Americans don't care about a sport unless they are best at it

[jd_uk]

yeah but......its like if football was called grasshopper..........just doesnt really work

lol.

 

[binö]

Not sure about that..no question of the power involved in American football but it's so stop/start as to be hard to watch. Rugby is constant. The guys are fitter and the hits can be bigger without padding. Fighting is commonplace amongst scrums, rucks and mauls and the skill levels are surely greater.

lol at the skill levels being higher
certain NFL positional players are some of the most skilled athelets in the world
if instead of NFL, rugby was popular, we would dominate
imagine players such as ray lewis, brian urlacher, ernie sims, playing rugby
there would be no competition

 

[xrsist]

i doubt half of the nfl players could play a full 80 mins
how long are the quarters/halfs in nfl?

 

[binö]

i doubt half of the nfl players could play a full 80 mins
how long are the quarters/halfs in nfl?

there is a lotta ignorance about the NFL outside north america
defensive backs, running backs, wide recievers, tight ends, are endurance athletes
certain offensive linemen don't look so quick, but they really are, and can hit hard.
i bet 100,000 k the fastest 40 times are hands down in the NFL and in no rugby leagues

 

[stosstruppe]

If the US collegiate system threw it's weight financially & logistically behind rugby 100% I'm pretty certain they could compete with the Southern hemisphere nations within a generation.

Trouble is marketing rugby and making it look "sexy" to Americans in order to generate the money to really finance it when they have NFL.

 

[xrsist]

there is a lotta ignorance about the NFL outside north america
defensive backs, running backs, wide recievers, tight ends, are endurance athletes
certain offensive linemen don't look so quick, but they really are, and can hit hard.
i bet 100,000 k the fastest 40 times are hands down in the NFL and in no rugby leagues

prob because many outside of nth us dont know anything about the game and all they see is a stop start burst every 10-20-30 secs. its not a free flowing game.
you would win that bet because rugby codes dont train the 40y dash, im sure some of our wingers and full backs could be up there tho.
the nfl is an explosive power/sprint game not an endurance game, rugby you need a balance of both explosive power and endurance

 

[jd_uk]

prob because many outside of nth us dont know anything about the game and all they see is a stop start burst every 10-20-30 secs. its not a free flowing game.
you would win that bet because rugby codes dont train the 40y dash, im sure some of our wingers and full backs could be up there tho.
the nfl is an explosive power/sprint game not an endurance game, rugby you need a balance of both explosive power and endurance

Not sure about 40 yards but there are some very fast men in rugby...e.g Brian Habana who did 100m in 10.4seconds and Tom Varndell who is potentially quicker still. To combine that pace with endurance to last 80 minutes of hard knocks is amazing.

..and any independent judge would surely say there was more skill in rugby...NFL is all stop/start and is very explosive but rugby is a combination of so many disciplines.

 

[V-Machine]

Anybody who has played rugby and football knows you do football if you haven't got stamina and are afraid of being hit (hence the padding) and rugby if you want to play a real sport.

Shit in football they spend more time standing around than playing. How cvan any of them be 'endurance' athletes?

there is a lotta ignorance about the NFL outside north america
defensive backs, running backs, wide recievers, tight ends, are endurance athletes
certain offensive linemen don't look so quick, but they really are, and can hit hard.
i bet 100,000 k the fastest 40 times are hands down in the NFL and in no rugby leagues

 

[binö]

..and any independent judge would surely say there was more skill in rugby...NFL is all stop/start and is very explosive but rugby is a combination of so many disciplines.

you're just saying that cause you're a rugby fan who knows nothing about football
and same with me vice versa
but saying there is more skill in rugby, without knowing a damn about nfl, pushes your ignorance above mine.
arguably, a quarterback is one of the most skilled positions in all of sporting events.
reading defenses, calling audibiles, connecting on passes, all of which you know little about

 

[binö]

Anybody who has played rugby and football knows you do football if you haven't got stamina and are afraid of being hit (hence the padding) and rugby if you want to play a real sport.

Shit in football they spend more time standing around than playing. How cvan any of them be 'endurance' athletes?

lol, we "do" football cause that is our national pastime
never heard of a high school having a rugby team, and colleges only have club type teams