Violence in Football [semi- rant]

Post by **Gandalf** » 2003-05-05 05:09am

We just had a story on the news about some mother bitching about some brawl that occurred on the weekend in the AFL (The highlight of the story was someone who was perhaps seven saying that the violence was 'horrid', a fine example of media coached children).
This is one of my major pet peeves, violence, while not nice (or PC), is part of sports like this, yet all these soccer mums decide that it's not right for their children to see this, this is the part that gets me, the idea that athletes are supposed to be role models and the such, it never occurred to anyone that violence and sports like this go hand in hand?

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-05-05 05:13am

AFL? So you mean egg-chasing with helmets and not actual football?

Tell the AFL and the whinging people involved that real violence is displayed when alcohol, intense disliking of the other side and the fact that near 100,000 people are involved makes for big problems, and that is only ever seen when you have something like Man Utd. against a certain Turkish team.

To say it was a war zone would be an understatement.

Hethrir · Post by **Hethrir** » 2003-05-05 06:04am

don't get me wrong, i'm not a fan of the old (V)AFL, but i didn't think they wore helmets?

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-05-05 06:39am

Hethrir wrote:don't get me wrong, i'm not a fan of the old (V)AFL, but i didn't think they wore helmets?

My mistake then, I normally associate it with the same style of play as American Football (an oxymoron if ever there was one). Why don't they just call it alternate rules rugby or something?

Xon · Post by **Xon** » 2003-05-05 06:39am

Admiral Valdemar, wrong AFL.

Gandalf talking about an brawl which involved 2 teams in Australia Football.

The only protection they use is mouthguards, but then againt it isnt that violent a sport as sports go.

Darth Fanboy · Post by **Darth Fanboy** » 2003-05-05 08:34am

I thought you meant Arena Football.

Darth Fanboy · Post by **Darth Fanboy** » 2003-05-05 08:38am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Hethrir wrote:don't get me wrong, i'm not a fan of the old (V)AFL, but i didn't think they wore helmets?
My mistake then, I normally associate it with the same style of play as American Football (an oxymoron if ever there was one). Why don't they just call it alternate rules rugby or something?

[uglyamerican]Beacuase Football is Football, and the sport you weirdos in the rest of the world call football is actually called Soccer. Get it right. [/uglyamerican]

And the only reason that Canada is the only other nation where FOOTBALL is played is because if more than 3 nations claim a sport then it has to be an olympic event and that means one more gold for the USA every 4 years. Every 2 years if they use a dome for the winter olympics.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2003-05-05 11:37am

Violence is part of Football, what ever kind of football you follow. It's a social thing in my opinion. Most Football fans are working class and will consume some kind os alcohol while watching the game or before the game. The problem is Human beings are a war orientiated race. Considering that we've got so good at war a major war will kill us all humankind had directed all it's energy into these sports and occasionaly they take things too far.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-05-05 11:41am

I like American-style football. Sue me. As for the warlike nature of the game:

George Carlin wrote:In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.

An excerpt from one of his funniest routines of all time (he compares it to baseball; you can see the whole routine here).

Darth Gojira · Post by **Darth Gojira** » 2003-05-05 12:13pm

Darth Wong wrote:I like American-style football. Sue me. As for the warlike nature of the game:
George Carlin wrote:In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
An excerpt from one of his funniest routines of all time (he compares it to baseball; you can see the whole routine here).

"When I get home, I'll be safe"

Thanks for bringing this up!

Post by **weemadando** » 2003-05-06 09:36pm

ggs wrote:Admiral Valdemar, wrong AFL.

Gandalf talking about an brawl which involved 2 teams in Australia Football.

The only protection they use is mouthguards, but then againt it isnt that violent a sport as sports go.

Australian Rules is a massively sissified sport.

I remember last year there was a great example of just how sissified.

Two AFL players are pushing each other and one bitchslaps the other. They both copped 4 week suspensions...

At the same time:

An 8 person brawl between South Africa and Australia in Union led to 2 people getting 10 minutes each in the sin bin.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-05-06 09:40pm

That is my all-time favorite Carlin bit.

Fuck soccer. I like my FOOTBALL.

Post by **weemadando** » 2003-05-06 09:50pm

Howedar wrote:That is my all-time favorite Carlin bit.

Fuck soccer. I like my FOOTBALL.

Fuck football. I like my Rugby Union. Now if only my shoulder would fucking heal I'd be able to play it again.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-05-06 09:57pm

An excerpt from one of his funniest routines of all time

In baseball, the object is to go home! Yay! I'm going home!

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2003-05-06 10:01pm

Maybe it's the fact that the Vikings choke every time they get near the Super Bowl, but I just never got into football the way I did baseball. It helps that I was of the age to really get into sports in the late 80s-early 90s, which was simultaneously the high point to date of the Minnesota Twins (two World Series rings in five years) and one of the low points to date of the Vikings (didn't even get to the playoffs during that time period).