Why Americans Love Football

[supermick]

[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
supermick wrote:

HH you have found a friend. I completely disagree about the whole warrior ethos. Sports allow one to show character rather than build it.

So according to you character is born into someone? No. Character has to be developed like anything else. Sports is an avenue to develop that character.

[/quote]
Youve taken my point and made it fit your arguement. Have i said ‘character is born in someone?’ No - so dont put words in my mouth. You above point is therefore invalid. Team sports give people the chance to reveal the character they have developed to that point in life - in my opinion. You cannot make a bear from a pussy cat.

You were correct about one thing, the warrior ethos is real, and there are many who live by it. (Kind of like all those who claim to be Jedi Knights in England, except honor is a useful trait, jedi-ism is just plain stupid)

I can understand your wording here and i just think its your Americanisms. Where we would say ‘sport may develop backbone’ you choose the word warrior? yeah? Thats fine. However do you really mean to tell me that jedi knights do not exist? poppycock!

[quote]

Your both a bit guilty of reading one too many self help books/football coaching manuals.
In addition the sales pitch mentality you are both expressing is very very american.

I have never in my life read a self help book or a football coaching manual. I feel the abililty to teach, and sell, are not abilities that can be learned, you either have it or you do not. I have been working with Special Olympics on a volunteer basis coaching their teams for several years, for free, to use my strength and knowledge to help those less fortunate than myself. I strive to get others to work with me, and help others. I have been working hard for, and standing up for, what I believe in since I was strong enough to stand. If that mentality makes me American, than I wish that everyone was an American such as this, this world would be a much better place for all involved.

And that is not what makes America uniquely great.

Then would you like to enlighten me what makes America great?

If its not our spirit, or mentality, or pride than what is it?

HH is a troll and now he has a friend to join in on his nationalistic rantings and frown on the lack of phisicality of other team sports world wide.

Great.

Maybe others insulted soccer, or rugby, but I did NOT. Perhaps you should be sure who you are speaking to before you speak.

Where is there any harm to you that I am an American, am proud of it, and love football? How does that affect your life in any way, shape or form? [/quote]

Great. You have sucessfully taken everything i said and made it fit your arguement as opposed to actually reading the words.
This is HH’s skill - picking up on peoples passions and playing them against each other. I see your very driven and enthusiastic about your chosen sport and i applaud it. However concerning your beliefs in footballs ability as a cure for all - im much more cycnical towards such things and am equally likely to vomit if someone promoted soccer in such way - does that make where im coming from clearer?

what the hell is going on with the soldier/warrior connection?

‘Furthermore, my genetics do make me a warrior, not a soldier. You may do some research and you will see the medals and honors won by my family in every conflict in American history.’

lol - it makes you related to some brave people. Thats it. Your not fucking rambo because you can punt/catch/hit someone on a football field. Please tell me you were in ‘naaam’…lol.

By no means was this an attack on the USA, my origional beef was with HH but since youve chirped in you can have some too.

[kroby]

What? You do know that american football derived from rugby, right? And rugby is the sport that distinguishes a boy from a man. But this isn’t a pissing match between football and rugby. There’s been enough of those.

There are a lot of americans that play soccer; are they un-american?

Being a teacher for what? 25 years, I though you would have a unique perspective as to the importance of developing teamwork within a physical activity to promote health, good sportsmanship and working hard to achieve a goal. And soccer doesn’t do this? You’d rather have kids sit on their asses playing video games if they wouldn’t play football? What if a kid in question played soccer and then was a member of a good wrestling team? And then baseball. Would soccer be good enough then?

Your narrow view of what’s important for kids to learn to succeed in life shocks me, HH.

And no, I played bench for the football team in high screwel. I played A side rugby in college.

[kroby]

[quote]supermick wrote:
two - HH is a tit, all his threads are meaningless, he has no coordination and is shit at soccer. This is fact.[/quote]

Mick, what’s a tit? I thought tits were very desirable; am I wrong?

[kroby]

[quote]TeeVee69 wrote:
Who hits harder? Judge for yourself. (I think football players fly farther.)

[/quote]

I’ll tell you who hits harder. The rugby team that plays at West Point. Fucking monsters bounce five meters at a time! Cheaters.

[Headhunter]

[quote]kroby wrote:
supermick wrote:
two - HH is a tit, all his threads are meaningless, he has no coordination and is shit at soccer. This is fact.

Mick, what’s a tit? I thought tits were very desirable; am I wrong?[/quote]

Its Mickey’s way of saying that he wants me. He’s given up on Minnie.

But, too bad, Mick. My penis’ name is Secret (you know, like the deoderant) — strong enough for a man but made for a woman.

HH

[BF_Bullpup]

[quote]kroby wrote:
TeeVee69 wrote:
Who hits harder? Judge for yourself. (I think football players fly farther.)

I’ll tell you who hits harder. The rugby team that plays at West Point. Fucking monsters bounce five meters at a time! Cheaters.[/quote]

Kudos to the dude who said that football players aren’t soldiers when real soldiers are dying in the Middle East.

My fondest memory as a junior was starting my spring season by fielding West Point’s opening kickoff, getting crushed by two cadets, and missing two weeks with a shoulder injury. That was more than five years ago but even now, I don’t think that the Northeast has a better college team. Not just because they hit hard, but because of their fitness, stamina, skills, teamwork, and love of being on the field.

Army’s football team isn’t quite as good now. They used to be so great 60 years ago, though.

[1_packlondoner]

[quote]LA wrote:

A larger question is how does our military continue to outstrip the rest of the world in every category, from soldier training to leadership to the will to win?
[/quote]

Is it because the US have loads of cash and are far readier to resort to armed conflict than diplomacy if it gets them what they want quicker? Just a thought…

The only other sport that approaches football in bone-crunching controlled mayhem is rugby, another Anglo-Saxon game played almost exclusively by the British and Australians.

And the French and Argentinians and New Zealanders and the Irish etc…

Football is as cerebral as it is violent.

Possibly why so many American Football players are also members of Mensa?

The only people who cannot comprehend football’s sophistication are snobs who would like nothing better than to believe that these slashing wide receivers and great gridiron behemoths smashing into each other are dumber than they are. What a devastating ego shock to realize that the average college professor would be incapable mentally, as well as physically, to play successfully the modern game of football.

Why incapable? Because a working intellect under intense psychological pressure and physical exhaustion is an entirely different quality than a working intellect languishing in the library.

Whereas we I’m sure we ALL fondly remember Professor Stephen Hawkins holding aloft the World Cup…

Sportsmen are sportsmen. Academics are academics. Why would anyone assume they could each do either’s job?

I doubt a marine could do what I do for a living but it doesn’t mean I don’t respect their abilities.

While the football ethos is reflected in America’s national spirit and her military, the Europeans draw from a distinctly different sports tradition; one developed on the playing fields of Paris and Potsdam, Boulogne and Berlin.

The ethos of what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called “Old Europe” is exemplified in the game of soccer.

Soccer is a beautiful and well-powdered sport, much like “diplomacy,” bringing to mind men in top hats and striped pants walking herky-jerky, as in black-and-white silent newsreels. Soccer is French jeu d’esprit , and it is the sport of the United Nations.

Top hats? Silent newsreels? Herky-Jerky walking? WTF are you on about? Did you watch Pride and Prejudice and then 4 Wedding and Funeral and think that was how we all are over here? Cock.

Soccer rules are easily understood, and the sport is imbued with a comradely egalitarian aspect. Players run about. They wave their arms. Sometimes, they fall down. Sometimes, they can even be tripped, and it is in these moments that Europeans first learn to be either bad actors or diplomats; tumbling on the turf, clutching a “bruised” shin, then bounding up unhurt to take a free kick (or a post-war oil concession.)

Soccer matches can and frequently do end in a tie. This abundance of scoreless ties leads one to suspect that for soccer players, as for U.N. diplomats, the goal is to stall until ultimately nothing is resolved, and no one can really be blamed. Tie-breaking “shootouts” in international play ought to be eliminated altogether, since an egalitarian draw of no winner, no loser, and no hurt feelings is a U.N. dream come true.

It’s called a ‘sport’. It’s about PLAYING the game over and above winning it, and yes, it DOES help bring people together. A universal language to everywhere except the most insular of nations.

As for being easy to understand, I’d love to hear you explain the offside rule to a girl - Over here it is known as the holy grail to find a lady that understands it.

Is it any wonder that the Old European nations shrink from decisive action, taking only tentative, mincing steps, hoping they’ll never have to fight for anything and unable to decide firmly whether there is anything at all worth fighting for?

Yeah… Europe NEVER has wars does it… And I thought France and Germany’s veto on the Iraq WAS decisive wasn’t it? Oh, you mean shrinking from the decisive action YOU wanted them to take… Gotcha…

PS - Love that decisive US action on Kyoto, Isreal etc…

Not into America-bashing but what did you expect when presenting such a farcical view on Europe?

Consider also what American football is not . It is not about passing the buck, walking while others carry the load or debating until you are overcome by events. Nor is it about ennui, languor and the c’est la vie attitude.

What sport IS about passing the buck and walking away while carrying the load? Oh, the French buck-passing, load-carrying while debating championships… I forgot.

Hundreds of thousands of American boys and young men play football each year, forging a distinctly American character in the fire of competition. This character is reflected in the American military and its successes.

The richest nation in the world with the largest army and dubious morals concerning ‘collateral’ damage when bombing from relative safety of the stratosphere, and you put their success down to American Football?

Oh BTW… Cough cough… Vietnam… Or was no-one playing American Football back then? Just think, if you were an egalitarian football (ie sawker) fan, you could have called it a ‘tie’.

Come to think of it, exactly what successes are you talking about? Cos Iraq and Afghanisthan seem MUCH nicer places to live now thanks to American Football players don’t they…

I am not the first to claim more from sport than might be deserved. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, supposedly credited his victory over Napoleon at Waterloo to his having been schooled on the “playing fields of Eton,” his famous alma mater. So mightn’t there be substance here?

But wasn’t he playing those aforementioned buck-passing sports at Eton?

In conclusion, an incredibly simplistic and jingoistic view of something you hold dear, set against things you obviously have little to no clue about.

Why on Earth did you bother to cut and paste all this bollocks?

Getting the feeling that your football coaching job is coming under fire by some soccer coach and you’re getting v bitter.

[1_packlondoner]

[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
You were correct about one thing, the warrior ethos is real, and there are many who live by it. (Kind of like all those who claim to be Jedi Knights in England, except honor is a useful trait, jedi-ism is just plain stupid)

[/quote]

All those Jedis In England? I am So confused.

Anyway… Don’t be angry. Anger leads to fear. Fear leads to hate. And hate leads to the dark side…

[TrainerinDC]

[quote]BFBullpup wrote:
Kudos to the dude who said that football players aren’t soldiers when real soldiers are dying in the Middle East.
[/quote]

You are exactly correct. They were never called soldiers. They were called warriors. Which they are. Soldiers are working men who follow orders. Warriors do not follow orders, they set trends. Soldiers fight because they are told, warriors fight because its right. There is a gigantic difference between a soldier, and a warrior.

[TrainerinDC]

1-pack I am so sick of whining euro’s that it makes me sick to my stomach. The only force for positive change throughout the history of the world has been force. America has the force, uses it as a means for change helping the world, and then takes criticism from people on message boards who think they know better than the best and the brightest in the world.

Furthermore, why would we care what France or Germany thinks? Would they risk their lives for us? Hell no. Someone has to shoulder the burden of protecting your way of life, so you can be there tomorrow with your internet connection and your screwed up attitudes blasting off at us for being man enough to get the job done.

Just so we are clear, this is not about the UK or the majority of its citizenry. This is just about hypocritical brain frozen people like 1-pack who still think we can circle jerk, sing kumbaya, hold hands and make the world a happy place.

[kaaleppi]

[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
The only force for positive change throughout the history of the world has been force.[/quote]

Have you really thought that claim through?

[quote]
America has the force, uses it as a means for change helping the world…[/quote]

You may be right, but Americas gifts don’t come for free, you know. There’s a price tag. There are no free meals, as one of your countrymen once said.

[1_packlondoner]

[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
1-pack I am so sick of whining euro’s that it makes me sick to my stomach.

[/quote]

And I’m fucking sick of other people happily taking pot shots at at where I come from that have zero basis in reality but then going crazy apeshit whenever the rest of the world doesn’t jump immediately to sooth another of your little tantrums as soon as you’ve thrown all your toys out of the pram.

Still, that is the world we live in.

The only force for positive change throughout the history of the world has been force. America has the force, uses it as a means for change helping the world, and then takes criticism from people on message boards who think they know better than the best and the brightest in the world.

The Industrial Revolution?
The Renaissance?
Invention of the wheel?
The Magna Carta?
The Caxton printing press?
Splitting the atom?
Semi-conductors?

Hmm… Not actually sure you have a fucking clue what you’re on about.

Oh, and was it only on message boards the US took critisism? Wow… Fox News is really hiding the truth from you.

If you wanted to help the world, sign the Kyoto accord or something similar - Don’t bomb places back to the stone age and create a solid backbone of hatred for the west in an already volatile region of the world.Do you HONESTLY think the world is safer place now post Iraq war II?

Furthermore, why would we care what France or Germany thinks? Would they risk their lives for us? Hell no. Someone has to shoulder the burden of protecting your way of life, so you can be there tomorrow with your internet connection and your screwed up attitudes blasting off at us for being man enough to get the job done.

They disagreed with the US, and so were instantly branded cowards. SO childish. You say you fight for freedom and then you act like that.

‘Freedom’ Fries-eating twat.

Also, you have no fucking clue about my way of life and to be honest after being caught up in the July 7th London bombing, I could really do without you ‘helping’ protect it any more. Thanks though… Much appreciated.

Also, why the fuck would you expect people to thank you for help they didn’t ask for? Especially when that help results in other people now wanting to blow them up.

[quote]
Just so we are clear, this is not about the UK or the majority of its citizenry. This is just about hypocritical brain frozen people like 1-pack who still think we can circle jerk, sing kumbaya, hold hands and make the world a happy place. [/quote]

I can barely pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time - circle jerking AND holding hands would take a level of dexterity I have not yet mastered. IS there an American football drill that helps with that?

But re your point - I am in no way anti-American. I am however, extremely anti equating patriotism with blind, unswerving and unquestioning loyalty and the vociferous opposition to anyone questioning the decisions made by those supposedly looking out for us.

Never said war was never the answer. It’s just that people like you seem to think it’s the answer to frucking everything.

Mum, what’s for dinner? War…

PS All that aside, thanks for writing the word Kumbuya - Never know how to spell it. See, I learned something today.

[1_packlondoner]

One more thing TrainerinDC…

Do you honestly, hand (not the circle-jerking one)on heart believe that Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush are the world’s best and brightest?

An easily confused alcoholic (you’re never an EX-alcoholic) and someone who shot his pal in the face?

Really? Truly?

[1_packlondoner]

[quote]karva wrote:
TrainerinDC wrote:
The only force for positive change throughout the history of the world has been force.

Have you really thought that claim through?

America has the force, uses it as a means for change helping the world…

You may be right, but Americas gifts don’t come for free, you know. There’s a price tag. There are no free meals, as one of your countrymen once said. [/quote]

Dammit. Always get annoyed when someone takes only four sentences to get across what it took me an epic to relay.

[TrainerinDC]

[quote]1-packlondoner wrote:
One more thing TrainerinDC…

Do you honestly, hand (not the circle-jerking one)on heart believe that Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush are the world’s best and brightest?

An easily confused alcoholic (you’re never an EX-alcoholic) and someone who shot his pal in the face?

Really? Truly?
[/quote]

No. But I believe that those reporting to those two are the best and the brightest. I believe that the Generals, and the CIA, and the Law Enforcement and Surveillence are the best and the brightest. They say go for it.

[TrainerinDC]

[quote]karva wrote:
TrainerinDC wrote:
The only force for positive change throughout the history of the world has been force.

Have you really thought that claim through? [/quote]

Yes I have. Tell me what worth having has not been acquired through force? The freedoms all of you enjoy were won with force. The reason you may walk, talk, eat, speak freely, are a direct result of said force.

[quote]
America has the force, uses it as a means for change helping the world…

You may be right, but Americas gifts don’t come for free, you know. There’s a price tag. There are no free meals, as one of your countrymen once said. [/quote]

You are correct. But I don’t see too many of your countrymen dying for the freedoms that you enjoy. I don’t see Europe doing much at all. (England is the exception) There are no free meals, America is buying your meals. We will continue to buy your meals with our lives. So be grateful that someone has the testicular fortitude to fight your battles for you, since your entire continent is too weak.

[TrainerinDC]

[quote]1-packlondoner wrote:
TrainerinDC wrote:
1-pack I am so sick of whining euro’s that it makes me sick to my stomach.

And I’m fucking sick of other people happily taking pot shots at at where I come from that have zero basis in reality but then going crazy apeshit whenever the rest of the world doesn’t jump immediately to sooth another of your little tantrums as soon as you’ve thrown all your toys out of the pram.

Still, that is the world we live in.

The only force for positive change throughout the history of the world has been force. America has the force, uses it as a means for change helping the world, and then takes criticism from people on message boards who think they know better than the best and the brightest in the world.

The Industrial Revolution?
The Renaissance?
Invention of the wheel?
The Magna Carta?
The Caxton printing press?
Splitting the atom?
Semi-conductors?

Hmm… Not actually sure you have a fucking clue what you’re on about.

Oh, and was it only on message boards the US took critisism? Wow… Fox News is really hiding the truth from you.

If you wanted to help the world, sign the Kyoto accord or something similar - Don’t bomb places back to the stone age and create a solid backbone of hatred for the west in an already volatile region of the world.Do you HONESTLY think the world is safer place now post Iraq war II? [/quote]

Yes I believe that it is. God bless those who sacrificed to make it so.

[quote] Furthermore, why would we care what France or Germany thinks? Would they risk their lives for us? Hell no. Someone has to shoulder the burden of protecting your way of life, so you can be there tomorrow with your internet connection and your screwed up attitudes blasting off at us for being man enough to get the job done.

They disagreed with the US, and so were instantly branded cowards. SO childish. You say you fight for freedom and then you act like that.

‘Freedom’ Fries-eating twat. [/quote]

Show me one time in history where the French weren’t cowards. I will buy you all the history books printed, you will not find where the French were not cowards. Twat by the way, thanks for showing us all your intelligence level. I know now to watch my word choices so you are sure to comprehend.

Also, you have no fucking clue about my way of life and to be honest after being caught up in the July 7th London bombing, I could really do without you ‘helping’ protect it any more. Thanks though… Much appreciated.

Being caught in the bombing should show you that these people want to kill you, and will, and should have positively re-inforced to all of you that we were, are, and will be right about this threat, and should have strengthened your resolve to remove it.

Also, why the fuck would you expect people to thank you for help they didn’t ask for? Especially when that help results in other people now wanting to blow them up.

Do you not help the less fortunate? Those being helped before had no education, or freedoms, or lives to live as they chose. None of those we are liberating had any of the things you took for granted. They lacked the ability to ask for help. If you were unconscious, would you want me to help? Or should I not help since you can not ask?

[quote]Just so we are clear, this is not about the UK or the majority of its citizenry. This is just about hypocritical brain frozen people like 1-pack who still think we can circle jerk, sing kumbaya, hold hands and make the world a happy place.

I can barely pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time - circle jerking AND holding hands would take a level of dexterity I have not yet mastered. IS there an American football drill that helps with that?

But re your point - I am in no way anti-American. I am however, extremely anti equating patriotism with blind, unswerving and unquestioning loyalty and the vociferous opposition to anyone questioning the decisions made by those supposedly looking out for us.

Never said war was never the answer. It’s just that people like you seem to think it’s the answer to frucking everything.[/quote]

It may not be the answe to everything. But it has gotten you all of these freedoms that you take for granted.

[quote]Mum, what’s for dinner? War…
[/quote]

My mother, mum as you call her on your side of the pond, is a federal agent working against the terrorism.

PS All that aside, thanks for writing the word Kumbuya - Never know how to spell it. See, I learned something today.

Well I am always glad to educate. =D

[1_packlondoner]

[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
Tell me what worth having has not been acquired through force? The freedoms all of you enjoy were won with force. The reason you may walk, talk, eat, speak freely, are a direct result of said force.

[/quote]

I already listed just a couple of fairly substantial things in MY reply to you - apparently you didn’t want to reply to those.

Anyway, this does not compute. People walk, talk and eat because that is the nature of animals. They speak freely from birth until someone tries to stop then - with force.

[quote]
You are correct. But I don’t see too many of your countrymen dying for the freedoms that you enjoy. I don’t see Europe doing much at all. (England is the exception) There are no free meals, America is buying your meals. We will continue to buy your meals with our lives. So be grateful that someone has the testicular fortitude to fight your battles for you, since your entire continent is too weak. [/quote]

England is NOT the exception. To begin with I think you’ll find it was the UK, or to give us our full name for future reference, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - and not just England that sent troops to the Middle-East. There is a big difference. And the UK was not the only European nation to provide assistance to the war effort.

Also, I’m aware Hollywood hasn’t made too many movies about them, but don’t for a second denegrate the past war efforts of other, smaller European countries just because you are ignorant of them.

If there was no oil in Iraq you would not have been there. End of story.

Hey, going after such an important resource is understandable - to some maybe even valid - but don’t dress it up and pretend that you’re doing it for OUR benefit or for the saftey of us weedy European’s personal liberties.

[supermick]

[quote]Headhunter wrote:
kroby wrote:
supermick wrote:
two - HH is a tit, all his threads are meaningless, he has no coordination and is shit at soccer. This is fact.

Mick, what’s a tit? I thought tits were very desirable; am I wrong?

Its Mickey’s way of saying that he wants me. He’s given up on Minnie.

But, too bad, Mick. My penis’ name is Secret (you know, like the deoderant) — strong enough for a man but made for a woman.

HH

[/quote]

Ok, i let Remo unarmed and dangerous have his rant earlier about being a warrior etc but this is more than a language barrier thing.
You are a tit means i dissaprove of your general dismeanor. Your are a fucking strange strange person.

[1_packlondoner]

[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
1-packlondoner wrote:
One more thing TrainerinDC…

Do you honestly, hand (not the circle-jerking one)on heart believe that Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush are the world’s best and brightest?

An easily confused alcoholic (you’re never an EX-alcoholic) and someone who shot his pal in the face?

Really? Truly?

No. But I believe that those reporting to those two are the best and the brightest. I believe that the Generals, and the CIA, and the Law Enforcement and Surveillence are the best and the brightest. They say go for it.
[/quote]

The same generals that wanted Rumsfeld out?

Like Major General Paul D. Eaton
'First, his failure to build coalitions with our allies, what he dismissively called ‘old Europe’ has imposed far greater demands and risks on our soldiers in Iraq than many. Second, he alienated his allies in our own military, ignoring the advice of seasoned officers and denying subordinates any chance for input."

Lieutenant General Gregory Newbold
"My sincere view is that the commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions?or bury the results.

Major General John M. Riggs,
“They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that’s a mistake, and that’s why I think he should resign,”

The same CIA involved in the torture of civilians and the utter disregard for the Geneva Convention?

Kewl… That’s your best and brightest eh?