Football is the Greatest Team Sport

CFL Talk
1

So I was mulling over the sporting preferences of my friends, colleagues & family.

For the most part, my elders of Portuguese heritage like soccer. Likewise my friends from Stoney Creek seem to have affection for soccer since they are mostly of European decent. I don’t know if they actually like soccer or are simply infatuated with the sweat pants and super hero costumes they buy at SoccerWorld. The consensus amongst those here at Ryerson University seems to be a mild interest in hockey. People at Ryerson tend to be apathetic toward sports in general since its a tech/artsy-farsty school aspiring to become a real university. They tend to be casual Leafs/Jays/Raptors fans when its fashionable to do so.

Amongst my immediate friends and family, I am the only one who enjoys football above all. Being the minority in this case I’ve often had to defend the merits of football against those of hockey, baseball or soccer.

Here’s why I know football is the greatest team sport:

No sport features the entire spectrum of athletic skill sets & athlete types. Football is the only sport where you have gi-normous sumo wrestlers on the same field as nimble acrobats & sprinters. Throwing, catching, blocking, tacking, running, kicking and punting are all features of football. No other team sport encompasses all of these things, not even Rugby football.

No sport puts such demand on the brain. Give me another game with 700 page playbooks, pre-snap reads, hidden coverages coupled with live read & react intuitive play. No other sport requires the analysis that’s placed on the opponent or the dissection of video records of your own play as well as your opponents tendencies. Execution in football is 90% in the head.

No sport requires the team cohesion of football. The success of a team is based on all 11 or 12 players on the field executing their individual task while reacting to the events of the play and working as one.

Football is a game of everything. You get robotic technological feats including radio communication coupled with man at one with nature; blood & mud.

I have the utmost respect for all team sports and I’m more than adequately entertained by the likes of hockey & soccer. But nothing encompasses everything you could want in team athletics as football… finesse, speed, agility, brute strength, crushing hits, laser-pinpoint or long bomb passing, swift kicking, precise punting, acrobatic catching & form tackling. You get a bit of it all…

It’s really too bad its a relatively expensive sport to play. If it weren’t for the $150 fibreglass helmets & hundreds of dollars in other necessary equipment as well as the need for roughly 30 participants & 6 or so dedicated coaches to really make a team, grass-roots programs could spring around the world and I’m sure it would be a sport that could compete with Rugby in popularity. This is really the selling point of soccer and why it’s taken a strong-hold around the world. It’s a game everyone can play and relate to. Football simply is not.

I think because I was fortunate enough to play minor & high school football I came to see the greatness of the game. I’ve also played soccer and basketball but football definitely was my favourite. Here in Canada more people have had a chance to play hockey, baseball or soccer since those are the team sports with the most registered participants. That’s my best guess why the majority of people just don’t see it the way us football fans do.

I figure this being the CFL fan forum that most here consider football their favourite sport.

Is football your favourite sport and if so, why?

2

Football is my favourite sport to watch, hands down. Love the disciplined hitting, no silly fighting, and the strategy, team play and the fact that big guys and little guys can play all together on the same team.
That being said, I like playing pickup hockey over anything, you just drop the puck and away you go, love it. That's the beauty of the game to play, but what I don't like about it to watch, not enough strategy for my liking for watching and a good hit results in a fight a lot of the times, stupid and just plain "pretend I'm a tough guy".
Baseball is too individualistic type of sport for me and slow. Basketball, have to admit, liking it more and more to watch all the time and enjoyed pickup in high school, good game just too much emphasis on tall guys but fun watching them play.

billy, these are just my opinions and don't mean I'm telling anything to anybody. Okey dokey?

3

I was never sure why football became my favourite sport. But all the points you made certainly explain it, and I never played the sport except at the 'touch football' level. I did, however, play hockey.

Another disadvantage football has is that it's not really a sport most people play after their college years. Whereas many can play pick up hockey well after their 50's and 60's.

All that and I still prefer football over hockey.

4

Is that a Canadian Observation? 'Cause here in the States, it is possible to play tackle football after college-in the Milwaukee area alone (a modestly-sized metro area of about 2 million) there are aroung twenty semi-pro teams…I’m going to be 40 on New Years Day, and I’m still playing! Although, I am a lineman-our advantage is that we don’t get hit as much as hit first.

If you google up the name “Bob Blechen,” you’ll see how long some linemen can keep at it!

The beauty of semi-pro is that it’s not about $$$, it’s about love-for the game, and for the challenges it provides. I love the game, more than any other; I play in the Summer because it makes me feel alive…and I coach in the Fall to pass on that passion to the next generation of youngsters…and I truly believe that no other sport helps these boys to become better men.

5

There are possibilities to play. Here in Ontario there is the NFC which I believe provides an opportunity for post-secondary play.

But the opportunities for a 40 yr old to play football are far less than for somebody wanting to play hockey.

6

No.. Hockey is the best sport. It has the right amount of scoring, it's the fastest and most skillful sport. That doesn't mean that football isn't great, but no offensive lineman could play hockey, whereas every hockey player is in shape to play with the pigskin. And... HOCKEY DOESN'T HAVE TERRELL OWENS!!!

7

billy, one thing playing with a pigskin, quite another knowing how to block a defensive lineman, many of whom have all sorts of tricks up their sleeve to beat an o-lineman. I know guys when I went to university that played offensive line for the Western Mustangs that were in the 280 lb range and were very decent hockey players who grew up with hockey. I played with them in intramural games. Once you learn to skate, it's about as easy as walking. Also I heard that guys like Guy Lafleur used to smoke between periods they were that heavy of smokers. Not overweight mind you but you can play hockey at a high level and still fill your lungs with cigarette smoke.

God, let there be only one Terrel Owens to ever live on this planet, that I agree with.

8

Sorry Jimbo… you’re in the wrong thread.

My argument was that football was the best sport because it encompasses as wide a portion of the athletic spectrum of any team sport… I wasn’t here to claim that football had any more prestine athletes than any other sports… just that it requires a diverse selection of athletes and provides a wide range of entertaining features.

9

A wide range for sure, joedavtav. Hockey has a different mentality, Football is played between the whistles. In hockey the dislike for the other team is showcased for the entire game. Don't see any hockey players offering a helping hand, after a bone crunching check..

10

I love football.
I play high school football right now and I love to hit kids; there's simply nothing like imposing your will on someone for 48 minutes and letting him know it while you're doing it.
This is humanity's zenith.

11

Oh cmon!!! Don’t tell me you don’t get an occasonal laugh and a warm, tingly feeling when Terrel Owens starts his mishaps!

12

Besides hockey you're right(IMO). I love every aspect about football, especially the CFL.