Happy 4th

[Deathclaw]

I could easily be a reciever, goalkeeping is much harder. A goalkeeper at the professional level has better hands than a pro wide reciever, because the soccer ball is being shot at them at up to 80 MPH. You don't have to be in top shape to play football. You do for soccer. There are times off like corners, etc., but they don't happen after 10 seconds of play and take 40 seconds. And even if your team is attacking, defenders get involved in the attack. Fullbacks come down the flank, center backs show short or can join the attack as well. And you do not walk in a soccer match very much. You sprint when you show for the ball, you sprint in and out of space, sprint when your team is countering or getting back on defense. Sprint in for crosses, etc.

So all soccer players can do in football is kick? Hm... I seem to know a couple linemen on the varsity team who play soccer, one who is playing division one football next season... and I can think of another who is playing college football from this season. Then there is one of the best middle linebackers in the state who is also one of the best defenders in the state. And if you watched the conditioning for our football team and soccer team, our soccer team is more in shape.

Football is in no way tougher. 2 of the football captains, who are starters on the soccer team, have agreed with me. And they would know, both our football and soccer teams lost the game before the state final.

Soccer players are more athletic, in better shape, etc. The Portugese goalkeeper is extremely athletic, more so than a lot of football players.

[Gen. Volkov]

LOL. Yeah right. I'd like to see you do what I've seen some recievers do. Pro wide recievers not only have to catch the ball at high speed, but they also have to keep running while doing so. AND they have make sure that if they are being covered, the defender doesn't intercept or break up the play. You say you sprint. And you do. But you also jog, and walk. And the play stoppages are about the same as with most other sports.

About those football players... which one did they play first? Football or soccer? Cause I think you just proved my point. I think you're full of it, and yourself, because you play soccer. Looked at objectively someone like, say, Edgerrin James, is more athletic than any pro soccer player. Both are in great condition sure, but I think the football players win out.

[Deathclaw]

It is harder to snag an 80 MPH shot through traffic, and not just a cornerback but your team mates and attacking players, all with good technique and form so you don't get hurt on the landing.

[Gen. Volkov]

Bah. I say it's much harder to catch the ball through the defender who is actively trying to break up the pass, or intercept it. Harder yet to do that on the sidelines, with a bit of a long pass, so you have to jump to get it. And then have the thought,and sheer muscle control to come back down with both feet in bounds, while you are stretched full length and milliseconds away from sprawling into the dirt. And all this happens at the end of or even the middle of a dead sprint.

[Deathclaw]

But that ball is coming in lofted, which is easier to catch than a driven cross or shot (which can come in at speeds of 80 MPH, a football won't move that fast).

[Aqualis]

I know Deathclaw won't agree with me, due to his narrow definition of "sport", but Volkov might since he mention boxing.

Full Contact Martial Arts. They don't get pads either.

Take a look at Steve Cotter if you want and example of athletic.

[Gen. Volkov]

*Nod* I considered that. And they certainly are tough. But they are also trained to block blows. And it's a specialized type of training. You don't do alot of running or throwing or catching in a fight. So I'd say yes, another example or a highly trained athlete, but not the all around athletics that many other sports require.

And what about the times the QB drills the ball in to the reciever on short yardage passes? You know that's gotta sting. And balls that are thrown for 40 or 50 yards have quite abit of momentum and speed behind them, so I wouldn't be so sure that they are moving that much slower than soccer balls. I'd say the only real difference is that in football, the QB is trying to get the ball to the reciever, and in soccer, the kicker is trying to get the ball past the keeper. But the defense in football is trying to keep the ball from getting to the reciever. And they have to defend a much larger area than any soccer net. You have a much easier job defending than they do.

[Ereptor]

Deathclaw if you have ever played baseball ( organized ) you may rethink your statement about fitness.  Baseball is a lot more than sleeping in the outfield.

[Deathclaw]

Deathclaw if you have ever played baseball ( organized ) you may rethink your statement about fitness.? Baseball is a lot more than sleeping in the outfield.

I played baseball all the way up until high school, at which point I quit because it was too slow for me and unenjoyable. And I had played a lot of positions at a high level until I quit (pitcher and first base mostly, but sometimes 3rd, outfield, and occasionally 2nd). You occasionally run to field the ball, then after the inning is over, you sit in a dugout for 20 minutes, batting every 2 or 3 innings. Very little fitness needed other than being fast.

And to Volkov... defending in football: you don't defend very large of an area. In a lot of defensive situations you either cover a man or a space, but you don't have more than 1 or 2 men in your space. And simply tackling the player without them getting a big gain is acceptable. Much easier than goalkeeping. Not many people can dig the ball out of the corner. I've played with recievers on the football team and when they get in goal they can't get near stopping the ball most of the time. Goalkeeping is ten times harder than defending in football. And as a goalkeeper you don't just defend the net, you have to dominate the 18, and the way the game is progressing the keeper is called upon to venture out of the box and win balls. I have been in plenty of situations where I have had to sprint out of my box almost to midfield to clear a through ball in behind my defenders. I have won a header against a forward 20 yards outside of the box. I have tackled players on the flank for a loose ball. etc. So it's more than defending the net, which is difficult enough in itself.

[Gen. Volkov]

Excuse me? You are defending the entire upfield portion in front of the line of scrimmage. When they pass, the recievers can go anywhere. The defender has to know where his assigned reciever is, and then watch what the QB is doing at the same time. And the reciever has all that space, and if the reciever gets away from the defender, it's usually goodbye for at least 15 yards. Soemtimes if they get up a good head of steam and there's not many past his guy, he'll go all the way for the touchdown. And these recievers who played, if they stopped the ball at all, that tells you something about their hands. It's not their sport, it's not what they're used too, and yet they still have the ability to stop the ball some of the time. I bet a keeper wouldn't have a chance out on the field in the defensive position, and not much better luck as a reciever.

Though really, we're comparing apples and oranges here when you get into specific skills at the game. Two completely different sets of requirements. In terms of pure athletic ability, I'd say football players have the upper hand, because the demands on their entire body to perform at the peak of their ability is greater than the demands on a soccer players body. But that's just my opinion. I'm sure you disagree DC, but we are obviously never gonna compromise, so let's just agree to disagree. I think football is harder, you think soccer is. But the fact remains that soccer is 22 men chasing a small white and black ball around a field. Football is not. Which is why I find soccer boring and football entertaining. That the entertainment value of seeing a grown man flipping head over heels into the endzone, over a pile of other players. Plus soccer players are babies. They play up all their injuries so that the ref will card whoever did it. I've seen football players go out and play with blood streaming down their faces, broken fingers, torn fingernails, and in one case I saw a QB play with a broken/injured thumb. They may wear pads, but the possibility of injury is so much higher, it's neccessary. Of all the games I watched last year, at least half had one or more guys carried off the field. Several were career ending injuries. Others were season enders. Some were fairly minor, but incapacitating for awhile, and they came back. Such as cramps from poor conditioning. But most where pretty serious.