tisis why soccer players are more athletic than American footballers

[TensionKiller]

i believe americans are the most athletic people on the planet. the track record backs that up, or at the very least ensures that we're ranked among the most athletic. frankly i don't see how anybody without biase could argue against that.

boxing is my favorite sport to watch. noting comes close. then it's hockey, and nothing is close behind that.

anybody can play in the nfl and NBA. very few nations produce men who are that athletic at that size. the rim in the NBA is ten feet off of the ground. there are quite a few top european big men in the NBA, but for the most part the smaller european players are less athletic than the american ones.

the MLB and the NHL have a ton of foreigners. there are fewer americans in the NHL than canadians. you hear a boatload of spanish in the MLB, because of the huge latin population.

Athletic in speed? Marathon runners do a pace of 20 KM on a treadmill, or 2 hours for 26.2 miles. That is athletic is it not? African's dominate that.

Skiing is damn athletic, if anyone has done that, they will know the strength that is needed to down hill.

American's have the best facilities and drive sports on. Scholarships to play A Football or basketball etc.... never in the UK for any sport.

Jamaica are the real sprinters BTW. The US had Green, Gaitlin, Marion Jone's who were all cheats.

The US has too many problems with drug cheats IMO.

[Jam Jars]

you sprint many yards on each offensive play if you're a receiver. likewise with the corner covering him. then you give it a brisk jog back. you end up running many miles.

it's futile for me to argue something about football when you've clearly never watched a game.

Average distance traveled 0.19 miles (0.3KM) for an NFL player. 7.24 miles (11.49km) for a football player.



http://www.plainsoccer.com/2009/09/d...-per-game.html

[rorymac]

American Footballers have the advantage when it comes to size and speed (by and large), but athleticism is about more than that. The talent pool for American Football is smaller, and is further limited by the fact that one generally has to be 6 foot or taller.

I'm no expert though and am happy to be proven wrong

[TensionKiller]

But you bring up endurance so much but dismiss explosiveness, speed, and strength which NFL players have in spades.

I'm not saying american athletes could play wherever they want either.

Those attributes are great, but soccer players have speed too. They look short but most are 6 foot these days, low body fat and have a lot of speed, agility and power in their legs. In MMA a lot of ex soccer players have tremendous kicks from Brazil etc... Heck even the power they generate to head a ball is impressive once you play Soccer.

[Cutthroat]

There's only like 8 mins when the ball is in play, run many miles? Yeah right. Anyone that knows anything about athletes knows that the bigger the muscles the easier they tire. Have you ever seen a muscular person win a marathon?

Ray Lewis who is 37 years old, 6-1 240lbs or 108kg, he wakes up at 5:30 AM to train. He warms up by biking 30-40 miles a day, after that he's got 3 more workouts planned. Do you honestly think these guys are tired of running?

These guys are in amazing shape, most of them are former track stars. I just proved you wrong with Lewis' workouts.

Even guys that are pushing 300+lbs MUST be that weight or they'll be bulled over, they gain that weight on purpose like a sumo wrestler does. Even though they weigh 300+ they are extremely agile and in great condition, however there are a couple of guys that get by with pure genetics.

[SirTomJones]

i believe americans are the most athletic people on the planet. the track record backs that up, or at the very least ensures that we're ranked among the most athletic. frankly i don't see how anybody without biase could argue against that.

boxing is my favorite sport to watch. noting comes close. then it's hockey, and nothing is close behind that.

anybody can play in the nfl and NBA. very few nations produce men who are that athletic at that size. the rim in the NBA is ten feet off of the ground. there are quite a few top european big men in the NBA, but for the most part the smaller european players are less athletic than the american ones.

the MLB and the NHL have a ton of foreigners. there are fewer americans in the NHL than canadians. you hear a boatload of spanish in the MLB, because of the huge latin population.

I was hoping for some bites with that tongue in cheek comment.

America are the best in terms of medal count. America does however no doubt have larger funds for training facilities that all other countries.

At London 2012 the American men won gold in the 110m hurdles,triple jump and Decathlon. Not the stellar events in many peoples eyes.

as for you comment 'very few nations produce men who are that athletic at that size' More nations play basketball than American football obviously hence why more and more Europeans are getting involved in the NBA. The set up isn't there like it is in America but it is gradually getting better but it will take time.


Tennis is an athletic sport. America had a stronghold on the men's game for years. You look at that sport now and you have a Serb, Brit, Spaniards and a Swiss man dominating.

[SirTomJones]

and I hate these threads.


The OP was obviously fishing for bites.

[TensionKiller]

Ray Lewis who is 37 years old, 6-1 240lbs or 108kg, he wakes up at 5:30 AM to train. He warms up by biking 30-40 miles a day, after that he's got 3 more workouts planned. Do you honestly think these guys are tired of running?

These guys are in amazing shape, most of them are former track stars. I just proved you wrong with Lewis' workouts.

Even guys that are pushing 300+lbs MUST be that weight or they'll be bulled over, they gain that weight on purpose like a sumo wrestler does. Even though they weigh 300+ they are extremely agile and in great condition, however there are a couple of guys that get by with pure genetics.

I am an avid cyclist and Cycling 40 miles is a lot, lot, lot easier than running 10 miles. I also use to run 18 miles. Riding 40 miles is like running 5 miles to me. You can coast on cycles, so time is important. If he isn't doing 40 miles in 2 hours, then that's slow. 20MPH is what is a decent speed. When it comes to running, I was doing Speed 13, AKA 13 KM which is about 8 MPH or so at a guess. Now the running was a killer.

My lovely bikes!

[AssasinKing]

somebody in the secondary, or a wide receiver, will run many miles each game. same with any basketball player, seven footers included.

the fact remains that soccer players cry like girls at the slightest contact. i'd be a bigger fan of what is a decent sport if it weren't so apparent that the athletes are soft.

This guy really talks some crap

First of all....How can you talk about how much these guys run, when there are more breaks in the game than actual playing time

The ball doesnt stay in player usually longer than 5-10 seconds...if that....the people are constantly having a recovery period

In football (soccer) you have 45 minutes, with throw ins a corners that hardly slow down play being the only 'breaks' they have...they get 15 minutes at half time

Also, your comparing a contact sport with a realistically non contact....

Football may be 'contact' but to an extent...as is basketball

American Football is a pure collision contact...

If your a fan of american football thats fine but dont talk nonsense

Comparing sports does not work, everyone is specifically trained for their sport

[cupocity303]

To be fair, this video really doesn't mean anything. I'm not familiar with American NFL Football as I don't watch it or the positions but a 'receiver' (is it?) can do what Ronaldo did just the same. Some of these guys spring down that line once they catch the football really fast.

And I've stuck up for Soccer in here.