American Football vs. Soccer

This thread was inspired by the Cowboys vs. Steelers game on Sunday. There have been a lot of games like this over the years but this one was exceptionally good and I just thought to myself, "Does soccer really have games comparable to this?"
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This does sound a little ridiculous...I am sure soccer fans think there are plenty of games that are better than this Cowboys game you are talking about, because, you know...they are soccer fans and not NFL fans.
 
I have nothing against soccer it's just not my thing. Maybe if i grew up in Europe I'd be more into it but I didn't.
I grew up watching the Chiefs with my Grandpa so I prefer America Football more.
 
Terrible comparison imo

I've just never gotten into soccer so obviously I'm going to choose American football.

Comparing rugby to American football would be a much better comparison.
 
TeTe said:
Terrible comparison imo

I've just never gotten into soccer so obviously I'm going to choose American football.

Comparing rugby to American football would be a much better comparison.
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This has been done too...

Despite the fact that american football evolved from rugby, they aren't really all that similar either. Other than the fact that they are contact sports.
 
Also, I think it's funny when people say things like i quoted earlier as if Soccer is a sport for the more intelligent and refined. Football is chess, Soccer is checkers. There's pauses in the action, for strategy (and commercials lol). Every move is plotted and planned out. 11 guys on one side of the field all playing their own separate role in attacking, 11 guys on the other all playing their separate role for defending.
 
MarkyMcFly said:
Also, I think it's funny when people say things like i quoted earlier as if Soccer is a sport for the more intelligent and refined. Football is chess, Soccer is checkers. There's pauses in the action, for strategy (and commercials lol). Every move is plotted and planned out. 11 guys on one side of the field all playing their own separate role in attacking, 11 guys on the other all playing their separate role for defending.
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Yeah, football is chess and it's the coaches and coordinators that are playing. Players are, for the most part, pawns.

I love both but in football, creativity and spontaneity are actively discouraged. A great player is one that "executes" well, meaning that follows orders from coaches to a tee. Aside from the QB in scrambling situations and receivers in the few seconds after they catch the ball, there's very little room for being creative.

This is why I enjoy college football more. More freedom, more unexpected things, especially in the age of the spread offense. The NFL is the same ol' shit.
 
East Stand Dabber said:
I understand why a high skilled game of football wouldn't be to your taste, it takes a lot of concentration and intelligence to appreciate, almost like a good jazz song.

In the same way I child would prefer to watch Transformers over Schindler's list, its okay that you prefer a fast food entertainment like 'American football'
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American football is very strategic. It is tailor made for television. soccer is less strategic and more spur of moment tactical.
 
Possum Jenkins said:
Yeah, football is chess and it's the coaches and coordinators that are playing. Players are, for the most part, pawns.

I love both but in football, creativity and spontaneity are actively discouraged. A great player is one that "executes" well, meaning that follows orders from coaches to a tee. Aside from the QB in scrambling situations and receivers in the few seconds after they catch the ball, there's very little room for being creative.

This is why I enjoy college football more. More freedom, more unexpected things, especially in the age of the spread offense. The NFL is the same ol' shit.
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I fully understand this take, and kind of agree. However, I think you HAVE to execute your assignment perfectly with little to no deviation. Every player, almost, in the NFL is just too good to "freelance" against. You can kiiiiinda let some of the better LB's freelance a little bit, but even that can get you beat real quick. I actually enjoy soccer a little bit. Super fair weather. I'll watch some US world cup matches, but that's about it. It's the pretending like football is for dumb people that make me become the stereotypical "soccer is for pansies" American.
 
NFL has frequently devolved into trying 'not to lose' instead of aggressively trying to win.
when that happens, it gets boring.
whoever said college football is better I agree with.
much more freedom to improvise, go for big plays, go for it on 4th down, etc.
really entertaining.
 
Rimbaud82 said:
This does sound a little ridiculous...I am sure soccer fans think there are plenty of games that are better than this Cowboys game you are talking about, because, you know...they are soccer fans and not NFL fans.
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Of course they do. I want to see one of these games to see what is so special about soccer. Beyond cultural bias I don't think soccer fans have a real argument for why they enjoy soccer more but I want to see if they can offer a great soccer game that they feel compares to a great American Football game.
 
MarkyMcFly said:
I fully understand this take, and kind of agree. However, I think you HAVE to execute your assignment perfectly with little to no deviation. Every player, almost, in the NFL is just too good to "freelance" against. You can kiiiiinda let some of the better LB's freelance a little bit, but even that can get you beat real quick. I actually enjoy soccer a little bit. Super fair weather. I'll watch some US world cup matches, but that's about it. It's the pretending like football is for dumb people that make me become the stereotypical "soccer is for pansies" American.
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Agreed, no sport is "for" smart or dumb people. Baseball being the thinking man's sport is another laugher.

Actual thinking takes place in school, at work, or in a lab. At the end of the day, sports are children's games.
 
The problem with saying pick a good match is its all opinion, a big "soccer" fan can appreciate a great game between 2 teams they have no interest in-this is true, but who we support is basically our religion and so obviously what can be judged awesome is biased :) but then again I'm a united fan and so fucking hate Liverpool yet when you experience the kop singing you'll never walk alone , that shows what football means I guess
 
James804 said:
The problem with saying pick a good match is its all opinion, a big "soccer" fan can appreciate a great game between 2 teams they have no interest in-this is true, but who we support is basically our religion and so obviously what can be judged awesome is biased :) but then again I'm a united fan and so fucking hate Liverpool yet when you experience the kop singing you'll never walk alone , that shows what football means I guess
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I think it would be reasonable to request that you pick a good soccer match that you personally feel best represents what good soccer is all about. So you have a favorite team, ok then pick a recent game that they played that you feel is the best. Regardless of personal bias that is a fair request. The Dallas Cowboys are my favorite NFL team so I am biased towards them and that played a factor in my selection. I am sure there are better games that were played this year by other teams but when I watched that game I felt it was a good candidate for a good football game. Since soccer is a popular international sport you should have a very wide selection of games to choose from. I'm willing to make it even easier and say pick a game from any time period. I don't care what year so long as it is in high quality and the commentary is in English.

By the way I made a similar thread on another board and a poster gave me several soccer games to watch, most from this year, but when I searched torrent sites for these games I couldn't find any of them. This was on a British message board. Are soccer games not widely available on torrent sites? I watch the NBA and NFL. Those games can easily be found on torrent sites and downloaded in high quality. One of the soccer games that was recommended was on Youtube but in bad quality.
 
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MysticNinjaJay said:
This thread is all about me giving it a chance! :p

I want to see an actual soccer game that best represents "soccer at its best" and preferably a game that happened this year.

I will try not to compare it to American Football I just want to watch it and see if I see the entertainment value in the game the way true fans of soccer do.
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It helps if you cheer for winners. I've been a fan of the USMNT (US Men's team) since 1994 and it's not easy. Just got our asses handed to us by Costa Rica and Mexico in VERY important matches this week. Hard to keep that intensity up, when your team is a complete failure. Just be a fan boy and support Barca, ManU, or maybe Brazil...can't go wrong with that.

edit: if you like US, this is nice....



This is really nice, also. Raw....



Like all sports, it helps if you played the game yourself. :)
 
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Europa League 2nd Leg Quarter-finals Game from 14 April Liverpool - Dortmund. The first Game in Germany ended 1-1.
Liverpool's Manager was Dortmund's Manager from 2008-2015 and it made this game even more special.

 
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I like both Rugby League and Rugby Union and not really a fan of Soccer and American Football but the best Soccer I seen was Newcastle United attacking side of the 1990's and I do like highlights of the plays in the NFL.
i think NFL be more fun to watch if it was 2 way Platoon Football ?
 
East Stand Dabber said:
I understand why a high skilled game of football wouldn't be to your taste, it takes a lot of concentration and intelligence to appreciate, almost like a good jazz song.

In the same way I child would prefer to watch Transformers over Schindler's list, its okay that you prefer a fast food entertainment like 'American football'
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As a child, soccer was much easier to understand (and play) than football. There's a reason you can start playing it as early as kindergarten.
 
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