Rugby VS. American Football

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

It would help... but it's mainly the football culture in America that's so bad.

Coaches are teaching 12 year olds that the team is more important than your body or brain and you should play through everythjng. Facemasks were introduced because guys figured out you could just break the others guys nose by hitting them in the head. Instead of banning high tackles they introduce more gear.

Sounds like a very american thing to do.

 

[mania]

Coaches are teaching 12 year olds that the team is more important than your body or brain and you should play through everythjng.

its worse than that. kids are encouraged to maim oppn. flying head butt at the side of the head or knee does shtloads of damage. like i said hits in AF are way bigger than in rugby

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Couple of things. Some are quite close to facts in my mind, some are speculations about how i perceive the game, so kindly correct me if i am wrong. I don't see myself switching but hey, who knows.

Flow is the first one that comes to mind. A bit of what groundhog wrote. It is more dynamic. I also prefer the strength/speed/endurance/technique balance that rugby brings to the table. Athletes in rugby are undoubtedly worse "specialists" but, on average, appear to be better rounded (the fastest footie player will be faster than the fastest rugby player, but the slowest rugby player will be much faster than the slowest american football player. Same with other skills).
In rugby all the players have to be reasonably good at the basics (running, tackling & passing). If they are not, chances are their team will pay dearly for that sooner or later. Some of the US 7s rugby team came to mind while i was typing. It's not just about becoming exceptional at one thing, but also about not being terrible at the rest. The word "balance" comes to mind.

The next one is more my perception, so please correct me if i am wrong, but i have a feeling that there considerably more room for improvisation in rugby. You can plan a 30 sec sequence of event rather accurately i suppose. Can't even fathom the idea of estimating the possibilities within 5 minutes of straight rugby. (this one kinda ties in nicely with the previous one; harder to improvise when everyone is a specialist). I like a bit of both (planning vs improv), and rugby appears to have that.

And last, time. Am football appears to take so bloody long.
Time zones don't help (me) either.

 

[mania]

Couple of things. Some are quite close to facts in my mind, some are speculations about how i perceive the game, so kindly correct me if i am wrong. I don't see myself switching but hey, who knows.

AF players in general are bigger stronger and faster. any rugby player who would end up playing AF would soon change their body type. its basically sprint training and that gives u a big upper body.
all the stops and starts that everyone is on about is strictly in NFL. they have to cater for sponsors and TV breaks.
outside of NFL games last about 2 hours +- a few minutes. so the flow of the game isn't as interrupted.
the stop starts make for bigger hits. when i played you'd have at least a couple minutes between plays. that would give me a chance to get my breath back so that next play i was again running and hitting at top speed.
skills are definitely specialised. eg a oLineman doesn't have to learn to run the ball cos he's never gonna get to run it...unless he's the fridge.
def no room for improvisation on offense unless things go wrong. however on D you do whatever it takes to stop the play.
AF is a beautiful sport but imo the americans have structured the hell out of it.
when we played american college teams, on 4th down if they were inches away they would kick it. we on the other hand only ever kicked in our red zone or if we were 4th and extra long ie 20 yards+. we'd try and hang onto possession as long as possible.
we also played both ways. more due to necessity of not having enough players, but as time went on we preferred it and in finals would have our best players playing both O and D.
i love rugby but i loved and prefered playing AF. however once i stopped playing AF i lost all interest and followed rugby...unless there's a madden tournament going on; then i'm in.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

Couple of things. Some are quite close to facts in my mind, some are speculations about how i perceive the game, so kindly correct me if i am wrong. I don't see myself switching but hey, who knows.

Flow is the first one that comes to mind. A bit of what groundhog wrote. It is more dynamic. I also prefer the strength/speed/endurance/technique balance that rugby brings to the table. Athletes in rugby are undoubtedly worse "specialists" but, on average, appear to be better rounded (the fastest footie player will be faster than the fastest rugby player, but the slowest rugby player will be much faster than the slowest american football player. Same with other skills).
In rugby all the players have to be reasonably good at the basics (running, tackling & passing). If they are not, chances are their team will pay dearly for that sooner or later. Some of the US 7s rugby team came to mind while i was typing. It's not just about becoming exceptional at one thing, but also about not being terrible at the rest. The word "balance" comes to mind.

The next one is more my perception, so please correct me if i am wrong, but i have a feeling that there considerably more room for improvisation in rugby. You can plan a 30 sec sequence of event rather accurately i suppose. Can't even fathom the idea of estimating the possibilities within 5 minutes of straight rugby. (this one kinda ties in nicely with the previous one; harder to improvise when everyone is a specialist). I like a bit of both (planning vs improv), and rugby appears to have that.

And last, time. Am football appears to take so bloody long.
Time zones don't help (me) either.

There really isn't any improvisation, it's just do what your coaches tell you to do and nothing else.

American sports are over coached and over formulated in general.

And @mania I played one year when I was 8 and never had any training in tackling. It was just nail the other dude with whatever part of your body as hard as you can.

 

[mania]

There really isn't any improvisation, it's just do what your coaches tell you to do and nothing else.

American sports are over coached and over formulated in general.

And @mania I played one year when I was 8 and never had any training in tackling. It was just nail the other dude with whatever part of your body as hard as you can.

theres improv on D. there has to be. u react to the O. i prefered D because i was more in control of my destiny. i was a lone hunter. on O i had to do what i was told.

yeah the american teams we played, we were almost always better harder hitters.
when we'd socialise togther afterwards they'd ask where we learnt to hit so hard. we told them we dont need pads to tackle and the only reason we wore helmets is cos everyone else was. those players also said they didnt get taught to tackle; which i find really bizarre as its a corner stone of rugby.

 

[Car]

I also don't like all those breaks in the NFL. It feels like playing for 10 seconds, standing around for two minutes, playing for 10 seconds, standing around for two minutes over and over again. I really like long passing sequences in rugby and AF just doesn't offer that either.

It's not exposure since the NFL has been popular since the NFL Europe's success here and easily is the most popular of the big four North American leagues here. While rugby has grown in recent years, it can only dream of the NFL's coverage.

I used to like the NBA in the 90s, but am not that fond of it any more. I should add that I basically never got to watch full matches back then. While the number of breaks in the NBA aren't as bad as in the NFL, they are far worse than Eurobasket in this respect.

I only managed to get into the NHL since I came across a live match in HD. I just failed to follow the puck in either analogue PAL or digital SD, so I gave up trying to get into ice hockey back then. The NHL does have too many matches at too unfavourable times for me, so it's early matches + playoffs mostly.

 

[Scotty]

I will start by saying i dont know much at all about american football yet i am a huge Rugby Union fan.

I get why the pads ate needed and i get there os some action but i cant get my head around it, soon as someone gets tackled the game stops resets, more people come on the pitch and it starts again for 1 tackle. Im not saying this as a negative as such but can anyone tell me why they believe that out does rugby where play flows alot better? And do people who like american football prefer Rugby Union or Rugby league?

So far 100% Rugby Union

 

[Lancashire Nick]

Hi there. I am an American, and I am researching why people prefer Rugby over American Football. Besides the obvious fact that American football occurs in America, is there a reason why you would choose to watch a Rugby match over American football?

Thanks for your help!

I enjoy both games, but much prefer Rugby.

Faults with American Football :-
It often appears that the referees have too much influence on deciding the winner.
I think that minor infringements are often too heavily penalised. An automatic first down is assessed at the point of the foul, and a team gains 50 metres for a minor, technical infringement.
Similarly, penalties such as pass interference, are often given for the slightest of contact between players.
Whilst I understand the gaps in play, often the time between "downs" is too long because of timeouts or commercial breaks (Sky TV in the UK show hour game highlights of each match during the week, with all the breaks removed, and it is a much better product to watch).
Because each passage of play starts with a snap from the line of scrimmage, it can get a bit repetitive.

 

[Rich Taff]

Love both games. I was still able to play American Football in my mid-30s with a gammy knee, due to the stop start, short burst nature (Warning - sticking a Welshman in pads and saying 'go get that guy' is a recipe for mayhem). Could never have played rugby at that age due to the fitness level required.
I follow the Phins (and pretty much any team 18 played for) and hate the Pats. The Fantasy Football aspect of the NFL really does add to the interest, but I feel detracts from people picking 'a team' nowadays though.

 

[mania]

Ibut can anyone tell me why they believe that out does rugby where play flows alot better? And do people who like american football prefer Rugby Union or Rugby league?

its faster and the hits are bigger. keep in mind that players get to rest so that everything they do is at sprint speed. its alot easier to learn than rugby as well
also takes a lot more team work and discipline as more refs to watch that all players have to behave.

 

[mania]

Love both games. I was still able to play American Football in my mid-30s with a gammy knee, due to the stop start, short burst nature (Warning - sticking a Welshman in pads and saying 'go get that guy' is a recipe for mayhem). Could never have played rugby at that age due to the fitness level required.
I follow the Phins (and pretty much any team 18 played for) and hate the Pats. The Fantasy Football aspect of the NFL really does add to the interest, but I feel detracts from people picking 'a team' nowadays though.

what position did u play? i went from being a centre and winger in rugby to playing running back on o and strong safety and linebacker on d.

 

[Rich Taff]

what position did u play? i went from being a centre and winger in rugby to playing running back on o and strong safety and linebacker on d.

Apparently I was classified as a safety, but I'm pretty sure I was a DL/CB/S, as I just ran around like a headless chicken screaming at people. On 'O', I was 'Waterboy'.

 

[Rich Taff]

Have to post this. I'm willing to bet that most of those mascots have Welsh blood, someone stuck them in a costume and they thought it was pads. The rest is perfectly narrated by the NZ version of David Attenborough......

 

[Reiser99]

Though I'd throw my opinion in as that seems to be what the OP wants. Personally I can't stand American sports, but that may just be because it's a completely different culture. (that video above certainly doesn't help)

American football especially for me epitomises what is wrong with American sports. It is far too technical as people have pointed out, sport needs to have some fluidity and unpredictability about it. Players should be better based on their ability to adapt and use their skills, and not memorise by rote each play. Coaches should not be able to interject too much. You have trained your players, they should have the responsiblity to go and win.
The emphasis on physical impact and, if what others have said is true, teaching children to try and hurt their opponents is completely wrong. In rugby, tackling is an important skill, because you will injure yourself if you don't tackle correctly. AF for me has always seemed to lack the skill with the focus on power. (I maybe wrong of course).
The fact that the game consistently stops would infuriate me of I watched it. Oh the opposition has some momentum, time out. Also a lot of the breaks are to do with commericals. I know someone who was watching a boxing match in the US, went to a break mid round and when it came back one guy had been knocked out.
Tbh I don't even like basketball when I've watched it as to often it just seems end to end. I guess for me while the emphasis is on team work, those sports don't play as a a real team, having to work together and adapt to each other building an understanding. Instead they are more like individual cogs that do their own job and that's it. As an example, Jamie George against Australia in 2016, kicking ahead for Farrell and than having the awareness to score the try after it came off his legs. The handling of the AB's including the forwards. I guess I value players and sports where players have well rounded skills across the whole game than just one area.