Obviously most of you have never played soccer competitively and don't understand how hard that shit is. The things that look really easy, the passes, the dribbling, the heading, etc...is actually extremely difficult and takes a lot of time and practice to master. I would definitely say that a good soccer player has more skill than any other athlete in the world. Go watch Ronaldo, Ronaldniho, Zidane, Henry, Totti, the list goes on; the bottom line is that they can do things with that soccer ball that no one else can. The only other comparable athlete would be a pitcher in baseball. And for the ignorant "football/basketball is superior to every sport" person, the rest of the world hates you, you sound/look stupid and very well might be. Thanks!

6/23/2006 4:46:19 PM

again,

Quote :

"I'm undecided about the skill part though. it's hard as hell to do the things they do with that ball"

6/23/2006 4:47:01 PM

Quote :

"Because you could put a Giant out there who could kick everyone's ass and he doesn't have to be THAT athletic."

of course he would have to be. you could be a fucking mountain, but if you cant hit a guy you can never win.


keepers may have excellent ball skill but they dont exhibit that on the field and as such have no need for it. i was more comparing them to a dh than a kicker, but many kickers are former soccer players so how od you know they dont have good ball skills?

if defenders and offenders in soccer have such a similar skill set, why bother making positional substitutions? why not jsut put in the best available player? obviously there is some difference in their abilities which is analogous to a baseball player being either pure or mixed of fielder/batter and bball players being pure or mixed offense/defense

i contend that ben wallace is equally as skilled as steve nash, though not as much so a kobe bryant or dwayne wade.

6/23/2006 4:47:08 PM

Why even debate this shit?

6/23/2006 4:47:47 PM

it's the best thing going on t-dub currently.

6/23/2006 4:48:43 PM

if you are questioning why we are having this debate, then ask yourself why there are any debates on tww at all

6/23/2006 4:49:13 PM

Quote :

"Obviously most of you have never played soccer competitively and don't understand how hard that shit is. The things that look really easy, the passes, the dribbling, the heading, etc.."

obviously you didnt bother to read the thread as none of the rational debaters have made the contention that soccer is easy

Quote :

"Go watch Ronaldo, Ronaldniho, Zidane, Henry, Totti, the list goes on; the bottom line is that they can do things with that soccer ball that no one else can."

Quote :

"Go watch Ronaldo, Ronaldniho, Zidane, Henry, Totti, Bryant, Wade, James, Nowitzki the list goes on; the bottom line is that they can do things with that soccer basketball that no one else can."

Quote :

"Go watch Ronaldo, Ronaldniho, Zidane, Henry, Totti, Manning, Marino, Vick the list goes on; the bottom line is that they can do things with that soccer baseball that no one else can."

Quote :

"Go watch Ronaldo, Ronaldniho, Zidane, Henry, Totti, Clemens, Schilling, Bonds the list goes on; the bottom line is that they can do things with that soccer baseball that no one else can."

Quote :

"Go watch Ronaldo, Ronaldniho, Zidane, Henry, Totti, Woods, Mickelson, Goosen the list goes on; the bottom line is that they can do things with that soccer golfball that no one else can."

Quote :

"Go watch Ronaldo, Ronaldniho, Zidane, Henry, Totti, Jagr, Brindamour, Lemieux the list goes on; the bottom line is that they can do things with that soccer ball puck that no one else can."

shall i continue?

6/23/2006 4:52:13 PM

Quote :

"many kickers are former soccer players so how od you know they dont have good ball skills?"

But what would good soccer skills have to do with football skills????

Quote :

"Why even debate this shit? "

Just when I thought you couldn't get any dumber. We're on a fucking internet message board.


^And Clemens is fat. I'd consider him strong, but not necessarily the most athletic player. I think fat pitchers and batters like David Wells and Cecil Fielder take baseball out of the running.

6/23/2006 4:55:44 PM

hey now, Cecil Fielder had some ups. remember that homerun saving catch he made in the World Series?

6/23/2006 4:57:21 PM

it is very easy to be moderately fat and extremely athletic at the same time

i would bet that warren sapp could beat alot of the people in this thread in a foot race

a great hitter is obviously very athletic, you have to have high bat speed and control to put the skill of spotting a pitch to use. a pitcher must have great body control and strength to dominate hitters. they obviously need endurance to throw 100 pitches.

6/23/2006 4:59:32 PM

Quote :

"i even played some pick up soccer games every now and then. never once did i feel as energetically drained as i did after a hockey game."

first of all, the reason you see more standing around while watching the world cup is because the skill level is so ridiculously high. if a forward spends the whole game trying to steal the ball that is moving backwards and around through the defense, he is wasting his energy, and may need that extra bit when something is on (which happens less often in the bigs, so they want to make the best of it). defensive players will only push up so far when the midfield/offense is trying to create something, and running around in circles would make no sense.

with that being said, when something is on, or when the defensive guys have to step it up, they practically kill themselves for that time period, which is ridiculously draining. comparing a pick up game to a 90 minute showdown is fucking retarded. i remember after every game i couldnt move, couldnt walk, couldnt feel. every major sport (minus golf) will drain the absolute fuck out of you, they just require different talents, which im sure has been said.

i played midfield, and the guys you see walking or standing around are usually forwards or defensive guys. midfielders ALWAYS move, because youre trying to create opportunities and deny them as well (for the opposing team). you have to pace yourself a little more than when youre up top or in the back, and those guys run so hard that they have to get a breath in every once in a while.

[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 5:15 PM. Reason : .]

6/23/2006 5:12:27 PM

if you dont think golf is draining at the highest level then you ahve never played a full round while playing your hardest

i agree it isnt nearly as draining as the sports that require you to run, but it definitely drains you.

6/23/2006 5:14:29 PM

like i said:

Quote :

"of course i admit that pick up games aren't exactly taken the most serious either. "

i also know that even during pick-up hockey games, i still have very little energy afterwards.

6/23/2006 5:15:49 PM

i have played golf at a high level in 105 degree heat, and yeah, i was worn out, but it was different than after a soccer game. golf drains less on you physically and more on the mental side, especially when its august. the sun pounding on you + the humidity will make you loco after 5 and a half hours.



[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 5:20 PM. Reason : .]

6/23/2006 5:16:42 PM

agree

6/23/2006 5:30:32 PM

everyone who didn't say, "wrestling", is wrong.

6/23/2006 5:34:23 PM

Truth.



[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 6:06 PM. Reason : ]

6/23/2006 6:02:31 PM

TRUTH

i love sports. played a lot. wrestling was hardest for me personally. period. (and my favoritea long with soccer to participate in)

6/23/2006 6:12:08 PM

nm

[Edited on June 23, 2006 at 11:25 PM. Reason : nm]

6/23/2006 11:24:47 PM

Dan Gable is master of the universe

6/23/2006 11:29:47 PM

so, i win?

6/24/2006 12:23:32 AM

ok let break it down into catagories:

1: endurance

basketball is up and down constantly and can wear you out, but you get subbed out alot too
soccer you can do a 50 or 80 yard sprint over and over with walking breaks in between
soccer wins that

2: skill

basketball requires alot of skill to dribble, but from what ive seen its alot harder to learn to dribble a soccer ball because of the uneven ground and other factors
soccer wins that

3: athletic ability

in basketball more often than not you have to be tall and you have to have a good vertical
in soccer you have to be fast, whether offense or defense,

although in basketball if you are really tall or heavy then you're automatically a good player
in soccer no physical trait guarantees you anything
soccer wins that

but hockey is probably the closest to soccer, but im sure there may be other sports which may be more demanding

soccer is what id say the most complet sport, in fun to play, demanding, and fun to watch

6/24/2006 1:13:57 AM

wrestling and boxing easily sits at the top of each of your categories. and get off the basketball crap. there are FAR superior athetes in other sports than basketball. hell, fucking cyclists are more athletic.

[Edited on June 24, 2006 at 1:46 AM. Reason : ]

6/24/2006 1:41:02 AM

^ i know, one person mentions basketball and all of a suddent its the greatest sport in the world

6/24/2006 1:50:29 AM

i wasn't directing my comment to you alone. i'm speaking to everyone who heralds basketball players as the greatest athletes.

6/24/2006 2:28:15 AM

Quote :

"soccer is what id say the most complet sport, in fun to play, demanding, and fun to watch"

but hitting people in is one of the funnest parts in hockey in terms of playing, plus adds to the fun to watch category.

i think there are currently two types of americans right now. Type 1: those that like soccer and say it's fun to watch and play, and always bring about "soccer is the most popular sport in the world" to add to their argument that it is the best sport ever. Type 2: the americans that don't care about soccer and think soccer is boring. whenever they say soccer is boring type 1 americans always call them dumbasses and say you just don't understand the sport.

i personally don't give a rat's ass that soccer is the most popular sport in the world. not everything that the rest of the world does is the greatest thing ever. monarchies used to be the most popular forms of government in the world, but i wouldn't consider it what we should aspire to do. now personally i can watch soccer. i don't find it too boring, and in fact have watched a fair amount of the World Cup games. i even catch some soccer games on Fox Soccer Channel when I'm back in Charlotte. i can see where some might find fault with it though, and i don't castigate them like the type 1 people do.

6/24/2006 3:21:54 AM

So does that make you a Type 3?

6/24/2006 10:38:56 AM

Quote :

"monarchies used to be the most popular forms of government in the world, but i wouldn't consider it what we should aspire to do."

Holy bad analogies.

And I'm liking the Wrestling argument. So far I think we've got a good argument for soccer, boxing, and wrestling...with maybe soccer and wrestling having a slight lead over boxing.

[Edited on June 24, 2006 at 10:53 AM. Reason : .]

6/24/2006 10:52:11 AM

Quote :

"although in basketball if you are really tall or heavy then you're automatically a good player"

AHAHAHAHA

WHAT

are you stupid

6/24/2006 11:01:41 AM

Distance running should not be discounted, but since it's an individual sport and requires no "skill" other than proper form and mechanics, it often is.

6/24/2006 3:07:18 PM

^^ uhhh it doesnt make you good, but it sure makes you valuable,
just look at shaq, if he was 6" shorter and 70 pounds lighter he would be useless

6/24/2006 9:04:59 PM

The real winner is:

Rugby

6/26/2006 11:37:57 AM

please, rugby is the pussiest sport there is!

6/26/2006 11:41:49 AM

Quote :

"just look at shaq, if he was 6" shorter and 70 pounds lighter he would be useless"

that is a ridiculous thing to say, if he was 6" shorter and 70 pounds lighter he may have a completely different skill set. he is very quick for someone his size and has great touch around the basket.

ih he was that much shorter and ligeter, his speed would be different, his shot would be different, everything would be different. there are 100's of guys who are big and still suck balls.

6/26/2006 12:14:06 PM