http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/04/3.25.04/Boiardi.html George Boiardi, a senior history major and defenseman on Cornell's varsity lacrosse team from Washington, D.C., died after being struck in the chest with a lacrosse ball late in the fourth quarter of a game against Binghamton University March 17 at Schoellkopf Field. wimp.
Its got to be MLS out of those choices. The diving, the acting, the rolling around on the ground like you just got shot...thats pretty darn wimpy. Try boxing out 6'9, 240 lb. guy like Ben Wallace and we'll see if you still think the NBA is a wimpy sport. I love soccer, but hands down, its the most wimpy.
C'mon...seriously. Do we have to start a which sport dives more thread...because thats a no brainer. Its the worst part of soccer.
From Wikipedia: "Collision sports": NHL, NFL, MLL/NLL "Contact sports": MLS, NBA "Non-contact": MLB People sometimes forget that there's a good deal of "boxing out" in soccer, too. For example, most corner kicks. Or most "walls" in front of free kicks. Not to mention shoulder-to-shoulder contact allowed in the open field when going for a ball. Soccer is a contact sport, no matter how you slice it. The rulebooks allow for it. I've had ribs bruised on multiple occasions from playing recreational soccer. I've seen plenty of "shoulder checks" that have knocked opponents to the ground in recreational soccer. And that doesn't count head-to-head collisions. The Dynamo and Fire had a nasty one a couple weeks ago. There was one in the USA game in the Copa America several weeks ago. And I've seen 2 different Dynamo players needing to come out of games to have their head bandaged (from bleeding) in the past several weeks. Now basketball may have more contact than soccer, but it's essentially the same type of contact. And soccer still has a lot of it.
watching the fifa u20 there was like 10 minutes of people falling and not getting back up and the play stopping from this i'm sorry but that in its self makes soccer sissy i think when someone gets hit they should get back and go at it again not stop play for a wussy cuddling up in a ball.
I think you are using too strong of a word in "wimpiest." Baseball may be classified as a "non-collision" sport, but it is so intricate and intellectual. Watching baseball is perhaps the most mind-blowing experience of any sport. The strategy involved is second to none.
It would be nice if your propensity to start idiotic threads was limited to fora like Soccer in the USA. Posters like you already dragged that one down into a cesspool of stupidity. Please don't lower this forum, too.
Why was this thread started? Because, while it was phrased humorously, it taps into a very real issue on a deeper level of American acceptance of pro sports and how "manly" they seem. Or how much "blood thirst" for collisions they deliver. This is a real factor. It has a very real financial dollar amount. All the pro sports leagues and sports broadcasting media have to grapple with this issue. You can see it in the replays of injuries on sports telecasts. You can see it inflated height and weight figures in player bios. You can see it in leagues tinkering with their rules. You can see it in teams and leagues promoting certain stars over others. Whether we like or not, or whether we think we're "above" it or not, it's a very big part of the entertainment of pro sports. And it's not an uncommon topic of discussion on soccer boards like BigSoccer. I can't tell you how many threads I've seen where this topic comes up sooner or later. It's in the American sports fan's mindset, whether we like it or not.
Well we could discuss which soccer leagues around the world are more or less wimpy than MLS, but that would be a whole other thread. For example, the Scottish Premier League is reputed to be very physical. Many of this board have made the case that the EPL is more physically rigorous than MLS. Etc. I don't feel like starting that thread - if someone else wants to, have at it.
Well, my take is that if NFL players have to put on all that padding so they don't get hurt then they are a bunch of puss!es! They should ditch NFL and play Rugby.
You didn't see Albert Bell drive his forearm into the chest of a second baseman back in the late 90's. I think it was during Albert's stint with the Orioles.
Yeah, Albert Belle was one crazy mofo. Also, many a catchers have had their career ended due to a collsion at the plate. That is a pretty dangerous position to play.
The one thing baseball has, which no one has mentioned yet, is Creatin-induced upper-body mass used to slug baseballs out of the park (even if it sometimes comes with a Budweiser-induced gut below it). Is this more "manly" than thigh muscles that look like tree trunks used to blast line-drive shots that rip holes in the net from 30 yards out? Baseball players weigh more on average than soccer players. But if a track meet were held between the Yankees and the Galaxy, I think the Galaxy might win the sprints as well as the distance events.
All you threw out there was a bunch of BS that doesn't really answer or reply to anything discussed on this thread. Performance-enhancing drugs are not only used in baseball ... I am sure they are used in the game of soccer to an extent. A thread and comment such as these really keep me from enjoying soccer too much.
Alright people, baseball is the wussiest. I don't care how much intellect and strategy is involved, it involves too much downtime. By the time someone makes a hit all the base runners are fully rested and ready to make another sprint. Honestly I can enjoy baseball in short bursts, but it's really hard for me to enjoy watching an entire game. Okay, like... I'll say this: football players run at each other at full force. I mean no holds barred. That's why padding is important. Rugby on the other hand involves some etiquette to make sure no one gets seriously injured. They used to not wear wear padding in football, but too many people died playing it. That's American athletes for you. Well y'know when a guy flexes he usually shows off his arms, so yes the "Creatin-induced upper-body mass" is in fact more manly than "thigh muscles that look like tree trunks". And honestly I can understand a guy showing off his arm muscles, but a guy showing off his legs is slightly disturbing. And while Galaxy, sorry wait DC Unit-- screw it, any team other than LA, Columbus, and Salt Lake could beat the Yankees in distance, the Yankees would definitely win in sprinting. Soccer's an endurance sport, not a sprinting sport. Though I'm sure any running back in the NFL could beat either of them. 40-yard dash anyone?