Soccer

[Lootifer]

I play both Rugby and Soccer, and i'd prob have played American Football if that was where I was raised.

The thing about American Football and its protective equipment is its kinda like an arms race: the only reason you need a helmet and shoulder pads like that is because your opposition is wearing the same damn thing.

Now you say but there would be serious injuries if you took away the protective equipment, and yes theres prob a grain of truth in the matter, but those injuries could be minimised by the use of more sensible protective equipment. The proof of this: Rugby League. Now unlike rugby, the tackling rules in league are much the same as in Football, shoulder charges are allowed etc etc (you still cant tackle without the ball but this has no bearing on the damage caused by tackles). They minimise injuries by wearing protective gear, just not overly invasive stuff that requires protective gear to protect against the protective gear.

Thing like soft shoulder pads, rib braces/pads and knee strapping and much more is common (in both rugby and league). Much more sensible than the over-the-top spectacle that is American Football protective equipment.

Also Rugby players are no longer allowed to wear solid shin pads (previously hookers used to wear them to prevent damage in scrums). In fact any "solid" (think moulded plastic) protective equipment is banned in rugby and league these days.

[BigBallinStalin]

I'm thinking that more injuries occur proportionally with Rugby than with American Football.

Shall I google for evidence? Nah, I don't value the profits from that course of action more than the transaction cost.

[Chariot of Fire]

Meh, like BA ever played rugby. Rugby players use body armour and pads too, scrum caps being the most obvious, but players wear what they need, and the rules are different for what's a legal tackle anyway.

Says you? Played till I was 17.

About 1-3 players on a team wear scrum caps, which are just thin pieces of material. Tackles can still be pretty brutal.

and body armour? Shin pads? How familiar are you with them?

Probably not at all. He played rugby, not hockey

[Lootifer]

General theme i picked up on BBS is that rugby has more injuries, but they are far more minor compared to american footy injuries. Lotsa cuts n grazes compared to a bunch of acl's basically.

[pimpdave]

Hey guys, I just found an actually interesting soccer video! Well, just the portion that starts about fifty seconds in. Note, however, that this is not a soccer game, which would be super boring to watch video of, just something soccer-related.

[Chariot of Fire]

Funny how they can do stuff like this, yet rarely get it on target when taking a free kick in an actual game.

[jj3044]

Funny how they can do stuff like this, yet rarely get it on target when taking a free kick in an actual game.

You would be surprised how hard it is to actually hit an upper-90 shot with sufficient velocity that the goalie doesn't have any chance (the perfect penalty shot). Despite being only 12 yards from the goal line...

I still play Soccer in some competitive leagues, been playing for about 25 years, and yes, I have missed my share of penalties over the years.

[Chariot of Fire]

I dunno, maybe they are just trying to be too fancy with the kick (and as you say, give the goalie no chance). But when a pro golfer can hit a ball on a green every time from 150y - a harder accomplishment than kicking a ball at a goal - one would think Rule #1 is to actually be on target and give yourself a chance. I used to be a goalie (still am for hockey) and was always a bit nonplussed how many shots from a dead ball scenario went high or wide of the mark. Far better to kick the ball at me and watch me fluff it up and bag the rebound!

[Lootifer]

I dunno, maybe they are just trying to be too fancy with the kick (and as you say, give the goalie no chance). But when a pro golfer can hit a ball on a green every time from 150y - a harder accomplishment than kicking a ball at a goal - one would think Rule #1 is to actually be on target and give yourself a chance. I used to be a goalie (still am for hockey) and was always a bit nonplussed how many shots from a dead ball scenario went high or wide of the mark. Far better to kick the ball at me and watch me fluff it up and bag the rebound!

Golf is actually quite a bit easier to get perfect, relatively speaking of course (I sure as shit cant hit the green).

Golf is designed primarily to be single dimensional in the accuracy, once you reach a certain skill level hitting it straight isn't the the difficult bit (the club and balls are optimised for hitting stright), the difficulty is in how much power to add to make sure the ball travels the right distance.

Soccer is different: You have the same story with power and a similarly optimised club (your foot tends to be pretty good at hitting in a straight once you've mastered it), but unfortunatly your path isn't a clear one (like it is in golf), you often need to get around obstacles, this means you have second (horizontal spin) and third dimensions (vertical spin) to consider, thus making accuracy far more difficult.

[QoH]

[BigBallinStalin]

I wonder what the FAIL rate was.

[john9blue]

I wonder what the FAIL rate was.

remi gaillard does not fail

[Chariot of Fire]

I wonder what the FAIL rate was.

remi gaillard does not fail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6FOhq0o ... re=related

[john9blue]

I wonder what the FAIL rate was.

remi gaillard does not fail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6FOhq0o ... re=related

photoshopped

[BigBallinStalin]

I wonder what the FAIL rate was.

remi gaillard does not fail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6FOhq0o ... re=related

photoshopped

[Nola_Lifer]

What is the deal with this dig at soccer? Culture yourself

yes, if you hate soccer then it's OBVIOUSLY because you aren't CULTURED enough.

To be cultured is to be enlightened. To be enlightened is not to hate. So obviously there isn't enough culture here.

[BGtheBrain]

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