Ok going back to ckdstudents question...yes, i have seen the game of american football in Romeo Must Die but that isnt real football, with pads its a whole new game, it doesnt even begin to compare to football without the gear. With the gear its a lot more intense and the hits are A LOT harder. Also the game in Romeo must Die was 3 on 3, in a park, with no pads. Here we call that "park or playground football" no one really gets any serious injuries from that and I know it seems intense at first, but it isnt trust me...play the game with full gear and 11 on 11 (or 12 on 12, Canadian rule), it will change your life forever, lol Me and my friends played that kind of football for years, then when we got into high school...the first hitting practice we got killed! Why? Because the method that you use to tackle in rugby/park football does not work against an armored running back coming at you full speed. The only way your gonna stop him is by meeting him head to head at the same speed he's going. Grabbing his shirt and throwing him to the ground or grabbing his legs does not work. I cant convince you that its better CKD, your just gonna have to try it for yourself.
You see I went to a fairly notorious school, our PE lessons in rugby did involve running towards each other at full speed for tackles, along with kicking, takedowns, and brawls at the side of the pitch.
Not to mention wrenching each others genitals. Arm locks, head locks. Rucking the man off the ball. All without protective armour and the fact that it is all done in a variety of weather conditions on grass. and mud. American Football is about being bigger and faster. Rugby is about thinking on your feet, and understanding body mechanics and psychological tactical plays. They are not really comparable I feel.
Then again our football lessons were like that. So were our gym lessons. And our hockey lessons. And our tennis lessons. I wonder if its too late to sue.
All I can say is try both of them...then judge for yourself, because we could sit here and talk about this for months and we still wouldnt be able to come to a conclusion that satisfies everyone.
Watched a game of Aussie rules lately? I saw a guy have a few ribs broken as someone landed on his chest feet first. Awesome mark though.
I recommend you all get to see the "State of Orgin" decider. If you can last half an hour with those boys I will admit your training is hard. If you don't know what I am talking about then come to cheap Australia and find out
Yeah they get REAL passionate about the state of origin. I just like watching the highlights from previous matches but those guys would have about the lowest average IQ of all the sports At least in american football they pass the ball forward.
You can only pass the ball backwards in rugby, and I believe i Australian rules as well. It means that rather than having a weak person but a fast runner sprint up the field and catch the ball you actually have to work, charging through the other team.
Australian rules invovles a field about 150 - 200 metres (long they all differ). Ball can be passed in any direction by any appendage (a hand pass must punch the ball from other hand. Is not allowed to leave the holding hand till it is hit). Full contact is allowed anywhere within 10 metres of the ball except to the head, back and foot (trip). Player must have the ball for you to tackle them though. Players from both teams start at both ends of the ground (think Larcrosse). 6 points for kicking the ball between the two big sticks. 1 point for kicking the ball between a small stick and a big stick. Catching the ball after a kick is a "mark". The person who marks the ball receives a free kick. If someone is tackled with the ball and they don't get rid of it legally then a free kick is awarded to the tackler. There are no restrictions to the tackle while the player has the ball. Seen some nasty hip throws coming into the game lately (I think the players have been learning a grappling art to augment their tackling ability). A quick rundown of Aussie rules.
Wonderful thread! Have been meaning to respond to it sooner but managed to get myself caught up in various others. I have had the pleasure of playing both games and I have to say that I enjoyed the rugby the most, probably partly down to the fact that I played it first and most often. I also think that it is the hardest to play, both technically and physically! True, people do throw themselves into the tackles headlong in American Football but due to all the padding it doesn't hurt half as much as when someone launches their body at you with NO padding on. Several americans have played in the same rugby teams as me down the years and they have invariably turned round and said that the rugby is tougher. When you bring rucks and mauls into the equation and scrummaging as well (if you are a forward) then the pain factor can be ramped up even further. While I only played US football for one season, I never once had someone tapdancing up and down my back with studs on the way I have had in rugby (maybe I really should leave the ball alone while I'm on the deck!) The other side of it is that you have to be able to last a full 80 minutes in rugby and be involved in every aspect of the game. You can't just focus on the one aspect of attack or defence and your specific roll within it. You have to have an overall awareness of what is happening on the entire pitch and be able to change from attacker to defender in an instant (particularly with some of the three-quarters I have had to play with!). It always felt strange when I was playing US football when you would go onto the pitch for three or four minutes and then off for another three or four minutes. Then on again, then off again etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing US football and still enjoy watching it but it just isn't the same as the rugby. I would love to get my hands on an American Football team and turn these boys into rugby players. These guys run a hundred metres in 13 seconds while wearing twenty pounds of equipment. If you could teach them how to pass, tackle, catch, scrummage, compete in line outs, rucks, mauls and give them a decent level of stamina then you would have an awesome team as their size and strength and speed are great.
I've read Calvin & Hobbs (it used to be in one of the daily papers) but I haven't seen the Calvinball ones.
The rules are quite simple. You have to wear a mask (no one questions the masks) and you never play it the same way twice.
errrmmm!!! can i just point out ..that the cheerleaders are better looking at american football games....they get my vote!!!
