gridiron

Post by **huahinsimon** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 7:47 pm

a couple of a very good american football games were played today. they will be shown on true during the week. if you are culturally open to another experience you might give them a look. when I lived in Spain they had a saying "somedays you have bullfighters, somedays you have bulls. But rarely do you get bullfighters and bulls on the same day."

today there were bullfighters and bulls

enjoy

HHS

Post by **Randy Cornhole** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 8:17 pm

Changed your avatar again Simon? are you looking for that something special or are you just constantly evolving...

Post by **dr.carter** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:53 am

i doubt very much you will ever see a very good american football game,
namby pambies wrapped in cotton wool!

Post by **Jaime** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:42 pm

Randy Cornhole wrote:Changed your avatar again Simon? are you looking for that something special or are you just constantly evolving...

Perhaps it's a mood indicator!

Post by **huahinsimon** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:38 pm

dr.carter wrote:i doubt very much you will ever see a very good american football game,
namby pambies wrapped in cotton wool!

Extremely intelligent post, doc, insightful, filled with adroit analysis, and so witty, take you long to compose it?

HHS

Post by **dr.carter** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:06 am

hhs,sarcasm is obviously not one of your strong points is it!

Post by **nevets** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:58 pm

BUT IT IS ONE OF YOUR DEAR DOCTOR AND YOUR BEDSIDE MANER WAS BAD I SUSPECT AS WELL.

Post by **johnnyk** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:23 pm

When one understands the game it is easy to see the NFL provides one of the most consistently entertaining sports products available.
I like soccer but certainly tire of "kick it in the air and maybe Rooney can outrun somebody."

Post by **Farang** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:10 pm

There are two kinds of opinions: mine, the right and correct ones, and differing opinions, which are wrong and incorrect.

People who entertain false opinions are not as well educated, knowledgeable and smart as I am. This is proven by the
fact that they entertain false opinions.

Post by **klikster** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:13 pm

johnnyk wrote:When one understands the game it is easy to see the NFL provides one of the most consistently entertaining sports products available.
I like soccer but certainly tire of "kick it in the air and maybe Rooney can outrun somebody."

It's one think to get knocked on your butt by a 180 pound amateur jumping off the line of scrimage .. had it happen many times while growing up playing schoolyard ball.

But I can't-even-imagine being blindsided by a 250 pounder who can do a 4.4 second forty running at full speed .. and repeat again and again and again. And those are the small guys!

While pads absorb some of the shock, all you need to do is watch .. and imagine the human brain bouncing back and forth inside the skull.

Every Brit that I knew back in the states who really learned American football prefered it to Soccer.

Then there was the Aussie in the bar in Hawaii who was wearing a Cubs cap and wouldn't talk to me until a baseball game was over.

Post by **Jaime** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:05 pm

The impacts are massive in US football and its success in the States is not to be questioned.

I find it quite interesting to watch for a while but without any partisan leanings towards any particular team, I don't think I've ever been able to sit through a whole game due to the constant stoppages and resultant length of the game.

It's very technical with lots of tactics and I think it's OK but for a fast paced full contact sport (with hardly any meaningful protective gear) that hits the middle ground between US football and soccer for ball-in-play continuity, nothing beats rugby union for me.

I watch it 'in the flesh' regularly at the top level and the impacts are ferocious - they can often be heard in the stands - and you don't get a feel for just how fast and hard the game is on TV. Professional rugby players these days are tremendously powerful athletes and those blokes are f*@#ing NAILS!

Post by **Luxrebel** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:56 pm

When someone like Martin Johnson says that the impacts and sheer physicality of American Football is way beyong rugby, then I for one believe him. He was a beast on the pitch.

Post by **Jaime** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:02 pm

I didn't say it wasn't - what I did say though was this:

"for a fast paced full contact sport (with hardly any meaningful protective gear) that hits the middle ground between US football and soccer for ball-in-play continuity, nothing beats rugby union for me."

A debate about which is the 'hardest' game is fairly meaningless - they are both full on contact sports but the continuity of game time is very different. I think it's fair to say that rugby is a much faster paced sport and soccer is faster still.

Post by **klikster** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:06 pm

Jaime wrote:The impacts are massive in US football and its success in the States is not to be questioned.

I find it quite interesting to watch for a while but without any partisan leanings towards any particular team, I don't think I've ever been able to sit through a whole game due to the constant stoppages and resultant length of the game.

It's very technical with lots of tactics and I think it's OK but for a fast paced full contact sport (with hardly any meaningful protective gear) that hits the middle ground between US football and soccer for ball-in-play continuity, nothing beats rugby union for me.

I watch it 'in the flesh' regularly at the top level and the impacts are ferocious - they can often be heard in the stands - and you don't get a feel for just how fast and hard the game is on TV. Professional rugby players these days are tremendously powerful athletes and those blokes are f*@#ing NAILS!

For people who don't "have a team", Division I college ball may be better to watch. They tend to run plays faster .. and because they are young .. with more enthusiasm. And the games are shorter. The fans are usually more rabid as well.

Rugby .. I watched the recent World Cup and realized the style of "football" we played in grade school was much more like rugby than "football". We were much less talented, of course.

We played tackle (instead of 'touch') when the teacher wasn't watching, no pads, few people per side (small school) .. and seldom threw a forward pass .. we weren't accurate enough. Lots of poor blocking, collisions, laterals and handoffs .. and whining when the class bell rang just as we were about to score.

I really enjoyed the World Cup.

Post by **Heebio** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:06 pm

Gonna buck the trend and stick up for the guys across the pond - NFL is the muts nuts. Official.

Jaime wrote:It's very technical with lots of tactics

Hit the nail on the head Jaime, if you pardon the pun. If you know the rules it's one of the most tactical and gripping sports to watch - although the stoppages are a complete pain in the arse.

I'm a Scot but got into NFL about 20 years ago - reckon I know the rules/tactics/play calls etc, pretty much inside out - and that's the secret to enjoying it. Don't blame em, but guys who knock it just don't get it.

I reckon this year's Superbowl is gonna be a classic. Pity I prob won't get to see it - anyone know what time if kicks off Hua Hin time?