Be Excellent To Each Other

Hello. Imagine I'm an alien, and this is the bit of the movie where you introduce me to your strange earth custom (a bit like George Peppard giving hot dogs to aliens in Battle Beyond the Stars).

You may be into football though, or rugby or some other competitive team sport. You may play it but not watch it. You may watch it but not play it. You may live & breathe it - and so on.

If so, why? I'll accept 'Ooo, the smell of Grimsby grounds, first thing on a Sunday morning, nothing better!' as an answer, even though it makes nought but a dab of sense to me. I'm not asking 'What's the point of sports?' or 'Why do you bother watching football?', so let's not start a heated debate between Wheezy McNerdlinger and Flash O'Hunkington.

Rugby League.

As I'm from Hull and we have two teams in Super League. Much less hostile atmosphere than footy, a great spectacle to watch, less whiny pussies than you get in football and talking back to the ref is proper naughty.

Crudge Hulkfast.

Ice hockey is the greatest sport in the world.

No other sport can match the 30mph skating, the 100mph slapshots. In no other sport can play be end to end to end in less than ten seconds. Everything is geared towards keeping play going, the boards and plexi, substitutions occur within the game play to keep the speed up (and every 30-60 seconds, so each player is skating flat out). With five skaters on the ice, the forwards outnumber the defenders. The rules combine to punish time wasting, goal hanging and overly defensive play. No other sport has rules that practically force teams to attack constantly. No other sport has even the most mundane, low-skill game producing moments that bring you to your feet in excitement.

No other sport combines the skills and hand-eye coordination required to corral and control a speeding puck with the agility and violence of a good body checking. No other sport has the concept that if you cross the line of acceptable behaviour, you will face immediate retribution from your opponent. The rules are hard but fair.

And no other sport does all this in a family atmosphere. A good hockey game is an all-out adrenaline rush, leaving you feeling as breathless as the players.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are on at the moment and the Final starts soon. Watch it. Just watch it.

http://openmike.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/07/867891.aspx

I never know what the fuck is going on in ice hockey, there seems to be a face off every 30 seconds for some reason I can't fathom. It does seem like it would be quite fun to watch because of its fast paced nature, same with basketball but to support a sport with such a little community in this country is very off putting to me.

I like gymnastics and athlectics. Also high-diving.

I like these sports because I enjoy watching people's personal aim to achieve a perfection of movement to the highest standard that the body can train to achieve.

I also like ice-skating because, you know, I'm a girl

I support Spurs, because I secretly enjoy persistent disappointment.

you must have hated the carling cup final

I love yankee throwball! Um, I'm not sure why, I think its all the large gentlemen crashing into each other. The sight of two big guys going at it hammer and tongs makes my day.














NB. I'm not gay.

Indeed. Actually, I did hate it, because Chelsea were such poor losers. That pee'd me off mightily.

When my twin brothers were born about 14 years ago I set about trying to convert one to supporting Spurs from just a few months old. I indoctrinated him in the way of the loser. The rest of my (North London) family supported Man U, and they ensnared the other twin. I was so glad that Spurs won this year, especially at Wembley as my brothers live about 5 minutes walk from the stadium (on the opposite side of it to me, though) and though he had no ticket he was playing a football match of his own in the park at the foot of the stadium before kick-off which amassed some passing interest from wandering footie supporters, and ran home in time for kick-off.

This new stadium really holds the sound in, though. I used to like the fact that you could just open the windows and listen to any concerts from the old one. there's barely any sound that escapes from the new one, though.

Good to see that no one has mentioned wrestling on this thread as it is clearly theatre rather than sport.

*braces for impact*

Would people actually disagree with that?

Wrestling is a mixture of stuntmen, choreography and theatre. I see no 'sport' in it myself.

Will I be shouted at now?

You're wrong and you're right. Professional wrestling is absolutely not a sport. But real, collegiate, 'amateur' wrestling, is. As much so as Judo.

Exhibition Shirling

well there is proper fighting wrestling aswell that doesnt involving stamping on the floor every time you pretend to punch somebody, still not for me. I do like boxing though, the acceptable way to watch two blokes hitting the shit out of each other.

Curling? Excellent sport.

Football, obviously the most beautiful of games. Having said that I've not seen a live game in the UK for years now and I really have no inclination to change that anytime soon.

Apart from the footie I love American Football, there literally is nothing else like it in the sporting world that matches the cerebral and athletic.

I prefer (at a club level) to watch Rugby League than Union but would rather watch international Union than internation Leaguye matches (no I don't understand it either).

The only sport? I play (other than cricket and football with my nephews) is golf, which I don't play as much as I would like...and which has an awful lot of baggage associated with it.

Yes. Boxing has certainly never been fixed.

Firstly, you'll find that wrestling is most definitely a sport, and has been since the Olympics came into being.

Seconsly, professional wrestling could be said to be a sport, after all, it quite resembles pairs figure-skating. Two people help each other to do moves in order to impress onlookers. All it needs are official judges. (It's already judged unofficially, of course.. on t'internet!)

I do kendo myself, but it's an awful sport to watch. They had it on that "celebrity olympics" thing with Jamie Theakston a while back and it looked rubbish.

I quite like watching bowls on the TV - it;s very peaceful and relaxing.

Firstly, I was meaning the WWWWWWTF type wrestling, yes.

Secondly, yes thats a good comparison. Gayzorz.

Which channels tend to show the NHL stuff? All my knowledge of Ice Hockey comes from videogames and it would be nice to actually watch the Bruins play (er, not that I've any idea if they're in the play-offs) rather than playing as them all the time.

I think we ought to show Zardoz the error of his ways by wrestling him. In our pants.

Only if I get to be 'Ravishing' Rick Rude. You can be Vader. And CUS can be....







....THE SHOCKMASTER!!!

FFS who brought up gay wrestling? That already has its own thread.

Assuming you are in the UK, the hockey community is very large. Hockey is the most popular indoor sport in the country (yes, way above basketball) with attendances for the Elite League raning from 1100 to 5,000 in the arenas like Sheffield and Nottingham. A step below the attendances go from 500 - 2,500. I prefer the rinks mind, the tight confines of a small rink makes the atmosphere incredible. Although the record attendance for a game in this country is 17,245.



Five show it on a Wednesday night and usually show the Stanley Cup Final live when it starts. NASN on Sky (though they may be rebranded Setanta Sports now) show live games all the time.

The Bruins were in the playoffs but went out to the #1 seeded Montreal Canadiens in seven games in the first round. Which is a decent result for a team that wasn't really supposed to be contenders to even qualify for the playoffs and lost a lot of games to injury. It still hurt to lose to Montreal, mind, but the scabs have always had the indian sign over the B's in the playoffs.

I'm a huge Bruins fan, though we're a bit like Aston Villa. Used to be alright, but have been in the doldrums recently only occasionally teasing their fans with a decent run or two.

Oh, I meant the 'jake the snake' form of wrestling, also.

Is that not what he's called? I thought it was something like that. Oops.

No, you're right. It's just faintly amusing.

I like almost all sports. There are a few that don't really draw me in so much, but on the whole I can sit down in front of Sky Sports and be engrossed by lawn bowls within five minutes if I feel in the mood.

Favourite sports are:

Football
Cricket
Rugby Union
American Football
Boxing
Athletics
MMA
Basketball
Curling
etc
etc
etc

I just, basically, love games of all shapes and sizes.

Especially the point of being in the mood, for instance Snooker and Darts are enjoyed the most when on late at night.

When I was younger, I was one of those boffins who resented anyone good at physical activity. As I have grown older, and no more intelligent, I have sought solace in physical achievement. Both for me and to watch. So, in sorta order, my favourite sports:

MMA
Tennis
Footballs*
Track
Gymnastics
Boxing
Field
(Various Places') Strongest Man
Rugby Union
Snooker

I think that's it really. The only actual sport I don't like is cricket, but that's largely because I don't consider darts or golf to be sports. If you like those activities, then that's fine. If pro wrestling was a sport (which it isn't), I'd place it somewhere between track and boxing largely on account of Jushin Liger and Mitsuharu Misawa.


* That'll be 'Soccer', Rugby League and American, on sort of a par.

Hill climbing and indoor bike trials I can watch and ooh and ahh at on TV, just because of the skill involved really.

I like watching England Play, I might watch more footy now that Stoke have been promoted, but probably not to be honest, it just doesn't hold my interest quite that much.

I'd rather play most sports than watch them, I mean in real life, but I like playing ice hocky with DM too, can;t imagind sitting and watching that on the telly.

Football makes everything else look like a shocking pain in the neck to worry about. Were it not for all the homosexual foreigners with gravity issues littering the game, no-one would be even debating whether it was the best sport ever or not. Oh, and Chelsea can fuck off, and all.

Sports?

I have to admitrt I dont' particulry like watching many sports, playing, yes, but watching,awnah. Except (cerain types of racing which I am very partial to wahting. (Generally a bit annoyed that F1 is shown at the same time that I'm at churhc most times, makes watching it fairly hard) Cricket,a slo. Although thats best atualy at the grouns with a bottle of 10 of beer.

Playing them is much more interesting. Although I've lost count of the amount o timesI've hit myself in the face with a squajh ball. Ow.

Davikins, have you been having a nip of the ol' sippin' whiskey?

Not a fan of watching sports either but I've recently got in to playing Tennis a bit more. I'm utterly hopeless at it but enjoy it still. I do plenty of swimming too (in fact that's where I'm off once I've sent this message).

Not that I want to start the debate but you previously asked us for one way in which religion made your life worse.

That's why the good lord gave us VideoPlus, or something.

Well technically they have teams don't they? I say froth away.

I really like watching the snooker on a Sunday afternoon, sat on the sofa all warm, gently dozing in and out of consciousness, mmm.

I may well have had a little bit more alcohol than I was supposed to. What gave it away.

Feh, schedule clashes happen with anything. DVD recorders work. (And I'd say that church is many times more fun anyway - I go out of choice rather than duty) But that's another topic anyway.

Another for snooker here. A godsend during the last days writing my project at Uni.

I'd say darts too, but I can't watch it anymore because it reminds me of Dad too much.

Rowing. Once a year, when the dark blues win.

You are John Paul McQueen from Hollyoaks and I claim my £5.

I like basketball - the showboating nature and the insane skills shown in the NBA and the fast pace are winners for me. Time outs let me fetch beer
I also like the fact that hulking great seven foot players all have to show proper respect to the teeny-tiny referee (take note, footballing refs).