h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just a little tidbit I picked up at a coaching seminar today... the number of calories expended by world class table tennis players during a single day of a tournament was on average 25% greater than a marathoner expends during the day of the marathon.

Show me a barroom ping pong player who will expend that amount of energy in a month, then maybe you can convince me there's little difference between ping ping and competitive table tennis.

Sorry to butt in where I'm probably not wanted but I have to say something. Just to (probably inflame an old arguent) say thank you to the author of teh origional article. I played Football (American) for 3 years while at uni and it was some of the most fun I have ever had. Now, I have also played rugby, I liked football better but that's personal preference. Watching teh games, well, I've watched Soccer, Watched rugby but only really ever been able to focus on Football and F1, rally and touring car racing. However, I am Scottish and went to uni in scotland and had to put up with three years of people calling it "Girly Rugby" (Rugby team were all W****rs mind) I love the game and love watching it. Yes, its short plays, but ther eis a discernable strategy to watch (For those willing to pay attention) Also, the energy involved is more than it looks, so plays last for an average of 5 seconds, but it is the toughest 5 seconds you will ever play. I was on O-Line, so every play I got some big guy in a very hard helmet piling into me. Try doing that repeatedly over three hours and then call me a wimp. So, I don't really know where I'm going with this other than most people I know who criticise American Football Havent played or watched it much and just have Ideas gained from the slightly biased Brittish press (FHM apparently declared American Football Dead in Briatain) Oh, and Cheerleaders, I personally prefer watching some attractive women dance than masses of sweaty men, and it only acually fills up the (Admittedly) over long gaps between changes of possession.

First, the public service announcement:

This whole discussion was just a lame personal attack on me by The Wall, because I made fun of ping-pong. Please disregard all the idiocy that ensued.

Thank you 33337, I appreciate your comments. I think the one thing people who disparage American football are missing is the sense of invulnerability those pads impart, and how it affects your play. I've watched several hours worth of rugby and Aussie rules, and I've never seen a head-to-head tackle. They're afraid of getting hit, and so they always tackle from the side or behind. I've played full-contact American football without pads, and they tend to do the same thing, only not as much. Anyway, the point is, I always managed to get more bruises playing in the pads than without them.

In advance, I apologise for any offense anyone may take from the following statement. It is my intention to speak my mind freely, and if my mind offends someone, then so be it.

I am from Sweden. In Sweden, the most commonly played sport is football (soccer). However, I do find the game utterly boring. Sure, I watched the Swedish national team go for gold in the US back in '94, stayed up until 3 am local time to see how they were doing, yes, I was really happy for the team when they brought home the Bronze, because I knew that they were beaten by one team, and one time only in that tournament; Brazil.
In spite of this, I find the game utterly boring. I find it to be too slow and too far between anything remotely interesting happens. Blame that on a short attention span if you will, but if nothing happens, will you not then seek out something more interesting to do (like reading a book) or watch (like Dances with Wolves)?

Instead, I like to watch American Football, because in every play, there is something happening. I also had a chance to play American Football, even though it was flag football, for the first time in my life about 5 weeks ago (start of the NFL season) since the local American Football team organised a flag football tournament to "celebrate" the start of the regular NFL season.
Now, I could never manage to play a 90 minute soccer game, that is a fact. I'm just not built for it, I don't have the conditioning for it. But because of the breaks between plays in the american football, I managed to keep playing for 4X20 minutes during that tournament. Yes, we did have 20 to catch our breath after the first and second matches before we had to play again, but the third and fourth were back-to-back games, and we had no substitutes left due to a hamstring problem. We would have all died had it not have been for the breaks in the game.

I know, and accept, that different people likes different types of sport. Just take those who likes synchronised swimming for example. Personally, I don't see the reason in trying to hold your breath under water as long as you can while sticking your toes up over the surface. Apparently, though, someone does, and I say "Let them!". As long as they don't try to force me to watch it.
I may find my colleague to be excessive to book a trip to Finland from Scotland, just to see Celtic (soccer team in the Scottish Premier Leage) play Helsinki in the UEFA cup, but on the other side, I almost went to Frankfurt myself in June to see the World Bowl final because the Scottish Claymores were there, playing for the NFL Europe title. Some may even think that taking one day off the moday after the Super Bowl just to be able to stay up and watch the game is excessive, but then that is my choice, isn't it? I don't blame people that comment on what can be seen as an eccentricity (sp?). After all, it is my eccentricity.

Anyways, I'll quit ranting now. Those were my views on this subject.

Lost.

This is what I like about American football. At teh more amature levels, anyone can play. You don't have to be big, and when I joined my team I was around 16 stone and hadn't excercised for two years. First three trainings nearly killed me but I survived. And it is much harder to run with full kit on (particularly for a lineman who wears teh biggest stuff)

National tryout for the NFL Europe season next year will be held in about two weeks time. I think I'll start practicing for next year's tryouts.

I'll most likely go have a look at the trining camp in Tampa next April, just to get pumped up for the next season (and to get a bit of a vacation). Would be cool to go to Tampa and watch a real pre-season training camp in the US, even though it's not the actual NFL...

Admittedly, the proper NFL is better, but NFL eurpoe is more fun to watch than the senior league game I watched yesterday. It was actually quite good to be truthful and i think the cold and my hangover were getting to me. It actually was nice to see a scottish team made up of scottish people. I lost my point, which means I didn't have one. Oh well.

i don't think this thread will take off again, but i read it with great interest, and want to put my grain of salt in. i'm an american who grew up loving baseball, (american) football and basketball. i have been living in france for 13 years and have loved to adore football.

to be honest, i really can't get interested in american football any more. it stops too much and is too technical. sometimes it seems the referees are the stars. but i used to love it, and i can understand those who still do.

no sport can excite passion in those who don't understand it, and football (soccer) is very subtle, despite the simple rules. my brothers only see the low scoring end of it. that's like judging opera with a decibel counter.

and what if it's low scoring? that really only ADDS drama. my 9 year old likes baseball, but really can't get interested in basketball or american football. why? "dad, it's so dull. there's too much scoring! one basket/touchdown more or less...who cares?!"

I never picked up an interest in football, This was largely a survival instinct as living anywhere near Glasgow meand that your life can depend on who you support, in some places, literally.

From watching more than playing I do find that penalty stops (And ad breaks) can be frustrating, some refs are pretty trigger happy on teh tiny offences. But football often has long periods of faff, where people look for room, or hang around a bit. At least in american football there are time inits for this.

On a final note, Bloody hate anyone in a sport who stops play because they don't want to be hit. Or in football where someone kicks it offside to avoid having to use some ball control skills.

All I know of American Football I learned from John Grisham's novel The Bleachers. It sounds horrible.

A recent issue of National Geographic had a very informative article about Association Football.

There is only one sport worth watching: Hurling A5403953. I'm not a sporty person at all, but I can appreciate high drama when I see it. And others agree with me: F2472257?thread=1125510.

TRiG.