>>>>>This is a slightly sports obsessed site so I am surprised no one has said anything yet about the Super Bowl. So here we go. I have plenty of thoughts about it but will lay back.
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>>>>Oh yeah ?!? Well, you don' know what yer talkin' about !!! <s>
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>>>Serious question.
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>>>I was cycling up through Finsbury Park on Sunday and there where a few sides playing American Football. Made me wonder.
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>>>Why do they wear all the body armour and the helmets ?
>>>
>>>Rugby is quite a contact sport and they don't.
>>>
>>>I especially wonder about the helmet. I headbutting allowed ?
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>>there has actually been a big deal this season about "spearing" or launching yourself to use the helmet as a battering ram. Very illegal but used to be a more common practice. What is the concussion level among ruggers? We get a lot of concussions even with the helmets. As to the padding - shoulder pads are meant for shoulder to shoulder contact. Linemen smash into each other on every play - i.e. 70 times or so a game. They weight 300 pounds each and they are training to hit hard. I agree rugby is about as tough as it gets, and I don't know much about the injury level but the human body can only take what it can take and NFL players are surely in the same kind of physical condition as professional ruggers so I would assume the rules must be different enough that one can survive a rugby game without the padding but in the NFL you would die before half-time. If you've watched US pro football you've surely seen that contact is not just incidental - boys playing rough - but an integral part of the game. I think tackling rules are very different.
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>>Are there rules against playing rugby drunk ? <bg> I know in college that was the only way we could get guys to play.
>
>The only spearing in rugby is the spear tackle (also illegal) which seems to involve smacking you opponent head first into the ground. I wonder if the armour is a bit chicken and egg. Which came first the armour or the heavy play.
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>Is the padding standard ?. If I came up with some super shock absorber/armour would that give me an advantage ?
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>I have to confess I've never watched more than about 5 minutes of American Football. I don't get any of the nuances in the play so what I see looks like a bunch of guys running into each other with endless stoppages (lets not go there again) :-)
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>I wouldn't advise playing rugby drunk. You need you wits about you.
>
>A couple of things that put me off playing where the incidence of life changing neck injuries and the prospect of ending up with cauliflower ears and a flattened nose. Drinking vast amounts of beer afterwards was usually excellent, rugby players and supporters are on the whole a very peaceful bunch off the pitch unlike when I have been for a beer before or after some football (soccer) games

Of course I was kidding about the drinking. I can imagine running around without stopping for that length of time even sober.

Padding is pretty standardized and has to fit within league approved guidelines. And remember, these are hard pads, like armor. they are meant to diffuse impact but an open field tackle still has the kinetic force - literally - of a 50mph car crash. Football players are taught to "wrap up" on tackles (like in rugby) but at high levels often launch their bodies like missiles, often head on or from a blind-side, to bring down the ball carrier (and hopefully dislodge the ball and force a change of possession if they or a team mate can recover it when it leaves the carriers hands before the carrier is down)

The way I've had it described to me by a guy who has played both at a reasonably high level is "Rugby is a contact sport, football is a collision sport." Few ruggers will run into each other deliberately head on at full speed ( nor would football players with the same level of protection <g> ) and yet that exactly what happens when the ball is snapped or the there is a kickoff. All players are expected to hit or be hit on every single play. Often the hitee is 190 pounds and the hitter is 300+. Our linemen are often 325 pounds and run 40 yards in 5 seconds. Tackles are often at full speed in open field and blind-side. Besides grabbing the facemask or blatantly trying to tear someone's head off, anything you do to bring the other guy to the ground is legal.

Another difference is that rugby is a game of possession but football is a game of territory. It very much makes a difference how far the ball has been advanced when the carrier is downed. A few inches can make a difference, since retaining possession entails advancing the ball a total of at least 10 yards on 4 tries. Usually if that hasn't happened after three tries ( converting a third down ) the team will kick (punt) the ball away to the other team to get better field position on defense. If it is very very close to 10 yards sometimes a team will "go for it" on fourth down rather than punt, hoping to keep possession. But inches can make a difference, so when you hit a runner head on you are trying to stop him in his tracks (and kill his whole family).

When the ball is 12" from the goal line there are 22 extremely large people colliding head-on to contest that one foot of distance.

I think very similar people are attracted to both sports. Rules and traditions are different but I have no doubt great ruggers are every bit tough enough to play American football and football players have the athletic skill set and tolerance for pain to allow them to play rugby.

As a fan, I only regret I don't have the opportunity to watch a really good rugby game with knowledgeable rugby fans who could educate me. I know it's a great game and I download videos regularly to watch, even though I know I'm not "getting" what is really happening. If you ever have the chance to watch a great NFL game ( this superbowl would have been fun ) with somebody who knows football ( actually a lot of our commentators are pretty good, but like yours, they fear talking down to the knowledgeable fans so they assume a lot of basic knowledge ) you'd probably enjoy it a lot more.

I think it would be great if professional rugby and Aussie footy could catch on here so we didn't have to pretend to like soccer and we'd have a real sport to watch during baseball season <g> I have no doubt that properly educated - and not feeling a patriotic need to defend the local flavor of violent testosterone spewing <g> - fans in US, OZ, NZ and UK would find all three sports a whole lot of fun.