Posts Tagged: Rugby Football

NFL American Football — Comments Off
11
Dec 09

The AFL Frowns Upon Your World Cup Shenanigans

FOOTY! WHAT!?God, I love Australia. Nowhere else in the world will you find so many football codes constantly warring with each other for the hearts and minds of the people. How many epic pub brawls have started over rugby league fans calling Aussie rules a girl’s game, or vice versa? The world may never know, and more’s the pity.

The latest battle in the Aussie Football Wars, however, won’t be fought over beers. Lost amidst the massive English and American bids for the 2018 World Cup is the fact that Australia would like to host FIFA’s big show, too, because soccer is growing down under, too.

And guess what? The AFL and NRL aren’t giving up their stadiums for your girl’s game. Oh, no.

See, unlike England and America, Australia has not one, but two major pro football leagues in season in June and July, and those leagues aren’t too keen on giving up some of their stadiums in the middle of the season. Sure, the World Cup might be the biggest sporting event on the planet and might bring unprecedented tourism dollars to Australia. That won’t stop the AFL and NRL from looking at it as a not only a huge shot in the arm to the competition, but a massive pain in the ass.

Perhaps if Football Federation Australia really wants to follow through on its darkhorse bid, it should start considering some new construction. Melbourne Cricket Ground can fit 100,000 people, but for a soccer game, they’ll all be about half a mile away from the action. Imagine paying the GDP of Slovenia for front row seats to the World Cup Final, only to find your view is partially obstructed by that bench 20 yards in front of you.

As much as I’d love to see the World Cup return to the States, I’m now hoping Australia does get it soon, if only to see just how ugly and bitter the Aussie Football Wars can get. I can’t wait to see the AFL devise ways to lure packs of Brazilians and Ivorians down to Docklands. “We’ll show ya some real footy, mates!” The resulting confusion alone might make for great television.

(Spotted on Pitch Invasion.)

NFL American Football — Comments Off
18
Nov 09

Spot Kicks: The Fine Art of Taking a Knee

Maurice Jones-DrewThree years ago, I wrote about Carolina Panthers v. New Orleans Saints game in which the Saints, down by four points with 1:56 left to go, failed to stop DeShaun Foster from getting a key first down and let him run into the end zone for a touchdown. The Saints then scored a TD of their own less than a minute later and made a two-point conversion, cutting the 11-point lead to 3 and giving them a shot at winning.

I suggested that DeShaun Foster was better off taking a knee after getting that first down, rather that running into the end zone, because then the Saints never would have gotten the ball, and the Panthers could have run out the clock with a 4-point lead. As you might expect, the FanHouse commenters thought mockery was the proper response to that idea, in part because the Panthers still won the game.

Three years later, Maurice Jones-Drew takes a knee at the 1-yard line for the Jacksonville Jaguars, setting up a game winning 21-yard field goal and preventing the New York Jets from getting the ball back. It was a riskier move, because the Jags were trailing by a point with 1:48 left, but Jones-Drew seems to be attracting universal praise for making a smart strategic play.

The point here is that you don’t give your opponent the opportunity to score if you don’t have to. This is why Bill Belichick really went for it on 4th down on his own 28-yard line against the Colts. Converting meant Peyton Manning would not get the ball, and the Pats could run out the clock. Punting meant Manning was all but guaranteed to get the ball and engineer a game-winning drive. Plus, Belichick put his faith in his best player — Tom Brady — to get the job done.

We shouldn’t criticize Belichick for choosing to go for it. We should, however, get on his case about the play he chose to call. Honestly, the coaches couldn’t have picked something better than that?

Here are some other interesting football stories you might have missed:

  • UNC serves up its most fortunate illegal forward pass since 1895. [WRAL FANKind]
  • Dan Marino inadvertently shares his true feelings about the Wildcat formation. [Awful Announcing]
  • Chicago Bears fans are sore losers, even when they win. [FanHouse]
  • Allen Iverson as a Philadelphia… Eagle? Right. [The Sporting Blog]
  • Japan calls on South Africa to ban the vuvuzela. Yeah, good luck with that, fellas. [The Guardian]
  • Katy Perry launches new line of West Ham United lingerie. Now we know what Michelle Obama is getting for Christmas. [The Guardian]
  • Belated congratulations to the Raleigh Venom, champions of Division II USA Women’s Rugby. [WRAL FANKind]