England V USA International Friendly 28/05 or 05/28 for Americans!

[Lithose]

Originally Posted by Chrisb3

You serious?

All I saw was:
1. Charge for 5 seconds.
2. Omg everyone has fallen/been pushed over! Stop the game for 20 seconds while we check they haven't bruised through that armour plating!
3. Repeat.

Compare to Rugby where they get the fuck back up and only pass the ball when they have 5 guys on them. In cloth not plate!
I know certain Football players can occasionally roll around and whine for a penalty, but that's the exeption... the whole game isn't built around it!
I will never understand America and it's crazy sports, well at least you have Canada and Japan with you! I know which kind of Football the other 95% of the planet plays

Anyway I hope the USA wins 4-0. The only thing I hate more than Football is people calling it Soccer!

The difference between the size and power of the hits in Football Vs Rugby is astounding. No rugby player would last 2 minutes without pads in football today, not because they are "wimps" but rather because football players aren't even human anymore. I think people who play professional rugby are some of the toughest bastards on the planet, aside from hockey players but still..professional football players are just, freaks/steroided up super humans.

[Quineloe]

Originally Posted by Lithose

The difference between the size and power of the hits in Football Vs Rugby is astounding. No rugby player would last 2 minutes without pads in football today, not because they are "wimps" but rather because football players aren't even human anymore. I think people who play professional rugby are some of the toughest bastards on the planet, aside from hockey players but still..professional football players are just, freaks/steroided up super humans.

so we're at "fat negros" again?

[Akileese]

Originally Posted by Lithose

The difference between the size and power of the hits in Football Vs Rugby is astounding. No rugby player would last 2 minutes without pads in football today, not because they are "wimps" but rather because football players aren't even human anymore. I think people who play professional rugby are some of the toughest bastards on the planet, aside from hockey players but still..professional football players are just, freaks/steroided up super humans.

Gee, I'm sure this have nothing to do with ya know, Rugby players having to consistently run up and down the fucking field and get up from tackles immediately get involved into the flow of the game.

Football is fucking pussy compared to Rugby.

[Mythas]

Thats because football uses alot more strategy. The setting for plays allows a much larger varieties of plays and attempts at scoring.

I have watched rugby and while its fun to watch and yes those guys are tough.. football players are stronger and faster than they are with out a doubt. They need the pads because they are getting into head on colisions at 20 - 25 mph. NFL linebakers are the human equiv of bulldozers. I garuntee you give a rugby player pads and put him in hitting drills against a nfl line backer and its the rugby player who is going home sore.

While chaotic adapt and flow games like basketball and rugby and even soccer ( though not so much ) are interesting to watch, i think its all the small things comming together much like chess that make football more interesting than the others.

[Araxen]

Well it's an apples and orange's comparison for a Rugby Player and a Football Player with or without gear on. They are very different games. An NFL lineman playing Rugby would a clusterfuck and would be worthless. I'd dare say the Lineman wouldn't even last the first 10 minutes of the half.

[Akileese]

Originally Posted by Mythas

Thats because football uses alot more strategy. The setting for plays allows a much larger varieties of plays and attempts at scoring.

I have watched rugby and while its fun to watch and yes those guys are tough.. football players are stronger and faster than they are with out a doubt. They need the pads because they are getting into head on colisions at 20 - 25 mph. NFL linebakers are the human equiv of bulldozers. I garuntee you give a rugby player pads and put him in hitting drills against a nfl line backer and its the rugby player who is going home sore.

While chaotic adapt and flow games like basketball and rugby and even soccer ( though not so much ) are interesting to watch, i think its all the small things comming together much like chess that make football more interesting than the others.

Football does not use more fucking strategy. You get a fresh set of downs every 10 fucking yards. Just because you have a larger variety of plays available doesn't mean it takes more strategy. It just means that there's more variety. In Rugby LEAGUE (which is the only rugby I watch), you have to go the length of the field in one set of 6. Typically teams usually run 4 times and attempt to trap the team. The first 10-15 minutes can easily be nothing but a battle for field position . The fact that you have to go the length of the field and have only 6 plays to do so (and technically 5 since your 6th is almost certainly going to be a kick be it for clearance or to try and land in goal), makes it so there is much more strategy.

Back to MLS. The league is going to continue to strive as long as they keep building soccer specific stadiums for the clubs. It's a pretty well known fact that all the clubs that specific stadiums have seen their attendance rise and some are even turning a profit. Philly is opening a team in 2010 and their brand new soccer stadium will be ready. The Seattle team is going to be playing in Qwest and NE will continue to play at Gillette for the time being. As someone who's seen games at the Meadowlands let me just say that I know why teams who play in football stadiums don't get great attendance. It's a fucking miserable experience. You're about 30 feet from the field and that's if you're in one of the first 5 rows. A soccer stadium typically has the stands build right on the sideline (since most cameras are overhead and not sidelined base this is a bonus.

The level of play in MLS is improving every year. As teams make more and more money they can afford to keep their top notch homegrown talent in the states. As it stands right now, all the top players desire to head to Europe and with good reason. The problem is going to be getting major TV deals and getting games regularly televised. Say what you will about ESPN (and I do), but their soccer coverage has increased dramatically ever since WC2006. It's kind of amazing because usually the interest peaks for a year and people forget. Rather than that happening though, people seem to stay interested. Like I said, I would gladly support either Red Bull New York or NE Revolution if either played in a soccer stadium. As it stands, RBNY is set to open their brand new soccer stadium next year and I'll definitely go to a bunch of games and maybe even look into season tickets.

I think by the time Philly opens up their campaign in 2010, the league will have a lot of momentum (at this point all but NE, KC, Seattle, and San Jose will have their own specific stadiums with Houston are currently into a agreement to open their own park in downtown Houston near Minute Maid park) and you'll start to see more and more teams turning a profit.

Soccer support in this country has seen it's growing pains there's no doubt. Now though you have teams like Columbus who come close to or do sellout their 22k seat stadium and that's what the league needs for now. They need to build it up and take it slow. I doubt it will ever reach the level that the sport has in Europe, but if all these scandals keep popping up in Baseball, Basketball, and Football, you never know what could happen.

Holy fuck...That was like a fucking editorial.

[Kolle]

Soccer Is Boring

It doesn't need to be anything more than that. Has nothing to do with competition. If the USA started dominating the world in soccer I'd give them props, but I still wouldn't watch because it's boring. I'd rather watch curling than soccer.

But hey, I bash american sports fans just as much. Afterall, millions of people watch cars drive in a circle. At least basketball is catching on fairly well. I could care less if europe plays football.

As for the giants vs dolphins last year...yeah that game sucked. It wasn't a good representation of the sport. Part of the reason is that the dolphins suck ass. Why send that team...I dunno. Another reason was the field. It was a piece of shit field for football. The grass and the ground wasn't made for it. That's why it was such a retarded, sloppy mess.

Honestly if i was gonna expose britian to football i'd rather them watch a college game between two talented rivals.