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Last Active 01-14-22 4:35 pm
Joined 02-16-10
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| Football: Ranked
Ranking the codes, or at least the codes that I'm familiar with. | | 1 |  | The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
Association Football; aka Football, Soccer, Calcio....etc
The beautiful game is the undisputed king of codes across the overwhelming majority of the planet, simultaneously maintaining the depth of a brook and an ocean. It has what is perhaps the lowest barrier of entry among international sports as a whole regarding the equipment and skill needed to participate, yet the degree of tactical depth, flair, history, and culture could easily occupy an entire lifetime to fully digest and appreciate, with every country and culture bringing its own flavor and interpretation of the sport to the international stage. Between domestic leagues, cups, and continental competitions for club football, and everything that international fixtures and competitions bring to the table, there's always something exciting to follow and look forward to year-round..... | | 2 |  | Gorguts
Pleiades' Dust
....It's the one sport where a relegation/promotion battle can literally make or break communities, derbies are often proxies for larger geopolitical conflicts and struggles that could mirror (rightfully or wrongfully) the reality of an entire country or countries, and in spite of the endless stream of capital, scandals, and corruption that follows football like a shadow, it never fails to amaze, inspire, and captivate the collective imagination of billions of people across the world at any given moment. I'd never argue that football is the best sport, but it's certainly my favourite, and perhaps more than any other, there's never any shortage of cases to support its status as the world's game. | | 3 |  | Ulcerate
Shrines of Paralysis
Rugby Union
Most of what I wrote about association football's international character and flair also applies to rugby union, making this a close second in the ranking. Outside of Wales, parts of Ireland and France, and New Zealand, it will always have a reputation of being posh, and perhaps for good reason. It has mostly been limited to private schools since the 19th century, it only recently went professional in 1995, and it's not an easy sport to get into and play unless you happen to live in an area where it's dominant, or go to a school with the appropriate infrastructure needed to participate. It's also widely charged with being a complex and conservative game that has been slower than most in respect to embracing reforms and commercialization, with a stronger emphasis on refining collective skill over individual talent and star players, with club rugby generally serving the end of conditioning players for international play.... | | 4 |  | Ulcerate
Stare Into Death and Be Still
....I am of the opinion that it's this conservative nature that makes the game stand out among the pack, maintaining the feel of a contact sport like American Football (which evolved from rugby in the 19th century), the pace of association football, and an overall culture that feels more organic and grassroots as a result of its hesitancy to commercialize (in spite of its bourgeois reputation). Thanks to Rugby 7s, it's also one of the world's fastest growing sports, with Major League Rugby in the US attracting loads of attention recently due to its peculiar ensemble of squads comprised of former legends from sides like the All Blacks and Springboks, college athletes, and weekend amateurs. With the class gap, and the skill gap between hemispheres diminishing year after year, there's never been a better time to give rugby union a chance. | | 5 |  | American Football
American Football
American football is often the subject of both intrigue and mockery within and especially outside of the US, between the circus that is the Super Bowl, cheerleaders, hyper-commercialization, the whole "football or soccer" issue, and legitimate concerns regarding the safety and health of its players. When it comes to pure entertainment value however, American football provides it in spades, and there isn't a sport on the planet that hits harder. Football culture can easily rival the degree of passion and emotion found in European football (especially college football), salary caps in the NFL go a long way in maintaining league jeopardy, and the lack of relegation and promotion provides a sense of stability for teams across the spectrum of quality and performance, giving every franchise a chance at success. American football is a microcosm of the US as a whole, it's at the core of the American psyche, and it'll be interesting to see how it grows and evolves over time | | 6 |  | Propagandhi
Supporting Caste
Rugby league
Where rugby union resisted professionalization until the end of the 20th century, rugby league embraced it a century earlier, and grew to become one of the most popular sports in northern England and Australia, becoming a working-class symbol in the process. It plays like a strange mix of rugby union and American football, having a system of phases similar to downs, lacking line-outs altogether, and has a scrum that is essentially just a quick-maul. It's an interesting game, it'd be relatively straightforward for a union or American football player to adapt to it, but outside of Australia, it's struggling to compete with other codes and sports, facing serious competition from the growth of union and rugby 7s. | | 7 |  | Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
The Boatman's Call
Gaelic & Aussie rules
Both are confined to their respective countries, both seem absolutely fascinating, but both are about as niche as possible for someone trying to follow either outside of Ireland and Australia. | |
beefshoes
09.29.22 | From an American perspective mind you, though I grew up playing soccer and football, and played some rugby at uni. Lots of love for them all. | Sinternet
09.29.22 | you ever played futsal? reckon you might enjoy it, correct ranking though
sevens is def my fave form of rugby overall | Jasdevi087
09.29.22 | i had an american friend in high school who showed us how to play American Football and it was honestly super fun.
tried watching it on tv though and was absolutely fucking shocked that they slipped ads in literally any time the ball wasn't being carried | beefshoes
09.29.22 | Yeah futsal is great fun.
I'll always prefer union to 7s, but I love how it's broadening the overall appeal in non-traditional markets, bringing loads of newcomers into the sport.
American football is a blast to play and watch in person. Broadcasts aren't bad if you're brought up watching them (lots of people watch the Super Bowl for the sake of the ads haha), but there's no denying that it'd be much more enjoyable without the barrage of ads. Same goes for all American sports though. | fogza
09.30.22 | i dunno if there's not a concept of star players in rugby union, i mean in South Africa we were always aware of x factor players from other countries.
| Demon of the Fall
09.30.22 | Nice considered breakdown. I have absolutely no idea how I hadn't thought of the phases / downs thing being similar in some ways. I live in the north of England now and a bunch of us also follow the NFL too, so the parallel was an interesting one to me (growing up it was always Union > for me, but that's probably just down to geography and how the Five/Six Nations etc. was always televised on the BBC).
Cricket was always my 2nd sport after footy though. | Demon of the Fall
09.30.22 | 'tried watching it on tv though and was absolutely fucking shocked that they slipped ads in literally any time the ball wasn't being carried'
Redzone is the best antidote to this in the regular season. For those unfamiliar with the concept, imagine as many as 9 (or occasionally even 10) games played at once, where you get to see all the action as in unfolds. It's possible due to the stop / start and often 'gradual' nature of the sport where they show whoever they think is closest to scoring (can't always be accurate mind you!) Later in the games they prioritise the closest matches and anything they miss live can be seen via a replay (usually) shortly afterwards. It's like the most comprehensive highlights package in sport, but watching it mostly in real time and cutting to different games, rather than seeing individual snippets after the event (if that makes sense). | kkarron
09.30.22 | International football is also pretty amazing if your country is tiny. There's nothing like an entire countrywide halting of businesses just to see your shitty team make it third in a qualifier group and go to a play-off for the actual tournament that they shit the bed in anyway and don't even qualify. | Demon of the Fall
09.30.22 | the quality of international football is kind of bad and I hate how it clogs up the calendar with friendlies or things that are essentially the same thing with a different name *cough* 'nations league' *cough*
...but yeah I imagine it means a hell of a lot to some people, especially for the smaller footballing nations where just the dream of taking part in a major tournament or causing the odd upset is such a big deal | kkarron
09.30.22 | There's the whole question of entitled football fans. I've never quite understood why English fans expect so much from their team (here's a secret: the Golden Generation of the mid 00's actually didn't have that many great players in it compared to the quality elsewhere) but it must suck. Being fans of tiny teams is great because every joy is multiplied so much.
Also, play the damn thing yourself! I have two tournaments coming up with my amateur side and they're always great. | Egarran
09.30.22 | >International football is also pretty amazing if your country is tiny.
Denmark just beat France 2-1, can confirm.
But yeah the club fan culture can be horrible. These days the thing is to confront followers on the opposing team (incl parents and children) and demand they give up their shirt. | Minortimbo12
09.30.22 | Foozeball |
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