Football wars

[forever MCG]

I know some people may have multiple choices but this poll is directed at a person's No.1 choice.

[jacobhalls]

I chose association football. Its better than Australian Fag League.

[sevans]

Aussie Rules all the way. Soccer is boring as hell, however people can walk away from a game satisfied with a 0-0 draw has me dumbfounded. League I do enjoy however doesn't have the culture of AFL, also I get sick of NRL people bagging AFL. Rugby is good at an international level however it lacks a lot of interest in the Super 14's for me. American and Canadian football??????

[gyfox]

Association football all the way.

1. As the name "football" suggests most of the play uses the foot.
2. It is played with a ball that bounces predictably.
3. You don't get points for a near miss.
4. You only need half the area of an AFL field to play it.
5. The players have enough intelligence to know how to start the game and bring the ball back into play themselves.
6. You only need to have 10 mates to have a team.
7. It is the most popular game in the world. 280 million registered players can't be wrong.

[sevans]

Association football all the way.

1. As the name "football" suggests most of the play uses the foot.
2. It is played with a ball that bounces predictably.
3. You don't get points for a near miss.
4. You only need half the area of an AFL field to play it.
5. The players have enough intelligence to know how to start the game and bring the ball back into play themselves.
6. You only need to have 10 mates to have a team.
7. It is the most popular game in the world. 280 million registered players can't be wrong.

I am not doubting that it is the most popular game in the world. But personally I find it deadset boring! just because you use your foot doesn't make it a great game. The ball bouncing predictabally is boring. Wouldn't it be more fun chasing something that will change direction and you have to use your brain a bit more to catch it? You barely get any points at all which makes it boring. The field is so small you spend half the game just watching the ball float from one end to another without seeing any real use of a game plan or wateva. The players can start the game themselves by kicking it one metre to the person next to you.......WELL DONE!! that would take some effort wouldn't it. Woopdidoda bloody day good on ya. The more the merrier I say, Would much rather be around 36 mates then just 22. And the only reason it has so many players is because parents want their kids to play sports where they won't get injured. COS SOCCER IS FOR POOFS. I cannot get excited by watching players who take dives and go on holding their leg after they got kicked, even though theyve got about an inch of padding on their shins. SOrry but soccer is about as tough as netball.

[gyfox]

Association football all the way.

1. As the name "football" suggests most of the play uses the foot.
2. It is played with a ball that bounces predictably.
3. You don't get points for a near miss.
4. You only need half the area of an AFL field to play it.
5. The players have enough intelligence to know how to start the game and bring the ball back into play themselves.
6. You only need to have 10 mates to have a team.
7. It is the most popular game in the world. 280 million registered players can't be wrong.

I am not doubting that it is the most popular game in the world. But personally I find it deadset boring! just because you use your foot doesn't make it a great game. The ball bouncing predictabally is boring. Wouldn't it be more fun chasing something that will change direction and you have to use your brain a bit more to catch it? You barely get any points at all which makes it boring. The field is so small you spend half the game just watching the ball float from one end to another without seeing any real use of a game plan or wateva. The players can start the game themselves by kicking it one metre to the person next to you.......WELL DONE!! that would take some effort wouldn't it. Woopdidoda bloody day good on ya. The more the merrier I say, Would much rather be around 36 mates then just 22. And the only reason it has so many players is because parents want their kids to play sports where they won't get injured. COS SOCCER IS FOR POOFS. I cannot get excited by watching players who take dives and go on holding their leg after they got kicked, even though theyve got about an inch of padding on their shins. SOrry but soccer is about as tough as netball.

Each to his own eh? All games played at a high level require a lot of skill and intelligence helps a bit too. Having played a fair bit of League and Union in my early years as well as a lot of Football I appreciate those games most as I know how hard they are to play. Aussie Rules I don't know so well. You show your ignorance of Football in your comments. It is a game of strategy from start to finish, somewhat similar to chess on a football field. Passing a football to a mate 1m away would take about the same skill as a short hand pass wouldn't it? By the way, there are more knee injuries in Netball than is Aussie Rules so don't write that off either... and there are more netball players in Australia than there are Aussie Rules players.

[paul]

I know some people may have multiple choices but this poll is directed at a person's No.1 choice.

Just FYI the full names of RL and RU are Rugby League Football and Rugby Union Football.

[gyfox]

I know some people may have multiple choices but this poll is directed at a person's No.1 choice.

Just FYI the full names of RL and RU are Rugby League Football and Rugby Union Football.

Actually the original names in England, where both games originated, were the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Football League and those two organisations still run the respective codes in England.

[nobleoz]

gyfox - it's a pity that U didn't play Aussie Rules, as U would have a better understanding then. But not much choice for U growing u in Sydney. At my Adelaide high school we had rugby, & I was encouraged to play because I was a fast runner. After a year I missed using all the skills of our football: man-on-man, looking far ahead, the freedom of a large oval - & esp marking & kicking. And the offside rule is crazy!

Soccer is popular because it is easy to understand & is played on a small pitch. Most soccer countries do not have the luxury of the space we have in Australia.

[gyfox]

gyfox - it's a pity that U didn't play Aussie Rules, as U would have a better understanding then. But not much choice growing u in Sydney. At my Adelaide high school we had rugby, & I was encouraged to play because I was a fast runner. I missed using all the skills of football, man-on-man, looking far ahead, & esp marking & kicking. And the offside rule is crazy!

Soccer is popular because it is easy to understand & is played on a small pitch. Most soccer countries do not have the luxury of the space we have in Australia.

The closest I got to Aussie Rules was a few games in PE at school and playing kick to kick with my cousins whenever they were over from WA. I was too busy playing Football, League, Union, Tennis, Squash, Hockey, Basketball, Cricket and training for Athletics to fit another sport in.

The offside rule is just a little teaser to separate the players with brains and spatial awareness from those who don't.

I appreciate AFL as a sport and I am amazed at the athleticism but I find it a bit boring actually.

[nobleoz]

Gyfox - as a long time visitor to Sydney, with good friends there, I have never understood the antagonism towards Aussie Rules & it being dismissed as a Victorian thing, not to be taken seriously. You don't find this anywhere else, nor in reverse.

Growing up in Port Adelaide, there were local clubs for soccer, rugby, hockey & baseball all in winter - so we were exposed to those sports & were not ignorant of them. Of course they had to compete against 8 local football clubs! However, I found soccer & rugby incredibly boring, & limited in the skills needed.

Another thing that puzzled me about Sydney - there was no appreciation that Aussie Rules is Australia's unique code of football, with a much longer history & community involvement?

[Egan]

Another thing that puzzled me about Sydney - there was no appreciation that Aussie Rules is Australia's unique code of football, with a much longer history & community involvement?

Good luck in anybody treating you with any respect of your views if you go around with that attitude in Sydney. Australian Rules is a minor sport in Sydney and of course they are not going to support it just because the southern states of Australia support it...

[Simmo79]

whre's Nines? This thread was made for him.

[Jeffles]

I like sports because what happens on the field appeals to me. Who gives a stuff about how many people play it around the world or how people in other cities really like it? Is that really a reason someone has for enjoying the on-field product? It may be a reason for enjoying the study of or conversing about a sport but the on-field product?

I enjoy watching most sports. RL is my favourite of the football codes.

[Simmo79]

Another thing that puzzled me about Sydney - there was no appreciation that Aussie Rules is Australia's unique code of football, with a much longer history & community involvement?

There's a question that answers itself.