Japan's top selling games of '02

[V3]

Real man's sport indeed.. try Rugby!

Rugby World Cup this year. I think there is more contact between players foot and the ball in Rugby than there is in American Football.

I still don't understand why they wear all those padding ? and helmet ? Is it a merchandise thing ?

I can understand wearing helmet in game like baseball, but American football, I think the players will perform better without that stupid helmet.

 

[BenSkywalker]

I still don't understand why they wear all those padding ? and helmet ? Is it a merchandise thing ?

To avoid brain damage, serious injuries and deaths. American Football players aren't the tiny little midgets that play Rugby

Seriously though, your typical NFL lineman weighs about 300lbs and benches ~500lbs(able to squat ~half a ton) and can run a 40 yard dash in under five seconds(that is common, there are exceptions who are quite a bit bigger, faster and/or stronger). There have been numerous instances of people suffering mild rain damage in the NFL from getting hit by these monster sized players(helmet to helmet contact is illegal btw and results in a stiff fine). Not to mention those that are now quardrapalegics. The players keep getting bigger and stronger, at this point the padding they do wear isn't close to enough to avoid serious injury.

I can understand wearing helmet in game like baseball, but American football, I think the players will perform better without that stupid helmet.

Using physics and human anatomy, they wouldn't be better for long(perhaps a dozen plays) before they suffered a serious injury and were taken off the field in an ambulance(too common as it is now with all the pads).

 

[KnightBreed]

Rugby World Cup this year. I think there is more contact between players foot and the ball in Rugby than there is in American Football.

The bases rarely come in contact with the ball in baseball. Why do we call it baseball? Maybe we should call it stickball or batball?

I still don't understand why they wear all those padding ? and helmet ? Is it a merchandise thing ?
I can understand wearing helmet in game like baseball, but American football, I think the players will perform better without that stupid helmet.

I think Ben did a wonderful job in explaining the reasoning behind the helmet and padding. The day you get chased by a 300lb linebacker that can run as fast as you, is the day you can make an accurate opinion regarding the "wimpiness" of American Football.

With that said, I can't believe the Cleveland Browns lost yesterday with that amazing game Holcomb had. I cried myself to sleep.

 

[V3]

The bases rarely come in contact with the ball in baseball. Why do we call it baseball? Maybe we should call it stickball or batball

The ball do come in contact with the bases though, even if it is indirectly, but the idea is there. There are even variation like softball or t-ball. Softball being the ball is softer, and t-ball, because you hit the ball of a T like metal stick.

Seriously though, your typical NFL lineman weighs about 300lbs and benches ~500lbs(able to squat ~half a ton) and can run a 40 yard dash in under five seconds(that is common, there are exceptions who are quite a bit bigger, faster and/or stronger).

500lbs isn't that heavy, I bench those weight in my 3rd set, and I am a small man, at around 220lbs. Half a ton squat isn't anything special either. I can run 100m dash in low 11s.

The players keep getting bigger and stronger, at this point the padding they do wear isn't close to enough to avoid serious injury.

Then why wear them ? Even boxing, which the objectives is to hit your opponent on the head to score points doesn't wear helmet. The things that's bad in this kinda sport is your neck. So long as you have protective in that area the other is not needed. I think the athletes would perform better without the helmet.

 

[Teasy]

The bases rarely come in contact with the ball in baseball. Why do we call it baseball? Maybe we should call it stickball or batball?

But the bases in Baseball are pretty much the focus of the game and are something quite unique(ish) to that sport, therefore they apear in the name. However feet are not the focus of American Football and your going to use your feet to run on in pretty much any sport so there nowhere near unique to American Football. So I don't really think your argument holds up there. I think American Football would logically be better named Handball, or ViolenceBall

 

[BenSkywalker]

500lbs isn't that heavy, I bench those weight in my 3rd set, and I am a small man, at around 220lbs. Half a ton squat isn't anything special either. I can run 100m dash in low 11s.

So take a guy that is as strong or stronger then you, outweighs you by ~100lbs and runs faster then you trying to crush you, why would you wear pads?

Then why wear them ? Even boxing, which the objectives is to hit your opponent on the head to score points doesn't wear helmet. The things that's bad in this kinda sport is your neck. So long as you have protective in that area the other is not needed. I think the athletes would perform better without the helmet.

For a recent example, Boomer Esiason was forced into retirement due to repeated brain trauma. Not neck, brain. And he played quarterback and wasn't subject to anywhere near the kind of continued beating that a lineman, linebacker or running back would take. Broken noses are and the like are commonplace in football, and unlike boxing the goal is not to injure the opponent which is why it makes sense for boxing not to wear helmets while in football they do.

 

[Crusher]

The things that's bad in this kinda sport is your neck. So long as you have protective in that area the other is not needed. I think the athletes would perform better without the helmet.

Have you ever landed on your head on frozen dirt or astroturf?

As for the naming, how exactly do you "hockey"? What does it mean to "tennis"? Do you really "polo" something? And what the hell do you do when you "rugby" anyway?

Just because people tend to pass the ball with their hands these days, doesn't negate the fact that the game of American football involves kicking a ball. Kickoffs, punts, and extra points happen almost as much as passing throws do anyway in some games. Just because the term "football" is better applied to soccer, doesn't mean we can't use it for football.

 

[LogisticX]

OFF TOPIC

To the 220 pound man who's benching 500 pounds in the third set.....how are those steroids working out for you?

Come on now. 220 pounds is hardly lightweight either, in boxing, that's cosidered "heavyweight".

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I'm starting to smell something around V3's posts these days. "I completed Super Mario in 12 minutes" or whatever. "I completed SMS in a sitting." "I can lift 500 lbs. and run 11s 100 m dash."

Call me a skeptic, but I don't believe it.

 

[Tahir2]

Johnny lad... shhhshhhh you will reveal V3's hidden identity for sure now.

 

[Teasy]

As for the naming, how exactly do you "hockey"? What does it mean to "tennis"? Do you really "polo" something? And what the hell do you do when you "rugby" anyway?

I'd imagine the names are all based either on the name of the inventor of the sport or the place in which it was invented.

For instance Rugby is called Rugby because the inventor of the sport, William Webb Ellis was playing Football at Rugby school (in the town of Rugby) and the ball bust. So he picked the ball up and ran with it and created Rugby.

Just because the term "football" is better applied to soccer, doesn't mean we can't use it for football.

Its not just the fact that what you call Soccer fits the name better then American Football. Its the fact that what you call Soccer was called Football long before American Football took the name. I don't think anyone has that much of a problem with North America using the name for a different sport. People just get a little bit sick of North American's constantly calling the sport by such a poncy and crappy name as "Soccer"

I mean when you think about it its incredible. To take the name of a sport you didn't create, use the name for a new sport, and then call the original by a totally different name?.. who the hell does a thing like that?

 

[Ty]

500lbs isn't that heavy, I bench those weight in my 3rd set, and I am a small man, at around 220lbs. Half a ton squat isn't anything special either. I can run 100m dash in low 11s.

Lifting 500lbs is no where near the force of 500lbs running full steam into you. Don't forget the other half (more like squared) of what makes up Momentum.

 

[jandar]

having played football in Highschool (at least until my knee decided it wanted to stop working properly after repeated punishment), I can vouch for the physicalness of it, same with anyone who's played it or understands it.

Like Ty and others are trying to explain, it simply HURTS to be hit full speed.

take a fast running back, he hits the hole in the offensive line at full speed running right into a linebacker blitzing at full speed. You then have a ~32-40 MPH collison with 500-600 pounds of mass behind it. Enough to bend car bumpers all day. Hence the pads.

Its not a muscle contest to see who can overpower who, its hit speed & mass hitting speed & mass with the intention of watching that player be carted off the field.

 

[V3]

So take a guy that is as strong or stronger then you, outweighs you by ~100lbs and runs faster then you trying to crush you, why would you wear pads?

Would it make a different ? If he crushed me, he would crushed me, with pads or not.

For a recent example, Boomer Esiason was forced into retirement due to repeated brain trauma. Not neck, brain. And he played quarterback and wasn't subject to anywhere near the kind of continued beating that a lineman, linebacker or running back would take. Broken noses are and the like are commonplace in football, and unlike boxing the goal is not to injure the opponent which is why it makes sense for boxing not to wear helmets while in football they do.

Broken noses are common even with Helmet ? In American Football you don't tackle do you ? I watched American Football lately it seems shoving and bodycheck is legal. If Broken noses are common, maybe a rule change would be good.

Have you ever landed on your head on frozen dirt or astroturf?

Luckly, not yet. So American Football is not played on natural grass is it ?

To the 220 pound man who's benching 500 pounds in the third set.....how are those steroids working out for you?

I hate that. Every time some people saw me doing benches, that's the kind of question I get.

Come on now. 220 pounds is hardly lightweight either, in boxing, that's cosidered "heavyweight".

Well compare to a friend of mine who's 6'8" 300+lbs, I am small.

I'm starting to smell something around V3's posts these days. "I completed Super Mario in 12 minutes" or whatever. "I completed SMS in a sitting." "I can lift 500 lbs. and run 11s 100 m dash."

Call me a skeptic, but I don't believe it.

Its up to you.

Lifting 500lbs is no where near the force of 500lbs running full steam into you. Don't forget the other half (more like squared) of what makes up Momentum.

Yes Lifting is quite different than impact. If you drop me 200lbs on top of me, I would not be able to hold on to it. Even if most people could push a car, if a car full speed hit you, you would be in trouble.

As I understand it now, American Football is different from Rugby, in that Rugby you are only allowed to tackle, where in American Football you are allowed to shove and bodycheck. Well if shoving and bodycheck is legal than it is a dangerous sport.

take a fast running back, he hits the hole in the offensive line at full speed running right into a linebacker blitzing at full speed. You then have a ~32-40 MPH collison with 500-600 pounds of mass behind it. Enough to bend car bumpers all day. Hence the pads.

In American Football you have take that guy head on, right ?

 

[jandar]

You can take him head on, but tackles from behind, the side, blind hits, late hits, all kind of stuff.


Granted, when a play is called in and the offense sets itself, not alot of action, but once the play is going all hell breaks loose.

You have 5 offensive lineman either protecting the QB or opening a hole for the running back. You then have 3-8 defensive guys trying to fill those holes or kill the QB.

8-13 guys tangled in a mass = chaos (sorta like rugby)

the quaterbacks usually take the worse punishment though. Watch highlight films, many blind side hits (the QB never sees them coming) by a 300 pound lineman running full speed. Completely legal and part of the game, but man does it hurt like hell.

 

[BenSkywalker]

Would it make a different ? If he crushed me, he would crushed me, with pads or not.

Pads help soften the blow considerably. Ask anyone who has played with the same guys with and without pads

Broken noses are common even with Helmet ?

Yes, broken jaws aren't even that rare(though far less frequent then broken noses).

In American Football you don't tackle do you ? I watched American Football lately it seems shoving and bodycheck is legal. If Broken noses are common, maybe a rule change would be good.

Hell yes you tackle, but only the guy with the ball(at least, that is how it is supposed to work). The rest of the contact you see are guys trying to get to the guy with the ball or other guys trying to stop him. As far as a rules change, a broken nose is a minor annoyance to NFL players, nothing more. Injuries that render them incapable of movement or have the potential to be life threatening are the only ones that invoke rules changes(outside of protecting QBs, they cost too much for clubs to want them speared from behind from a 300lb plus lineman).

Luckly, not yet. So American Football is not played on natural grass is it ?

Most football is played on grass, although several college teams and some in the NFL use astroturf(special carpet type substance). When its 10degrees Farenheit outside(sub zero for those outside the US) the ground is frozen and it isn't all that different from getting slammed into pavement grass or not.

Every time some people saw me doing benches, that's the kind of question I get.

A couple of my good friends while I was growing up started lifting weights when they were aroune nine or ten years old(there father was big in to lifting). Both of them could bench 400lbs by the time they were sixteen, the elder brother only weighed 200lbs(6' even) while the younger brother was only 180lbs(5' 9"). These guys hated to take painkillers(asprin and Tylenol type, not talking about the stronger stuff) and would never think of touching steroids, but they were regularly accused of it(people seemed not to notice the guys spent two to three hours a day six days a week in the gym year in and year out ).

As I understand it now, American Football is different from Rugby, in that Rugby you are only allowed to tackle, where in American Football you are allowed to shove and bodycheck. Well if shoving and bodycheck is legal than it is a dangerous sport.

Body slamming is legal in the NFL, it actually tends to get a huge ovation if you can pull it off Very little is not legal in terms of hitting other players, although there are limits based on what the situation is, when the guy has the ball almost anything goes(big exception is using your hand and grabbing a hold of their face mask, that has the potential to be life threatening and isn't allowed under any circumstances).

In American Football you have take that guy head on, right ?

If a guy is carrying the ball you can grab him from behind, pick him up over your head and drive his head in to the ground. Almost whatever it takes to get the guy down is legit.

 

[KnightBreed]

If a guy is carrying the ball you can grab him from behind, pick him up over your head and drive his head in to the ground. Almost whatever it takes to get the guy down is legit.

No, there are certainly limits on what can be contrued as "sportmanlike conduct." Picking somebody up and slamming his head into the ground with the intent of harm will get you ejected from the game and fined by the league.

Also, there are rules protecting receivers from getting decked by safetys when they're defenseless (Browns safety Robert Griffith got called for this against the Steelers on Sunday) and there are many "roughing the passer" rules protecting quarterbacks.

Though, even with these rules, concussions and broken bones are extremely common.

 

[BenSkywalker]

Picking somebody up and slamming his head into the ground with the intent of harm will get you ejected from the game and fined by the league.

If there is no obvious intent to harm, there is no unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called, even if the person who got slammed does get injured. IIRC Barton on the Raiders(it was one of the Raiders) pulled off one of those style hits on MNF during one of their games this year directly in front of a ref(against Denver IIRC).

Also, there are rules protecting receivers from getting decked by safetys when they're defenseless (Browns safety Robert Griffith got called for this against the Steelers on Sunday)

That depends more on how you hit them then in the position they are in. If they are in the air catching a ball with their back turned towards you you can still grab them and slam them to the ground, you just can't 'lead' the hit with the top of your helmet.

and there are many "roughing the passer" rules protecting quarterbacks.

Yep, the owners all wanted this enacted due to the price of their Quarterbacks and what tends to be a rather massive rift of talent between the first string and second string. Although looking at the Steelers and Rams this year perhaps owners should reconsider their stance on that

There are also severe rules in place on protecting the kicker(obscenely strict IMO). I can understand some of the worry, but a 200lb safety hitting Oakland's Janikowski I don't see as a reason for concern.

 

[Blade]

if a car full speed hit you, you would be in trouble

Duh?

 

[V3]

Hell yes you tackle, but only the guy with the ball(at least, that is how it is supposed to work). The rest of the contact you see are guys trying to get to the guy with the ball or other guys trying to stop him. As far as a rules change, a broken nose is a minor annoyance to NFL players, nothing more. Injuries that render them incapable of movement or have the potential to be life threatening are the only ones that invoke rules changes(outside of protecting QBs, they cost too much for clubs to want them speared from behind from a 300lb plus lineman).

When the frontline is trying to stop all those going for the ball, what's legal for them ? And the people going for the ball ? They can't tackle them obviously ?

How do you get broken nose, if you are wearing helmet ? a Headbutt ?

Most football is played on grass, although several college teams and some in the NFL use astroturf(special carpet type substance). When its 10degrees Farenheit outside(sub zero for those outside the US) the ground is frozen and it isn't all that different from getting slammed into pavement grass or not.

That's nasty. They should just play Ice Hockey.

A couple of my good friends while I was growing up started lifting weights when they were aroune nine or ten years old(there father was big in to lifting). Both of them could bench 400lbs by the time they were sixteen, the elder brother only weighed 200lbs(6' even) while the younger brother was only 180lbs(5' 9"). These guys hated to take painkillers(asprin and Tylenol type, not talking about the stronger stuff) and would never think of touching steroids, but they were regularly accused of it(people seemed not to notice the guys spent two to three hours a day six days a week in the gym year in and year out ).

Well I get accused of taking steroids, even before I did weight lifting. Actually that's how I got into weight lifting, because people keep asking me if I do weight. Anyway been doing weight for 7 years now. A good sport IMO, non contact, and if you do things properly injury are rare too.

Body slamming is legal in the NFL, it actually tends to get a huge ovation if you can pull it off Very little is not legal in terms of hitting other players, although there are limits based on what the situation is, when the guy has the ball almost anything goes(big exception is using your hand and grabbing a hold of their face mask, that has the potential to be life threatening and isn't allowed under any circumstances).

Yeah, that's dangerous IMO, if you land awkwardly on your neck, you would be in trouble.

If a guy is carrying the ball you can grab him from behind, pick him up over your head and drive his head in to the ground. Almost whatever it takes to get the guy down is legit.

You can go for the neck ?