[Aircrafty]

Everyone thinks their country has the best Football game and it's hard to argue that American Football isn't popular in the US and Canada. But how does it compare with the other popular Football games played around the world, such as:

American Football: American football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Popular in the US and Canada but rare in the rest of the world).

Australian Rules: Australian rules football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Played in most Australian states and it's Australia's National Football game)

Rugby League: Rugby league - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (A direct competitor to Australian Rules in Australia. Although this game started in Northern England, Australia has ruled the world in this sport for many years)

Rugby Union: Rugby union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Not as popular as the other two codes downunder but has a strong following with the academic types)

Football (Soccer): Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) (Very popular with the under 15 year olds downunder, but few play in later years)

I guess our preferences are greatly affected by our own cultural experiences. For example Australians prefer a game to have lots of action and have few breaks. Therefore very few Australians watch American Football because the action seems to stop every five seconds.

Imo the BEST Football game would have to be Rugby League because the players need to be tough, fit and agile. Rugby League has plenty of action and the action rarely stops for long. And of course we get to beat most other countries at this game time after time

Btw, when many American soldiers moved downunder during WWII neither wanted to play the others Football so a combined game of American Football and Australian Rules called Austus Football was formed ( Aussie Rules International ). Maybe you Yanks should start it up again in the states to put some action back into your game

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by Aircrafty

Btw, when many American soldiers moved downunder during WWII neither wanted to play the others Football so a combined game of American Football and Australian Rules called Austus Football was formed ( Aussie Rules International ). Maybe you Yanks should start it up again in the states to put some action back into your game

Funny you mentioned that. When I was a wee lad back in 1979, I attended an international boy scout jamboree in Sweden (actually, the XV World Jamboree was cancelled since it was originally scheduled to take place in Iran, so the world jamboree that year was called Dalajamb and held in Sweden) and we (the Americans) played a few games of Rugby with the Brit contingent.

The overall outcome was surprising, given that the game is a product of GB.

[chiefs70]

I am a fan of Australian rules, Rugby and American football and have played 2 of the 3 - American football through high school and rugby on my university club team - the University of Kansas which had, and still has, a strong collection of rugby clubs which play nationally and internationally on occassion. The games are different, as the links show, and are popular for many reasons. If you truly think that the 300+ lb linemen in the NFL are fat and out of shape slobs with no athletic ability you are sadly mistaken. Can they run a marathon - or even a half marathon for that matter - no. However, I'd wager you'd be quite surprised at how quick and agile these big me are on the NFL level. Their role is to maul the other line to enable the "skill position" players to execute their roles and often lead the running game which requires great speed and athleticism. I loved the action and brutality of rugby but, in my opinion, the strategy of building a gameplan for a set piece contest and making adjustments during the game is great fun in the American game as well. The term "football" may be common but the games each have their nuances which appeal to different groups and saying one is better than the other is an argument which will never be resolved to which you agree.

I don't claim American football is the best but I will say I watch Australian rules, rugby and American football regularly. As for "world" football (soccer), I only watch it because my son is too young to play the American version which he craves. Aside from watching my son and his pals... soccer can remain a sport this crass American cannot appreciate especially when "action" is a requirement. (wow, the new smilies allow me to access my juvenile humor, hehehe).

[Aircrafty]

Chiefs, this was started as a "pick on the silly Yanks game" thread, and you've just ruined my cunning plan by injecting some logic

But I'm sure Skunky will soon change that

Meanwhile, it's true that it's difficult to choose a BEST OF here because the codes are very different and require a range of player types. I can see that American Football requires really big guys to act as blockers. But a couple of those Colts guys looked like they had no muscles at all and were just overweight kids. That said, I wouldn't like one of them to grab hold of me after I had just told them that

With the exception of American Football I have played all of these games, albeit only at High School level, and found that Rugby League contained the best aspects of the ideal football game.

For example

* League has fewer halts in play than either Union or American Football.

* League is an easy game to watch because you only need to concentrate on the player with the ball as he's the only person that can be physically contacted. With American Football the players make an effort to disguise who has the ball making the game difficult to follow. Rugby Union becomes very messy and amatuerist at times because of its mauls and rucks.

* Tackles in League are usually harder than in either Union or Aussie Rules. American Football has relatively hard tackles and blocks but the players are wearing much more protective gear which also tends to restrict their movement and speed.

* League is also the better sport in regards to fitness and toughness. It's true that Australian Rules and Soccer players are most likely the fittest players in these codes because the playing fields in both games are large and both games require heaps of running and stamina. However neither of these two games require the physical strength that League demands. Size appears to be the main factor in American Football with only the scoring players requiring speed, stamina and agility.

[Nimrod48]

This topic has the potential to be very explosive as true football fans (of what ever code) will defend their particular sport to the death.
For me there is only one game of football & it is played with a round ball, "the round ball game is a game for gentlemen played by thugs, the oval ball game is a game for thugs played by gentlemen".
Not my quote but I think it sums up the different English codes rather well.
As for soccer being crass I can only imagine that anyone who has that opinion has been watching too many England games, they truly have raised mediocrity to an art form & if anyone from the FA is reading this
HANDS OFF Martin O'Neill.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by Aircrafty

Therefore very few Australians watch American Football because the action seems to stop every five seconds.

It doesn't just seem to....It does. It's the most boring thing in the world. Even the players themselves hate it. It's just a good excuse for them to run around and pat each others' tushies and get away with it.

[easy8]

I can remember my first dose of Aussie Football, saw it on cable TV in college, and loved it, we used to yell down the hall that it was on and soon we had a whole room of guys watching! But, as Chiefs said, I've grown up around American Football, played it and enjoy everything about the game, the strategy, the hits, developing a game plan to exploit the other teams weaknesses. And I like the stops and starts in football, because it gives me a chance to guess or predict the next play, kind of the armchair coach thing I guess. And as far as the "overweight kid" linemen you saw Aircrafty, don't let their looks fool you...these guys are in great physical condition (they have to be or you don't make it to that level)...and part of their job is to maintain mass and weight to dominate the player across from them. Anyway just my 2 cents...the only game I can't really get into is soccer, I know I know, and believe me, I've tried, but I just can't watch it with interest...but I do think it is a great option for kids who are starting to play sports.

easy8

[chiefs70]

I agree the stoppages in American football get irritating. One thing I love about DirectTV is that I can watch replays of games I missed with all commercials and time between plays taken out - 60 minutes of game time = 60 minutes of tube time.

One thing I'll say about soccer is I think those guys are among the best conditioned athletes in the world. I usually jog for an hour a day and I couldn't imagine running with the intensity soccer players for the duration of time. In the end, if you are a professional athlete you've pretty much got the rest of us beat. I'd love to get paid to play a game although it would be baseball for me if given a choice.

[easy8]

Originally Posted by chiefs70

I'd love to get paid to play a game although it would be baseball for me if given a choice.

Right there with ya Chiefs! Nothing like a day at the yard!

easy8

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by easy8

Right there with ya Chiefs! Nothing like a day at the yard!

easy8

Talk about a boring game with a bazillion "stoppages" in play! Baseball is the worst!