Futbol vs Football
Posted by Ebun | Posted in futbol | Posted on 6:13 PM
I know this post is going to cause a stir, and rightfully so: discourse is good. So as a fan of both American Football and futbol (soccer) I have to say this: Futbol is a much more enjoyable game to watch (and play) than American Football for a number of reasons.
First of all, there is an inherent finesse to the game of soccer that I believe does not exist in American Football. Even if you don't watch soccer often or at all, whenever you see a clip, you are amazed at the things that soccer players can do by themselves. For instance, I've "wowed" people just by myself on the corner of the street or in my alleyway juggling the soccer ball and doing tricks. I'm yet to see someone do something breathtaking by themselves with a football. Usually, you are wowed by a running back juking the crap out of a linebacker or safety or a wide receiver making a leaping catch over a cornerback. As amazing as it is to see someone get "Mossed" or Ray Lewis knock the wind out of Ochocinco, I find it more amazing to see a freestyler do an around the world 10x in a row or to see Ronaldinho juggling the ball solo.
Now, most people who I've debated this with always bring up the fact that in a futbol game you will be lucky if you see two or three goals scored. And to that I say that if you watch futbol, as a true fan of the game, it isn't about the goals. Goals are great to see, but I've watched some games that ended in nil-nil draws that have been far more entertaining than games with two or three goals scored. I doubt any American Football fan would leave the stadium happy if the game they just attended ended 0-0. Furthermore, I feel as though there is a culture that surrounds futbol that isn't found, or if so, very little in American football. If you were to take a journey to the most remote parts of the earth, what game will you most likely find the kids playing? you guessed it, futbol. Most importantly though, the biggest sporting event of a single sport is the FIFA World Cup. Some might rebut and say, "well that's because it involves all countries" and my response would be that that is representative of futbol's appeal on a global scale.
Ultimately, they are both great sports that have die-hard fans the world over. I choose futbol. What about you?
nice thoughts... soccer has the appeal to more fans and people are more passionate about the sport bc it's a humble sport, its a truly team sport. given that the fans of football games get rowdy, soccer fans are nuts, and they really get into supporting their teams bc there's beauty in the build up of each play and whether the team scores or not in a play, there's always moments when you're impressed by how well a player can 'freestyle' or adapt to different situations. i personally think that's dope, and i play basketball too and apply the same logic when i handle the ball with my hands, as i do w my feet.
yea i def like both but futbol is more entertaining for me. Sometimes even when they miss a goal scoring opportunity it is just as exciting as a goal. haha. u made some good points ebun. Nothing can match the excitement and passion of a world cup game.
I get into this argument every other day with my buddies. My point is this, american football is an entertaining sport but it will never have the passion and beauty that futbol has. The closest american football fans will come to futbol fans is Philadelphia.
Futbol is also a lot more original. Show me a goal that is consistently the same (besides a PK or maybe a set piece) but really 80% of all touchdowns is just generic.
And the reason that goals are so exciting are because they are rare. You have to work for it. Thats why I dont understand baseball or football. If a team scores in soccer it's very tough to fight back from that. If someone scores a run or a touchdown, you can stop the clock and get back in the game easily with a different variation of scoring. All they are doing is fooling Americans by saying that 1pt=7pts. If they made touchdowns only a point and got rid of "almost scoring" (field goal) then the scores would look more like soccer games.
Ebun, well done on this piece, i agree with your points, i try to explain this to people but they do not understand haha. Futbol is something different, it's the beautiful game. The goals, the build up play, the passion and especially the fans. Man when i went to Fener game in Turkey it changed me lol. I have never seen 55,000 people singing and jumping, whistling and yelling for 90+ minutes. Like you said about finding futbol in the most remote of places, it is so important to people all over the world. I will go back to reference of Turkey, many parts are less fortunate, poor if you will, and the only thing they feel like they can control is their futbol team. They work long hours and make little money, and have little control over much in life. When they go to a game and are singing the whole time they feel like they are helping their team win, and that gives them a great sense of pride. That is why you see so many fights and passion in futbol. Its just simply amazing.