If American Football wasn't called "football", would it be more popular...

[QUOTE=HarryCallahan]A lot of injuries could be avoided if:

a) A running clock was instituted; players getting so much rest inbetween plays allows them to perform at a higher level, conversely allowing them to get tired would decrease the strength of hit/tackles.

b) Banning helmets etc; Might seem counter-intuitive, but banning pads would mean players taking responsibility for their own protection, not leading with their heads.[/QUOTE]

They probably could be, but that's not how the game is played.

And, do you really think the same thing that happens in scrums doesn't happen in football pile-ups? Not even just in pile-ups, the NFL recently went through a huge ordeal with teams setting up bounties to inflict injury on particular players to take them out of games. Plenty of dirty stuff happens in American football.

[QUOTE=Just2McFly]how can you see a receiver stop and go, keep his hands down til the last possible moment, then catch the ball and drag both of his feet to stay in bounds and sarcastically say wow?[/QUOTE]

Cause it simply isn't impressive skillwise. Athletically though? Stunning. NFL might have the best athletes in sports because that's basically what the game is. If you are more athletic than the other guy, you will have an extreme advantage in football. It's a body sport. Not many finesse skills are involved for the majority of the players...at least not to the extent that they are in other sports.

For instance, in basketball, you can be one of the best players in the league or THE BEST, but not be one of the most athletic (ie Bird, Dirk, Nash, Durant, oldman Kobe etc etc etc). Not as true for Football (though, in fairness, I have less knowledge of it). However, I do agree that the quarterback must have more than just athleticism. Meanwhile, soccer is a game that is almost entirely finesse and skillbased. To say they are less skilled is simply ridiculous.

[QUOTE=B-Easy8]All the NFL fanboys have just taken over this thread.

Why is it so hard to comprehend that people have their own opinions on things? Many of us watch a lot of NFL (more than the average American) and [B]we still believe its not the most physically demanding sport.[/B]

How is this an issue? Stop being so butthurt about someone else's opinion, how does it really affect you?

By the way I hate him but Christian Ronaldo is arguably the best athlete in the world.[/QUOTE]
Stop it, no one has even said that and you're the retard who asked this question "Also why do they have so much protection? Watch Australian football or rugby, they are just as rough, if not more and they wear nothing." Only someone ignorant to the sport would ask such a retarded question. And you are a disgrace to human intelligence calling CR7 the best athlete in the world nor do you even know what the definition of "athleticism" even means

People in this thread who DONT have any idea what NFL football is about are trying to find different ways to undermine it :oldlol:

it takes extreme agility (not to mention timing with the QB) to run a 15 yd out without ever looking back for the football and then catch it at the last second and drag both feet to stay in bounds and complete the catch

its takes extremely good timing accuracy and trust to drop back in the pocket when you are 6 foot 200 lbs and guys coming at you from all angles are 6-3, 6-4, 6-5 270+ lbs.. a Qb has to drop back (with perfect timing) and throw a perfect pass to a receiver cutting across (or running a go route down the field) the field right on the numbers.

if he holds the ball too long? he gets crushed.... not just tackled.. but crushed


It takes extreme agility and speed and timing to simply return a kickoff for a touch down


there so many different aspects that occur on the field that require perfect timing and trust in your teammates and supreme athleticism... its totally ridiculous to see people try to act like its something easy or mundane... it isnt at all


Im not even going to get into coaching... coaching is 50Xs as important in the NFL than it is in a sport like the NBA ... In basketball there are only 5 players on a the court for a team at 1 time.. A guy like lebron can take over the whole game and change a the course of a franchise BY HIMSELF..

football isnt like that.. Its called the ultimate team sport for a for reason.. you have 11 guys working in concert on both sides of the field and if 1 guy makes a mistake or there is some kind of breakdown? it can cost you points.. and few breakdowns here and there can cost you the game...and there are only 16 games in a season... everything matters soo much more than most other sports... there is no 7 game series in football.. its 1 game in the playoffs...

Its the real definition of WIN OR GO HOME... you dont get a game 2 or 3

people need to actually understand what they are talking about before they come on argue with people who actually watch and understand football..

stop...

[QUOTE=B-Easy8]Clearly I missed the O.

Christiano.

You happy now Mr Wiggins?[/QUOTE]



:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

It is largely just what you grow up with. I don't think the name has anything to do with it. American football is just not that interesting to the casual observer. But if you grow up with it or put time into learning the sport then I'm sure it'd be more popular. But then that is true for any sport.

[QUOTE=PHX_Phan]They probably could be, but that's not how the game is played.

And, do you really think the same thing that happens in scrums doesn't happen in football pile-ups? Not even just in pile-ups, the NFL recently went through a huge ordeal with teams setting up bounties to inflict injury on particular players to take them out of games. Plenty of dirty stuff happens in American football.[/QUOTE]

I'm not saying dirty stuff doesn't happen, just not as much as other sports. American Football isn't even the toughest north American sport.

And c'mon man I've heard about "bountygate," whatchoo hink I live under a rock?

[QUOTE=HarryCallahan]Did not know that. I though that cups (boxes, protectors w/e) would've atleast stopped scrotum-grabbing.

In any case the number of times per game someone has this happen to them in Rugby is far higher than amfootball.

In my playing days I didn't play a single game where I wasn't stomped on atleast once. Not to mention eye-gouging.[/QUOTE]

I thought the same thing about the cups, but he told me a lot of players didn't wear them because they'd chaffe your legs up, or were restrictive and uncomfortable. He also told me when there would be a human pile and a fumble, sometimes players would stick their thumbs into the guys butt who has the ball to make him drop it. hahahahha. ****ing animals man.

I've never really watched Rugby, only once or twice. Seems like a pretty cool sport though. They have some badass uniforms, that's the main thing I took away because the strategy of it was completely foreign to me, lmao

[QUOTE=B-Easy8]All the NFL fanboys have just taken over this thread.

Why is it so hard to comprehend that people have their own opinions on things? Many of us watch a lot of NFL (more than the average American) and we still believe its not the most physically demanding sport.

How is this an issue? Stop being so butthurt about someone else's opinion, how does it really affect you?

[B]By the way I hate him but Christian Ronaldo is arguably the best athlete in the world.[/B][/QUOTE]

He's slower than Adrian Peterson, weaker, less agile, not as big, can't jump as high or as far, and can't take as much punishment.

How is he the best athlete in the world lmao.

Skimmed through this thread, so I might be repeating some stuff, but I don't care.

The game isn't popular, not because of its name, but because of the amount of stoppages it contains. Some people just don't want to watch five seconds of action and wait half a minute to see another 5 seconds.

Plus if football/soccer had a stoppage of 5-35 seconds after the defender passed it to the midfield. And then again once a forward gets it. It would lose a ton of its popularity as well. Basketball has plenty of stoppages as well, but the action lasts more than a dozen seconds before most stoppages. Hockey has stoppages at goals and penalties, but is otherwise freeflowing. Football/soccer needs no explanation on the freeflowing by anyone who has watched it.

As far as money goes, why do European countries invest in hockey but not football? You need padding, just like the NFL, but on top of it, you need good ice as well. And to play football, all you need is a football and grass, you are good to go.

When it comes to athleticism, endurance plays a big part in it as well. Sprinting for 5 seconds, even while taking some major hits, can be viewed inferior by some to running around for 85 minutes with a fifteen minute break in between and some walking around but being able to make a last second sprint to get a tying or winning goal. And vice-versa, as has been proven by this thread.

[QUOTE=joe]I thought the same thing about the cups, but he told me a lot of players didn't wear them because they'd chaffe your legs up, or were restrictive and uncomfortable. He also told me when there would be a human pile and a fumble, sometimes players [B]would stick their thumbs into the guys butt [/B]who has the ball to make him drop it. hahahahha. ****ing animals man.

I've never really watched Rugby, only once or twice. Seems like a pretty cool sport though. They have some badass uniforms, that's the main thing I took away because the strategy of it was completely foreign to me, lmao[/QUOTE]

Oh so you guys do that too?

[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hopoate"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hopoate[/URL]

[QUOTE]During a 2001 clash with the Cowboys, Hopoate, in an attempt to unsettle several of his opponents, inserted his finger in three players' anuses,

Hopoate claimed in front of the panel of judges that he was simply attempting to give all three players "a wedgie" with his fingers, denying he had done anything wrong and that he was "a great believer in what happens on the field should stay there".[5]

The three victims in the case, Cowboys players Glenn Morrison, Peter Jones and Paul Bowman all disagreed with the reasoning put forward by Hopoate and his team. Jones stated, "It wasn't a wedgie. That's when your pants are pulled up your arse. I think I know the difference between a wedgie and someone sticking their finger up my bum", while Bowman stated that he was "disgusted" and "couldn't believe it."[6]
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=kaiteng]Jim Brown would have played lacrosse for his playing career and just be the greatest lacrosse player ever.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=-p.tiddy-]if every NFL player and every soccer player on the planet all participated in a giant 100 M race the first 100 people to finish would all be from the NFL...[/QUOTE]

[IMG]http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/mj-laughing.gif[/IMG]

[QUOTE=atljonesbro]He's [B]slower than Adrian Peterson[/B], weaker, less agile, not as big, can't jump as high or as far, and can't take as much punishment.

How is he the best athlete in the world lmao.[/QUOTE]

Seriously?

[QUOTE]Ronaldo was compared to Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt after thundering 96 metres down the field for a counter-attack in just ten seconds, leading to many people claiming he would be of international athletics standards.[/QUOTE]

Source: [url]http://www.givemefootball.com/198162-cristiano-ronaldo-challenged-to-100m-race-by-spanish-record-holder[/url]

[QUOTE=B-Easy8]Its really boring. Plays go for 5-10 seconds at most and then there is a minimum of a 30 second break everytime. The stops are just insane, they spend 3/4 of the time doing nothing.

Also why do they have so much protection? Watch Australian football or rugby, they are just as rough, if not more and they wear nothing.

Another reason is that no one else in the world plays it, whilst almost every country in the world plays basketball.[/QUOTE]


Few arguments chap my ass more than this one because they are so wrong and so misguided and based on asinine simpletons making dumb observations without putting any real thought into it.

I played football in HS and played rugby in college as well as on teams overseas. Yes, rugby is a rough game, BUT IT IS NOT NEARLY AS HARD OR AS DANGEROUS AS FOOTBALL. The collisions in football are spectacularly more dangerous and harder.

Rugby is like long distance running, Football is like a series of sprints, the collisions when you sprint are much more violent.

Also, rugby players DO WEAR PROTECTION. You cannot watch a high level rugby game now without seeing a large majority of players wearing this:

[IMG]https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQGv1U8lyLIit7zYpoDLofiZqufBc0c0DIxFqro9MTGN65hf7khQQ[/IMG]

And if anyone has any head trauma they need to wear one of these for the rest of their career.

[IMG]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQU88qvLam2HqmTmOANiDJGD1guoCSsSt_onzeKKgLExwubZa-6tA[/IMG]

In the next decade I see both being mandatory, so yes my friends, rugby, as it continues its evolution into a real pro sport (Fact: Rugby Union was COMPLETELY AMATEUR UNTIL 1995). They are still making major changes to the 'laws' of the game as it deals with the reality of bigger, stronger, faster and professional players entering its ranks.

We will see even more changes, and more equipment as the speed ramps up and approaches football levels.

And don't brandish me a hater, I love Rugby Union, it is the sport I am second best at (besides hoops) but I also played HS football and a lot of my friends played in college, so I cannot deny reality.

Non-Americans like to take cheap shots at football, it is misguided and b*tchmade.