Americans and Football

[PeterL]

Vin: "...that beer you reckon you are keeping warm looks like lager. *What mischief are you up to ?"



That's because it is lager. But it was at a wedding and in a hot country and it would have been churlish to refuse. Usually I drink brandy when I'm there. With, sacrelige upon sacrelige, ICE! No, I have no shame; not after the second bottle anyway.

Vin,

>The GAA team regularly beats the AFL (Australian
>Football League) team in a composite Gaelic
>Rules-Australian Rules series played each 2 years.

I played in a 1989 game for the Sydney Swans U19's against a touring U21's Irish side, the Swans lost 66 - 32??? something like that. It was in driving rain on the SCG but the Swans Manager took solace in us being thrashed the least, West Coast and North Melbourne copped a greater hiding. IIRC the rules were in the Gael's favour, the ball was a soccer ball, there were penalties for the ball going out of bounds and there was no tackling. It was like soccer where you could use your hands.




cam

Herr Vin, Perhaps you can explain. In this picture of the Socceroos each player has his own ball. Why is this?

[Vin]

Cam,

Half your luck.

What the GAA teams cede at senior level is

Tackling. None permitted in Gaelic. They are not good at it so have little impact upon the AFL blokes. They are built like soccer players i.e. comparatively fragile in the upper body, so get exhausted by being regularly thrown to the ground. Looks like your form didn’t have this.

Marks. No free kick for a mark in Gaelic. The AFL lads kick to a tall forward who can then go back and shoot for a 3 point over. The GAA lads tend to play on after a mark, instinctively, I imagine, and get tackled. The most accurate way of kicking seems to be round the corner. I imagine because you can impart backspin.

Bounce. One “bounce” every 10 metres rather than every 3 paces and more than one permitted before the player has to kick. Having to “solo run” is almost impossible for the AFL blokes.

At senior level, the results are not too far apart so the balance seems to be pretty close to right. With no disrespect to you and your former team mates, you were hardly professional. Playing against what is practically a senior side you did well.

I felt that last time the GAA blokes won it by being more direct. The AFL blokes kept switching play which only slowed up the passage to goal.

What greatly amused me was the abuse the umpire/referee received from the crowd (50,000 + at the “G”). Every decision was hooted as wrong. Not bad for spectators who didn’t know the rules in the first place !


Mein gut herr Karl

You have it wrong. Zees men are not zee Socceroos. Zay are zee Australian Cricket Team bowlers on zere way to zee nets. By agreement with the MCC, newly approved cricket balls will be used in the up coming Ashes series. The bloke in the middle is the new demon fast bowler with the suspect action – chosen for his impressive physique and fierce demeanour. You will recognise the others, of course.


Cheers

Vin

Vin,

>With no disrespect to you and your former team mates,
>you were hardly professional.

We were kids who dreamed of being Dennis Carrol or Bernard Toohey. Our match payments were $25 if we played a Melbourne team, Ireland didnt count lol. I got dropped two weeks before we got to play the Melbourne teams, just wasnt good enough. If the Australians wanted to win under the U19's rules they should have used soccer players on the wing and pockets and AFL players down the center. Would have evened up the flow the Irish were able to maintian. Delivery of the Soccer ball was a problem.

Funny story from it though, the bloke i was marking when the game started I went up to him and shook hands and said "Good luck mate" he went "flartibargfast". I though no worries, he has a mouthguard and coupled with an Irish accent no wonder I couldnt understand him. At the end of the game we again shook hands and I said this time "Good game mate" and he took his mouthguard out and said, "flartibargfast". lol. Guess he was talking Gaelic.

At that age too, none of us wore mouthguards and the Swans told us we had to. Witin about three minutes 1/2 the team had spat out their mouthgaurds. 1989 was sort of early for recognising safety in football and you cant tell 17 year olds anything. About all I remember from that game was blinding cold rain, and lily white Irish kids. But I got to play on hallowed turf in red and white, so I was happy.


cam

[leo]

If you like football (American) today should be one of your best days. I find the college game to be more interesting than the pro game. You can see different offenses and defenses in almost each game. Reaction to situations in the game are different as well. The pros almost all run the same offense and same defense and react to situations in the same way. Plus, they have too many doggone field goals. I think the field goal is the most boring play in sports.

[Billy_Bishop]

Hey Al;

Baseball! thats the event I watch when I get tired of watching paint dry. *Nothing personal, Al, I saw the remarks about having that weapon and not being afraid to use it.

We need an evil smily something like >-) .

Anyway, football is what I watch when there's ABSOLUTELY nothing else on, including reruns of Little House on the Prairie.


And you better watch it!! I got a loaded dragon and I'm not afraid to use it!!! I'm a donkey on the edge!!!

VBR,

Al "Shreked out beyond belief" Lowe

Hockey is being ruined by the goons.

*(read *goons).

A sad fact is Goons are a necessity due to the fast pace of the game, you need them to kick the shit out of little weasels who can, with a dirty check, ruin a star player's career. They actually ALLOW for smaller/skill players rather than a league of big/skill guys like Lemieux/Bure'/Lindros(prior to concussions-and has a spot now becasue of enforcers).

Case in point, Wayne Gretzky came to this sad realization after years of complaining about fighting in the NHL. All those years in My town of Edmonton he seemed to be blind to all the beatings Dave Semenko gave to anyone who even LOOKED at Gretz the wrong way. STEAAAAMMMM rolllerrrrrr, no one did it like Gretz, lol but in my opinion no one has done it like Big Dave. Then Gretz winds up in NY with NO PROTECTION....BOOOOOM someone wastes him from behind and he was never the same after his back injury. Marty McTurtle wouldn't fight for him in LA either.

The sad fact is ...CANADA has become the training ground for goons . It was not always so. We still produce some skill players, but often they have to do some time in European leagues or american colleges.

I like the NHL how it is. If i wanted to watch European/international hockey, I would. Fact is, it's not as exciting. Goons/fighting are a part of the NHL. Junior hockey in Canada used to produce more skill, that is not the NHL's fault. It starts in PEE-WEE hockey and the amateur coaching system in Canada. Dump and grab hockey was developed by a U.S team....why Canada followed suit i do not know. I think it's because the league got watered down because of so many expansion teams so fast, not enough skill players to fill the needs of them all. Things are getting better though...look at my Oilers now they KILL New Jersey with their speed. We have the #1 enforcer in the NHL Georges Laroque(also a good puck carrier due to his size). They need to freeze the league expansion to get speed back in the game more.

[Rick]

I whole heartedly agree, even though my Sharks are ATTEMPTING to make the playoffs this year.

Monteral, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Boston and the New York Rangers. As you said, we'd have good talented teams not a bunch of diluited and watered down teams with only 1-2 star players. Wouldn't that be a blast!!

Funny game your football !. Dear America is Joe Thiesmann still QB for the Washington Redskins?