Rugby or American Football!?

[Bully Wee Villa]

Disagree. Share the love. I doubt Scotland could ever have a team but if the inevitable Tottenham franchise are marketed as a British Lions of NFL, rather than just a "London" team, they could maybe play a game a season at Murrayfield/Celtic Park.

[Homer Thompson]

The people in the Borders are no righters!!

Agree with all of your post though. It's a funny one, see if Scotland had a team... I wouldn't support them. It's Americas game, leave them to it IMO.

I dunno, watching the games live, even at a lower level was a lot of fun. If Scotland ever had an NFL team I'd support it, although its almost certainly never going to.

Disagree. Share the love. I doubt Scotland could ever have a team but if the inevitable Tottenham franchise are marketed as a British Lions of NFL, rather than just a "London" team, they could maybe play a game a season at Murrayfield/Celtic Park.

This is a far more likely prospect

[itzdrk]

In a Debate at work over what sport is better, give your opinions!!

American football is better. But in the way that standing in dug shite is better than a seagull shitting on your jacket.

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[itzdrk]

I find rugby fans very off putting people in general but the majority of Throwball fans I have met tend to be rather weird individuals.

I struggle to comprehend how you can emotionally invest in a sports team through television though, I appear to be in the minority with that viewpoint nowadays

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[invergowrie arab]

Possibly. As long as you know the basics, though, its possible to watch it without understand the complexities.

Probably way more, both in participation and spectators. Scotland has had a, relatively high profile American Football team in the past, the crowds were in the low hundreds. While it was a long time ago Im not sure there would be a huge increase if it were to have one now. It does have teams but playing at lower level than in the past.

Rugby is hugely popular, particularly in the Borders

If by the low hundreds you mean an average crowd of 11,000. The claymores were the third biggest sports team behind the old firm in terms of average crowd at the time.

This is some distance more than what Edinburgh or Glasgow get now.

Crowds at club rugby in the borders and elsewhere have absolutely collapsed in the professional era. The Borders couldn't even sustain their pro team. With crowds of around 1200 some ice hockey teams get more.

Undoubtedly more people play rugby than American football, around 12,000 adult males, and have a day out at murrayfield. However 6 nations crowds tend to feel about 50/50 home and away fans these days with a huge number of people, especially women, seemingly there for a party with little interest or understanding of the game. Rugby is pretty much tennis 99% of people get interested for a couple of weeks a year.

[Albertlegend]

I'm an NFL fan so I'm obviously going to say NFL, those that use the stop start argument clearly have never watched a game, it's 40 seconds between plays a minute if someone takes a time out, quite often teams go hurry up and there are no breaks it's play after play. I also find it a strange argument given how stop start rugby can be, forever collapsing scrums, kicking for touch constantly and endless penalties waiting for the kicker to get over his weird twitches for him to kick it. I don't hate rugby if Scotland are playing chances are I'll watch it but it's hardly a free flowing sport of skill and flowing moves. It is as tough as f**k tho.

To be honest both sports are completely different and the only thing the have in common is a similar shaped ball. It would be like comparing Soccer to Gaelic Football

[itzdrk]

Reported for saying soccer

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[RedRob72]

Enjoy the American Football, and the Rugby Union. Rugby League is better to watch than both of them though. The Australian NRL highlights on Premier Sports is a must watch in our house. Starts again March 3rd!

[Homer Thompson]

If by the low hundreds you mean an average crowd of 11,000. The claymores were the third biggest sports team behind the old firm in terms of average crowd at the time.

This is some distance more than what Edinburgh or Glasgow get now.

Crowds at club rugby in the borders and elsewhere have absolutely collapsed in the professional era. The Borders couldn't even sustain their pro team. With crowds of around 1200 some ice hockey teams get more.

Undoubtedly more people play rugby than American football, around 12,000 adult males, and have a day out at murrayfield. However 6 nations crowds tend to feel about 50/50 home and away fans these days with a huge number of people, especially women, seemingly there for a party with little interest or understanding of the game. Rugby is pretty much tennis 99% of people get interested for a couple of weeks a year.

I completely forgot about the Claymores I was down south while they were around so never got to see them play. I was going further back to the Lions, who played in the late 80s/early 90s. A quick google suggests their crowds were in the low thousands rather than hundreds too - didnt seem like it at the time At that time, though, it would still have been comparitively low compared to the total number of people watching rugby.

Its maybe not a fair comparison, given theres only ever been one American football team in the country, but the combined rugby crowds would still be regularly higher, I would have thought.

[honestly united]

I think its pretty hard to make any sort of comparison. If by American Football your talking about the NFL only then the only really comparable in rugby would be say the European Cup or even maybe the 6 Nations. having not checked I would assume that TV audiences may be similar for a regular season game in the NFL to a European game in rugby, however if you are assuming 6 Nations then there probably isn't much contest (I would guess more people watched the Calcutta game on Saturday vs this weekends superbowl but Im willing to be proven wrong)

If your talking club rugby vs club American Football, then rugby wins hands down. The best Scottish American football team, plays at Hamilton Rugby club and the crowds are into the hundreds at best even though they are playing in the top teir in the UK. Club rugby in Scotland although not followed that much, may teams will average at least 500-1000 at home games in the top flight

[1320Lichtie]

I think its pretty hard to make any sort of comparison. If by American Football your talking about the NFL only then the only really comparable in rugby would be say the European Cup or even maybe the 6 Nations. having not checked I would assume that TV audiences may be similar for a regular season game in the NFL to a European game in rugby, however if you are assuming 6 Nations then there probably isn't much contest (I would guess more people watched the Calcutta game on Saturday vs this weekends superbowl but Im willing to be proven wrong)

If your talking club rugby vs club American Football, then rugby wins hands down. The best Scottish American football team, plays at Hamilton Rugby club and the crowds are into the hundreds at best even though they are playing in the top teir in the UK. Club rugby in Scotland although not followed that much, may teams will average at least 500-1000 at home games in the top flight

You think more than 116 million people watched Scotland v England at the Rugby on Saturday? Am I reading that correctly?

College football games attract attendances of upto 112k a game, American football will absolutely dwarf rugby.

Eta: I assume you're on about UK viewing figures???? If so I think I read 4 million watched the super bowl in the UK, considering it was on in the middle of the morning that's pretty decent.

[Homer Thompson]

I think its pretty hard to make any sort of comparison. If by American Football your talking about the NFL only then the only really comparable in rugby would be say the European Cup or even maybe the 6 Nations. having not checked I would assume that TV audiences may be similar for a regular season game in the NFL to a European game in rugby, however if you are assuming 6 Nations then there probably isn't much contest (I would guess more people watched the Calcutta game on Saturday vs this weekends superbowl but Im willing to be proven wrong)

If your talking club rugby vs club American Football, then rugby wins hands down. The best Scottish American football team, plays at Hamilton Rugby club and the crowds are into the hundreds at best even though they are playing in the top teir in the UK. Club rugby in Scotland although not followed that much, may teams will average at least 500-1000 at home games in the top flight

I was talking about club competitions in this country as a spectator sport, not tv audiences.

[CountyFan]

I don't see a separate rugby sub-forum with 225 topics.

[MarkoRaj]

I'm an NFL fan so I'm obviously going to say NFL, those that use the stop start argument clearly have never watched a game, it's 40 seconds between plays a minute if someone takes a time out

I must have just imagined staying up watching watching a game for 4 hours on on Sunday night then

[1320Lichtie]

I must have just imagined staying up watching watching a game for 4 hours on on Sunday night then

What???

[Homer Thompson]

I must have just imagined staying up watching watching a game for 4 hours on on Sunday night then

The fact that the play clock stops each time in American football when it doesnt it rugby does mean the game lasts longer but it doesnt prove that one is more "stop start" over the other in terms of gameplay

[Rugster]

Soccer

Get the f**k out.

[BuddieInDundee]

Rugby, but bias as I played it at a decent level until two years ago. I've tried to get into NFL rather than dismissing it completely, but found it far too long winded to find enjoyable. Don't really get the whole 'which sport is smarter' argument, every sport is complicated and requires intelligence at some level. Those who say Rugby comes down to who's the bigger/quicker team has no idea what they're talking about.

[Sloop John B]

I don't like Rugby on TV and Scotland games are unbearable. The atmosphere is dead and the whole postcard Scotland schtick feels incredibly backwards. When half the crowd supports the opposition or comes for the day out it's hard to care about it. They don't support any local teams or give rugby a second thought apart from this time of year. That and the whole shitting in pint glasses, lads lads lads, being arseholes thing that a significant portion of rugby players seem to like.

Club rugby is pretty enjoyable as flair players are able to succeed more than dour Professional games which are very attritional IMO. But watching that Japan V South Africa game at the last World Cup was about as much fun as I had watching a non football sport. Rugby League is fucking pish though

I enjoy the NFL and understand and I understand it more and more each year, If I ever had the chance to go to a live I'm game I'd absolutely love it. But If I watched a grassroots American game, It would be fucking rubbish.

[honestly united]

You think more than 116 million people watched Scotland v England at the Rugby on Saturday? Am I reading that correctly?

College football games attract attendances of upto 112k a game, American football will absolutely dwarf rugby.

Eta: I assume you're on about UK viewing figures???? If so I think I read 4 million watched the super bowl in the UK, considering it was on in the middle of the morning that's pretty decent.

yes was talking UK viewing figures - I had assume the thread was with regards to the popularity in this country not globally. 4 million for the Superbowl is impressive, how does that rank with a regular season game?

American Football though (and this goes for most US Sport) is really popular in the NFL, and US College / High School football, but apart from the Canadian league is not a popular spectator sport anywhere else. And in the US there are pretty much no leagues underneath the NFL so all the support is focussed on a handful of teams. The equivalent would be the UK having 16 football teams in a league as a professional league, and every other team being in leagues equivalent to the juniors, apart from every university having teams playing in front to tens of thousands of people, and having thousands of grown men going to watch their local school team.

alking about club competitions in this country as a spectator sport, not tv audiences.

The Claymores aside, am assuming that no one here has been to see one of the Scottish teams play in the BAFL? Which is American Football is that good a sport I would be assuming people would be doing?

if you take the pro sides Glasgow were selling out Scotstoun last season, the stadium is now to small for them, but there isn't many 15-20k stadiums in Scotland which would be the right size for them. Avg's last year for Glasgow of approx. 6500 and Edinburgh approx. 5000 with Edinburgh v Glasgow this year about 25,000