Concussions, Ochefu, Stabler, Football, w Poll...

[DudeAnon]

I have a 2 year old son, so I haven't had to handle the decision yet. Pee-wee isn't very popular in my area so I doubt he would want too. But if he does. I really have no idea, would have to see what it looks like in person. I know the backyard football games I used to play were a blast though.

I do know that the hits NFL players take are just ridiculous.

[mpwalsh8]

Rugby: Agree to disagree. Never played it but I've been to Six Nations matches at Twickenham in London as well as college matches. I simply do not see the volume of head contact play-after-play that I see in football.

I have 18 years on you so that might have something to do with it. If/when I'm involved in teen sports it will definitely be a focus for me. When I was a kid, it wasn't talked about much.

I played Rugby at Villanova and then for several years after college when I lived in the DC area. I don't think there are a lot of concussions in Rugby because you can't hit or tackle someone the same way you can in football. More importantly, you can't hit someone who doesn't have possession of the ball. There is no blocking, no blind side hits, etc. To tackle a player the tacker must wrap the person possessing the ball with the arms. No diving for the legs or lowering the shoulder or head to take someone down. All illegal and if close enough to goal will cost your team points from the opposing kicker. Imagine if you risked giving up a field goal in football for every penalty? When I played occasionally you'd have someone make a "football" play, usually someone new to the game who had played a lot of football. If they made an illegal or dangerous tackle or a "block' it was fairly common for other players to go after the guy and he'd get the message pretty quickly. Most of this was sorted out in practice, it rarely happened in a real match.

As for the number of Rugby players - being a world-wide sport, I wonder if the total number of Rugby players is actually greater than the number of American Football players? Football is a US game and to a much lesser extent Canada. Outside of those two countries, football isn't played anywhere else.

Back in the Xavier - Villanova thread I posted this on concussions, two of my girls have had them. Pretty scary.

[MUBoxer]

Rugby: Agree to disagree. Never played it but I've been to Six Nations matches at Twickenham in London as well as college matches. I simply do not see the volume of head contact play-after-play that I see in football.

I have 18 years on you so that might have something to do with it. If/when I'm involved in teen sports it will definitely be a focus for me. When I was a kid, it wasn't talked about much.

I played Rugby at Villanova and then for several years after college when I lived in the DC area. I don't think there are a lot of concussions in Rugby because you can't hit or tackle someone the same way you can in football. More importantly, you can't hit someone who doesn't have possession of the ball. There is no blocking, no blind side hits, etc. To tackle a player the tacker must wrap the person possessing the ball with the arms. No diving for the legs or lowering the shoulder or head to take someone down. All illegal and if close enough to goal will cost your team points from the opposing kicker. Imagine if you risked giving up a field goal in football for every penalty? When I played occasionally you'd have someone make a "football" play, usually someone new to the game who had played a lot of football. If they made an illegal or dangerous tackle or a "block' it was fairly common for other players to go after the guy and he'd get the message pretty quickly. Most of this was sorted out in practice, it rarely happened in a real match.

As for the number of Rugby players - being a world-wide sport, I wonder if the total number of Rugby players is actually greater than the number of American Football players? Football is a US game and to a much lesser extent Canada. Outside of those two countries, football isn't played anywhere else.

Back in the Xavier - Villanova thread I posted this on concussions, two of my girls have had them. Pretty scary.

Tell that to the hookers though, my past two girlfriends were hookers on Depaul and Marquette's rugby teams (I want to emphasize those unfamiliar with rugby that the hookers are the tiny ones not the big butch ones) and they both had to stop playing because of concussion issues... probably from being dropped and thrown around by the massive people.

True it is a world wise sport however it's a very posh sport outside of the US and New Zealand. In Ireland it's very rarely played, unless you go to a prep school, they'll play gaelic football, in australia it's rarely played, unless you go to a prep school, they'll play aussie rules football, in South Africa it's almost entirely an upper class white sport, in the UK it's once again the prep school sport. Maybe in canada or south america it's a common person sport but I doubt canada because it's pretty much lacrosse or hockey there but in the 6 nations it's certainly not a sport that everybody grows up playing like say American football here.

[ChelseaFriar]

True it is a world wise sport however it's a very posh sport outside of the US and New Zealand. In Ireland it's very rarely played, unless you go to a prep school, they'll play gaelic football, in australia it's rarely played, unless you go to a prep school, they'll play aussie rules football, in South Africa it's almost entirely an upper class white sport, in the UK it's once again the prep school sport. Maybe in canada or south america it's a common person sport but I doubt canada because it's pretty much lacrosse or hockey there but in the 6 nations it's certainly not a sport that everybody grows up playing like say American football here.

“Football (soccer) is a gentleman’s game played by hooligans, and Rugby is a hooligans’ game played by gentlemen”. Makes sense.

I have been to South Africa and soccer is definitely the sport followed and played by those of African descent. Rugby and I believe cricket has a large following by the Euro settlers.