Sports Talk

**anklebiter** · October 19th, 2009, 05:39 PM

*First Things First*
Lets establish the difference, but not turn into a competition, YES, America has a sport called "Football" and Europe has a sport called " Football".
Two different sports, same name.Lets not go there, OK? It really is boring.

So I'm an American football freak.We have two predominant levels for entertainment.College, and Professional.The best of the best get drafted into the pro's,where (arguably) the play is better. At the college level it's hungry players going lights out, and trying to make the "big time", The sporting attitude is usually much better, and to me that matters a LOT.

I follow the Ohio State Buckeyes, who have historically been a top tier college (American)Football team but this season, have been struggling.

How about you guys? Baseball? Basketball? (European ) Football?

Remember when we were little kids, and we'd jump out of bed on Saturdays because it was " Cartoon day"? That's how I am when my Buckeyes are on TV. Sadly,when my team loses, it's enough to ruin my entire day.I've gone to the games, been loyal to obsession.
On my wedding day, in a Catholic church,I had a NUN with a Walkman giving me updates from the game during the ceremony - hell, I've eaten grass from the playing field.I Love my Buckeyes!

**tabler** · October 19th, 2009, 05:51 PM

Superb thread Anky, this is the kind of thing we have needed for ages,.....Loved the thought of you with a Walkman on your Wedding day, that is a REAL sports fan. The only thing that I could add to that is when I was on my honeymoon in Cornwall in 1980, halfway through I drove hundreds of miles to see an important Newcastle match.

As anky says, lets not get this into a stupid sports thread, lets just keep it to appreciating our sports.

**Ghaleon** · October 19th, 2009, 05:57 PM

I am a BIG fan of American Football and have followed it for numerous years. (GO PATRIOTS!!)

As to college football, don't follow it as much and really cannot stand the BCS (Don't ask what I think the letters really stand for) system. My dad is the big Buckeye fan in our house but I sort of favor USC having been born in SoCal.

Other sports in order of favor: NASCAR, Basketball, Hockey, Golf (when Tiger is in the mix), and lastly Baseball.

European Football, or Soccer, I'll have on the TV but not pay close attention to.

Ghaleon

**anklebiter** · October 19th, 2009, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghaleon

I am a BIG fan of American Football and have followed it for numerous years. (GO PATRIOTS!!)

As to college football, don't follow it as much and really cannot stand the BCS (Don't ask what I think the letters really stand for) system. My dad is the big Buckeye fan in our house but I sort of favor USC having been born in SoCal.

Other sports in order of favor: NASCAR, Basketball, Hockey, Golf (when Tiger is in the mix), and lastly Baseball.

European Football, or Soccer, I'll have on the TV but not pay close attention to.

Ghaleon

Well USC is a good team to follow.It hurts that they seem to own my Bucks, but it's hard to be bitter- they are a great team, and Pete carol is a classy coach.Hopefully we'll meet again in the Rose Bowl.

**Tmee2020** · October 19th, 2009, 08:46 PM

I'm an MLB fan- at least I was up until a couple of weeks ago when the Tigers lost.
Plus cricket, football, AFL, rugby, F1 (up until 1972), Le Mans.
Olympics provided we separate the cheats from the non-cheats, which is impossible. Maybe not so impossible in the events that the Kenyans and Ethiopians always seem to win.

penfold007 · October 19th, 2009, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anklebiter

How about you guys? Baseball? Basketball? (European ) Football?

Sports with balls : Rugby. Snooker.

Sports without balls : motor racing. Despite being an F1 fan all my life (well done JB incidentally) my preference these days is for the "turn left" variety. Martinsville next weekend, Talladega the weekend after, two of my favourites. It is a struggle to explain to to most racing enthusasts in this country that oval racing is not all the same - the two tracks I just mentioned are about as different as you can get, despite both being ovals ...

If someone could just arrange for the 5 car to win all the remaining races this year I'll be happy

.

**squigg58** · October 19th, 2009, 09:25 PM

For me, there are four distinct "types" of sport ...

Ones I will never, ever watch: darts, horse racing, snooker, show-jumping.
Ones I will watch on TV if it's a world class event: golf (the Majors), cycling (Tour de France), American Football (the Superbowl) and a whole host of Summer & Winter Olympics events.
Ones I prefer to listen to on the radio: football (soccer), cricket, rugby (Internationals), American Football (NFL)
Ones I will always try to watch on TV: F1 ... and that's about it!

As Anklebiter started the thread with (American) Football, I should just mention that it's a fabulous game, but here in "good old Blighty" the terrestrial TV coverage actually managed to put me off watching it! Years ago, while twiddling the dials of the radio, I happened across American Forces Broadcasting and would tune in every weekend to listen to the Football commentary. The first match I ever heard featured the LA Rams (as they were then) so they became "my" team. I was in heaven years later when one of the terrestrial channels featured highlights of the week's matches with informed explanations by guys who actually knew the game, but unfortunately, the programme then got "dumbed down" by employing a couple of smug plonkers who knew sweet FA about the game and were only interested in acting like complete idiots. Luckily, the BBC has now started broadcasting live matches so I can now enjoy it again. The only problem is, I've lost track of who's who so I'm currently having to do my homework!

**Mad Koala Bear** · October 19th, 2009, 09:41 PM

I remember when Ch4 started showing American Football. In the shared house in which I was living at the time we got in bags of chips (crisps), and 'American' beer ( remember the gnat's piss called Colt45?), learnt the rudiments, and settled down to really get into it. My enthusiasm lasted all of two weeks at the most. I couldn't even pretend to be interested. But then, although I tried on that occasion, I'm biased; there is not a single sport I can be arsed about. Thankfully my son very quickly grew out of his Gooners phase, before I had to face actually taking him to a match. You cannot imagine how uninterested I am in sport. I cant be the only one, surely?

~~savage560~~ · October 20th, 2009, 01:01 PM

Baseballs my #1,the White Sox,myteam.Football "Da Bears",hockey the Hawks,& last the Bulls.All Chitown teams, pro sports ,respectively, in my favorites order.College teams I follow,Boilermakers,USC,Ohio State,Texas.

Like Boxing too the Klitchkos,Oscar De La Hoya,Arturo Gatti(RIP),just a few favs I like to watch.European Soccer,what a bore,if they play for a week non-stop they might score a few goals.
I hate: Greenbay Packers,Minnesota Twins,Detroit Pistons,NY Yankees,Dallas Cowboys,Go Phillies all the way!

**scoundrel** · October 22nd, 2009, 09:33 AM

My real passions are cricket and football (soccer), in that order. But I relish a strong competition in most sports as long as I can follow the essence of what is happening. I suspect this is a fairly general thing: for example I noticed in 2005, during a really close-fought Ashes cricket series in England, with huge passion and pride from both sides, that some Americans of my acquaintance, who would normally pan fry their intimate body parts rather than watch cricket, were fascinated by the struggle. The excellent (and free) TV coverage with graphics made the technical side of the game intelligible to them and they could appreciate the ins and outs of the struggle.

In the early years of UK Channel 4, they used to show highlights of American/Gridiron Football. At first I was utterly baffled but couldnt help being intrigued, even though I thought a game which stopped to accommodate commercial breaks should really put its foot down. Gradually I started to perceive the game as a blend of chess (with independent but mutually cooperative chess pieces instead of a single directing mind) and really psychotic violence involving lots of armoured collisions. It isnt a fast, instant gratification game: its about an incremental application of pressure, first down after first down, a huge trial of physical prowess and mental strength. I can watch a lot of that.

Being me, I found the most obvious doomed sad sack losers, nearly men, forlorn flag flyers for the Corinthian ethos in a world of cut throat cynical commerce in sport: to this day, and to my dying breath, if NFL ever picks up on the radar of the British media, I shall root for the Green Bay Packers.

October 19th, 2009, 05:51 PM	#2
tabler Comfortably Numb Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: St James Park Posts: 7,029 Thanks: 112,507 Thanked 146,054 Times in 8,009 Posts	Superb thread Anky, this is the kind of thing we have needed for ages,.....Loved the thought of you with a Walkman on your Wedding day, that is a REAL sports fan. The only thing that I could add to that is when I was on my honeymoon in Cornwall in 1980, halfway through I drove hundreds of miles to see an important Newcastle match. As anky says, lets not get this into a stupid sports thread, lets just keep it to appreciating our sports. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. *Velcome to zee Forum. You must obey zee rules!*

October 20th, 2009, 01:01 PM	#9
~~savage560~~ Banned! Join Date: May 2008 Location: the south US near the west from Chicagoland born in the USA,just like the song says! Posts: 3,719 Thanks: 13,008 Thanked 24,480 Times in 3,630 Posts	Baseballs my #1,the White Sox,myteam.Football "Da Bears",hockey the Hawks,& last the Bulls.All Chitown teams, pro sports ,respectively, in my favorites order.College teams I follow,Boilermakers,USC,Ohio State,Texas. Like Boxing too the Klitchkos,Oscar De La Hoya,Arturo Gatti(RIP),just a few favs I like to watch.European Soccer,what a bore,if they play for a week non-stop they might score a few goals. I hate: Greenbay Packers,Minnesota Twins,Detroit Pistons,NY Yankees,Dallas Cowboys,Go Phillies all the way! Last edited by savage560; October 21st, 2009 at 12:23 PM..

October 22nd, 2009, 09:33 AM	#10
scoundrel Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: England Posts: 26,237 Thanks: 162,389 Thanked 278,411 Times in 26,182 Posts	My real passions are cricket and football (soccer), in that order. But I relish a strong competition in most sports as long as I can follow the essence of what is happening. I suspect this is a fairly general thing: for example I noticed in 2005, during a really close-fought Ashes cricket series in England, with huge passion and pride from both sides, that some Americans of my acquaintance, who would normally pan fry their intimate body parts rather than watch cricket, were fascinated by the struggle. The excellent (and free) TV coverage with graphics made the technical side of the game intelligible to them and they could appreciate the ins and outs of the struggle. In the early years of UK Channel 4, they used to show highlights of American/Gridiron Football. At first I was utterly baffled but couldnt help being intrigued, even though I thought a game which stopped to accommodate commercial breaks should really put its foot down. Gradually I started to perceive the game as a blend of chess (with independent but mutually cooperative chess pieces instead of a single directing mind) and really psychotic violence involving lots of armoured collisions. It isnt a fast, instant gratification game: its about an incremental application of pressure, first down after first down, a huge trial of physical prowess and mental strength. I can watch a lot of that. Being me, I found the most obvious doomed sad sack losers, nearly men, forlorn flag flyers for the Corinthian ethos in a world of cut throat cynical commerce in sport: to this day, and to my dying breath, if NFL ever picks up on the radar of the British media, I shall root for the Green Bay Packers. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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October 19th, 2009, 05:39 PM	#1
anklebiter Palerider Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: United States Posts: 509 Thanks: 5,603 Thanked 9,862 Times in 515 Posts	Sports Talk First Things First Lets establish the difference, but not turn into a competition, YES, America has a sport called "Football" and Europe has a sport called " Football". Two different sports, same name.Lets not go there, OK? It really is boring. So I'm an American football freak.We have two predominant levels for entertainment.College, and Professional.The best of the best get drafted into the pro's,where (arguably) the play is better. At the college level it's hungry players going lights out, and trying to make the "big time", The sporting attitude is usually much better, and to me that matters a LOT. I follow the Ohio State Buckeyes, who have historically been a top tier college (American)Football team but this season, have been struggling. How about you guys? Baseball? Basketball? (European ) Football? Remember when we were little kids, and we'd jump out of bed on Saturdays because it was " Cartoon day"? That's how I am when my Buckeyes are on TV. Sadly,when my team loses, it's enough to ruin my entire day.I've gone to the games, been loyal to obsession. On my wedding day, in a Catholic church,I had a NUN with a Walkman giving me updates from the game during the ceremony - hell, I've eaten grass from the playing field.I Love my Buckeyes!

October 19th, 2009, 05:57 PM	#3
Ghaleon Vintage Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Between Here & There Posts: 2,063 Thanks: 73,874 Thanked 34,774 Times in 2,064 Posts	I am a BIG fan of American Football and have followed it for numerous years. (GO PATRIOTS!!) As to college football, don't follow it as much and really cannot stand the BCS (Don't ask what I think the letters really stand for) system. My dad is the big Buckeye fan in our house but I sort of favor USC having been born in SoCal. Other sports in order of favor: NASCAR, Basketball, Hockey, Golf (when Tiger is in the mix), and lastly Baseball. European Football, or Soccer, I'll have on the TV but not pay close attention to. Ghaleon

October 19th, 2009, 08:46 PM	#5
Tmee2020 Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Aust Posts: 4,195 Thanks: 209,836 Thanked 71,434 Times in 4,151 Posts	I'm an MLB fan- at least I was up until a couple of weeks ago when the Tigers lost. Plus cricket, football, AFL, rugby, F1 (up until 1972), Le Mans. Olympics provided we separate the cheats from the non-cheats, which is impossible. Maybe not so impossible in the events that the Kenyans and Ethiopians always seem to win.

October 19th, 2009, 09:25 PM	#7
squigg58 Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: My own little world Posts: 2,476 Thanks: 14,113 Thanked 25,970 Times in 2,473 Posts	For me, there are four distinct "types" of sport ... Ones I will never, ever watch: darts, horse racing, snooker, show-jumping. Ones I will watch on TV if it's a world class event: golf (the Majors), cycling (Tour de France), American Football (the Superbowl) and a whole host of Summer & Winter Olympics events. Ones I prefer to listen to on the radio: football (soccer), cricket, rugby (Internationals), American Football (NFL) Ones I will always try to watch on TV: F1 ... and that's about it! As Anklebiter started the thread with (American) Football, I should just mention that it's a fabulous game, but here in "good old Blighty" the terrestrial TV coverage actually managed to put me off watching it! Years ago, while twiddling the dials of the radio, I happened across American Forces Broadcasting and would tune in every weekend to listen to the Football commentary. The first match I ever heard featured the LA Rams (as they were then) so they became "my" team. I was in heaven years later when one of the terrestrial channels featured highlights of the week's matches with informed explanations by guys who actually knew the game, but unfortunately, the programme then got "dumbed down" by employing a couple of smug plonkers who knew sweet FA about the game and were only interested in acting like complete idiots. Luckily, the BBC has now started broadcasting live matches so I can now enjoy it again. The only problem is, I've lost track of who's who so I'm currently having to do my homework!

October 19th, 2009, 09:41 PM	#8
Mad Koala Bear Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 869 Thanks: 30,809 Thanked 10,733 Times in 850 Posts	I remember when Ch4 started showing American Football. In the shared house in which I was living at the time we got in bags of chips (crisps), and 'American' beer ( remember the gnat's piss called Colt45?), learnt the rudiments, and settled down to really get into it. My enthusiasm lasted all of two weeks at the most. I couldn't even pretend to be interested. But then, although I tried on that occasion, I'm biased; there is not a single sport I can be arsed about. Thankfully my son very quickly grew out of his Gooners phase, before I had to face actually taking him to a match. You cannot imagine how uninterested I am in sport. I cant be the only one, surely?