2015 NFL & College Football Thread

[ShiftyPowers]

Except no one live blogged his 4 minutes.

2 good passes from Bradley, and he hasn't been demoted to the reserves. All in all, a good week for our hero.

E: Although I suppose if say, LeBron James, decided to be a goalkeeper and actually won a contract with Southampton, the media circus would be huge.

 

[Mus]

Yeah I'm just messing with you, Australia is smaller than Texas too at the end of the day

I watched the green bay game too, they looked good

 

[Bobby]

Australia should adopt college football.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

I'm all for anyone adopting the greatest sport in the world.

 

[Bobby]

Me too, given their sports culture I could see them really taking to it too. It's growing in Mexico and Canada.

 

[Alex]

It's so funny that a whole country is fixated on the equivalent of like Wayne Bridge at Chelsea in the later years.

Because he's changed from the absolute top of his sport to try something else. Imagine LeBron left basketball to try another sport? Or imagine Aaron Rodgers left American Football to try another sport. I'm sure America would track his progress too. Throw in that American sports have always gotten a little air time here (more than rugby would there, but by no means are they close to mainstream), and you can surely understand the interest. Rodgers wouldn't be a star in Rugby in his first year either.

Just to make the squad, after less than a year training for the game, against guys who have grown up playing it, in the most competitive sport market in the world, is a pretty big deal.

 

[Alex]

E: Although I suppose if say, LeBron James, decided to be a goalkeeper and actually won a contract with Southampton, the media circus would be huge.

Exactly. He's being followed for what he was here, not what he is there

 

[Alex]

Me too, given their sports culture I could see them really taking to it too. It's growing in Mexico and Canada.

As much as we have a big sports culture we only have 20m people to spread amongst the sports we already follow...It's a tight market

 

[Bobby]

We've had a few crossover athletes. Deion Sanders was one (football and baseball), Michael Jordan (basketball and baseball) to an extent. Bo Carlos*son is the most prominent of them though, he played football and baseball at a very high level, I think he's the best athlete ever.

 

[Alex]

We've had a few crossover athletes. Deion Sanders was one (football and baseball), Michael Jordan (basketball and baseball) to an extent. Bo Carlos*son is the most prominent of them though, he played football and baseball at a very high level, I think he's the best athlete ever.

Yeah we have over here too. We've had guys that went from Rugby Union to AFL - which are very, very different games. And guys that have come back the other way.

Also been loads between the two Rugby's - which is a bigger switch than it sounds.

Also had Anthony Mundine, who likes to tell everyone he's Australia's best ever athlete, but isn't. He was a high level NRL player, and changed to boxing, and won a world title.

The difference I guess is that in mose of these cases the guys grew up playing and understanding both games. In Hayne's case, he only started following NFL a few years ago because one of his team mates was into it. Then he became quite obsessed with it - and got really into the Madden games. To quit at the very top of the NRL to pursue a career in a game he's never played, a sport which is number 1 in a big sporting nation of over 320m people; yet isn't even popular in your nation is a pretty big leap of faith.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Because he's changed from the absolute top of his sport to try something else. Imagine LeBron left basketball to try another sport? Or imagine Aaron Rodgers left American Football to try another sport. I'm sure America would track his progress too. Throw in that American sports have always gotten a little air time here (more than rugby would there, but by no means are they close to mainstream), and you can surely understand the interest. Rodgers wouldn't be a star in Rugby in his first year either.

Just to make the squad, after less than a year training for the game, against guys who have grown up playing it, in the most competitive sport market in the world, is a pretty big deal.

Rodgers obviously wouldn't, but I'm confident most NFL running backs and tight ends could be stars in Rugby League straight away. Hell, AFL is actively recruiting former lower level college basketball players, so that leads me to believe the standard of athlete down there is relatively low compared to someone like Adrian Peterson.

 

[Mus]

As tap ruckman, that's like random AFL players being punters in the NFL i.e Sav Rocca who literally retired because he was too old for AFL at 33

 

[Alex]

Rodgers obviously wouldn't, but I'm confident most NFL running backs and tight ends could be stars in Rugby League straight away. Hell, AFL is actively recruiting former lower level college basketball players, so that leads me to believe the standard of athlete down there is relatively low compared to someone like Adrian Peterson.

The basketballers are recruited as ruckman - whose main job it is to be tall then just clear the ball.

No way would they be able to come over and go straight into Rugby League or the more skillful positions in AFL. It's quite ignorant to assume so. You realise that even for a nation of 20m people, we generally finish top 5-10 in the Summer Olympic medal tally? And Olympic sports are given very little money and time here outside of swimming. All of our junior male sports stars go into AFL, Rugby League and Cricket.

And besides that, it's not about the pure athlete. That's the part of the game Hayne has. It's the nuances. It's knowing where to be, what to do. Catching the ball. Running for 80 minutes (that's something the NFL guys would struggle with for a start). The average NRL player covers 11km in a match. AFL average is around 15km. Based on the data I could find, receivers and Quarterbacks average about 2km in a game which lasts longer. They would also have no idea of the skills - especially doing both sides, defending and attacking. Not to mention hitting and being hit without pads, and running without blockers. There is as much to learn in our games as there is in yours. Being an athlete is only step 1.

There has been loads of former Australian sprinters, and similar try to make it at NRL, and they've generally always struggled.

I'm sure some of them could become good after a few years, but they certainly wouldn't get over here and tear it apart from the get-go.

 

[Alex]

As tap ruckman, that's like random AFL players being punters in the NFL i.e Sav Rocca who literally retired because he was too old for AFL at 33

Yep exactly. Rocca was dropped to the VFL (which is like being put in the training squad) for his AFL team, and so went to the NFL - then played 7 seasons.

Darren Bennett was the other, and he was decent but retired from AFL because he kept getting injured, then had a 12 year career in the NFL.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

I could provide a list of 20 players who could dominate Rugby League with 1 year of training on the rules. Hell, Adoree Carlos*son is like 19 years old and he'd be on there.

 

[saikat]

{{ WATCH ^ LIVE }} Juventud de las Piedras vs Emelec Streaming Copa Sudamericana : ve

https://www.reddit.com/3lcfgd/
https://www.reddit.com/3lcfgd/
https://www.reddit.com/3lcfgd/

 

[Alex]

I could provide a list of 20 players who could dominate Rugby League with 1 year of training on the rules. Hell, Adoree Carlos*son is like 19 years old and he'd be on there.

Again I think you're basing it way too much on physical athleticism. But anyway, we're never going to know.

Shock! American dismisses other nations and thinks they're the world's best!

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Athletically, for a physical game dominated by speed and strength? We are the world's best!

 

[Mus]

Athletically, for a physical game dominated by speed and strength? We are the world's best!

Can't speak for Rugby but AFL is definitely more skill based

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Not really talking about AFL. Not a lot of our guys can kick. But we do have an awful lot of 6'4'' 250 pound guys who make their living going up and catching the ball.