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Don't you think any kind of challenge in a team setting would have provided the same growth without the side effect of possibly irreversible brain damage? I'm

Don't you think any kind of challenge in a team setting would have provided the same growth without the side effect of possibly irreversible brain damage? I'm happy you like football, but I don't think you can say it forms character in a unique way, it's just a team sport and there's tons of team sport where hitting people with your head aren't the bread and butter of it. Try volleyball, if you have to fuck up something I would rather go with the knees and hips rather than the head.

ApolloFortyNine 9y ago
"Just a team sport" No other sport works you as hard as Football does. Between three-a-days (practicing 8am to 8pm) for weeks, and each practice primarily consisting of basically playing football (running play after play, at 100%, for practice, with tackling), Football works you harder than any other sport. I'll get told by some this is just my opinion, but the vast majority of other sports are not shear tests of strength the same way Football is. If you're a lineman in football, every play is practically you bench pressing another player your size over the field. And it's the same for every lineman, and anyone on offense has to do the same. So yes, I believe Football works character differently due to the sheer difficulty of the sport physically.
- rpearl 9y ago
  For swimming at a college level, we got up at about 4:30, swam 5-7, lifted 7-8, then classes, then swam 4-6, then stretches/bodyweight exercises. This was while classes were in session. During the winter training trip, we would do the same, but also swam sprints in the middle of the day. Sometimes other teams, including the football team, would try to use the pool for off-sport workouts. We would crush them. But when we ran, they would not outrun us. And that's just one sport I have personal experience with. Please do not discount what other athletes are doing--any sport is an intentionally competitive environment, everyone is looking to gain advantage: that push to go harder is present and is not exclusive to football.
  - ApolloFortyNine 9y ago
    Cardio vs strength training. Also, hitting each other repeatedly. Or, well, directly competing at all with someone else. Not really worth arguing if you don't see it.
- DoubleCribble 9y ago
  >Football works you harder than any other sport. You might change your opinion after a week playing Water Polo. You've got the same level of energy required for sprints and man-handling your opponents as football, but then throw in the added bonus of getting repeatedly squeezed/kicked in the groin (on purpose!), scratched all to hell (no pads!), and the constant attempts at opponents trying to (almost) drown you. You don't just have to be physically strong to play, you've got to be mentally iron-willed to want to get in the pool with the other lunatics.
qq66 9y ago
There is a camaraderie born only of shared violence that seems to be expressed by football players, soldiers, mobsters, that might be hard to replicate in volleyball. I can't claim any firsthand knowledge of it however.
tnecniv 9y ago
> Don't you think any kind of challenge in a team setting would have provided the same growth without the side effect of possibly irreversible brain damage? Different sports are different. I don't think that's hard to believe. I ran track and cross country for 9 years. Those are team sports but there was no camaraderie. People were friendly, sure, but there was no team spirit. There was more camaraderie in the half a year I spent on a rowing team than I experienced in either of those sports.
- kelnos 9y ago
  Sure, but I think the comparison would be easy to make among sports with a similar team dynamic, like between football and soccer, rugby, basketball, etc. Players of the latter sports train and practice just as much (if in different ways) as football players, and the game dynamics of all of them require coordination and teamwork to a similar enough degree that any differences aren't earth-shattering. It's a bit ridiculous to me to suggest that there is nothing like football when it comes to training, teamwork, and camaraderie. That's easily not true.

ApolloFortyNine 9y ago

"Just a team sport" No other sport works you as hard as Football does. Between three-a-days (practicing 8am to 8pm) for weeks, and each practice primarily consisting of basically playing football (running play after play, at 100%, for practice, with tackling), Football works you harder than any other sport. I'll get told by some this is just my opinion, but the vast majority of other sports are not shear tests of strength the same way Football is. If you're a lineman in football, every play is practically you bench pressing another player your size over the field. And it's the same for every lineman, and anyone on offense has to do the same. So yes, I believe Football works character differently due to the sheer difficulty of the sport physically.

rpearl 9y ago
For swimming at a college level, we got up at about 4:30, swam 5-7, lifted 7-8, then classes, then swam 4-6, then stretches/bodyweight exercises. This was while classes were in session. During the winter training trip, we would do the same, but also swam sprints in the middle of the day. Sometimes other teams, including the football team, would try to use the pool for off-sport workouts. We would crush them. But when we ran, they would not outrun us. And that's just one sport I have personal experience with. Please do not discount what other athletes are doing--any sport is an intentionally competitive environment, everyone is looking to gain advantage: that push to go harder is present and is not exclusive to football.
- ApolloFortyNine 9y ago
  Cardio vs strength training. Also, hitting each other repeatedly. Or, well, directly competing at all with someone else. Not really worth arguing if you don't see it.
DoubleCribble 9y ago
>Football works you harder than any other sport. You might change your opinion after a week playing Water Polo. You've got the same level of energy required for sprints and man-handling your opponents as football, but then throw in the added bonus of getting repeatedly squeezed/kicked in the groin (on purpose!), scratched all to hell (no pads!), and the constant attempts at opponents trying to (almost) drown you. You don't just have to be physically strong to play, you've got to be mentally iron-willed to want to get in the pool with the other lunatics.

qq66 9y ago

There is a camaraderie born only of shared violence that seems to be expressed by football players, soldiers, mobsters, that might be hard to replicate in volleyball. I can't claim any firsthand knowledge of it however.

tnecniv 9y ago

> Don't you think any kind of challenge in a team setting would have provided the same growth without the side effect of possibly irreversible brain damage? Different sports are different. I don't think that's hard to believe. I ran track and cross country for 9 years. Those are team sports but there was no camaraderie. People were friendly, sure, but there was no team spirit. There was more camaraderie in the half a year I spent on a rowing team than I experienced in either of those sports.

kelnos 9y ago
Sure, but I think the comparison would be easy to make among sports with a similar team dynamic, like between football and soccer, rugby, basketball, etc. Players of the latter sports train and practice just as much (if in different ways) as football players, and the game dynamics of all of them require coordination and teamwork to a similar enough degree that any differences aren't earth-shattering. It's a bit ridiculous to me to suggest that there is nothing like football when it comes to training, teamwork, and camaraderie. That's easily not true.