I used to love playing Madden NFL on the megadrive, as a brit i didnt have a clue what was going on but all the same, it was great.
I just want to make a point about why American football won't be popular in the UK...
- Thread starter Woodt
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I suppose it is simply a matter of frequency and the accepted norm of ' diving ' within a particular sport.
I would hope you would agree - that at least among most professional sports in the world today - that ' diving ' is most often associated with soccer / football. And, that while ' diving ' is the more the norm in soccer / football it is much less so in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB IMO.
Perhaps that simply is reflective of how some aspect of the culture in North America in terms of professional sports where ' diving ' and blatantly faking serious injury is the extreme exception rather than the norm. I'm at a loss to understand why ' diving ' is such prevalent aspect of professional soccer / football - could never figure it out.
The FIFA World Cup decided who the best soccer / football team in the world was by a shoot-out - that is all I was pointing out.
It seems a silly way to end the most important soccer / football game in the world every 4 years watched by 300+ million people - but that's just me.
It would like the 7th game of the World Series in baseball. If still tied after 14 innings, they decide the game based on a home run contest ( the ' Yankee Clipper ' would roll over in his grave
) .:yelrotflmao:Actually, the NHL does it for regular season games only - but not the playoffs which is a somewhat similar knockout type of competition.
Every sport has it's pro's and cons.
Since this is a fitness forum - perhaps the debate should be limited to which sport has the best conditioned athletes.
Diving is simply an unfair way of gaining an advantage in soccer, as the game is played on your feet it's the easiest way to eek that advantage out. In rugby, holding and tripping are frequent; i suspect the same with ice hockey. Im not clued up on american football but im guessing players dont play clean 100% of the time, all sports have their gamesmanships
Its just that diving looks so ridiculous; but is no different to any other pushing of the rules in any sport. Also, the number of players who do dive in football are comparatively few; but they stand out a mile.
Yeah, I do agree it's got out of hand in football, it seems to be coming under control in the UK though as the public hatred of it seems to have got through to the players and those that are 'frequent flyers' are ridiculed on TV. In seems as bad as ever in Eastern Europe though
Best conditioned athletes?
I think Baseball players have too many imbalances from throwing, US footballers could have won if I didn't feel the need to include the defensive blockers, Soccer players can lack strength from all the endurance work so I think I'll go for hockey players. They use strength and speed and from what I can see have fewer imbalances than other sports stars
Oh yeah, with WC finals, about 20% of viewers are fans of the teams in the final who want their team to win in 90 minutes, and 80% are neutrals who are praying for a shoot out because of the tension and drama
And the WC 2006 final had at least 600 million viewers so that's a lot of people all over the world gripping their pint glasses and hoping Henry bottles it, lol
Is that really a sport?
Plus from what I've seen of the NHL I'd have good reason to stick with Ice hockey even if it came down to a fight
Actually, some ' diving ' does occur in hockey, but very infrequently.
However, most often the ' dive ' in hockey is for an alleged trip or holding - they never ' dive ' to fake an injury - that's considered gutless. Most hockey players simply play through cuts, stitches , losing teeth etc, during a game - they go off for repairs - and re-enter the game.
You seldom - if ever - see an NFL player faking an injury on the field IMO.
Every sport has a moral code that players follow - and faking an injury is simply one of those gutless acts that break such codes IMO.
I watched a lot of World Cup games ...it seemed someone was on the pitch writhing in pain at least a couple of times in every game I watched. The tactic of " diving " seemed commonplace IMO.
Actually, I think soccer / football is an amazing game...and rampant diving and shoot-outs are the only blemishes that keep it from being the ' perfect game ' in many ways IMO.
Best conditioned athletes?
I think Baseball players have too many imbalances from throwing, US footballers could have won if I didn't feel the need to include the defensive blockers, Soccer players can lack strength from all the endurance work so I think I'll go for hockey players. They use strength and speed and from what I can see have fewer imbalances than other sports stars
Must say, being Canadian I'm biased.
But after having spent decades playing and coaching hockey at various levels, I'd certainly put hockey players in the 3 or 4 of the best conditioned athletes in the world.
Perhaps....perhaps not.
Check this link out that lists the ranking of the ' most demanding ' sports based on 8 attributes.
Boxing is #1 , hockey is #2, American football is #3
MMA isn't listed it seems, but martial arts and wrestling is. That said, I could see MMA as being just as tough as hockey or boxing though.
My favorite story about cricket is with regard to the Gallagher brothers, somehow I just don't think if it was football, it would be the same:
Gallagher Brothers:
Dani Behr: Do you [and Liam] still have physical fights?
Noel: No. The last time was in March or May and we haven't done since because...
Dani Behr: Who won?
Noel: I did. He claims its because he was drunk, but I claimed I had won because I had a cricket bat in my hand.
Hahahaaa
Gallagher Brothers:
Dani Behr: Do you [and Liam] still have physical fights?
Noel: No. The last time was in March or May and we haven't done since because...
Dani Behr: Who won?
Noel: I did. He claims its because he was drunk, but I claimed I had won because I had a cricket bat in my hand.
Hahahaaa
If you dive in the NHL (and obviously so), they will give a penalty for that. The league has also stepped in and fined repeat "divers" as well. Plus, these guys don't get the benefit of any calls in the future.
The other draw back to diving in hockey is that it takes you out of the play. If you are not going to get the call from the ref, then you need to hustle and get UP and PLAY. And even if you DO get the penalty against the other team, as long as your team has possession of the puck, you keep playing. [This means that your team gets the benefit of an additional skater from pulling the goalie, because as soon as the other team touches the puck, the whistle blows.] So you have more to lose by exaggerating and laying on the ice.
I felt the same way about watching the World Cup, Wrangell! All that acting and writhing on the ground. I also believe that the penalty system in soccer is so disproportionate to the foul. Either you get nothing for an obvious take-down (oh, look, it's a corner kick) or you get a penalty kick, which is converted at an insanely high rate. I think soccer would be far more interesting if fouls were called as 2 minute, 5 minute penalties. Hehehe. I also would love to see offsides be based on a fixed line. It would open the game up.
As for conditioning, remember that hockey is far more anaerobic and MMA more aerobic. So you are comparing apples and oranges (it's like asking which is "harder" - 100 metre sprint or 5K).
That said, when I was off the ice this past summer, I got into Muay Thai training. Going into it, I had been playing hockey five, six, seven days a week. I had also been keeping to an off-ice lifting program. It also had not been THAT long since I last did some running/intervals. I had taken a VO2 max test in which I outlasted the increase in pace/incline - meaning, my ability to consume oxygen started to deteriorate before I collapsed and could go no further. The upshot? I was starting in pretty good shape.
From a conditioning perspective, Muay Thai - plain and simple - kicked my ass.
So I give my vote to MMA as #1.
The other draw back to diving in hockey is that it takes you out of the play. If you are not going to get the call from the ref, then you need to hustle and get UP and PLAY. And even if you DO get the penalty against the other team, as long as your team has possession of the puck, you keep playing. [This means that your team gets the benefit of an additional skater from pulling the goalie, because as soon as the other team touches the puck, the whistle blows.] So you have more to lose by exaggerating and laying on the ice.
I felt the same way about watching the World Cup, Wrangell! All that acting and writhing on the ground. I also believe that the penalty system in soccer is so disproportionate to the foul. Either you get nothing for an obvious take-down (oh, look, it's a corner kick) or you get a penalty kick, which is converted at an insanely high rate. I think soccer would be far more interesting if fouls were called as 2 minute, 5 minute penalties. Hehehe. I also would love to see offsides be based on a fixed line. It would open the game up.
As for conditioning, remember that hockey is far more anaerobic and MMA more aerobic. So you are comparing apples and oranges (it's like asking which is "harder" - 100 metre sprint or 5K).
That said, when I was off the ice this past summer, I got into Muay Thai training. Going into it, I had been playing hockey five, six, seven days a week. I had also been keeping to an off-ice lifting program. It also had not been THAT long since I last did some running/intervals. I had taken a VO2 max test in which I outlasted the increase in pace/incline - meaning, my ability to consume oxygen started to deteriorate before I collapsed and could go no further. The upshot? I was starting in pretty good shape.
From a conditioning perspective, Muay Thai - plain and simple - kicked my ass.
So I give my vote to MMA as #1.
Pro MMA....like UFC....how many rounds and how many minutes per round for a typical heavyweight ' title ' bout ?
No idea what it is now. I liked it when it was to knockout, then fights could go on forever (ok, like 30-40 min). But what does time have to do with anything when the intensity is so high? I've tried doing 3 min rounds of Sanshou (strikes, kicks, takedowns) and I have never been so exhausted in my life.
It would like the 7th game of the World Series in baseball. If still tied after 14 innings, they decide the game based on a home run contest ( the ' Yankee Clipper ' would roll over in his grave
Actually, the NHL does it for regular season games only - but not the playoffs which is a somewhat similar knockout type of competition.
Homerun competition lol. Actually the NFL has ties as well during the regular season. They go to overtime and if noone scores, its a draw. Rarely happens though.
A shootout in soccer would be the same idea.
yea dude how can you take that list seriously i mean it has tennis above soccer i mean come on tennis ... and same with water polo i mean COME ON !!!
staying afloat for the entire duration of the game is already more tiring then tennis let alone the rest of the game...and dont even get me started on soccer
You might be right , the list may be questionable...maybe hockey IS the most demanding sport after all
american football are you kidding:yelrotflmao:, abviously the list was a rort.
They have like teams offense and defence who run like 1 meter every minute. NFL is like the least demanding game called football. those players wouldnt last in union or league even afl which sucks.
ski cross country should obviously be in there.
Anyone watch league? how good is australias backline who average age is like 20 and beat nz 58-0 haha. isreal falous only 18 and bulldozed over 4 massive kiwis.