highlight of one was a 100 metres race between a player said to be the fastest NFL player and the fastest Rugby League player from Britain. The result was a dead heat (though the American judge gave it to the gridiron player, the photo finish showed the Rugby player had it by about an inch). Not a lot of difference either way.

Comparing the athletic needs in gridiron and soccer is pointless - they're so totally different and certainly neither player would give any sort of performance in the other's sport.

[rdo]

Leonidas

Rugby Union has changed immensely since Dr Z would have played especially in defence. Almost all international union teams now use rugby league defensive coaches and the standard of tackling in union has increased dramatically.

Also the goal of the tackling player is different in all 3 codes. In American football you simply have to knock the attacking player over, rugby league requires you do this whilst still retaining your hold on the other player in order for the tackle to be completed. In union the aim is turn the other player so that the ball is away from his teammates and also remain on your feet if possible so that you can play the ball. This should be taken into account when comparing the tackling of the different football codes.

Also in union you must use your arms in a tackle you can’t just drop your head and turn yourself into a missile, no helmets would make this practice foolhardy anyway.

[kiwiLB57]

I would agree with the soccer vs gridiron comparison, purely because there is so little contact in soccer. I mean, even when someone has a near-miss with another players forearm or foot then they fall to the ground howling in agony....

But rugby and rugby league are a little more comparable due to the contact nature of the game. Further, a wing in rugby (such as Jonah above) may hardly be involved in the game at all depending on the style of play. They may jog around a little and stand around a little then burst onto a pass before being tackled and standing around some more... Rugby (except for certain pivotal positions) is not the constant activity that you may think...

A player in rugby league, on the other hand, may be asked to "hit the ball up" a dozen times a game and make 40+ tackles. Again, certain games of league are crazy physical (the State of Origin series just decided is an example where the referees actually ignore some of the finer points of the game on purpose such as fighting, crazy swinging forearms to the head etc).

kiwiDE57

[Super Ugly]

"Also in union you must use your arms in a tackle you can’t just drop your head and turn yourself into a missile, no helmets would make this practice foolhardy anyway."

I don't think you can do that in football, either. When I kicked around with a team they told me that it was strictly forbidden, and that it would get us kicked out of the team. But then, English basketball prohibits dunking the ball as well ...

[kiwiLB57]

Dola:

Rugby Union only became professional circa 1995. Up till then it was an amateur sport played by people holding down jobs etc. Now it is professional and has made amazing strides in the size and strength of the players...

kiwiDE57

[ColtCrazy]

great article. These are my two favorite sports by far. Mare makes an execellent point, soccer players are constantly moving. Yeah, some stand around, but some midfielders are all over the place for 45 minutes straight. Many here don't appreciate what it takes to do that, it was great for the Dolphins to do that. Still, it's not like football is a cupcake sport. What makes them stand out, though, is the team strategy of both. Great athletes and good tactics.

[3ric]

Originally posted by kiwiLB57
Still I would have loved to have seen Jonah Lomu play some American Football...

kiwiDE57

kiwi, Lomu was courted by Dallas Cowboys some years ago (the one Super Ugly mentioned) and I remember the speculation on what position he was best suited for, possibly running back.

[Marc Vaughan]

Cool article

[ISiddiqui]

Very good article. Really shows people of both sides the difficulties and athletic ability involved both sports. Very eye opening. I wish more soccer fans that I talk to online read this... it might open there eyes (perhaps we can get Ricky Williams or someone to go over to West Ham and give a report that I can show my friends who love American football ).

[Leonidas]

Originally posted by Mac Howard

As to the outright speed - I recall a TV series based on top players from different sports competing in athletic events some years ago. The highlight of one was a 100 metres race between a player said to be the fastest NFL player and the fastest Rugby League player from Britain. The result was a dead heat (though the American judge gave it to the gridiron player, the photo finish showed the Rugby player had it by about an inch). Not a lot of difference either way.

Comparing the athletic needs in gridiron and soccer is pointless - they're so totally different and certainly neither player would give any sort of performance in the other's sport.

The show you refer to was called The Superstars on ABC. Seemed like NFL guys always won, except when Renaldo Nehamiah (who was only an NFL player in the kindest of terms) smoked everyone. I recall Greg Pruitt, Lynn Swan, and OJ all really kicked tail. Baseball players were usually last and track guys always seemed to do real well. Every now and then they'd thrown in a soccer player or a water skier (who I think actually won it once). Agents and unions would never let the players do a competition like that again. Too much risk.

I liked seeing the Jonah Lomu reference. I saw him and was flat out awesome. No doubt in my mind he would have been a great NFL running back. I remember watching New Zealand play England and I swear literally half the English team shadowed him everywhere he went. He would be 20-30 meters off the ball and there would still be 5 or six guys right in front of him. Jonah was about 250-260, must have ran a 4.4 forty, and actually had lateral moves. Imagine a very athletic Christian Okoye. Scary dude with a ball in his hand.