Two different rules, two different balls, two different sports; at first glance Rugby and American football seem to have very little in common, but in reality they actually have a lot in common. Many of the fans that declare allegiance to one sport seem to condescend and down the other. Perhaps that is because they are so similar that it is easy to declare that one is better than another. For example you would not say that basketball has a more efficient scoring system than baseball or vice versa, not because they are equal but because they are two different sports and are incomparable. But on the other hand two things very similar like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are competing constantly. If you were to compare Rugby and American Football the things that you would have to look at would be the history of the sports, the rules of the games, and the fans comments to each other.
The history of rugby comes from a somewhat strange but true story. A junior soccer player, while in game, picked up the ball and ran with it towards the opponent’s goal. This seemingly juvenile act sparked one of the world’s most popular sports; Rugby (Potter). The sport was a huge hit with youths at universities first. And only ten years after soccer had officially formed, Rugby had its own organization: The Rugby Union. Rugby then took off as an international hit. It went to many places such as Australia, New Zealand, Africa, France, and even America. Rugby players to this day are not paid nearly as much as other sports and most still have “Day jobs”, such as “lawyers, doctors and advertising executives” (Potter). American Football has its roots deeply invested in Rugby.
Football first came as a variation of the British rugby. When it first arrived in America i...
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... proven because the two sports are beginning to take hold in each other’s origin. The American Rugby team has been getting more and more popular and the NFL Europe has been getting a lot of publicity also. So instead of just attacking each other’s sport the fans should tune in to see the sport that they hate so much and maybe they will like it.
Works Cited
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Madden, John. Heroes of Football The Story of America’s Game. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 2006. Print.
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Football is the most popular sport in the world. It is backed by a long history that's incomparable to other popular sports in the world like basketball, volleyball, and tennis. In fact, two of North America?s favourite sports in American football and rugby were created based on the game we call 'soccer'. So why is it that the original game of football is not as nearly as famous as in North American than any other countries outside our continent? A real good reason for this is because soccer doesn't have a great tradition in North America, unlike other sports such as American football, hockey, or basketball. Also, the cultural difference makes soccer less rampant in North America because many of us can?t seem to be patient enough to watch a sport with no frequent excitement. This mostly involves a preferred team scoring numerous times during a match. There are also plenty of other exciting sports that North Americans love to watch and play. Thus, soccer is put in the middle of the backseat of a crammed van, a place where nobody wants to be in or even pay attention to.
American Football is a huge spectator sport where offensive and defensive players will use teamwork and perseverance to try and score more points than their opponent. Football is highly respected in America, where boys will try and pursue the dream of playing in the NFL (National Football Association) someday; but if you look at an average neighborhood, you will find that kids and adults of all ages love to go out and throw around the pigskin. (Lerner and Lerner 275). One thing Americans will take pride in is the college and NFL football teams they root for. People sit down with a beer and talk hours upon hours of football and two individuals can get in a heated discussion in the local sports store of whose sports team is better. Surprisingly enough, one will find the most passionate football players at the high school level. Most boys will start their football career as a young child in football programs such as Pop Warner to get a foothold and to get those involved in teamwork and friendships. These programs are usually the start to someone falling in love with the sport and making it a career choice eight years later. Football is one of America’s favorite sports. When fall season comes around, people across America are placing bets, finding out where that new sports bar is, and buying wide screen T.V’s to watch NFL on Sundays. After their team plays, they will go out and reminisce what happened that Sunday. While thousands of fans are still pumped from the NFL games they watched; small towns across America are getting ready to shut down their shops and restaurants to have the chance to make it to the local high schools football game. Ray Glier, a reporter for the New York Times, writes about football in the small town of Appala...
The author covers the most prevalent groups and events relating to football. Some of them are pep rallies, marching band, cheerleaders / pep squads, spectators / ex-players, and the brains / farm kids / nobodies. The pep rally is a school-wide event,
Silk, Michael. (2005, Nov 2). Week 9 Fall 2005: Star Spangled Sport: Nation, Culture & American Exceptionalism. Presented at a KNES 293 lecture at the University of
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Whether you are an avid spectator of football, hockey, basketball, or NASCAR, you have witnessed a fair amount of violence. In the 2013-2014 football season, at least five different college football players broke their leg, and hundreds of other players at the high school, college, and even professional level have injured a plethora of other body parts in a variety of methods. Hockey is considered one of the most violent sports in the world—the players have violent tendencies and generally release their anger on their opponents—and, unsurprisingly to its audience, results in many injuries. While basketball is not considered particularly violent, audiences are thrilled when they witness almost any sort of injury. Last year, University of Louisville guard Kevin Ware’s compound fracture broke through his skin, exposing his broken bone to everyone around him. Several people took videos of the incident and less than a year later, the video has nearly tw...
Football has been a very important part of American culture especially in the last 50 years. Football is now the most followed by sport in America. There are many different levels that football is played. For example, there is professional, semi-pro, college, high school and pop warner. Fans from all over are passionate at each level of football. Professional and college football are by far the most popular and contains the biggest fan base. It can easily be argued that high school football has some of the most passionate fans.
In the world of sport, soccer and football with respect to demographic has had numerous controversies. Although both sport are known famously around the globe, for many years fans from both sides are known for asking, is American football same as soccer? What’s the time limit on both sports? What’s the game objective? Do they use the same ball? However they both have similarities and differences which I will be talking about in this essay.
Riesman, David. Football in America: A Study in Culture Diffusion ... Philadelphia: Prentice Hall, 1951. Print. this book mainly focused on how the evolution of football affected the United States of America as a whole and also talked about how the sport came to be as it is today. I found it very helpful
From the early ages in history to the present day, sports have always been an important part of society. It teaches discipline, how to be a team player, how to interact with others and is a good source of physical activity. In specific, football utilizes all of these aspects of sports and it’s a great source of teaching self-restraint and perseverance. Some may say that football is a violent sport or it’s not beneficial in any way, but in reality it gives a person the basic tools needed not only for playing the game, but also how you interact with people in society.
Rugby is the true sport of men, because you wear no pads, and it is even more violent than football; however, football requires that you wear pads, thus being the true sport of want-to-be men.
Football is by all means an American sport. Since the day a baby is born in America whether it be a boy or a girl, one of the first words they learn to say is ball, and after a few months they add the word foot in front of the word ball, and by the time you know it your baby boy is playing football, and your little girl is cheering “Go Steeler’s go!” and without intention their cultural identity starts. As far back as I can remember, every year, uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends would gather at my family’s home to watch this event called theSuper Bowl. It was something that could not be missed, because if you did you were considered a lost cause.
Football is said to have originated from the Han Dynasty in China, from around two or three B.C. Although there is no specific creator of Football, there is evidence that the Chinese ‘dribbled’ balls made of various different animal skins filled with light-weight materials. After dribbling the ball, they were to kick the ball into a small net. Along with being a leisure activity for the ancient Chinese, evidence has been found that they also used it for training their vast army, the only difference in the training was the height of the nets. The balls were to be kicked into a net that was thirty feet or higher off the ground in order to make the Chinese army ready to move and also to make them stronger in the legs. Since the Chinese played ‘Football’ there have been many advancements in the game around the world and the rules have also changed greatly.
Khaleeli, Homa. "American Football or Rugby: Which Is More Dangerous?" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. Feb.-Mar. 2014.
12. No Christian End! The Beginnings of Football in America. Professional Football Researchers Association, 2012.