Football vs Figure Skating

[2salch0w]

So, I was watching Europeans last night and noticed the time and figured that the Superbowl should be almost over. Just out of curiosity (so I'd know what people were talking about at work) I clicked over. Seeing the score so close with 4 minutes left to go, I figured I'd just watch it out. What's 4 minutes, right? That's not even a long program.

So I suppose the final 4 minutes I saw were about as thrilling as it gets in football, and it'll certainly hold me over for another 10 years, which is about how long it has been since the last time I even watched a few minutes. My kids even came in from the other room to see what was going on. "You're watching FOOTBALL????" I explained I was just doing research, which brings me to ...

The Top 5 Reasons that Figure Skating is more a Sport than Football
__________________________________________________ ________

5. When there are 35 seconds left to go in a skating program, it's really 35 seconds. There are no time outs to skate to the boards to ask your coach if you should change something. You can't stop the clock to catch your breath.

4. Half the football players looked like they could be on that show The Biggest Loser. Not that there's anything wrong with being that heavy, but you can't call yourself an "athlete" at the same time. Pick one. And then don't wear something so tight fitting that you look like a stuffed sausage.

3. When you fall in skating, you pick yourself up and keep on going. You don't just lay there like a pile of rocks waiting for 3 trainers and a coach to come along and check your boo boos.

2. In football you can actually do something poorly and use it to your advantage, such as an incomplete pass stopping the clock. In skating, if you miss something there is no way it is going to help you.

And the number one reason figure skating is more a sport than football ...

1. Most of the time you're seeing a skating competition they are actually SKATING. Imagine that.


Tim

[Rusty Blades]

What's "football"? 8-)

[Skittl1321]

What's "football"? 8-)

Usually it's the game that plays between the funny commericials, but this year it was the game that I was forced to watch because the commercials were all so bad.

[doubletoe]

Every year on Superbowl Sunday we have our annual adult critique session, where a gold judge/technical specialist reviews our program and/or program elements and gives feedback. So I haven't watched the Superbowl for at least 3 years now. (Notice I didn't say, "I've missed the Superbowl for the past 3 years" LOL!) I had to turn it on right before leaving for the critique just so I would know which teams were playing, in case I ran into a non-skater who expected me to know such things.:roll:

[Kim to the Max]

Living in NY now, I needed to know what was going on with the game....

Friends thought it was funny that I went skating and then came back to watch the 2nd half :)

[fsk8r]

you could always put a few of the ex-pro footballers on "dancing on ice" (or whatever it's called over there) so they can see what a real sport is like. But then being English, I've never considered American Football to be a real sport anyway, as in football they don't pick the ball up and run with it and in rugby they don't wear tons of padding in case they break a finger nail.

We have however, discovered that our ex-Canadian British tennis player took up tennis because he obviously failed to make the grade at hockey.

[sk8er1964]

4. Half the football players looked like they could be on that show The Biggest Loser. Not that there's anything wrong with being that heavy, but you can't call yourself an "athlete" at the same time. Pick one. And then don't wear something so tight fitting that you look like a stuffed sausage.

I am heavy. I am an athlete. I skate 2:40 programs with six jump elements, including multi-revolution jumps, three spins, footwork, spirals and bauers - and I am not the only one out there like me. I train as much as possible within my schedule, with as much seriousness as the thinner skaters at my level.

I know a lot of heavy figure skaters who also consider themselves athletes. Just because you are carrying a few extra pounds doesn't mean that you cannot be an athlete. :roll:

[lovepairs]

The Top 5 Reasons that Figure Skating is more a Sport than Football
__________________________________________________ ________

5. When there are 35 seconds left to go in a skating program, it's really 35 seconds. There are no time outs to skate to the boards to ask your coach if you should change something. You can't stop the clock to catch your breath.

4. Half the football players looked like they could be on that show The Biggest Loser. Not that there's anything wrong with being that heavy, but you can't call yourself an "athlete" at the same time. Pick one. And then don't wear something so tight fitting that you look like a stuffed sausage.

3. When you fall in skating, you pick yourself up and keep on going. You don't just lay there like a pile of rocks waiting for 3 trainers and a coach to come along and check your boo boos.

2. In football you can actually do something poorly and use it to your advantage, such as an incomplete pass stopping the clock. In skating, if you miss something there is no way it is going to help you.

And the number one reason figure skating is more a sport than football ...

1. Most of the time you're seeing a skating competition they are actually SKATING. Imagine that.


Tim

I can't believe that I missed Europeans last night, because of that stupid football thing! Ugh! Who won in pairs? (as if I don't already know!)

#5 What's up with that time thing anyway? Basketball has the same disease!

#4 Most of them are sooooo out of shape that I can't believe they can even run! You know, they are very protective of their McBurgers and need them to add bulk to push the other person down!

#3 The nice thing about skating is that falling is optional, while in football it's mandatory!

#2 Wouldn't it be nice if we could "stop the clock." Here's what I'd do...let's say I'm at a competition and I miss my double loop jump--I'd like to "stop the clock," and take another year to work on it!

Well, the number one reason why skating is more of a sport then football is, because:

#1 The men are way more gorgeous! End of Story!

[momsk8er]

6. Football players get to wear padding so they don't get hurt when they fall, whereas figure skaters wear no padding for competitions and tests.

7. When a football player is thrown into the air by another player, he usually lands on his back, but a figure skater has to land standing up on a thin metal blade and going backwards.

[2salch0w]

I am heavy. I am an athlete. I skate 2:40 programs with six jump elements, including multi-revolution jumps, three spins, footwork, spirals and bauers - and I am not the only one out there like me. I train as much as possible within my schedule, with as much seriousness as the thinner skaters at my level.

I know a lot of heavy figure skaters who also consider themselves athletes. Just because you are carrying a few extra pounds doesn't mean that you cannot be an athlete. :roll:


OK, point taken. But I'd bet that these guys I'm talking about would need an ambulance if they had to get through a 3-minute skating program. Can we agree on that?

Tim

[lovepairs]

I am heavy. I am an athlete. I skate 2:40 programs with six jump elements, including multi-revolution jumps, three spins, footwork, spirals and bauers - and I am not the only one out there like me. I train as much as possible within my schedule, with as much seriousness as the thinner skaters at my level.

I know a lot of heavy figure skaters who also consider themselves athletes. Just because you are carrying a few extra pounds doesn't mean that you cannot be an athlete. :roll:

Very interesting! I looked up "Athlete" in Wikipedia and the closest agreed upon definition was under "Sportsperson:"

Sportsperson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"A sportsperson (British and American English) or athlete (principally American English) is any person who participates regularly in a sport.
Athletes can be professional (paid) or amateur (unpaid). A superior athlete is one who has above average physical skills (strength, agility, and endurance) and is thus more suited for physical competition. An Ancient Greek word for "contest" was athlos, and those competing in early Greek games were called athletes.

Most professional athletes have particularly well-developed physiques obtained by extensive physical training and strict exercise accompanied by a strict dietary regimen."

As many of you know I'm under a strict dietary regimen, and skate 4-5 days per week, and train off-ice twice a week. I'm about 15 lbs. over my ideal weight, and I DON'T consider myself an "Athlete," because I haven't reached my potential, which is my optimum strength/weight ratio (lean muscle mass vs. body fat.) When I finally obtain that (something I'm working towards) I'll give myself the honor of wearing the title "Athlete."

[Skittl1321]

OK, point taken. But I'd bet that these guys I'm talking about would need an ambulance if they had to get through a 3-minute skating program. Can we agree on that?

Tim

I'm not sure I'd mock the fitness of some of these players just because they look big (and some of them have quite the bellies!). They all do incredible cardio workouts- and I'm sure they could get through a high intensity 3 minutes of running and jumping, even back to backs- and that they do in their regular training. They couldn't get through a skating program though, because they can't skate any better than most skaters can play football.

Most of those football players could run stadium stairs for quite awhile, I don't think I'd make it up one flight- but I can get through my 3 minute program (which is nothing like an elite 3 minute program)

[Morgail]

Love it!! That was hilarious. I particularly liked #3.

My husband went to a super bowl party last night. I went to a wonderfully uncrowded public session and then watched the last two hours of Euros :)

[crayonskater]

Very interesting! I looked up "Athlete" in Wikipedia and the closest agreed upon definition was under "Sportsperson:"

Sportsperson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"A sportsperson (British and American English) or athlete (principally American English) is any person who participates regularly in a sport.
Athletes can be professional (paid) or amateur (unpaid). A superior athlete is one who has above average physical skills (strength, agility, and endurance) and is thus more suited for physical competition. An Ancient Greek word for "contest" was athlos, and those competing in early Greek games were called athletes.

Most professional athletes have particularly well-developed physiques obtained by extensive physical training and strict exercise accompanied by a strict dietary regimen."

As many of you know I'm under a strict dietary regimen, and skate 4-5 days per week, and train off-ice twice a week. I'm about 15 lbs. over my ideal weight, and I DON'T consider myself an "Athlete," because I haven't reached my potential, which is my optimum strength/weight ratio (lean muscle mass vs. body fat.) When I finally obtain that (something I'm working towards) I'll give myself the honor of wearing the title "Athlete."

Only if you ignore the "or" in "sportsperson or athlete" in the definition. If you want to define "athlete" as "perfect optimum body weight no fatties allowed", that's a very idiosyncratic usage.

You might not be an *elite* athlete, but if you're training and competing it's not a stretch to say you count as an amateur athlete. Not sure of the reason to emphasize the phrase, generally, though, once one's into the weekend warrior, non-elite level track.
--

As far as the question of whether football is a real sport: please. This is no more mature than the guys who insist skating isn't a sport because you can be judged on how many sparkles are on your butt. They're both sports. They're both different sports. Which is good, because football cleats are useless on the ice. :lol:

[Sessy]

3. When you fall in skating, you pick yourself up and keep on going. You don't just lay there like a pile of rocks waiting for 3 trainers and a coach to come along and check your boo boos.

:lol: that's great!


Also, there's no naked supporters running around the arena in ice skating, and angry supporters don't tear down the stadium and don't knock eachother's eyes blue.

[Rusty Blades]

... there's no naked supporters running around the arena in ice skating .....

Yes, isn't that sad! 8O

[FSWer]

So, I was watching Europeans last night and noticed the time and figured that the Superbowl should be almost over. Just out of curiosity (so I'd know what people were talking about at work) I clicked over. Seeing the score so close with 4 minutes left to go, I figured I'd just watch it out. What's 4 minutes, right? That's not even a long program.

So I suppose the final 4 minutes I saw were about as thrilling as it gets in football, and it'll certainly hold me over for another 10 years, which is about how long it has been since the last time I even watched a few minutes. My kids even came in from the other room to see what was going on. "You're watching FOOTBALL????" I explained I was just doing research, which brings me to ...

The Top 5 Reasons that Figure Skating is more a Sport than Football
__________________________________________________ ________

5. When there are 35 seconds left to go in a skating program, it's really 35 seconds. There are no time outs to skate to the boards to ask your coach if you should change something. You can't stop the clock to catch your breath.

4. Half the football players looked like they could be on that show The Biggest Loser. Not that there's anything wrong with being that heavy, but you can't call yourself an "athlete" at the same time. Pick one. And then don't wear something so tight fitting that you look like a stuffed sausage.

3. When you fall in skating, you pick yourself up and keep on going. You don't just lay there like a pile of rocks waiting for 3 trainers and a coach to come along and check your boo boos.

2. In football you can actually do something poorly and use it to your advantage, such as an incomplete pass stopping the clock. In skating, if you miss something there is no way it is going to help you.

And the number one reason figure skating is more a sport than football ...

1. Most of the time you're seeing a skating competition they are actually SKATING. Imagine that.


Tim


LOL...Number 6..LOL. Let's not forget...Football is just a bunch of overgrown men knocking each other over. Figure Skating is more gracefull, and people compete as well as perform.

[2salch0w]

As far as the question of whether football is a real sport: please. This is no more mature than the guys who insist skating isn't a sport .... :lol:


Did anyone actually think I was going for "mature" here? :)

[Bill_S]

I must be one of the few American men who has never watched a Superbowl - ever. I don't care for football at all. I find the hysteria about it very bizarre.

I AM honked that I missed Europeans though (as someone above mentioned) - dang it!

[jazzpants]

Also, there's no naked supporters running around the arena in ice skating...Unless, of course... you wanna count Canderloro's "I'm Too Sexy" program... :P :lol:

[dbny]

I must be one of the few American men who has never watched a Superbowl - ever. I don't care for football at all. I find the hysteria about it very bizarre.

I AM honked that I missed Europeans though (as someone above mentioned) - dang it!

My DH is in that group :bow:, and it was he who discovered Euro's were on last night in time for us to watch the last two ladies and all the men.

[doubletoe]

My DH is in that group :bow:, and it was he who discovered Euro's were on last night in time for us to watch the last two ladies and all the men.

Still annoyed at mine for telling our TiVo to record the Superbowl, which superseded the command to record all Figure Skating programs (which would have included Europeans!). It would be one thing if he recorded it to watch the game, but he just records it so that he can fast-forward through the game and watch the commercials.:roll:

[jazzpants]

My DH is in that group :bow:, and it was he who discovered Euro's were on last night in time for us to watch the last two ladies and all the men.
Well, I don't know if I could count my DH.... he just wants to watch maybe the last quarter of the game (but missed it b/c we were out shopping for food and having dinner.) He probably did get to watch a little of the game though since he was at the gym with me yesterday and watching the game on the TV set that's attached to the treadmill. :lol: I think he was more concerned about missing House (which was after the game) than the game though. :lol:

I did have one personal trainer at the gym who claims he doesn't really watch football all that much and would rather workout than watch the game. Of course, earlier that day, I saw him watching a small section of the game on the gym's big screen HD set as I was working out on the elliptical trainer... and I promptly replied "Nah, I think you watch the game on a better TV, which is why you're here at the gym!!! :twisted: "

(For the record... I also didn't watch Europeans either. I was busy doing training for MY OWN skating!!! :P :lol: I also had a lot of work to do that evening too.)

[NoVa Sk8r]

I was able to watch both Europeans AND the Super Bowl (Go Giants!) at the same time with Picture in Picture on my HDTV. 8-)

[To avoid missing skating programs on TV, periodically check out Heather's site (http://heatherw.com/mk/sch.htm). Last year, Euros was repeated on ESPN, but it doesn't appear so this year. But ya never know. ...]

[sexyskates]

What an amusing post. I especially liked reason number 3 also. And I watched Europeans last night instead of the the Superbowl.

[mikawendy]

I watched a little of both. Was rooting for the Giants as a co-worker is a big fan (and they were the underdogs).

I wrongly assumed that Europeans will be on icenetwork (checked today, nothing on their web site except a link for results), so I watched less than I think I would have if I had known. :twisted:

[sk8er1964]

OK, point taken. But I'd bet that these guys I'm talking about would need an ambulance if they had to get through a 3-minute skating program. Can we agree on that?

Tim

Peace :) . It's not how the body looks, but what you can do with it that counts! :D

lovepairs - Wiki isn't everything. Check out this link: http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/athlete It's the Webster Dictionary's definition of "athlete", and I think that it is quite accurate.

[ibreakhearts66]

3. When you fall in skating, you pick yourself up and keep on going. You don't just lay there like a pile of rocks waiting for 3 trainers and a coach to come along and check your boo boos.



i don't know that i agree with this one. the trainers only come on when someone is seriously injured-think ACL, dislocations, broken bones. a lot of the time you see the player sit there for a second, probably doing a quick mental check before determining whether or not they can get up. now if you got into SOCCER players rolling around for 20 seconds and then jumping up, ready to take the kick, you might have a point. but when football players don't get up, something is wrong. even i, with all of my bitterness toward football (i go to a high school where football rules and they kill the grass for soccer season so that we don't ruin it) can recognize that football players have to be super tough. i don't think any of us figure skaters could take a hit from a 250+ pound player and jump back up, pads or no pads.

[Mrs Redboots]

6. Football players get to wear padding so they don't get hurt when they fall, whereas figure skaters wear no padding for competitions and tests.

Real football players don't wear padding, either, except shin-protectors. That funny game people play in the USA isn't what I'd call football.....

My Husband decided to watch at least some of the Superbowl - I had to enquire what sport it was, as I had no idea! He explained it was American Football, whereupon I went to bed!

[lovepairs]

Peace :) . It's not how the body looks, but what you can do with it that counts! :D

lovepairs - Wiki isn't everything. Check out this link: http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/athlete It's the Webster Dictionary's definition of "athlete", and I think that it is quite accurate.

Didn't say Wiki was everything. You want to call your self an "Athlete" be my guest. However, the true "Athletes" are the young pair team we are on the ice with when we train...I believe they came in 5th in the Jr. Nationals. In comparison we are their "grandparents" doing a very good job of trying to stay in shape, stay active, keep the pounds off, trying to learn some interesting technique, while having a little fun in the process. We are on the ice way less than 1/2 the time they are training, and their off-ice training is very disciplined/rigorous and happens on a daily basis. I guess we just have a different opinion of what constitutes being an "Athlete."

[smelltheice]

why do they call it football when the players foot rarely touches the ball. In England, we call it rugby and don't feel the need to strap on 40 lbs of body armour to play it!!

[CanAmSk8ter]

I realize this is at least partly in jest, but is there a reason we have to make fun of athletes in a different sport because we don't personally like it/play it/understand it? I bet everyone here has heard someone say figure skaters aren't athletes, and I bet none of us liked it. I mean, I know it happens, but it doesn't mean we have to stoop to that level too.

[smelltheice]

it is true that it is tongue in cheek but I still don't really understand how they came up with the name football when the ball is carried or thrown 99% of the time during the game

[2salch0w]

I realize this is at least partly in jest, but is there a reason we have to make fun of athletes in a different sport because we don't personally like it/play it/understand it? I bet everyone here has heard someone say figure skaters aren't athletes, and I bet none of us liked it. I mean, I know it happens, but it doesn't mean we have to stoop to that level too.


Watch it CanAM, or Curling hits the list next. :)

(I actually like curling ... definitely a real sport.)

[rlichtefeld]

I liked this so much, I started a Facebook group with the list compiled here.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10403133823

Rob

[Mainemom]

As the wife of a High School football head coach and the mother of a quarterback son as well as a daughter who skates (and played football for two years until I made her quit because the opponents were getting to big for her to be safe) I have to respond.
No one, and I mean no one, knows how truly difficult it is to do anything until you have done it yourself, and that goes for both figure skating and football. My husband used to make fun of figure skating until he saw how hard my daughter works, how out of breath she is after going through her program and how muscular she has become. He has a point about the costumes and makeup and the overemoting but he can't say a word about how physically demanding it is as a sport.

[Mainemom]

Hit Submit prematurely...

As for football, yes the linemen are big - they have to be. They need to protect the quarterback from the defensive linemen who are trying to get him. And as worried as I am when my daughter falls, I am much more worried about my son when he is trying to get away from a defensive lineman who is trying to take him down because someone on the offense blew the coverage. At his high school, the offense has upwards of 50 plays to memorize and each person on the team has to know exactly where to go and what to do for each one of them. At the collegiate level, the number of plays runs into the hundreds. You cannot be dumb and play football or you will get hurt, or cause someone else to get hurt. You cannot go on the field half-heartedly for the same reason. You have to give it your all, every play. I didn't understand football until I met my husband and although I still have no idea about what he and DS mean when they talk about "double split left queen slant 6", they don't understand the difference between rockers and brackets either!
Okay, off my soap box. It just gets my goat when people who perhaps don't understand how difficult, mentally and physically, something is chose to make fun of it - and that goes for both figure skating (husband, dearest...) and football.

[2salch0w]

Hit Submit prematurely...

As for football, yes the linemen are big - they have to be. <...>

Okay, off my soap box. It just gets my goat when people who perhaps don't understand how difficult, mentally and physically, something is chose to make fun of it - and that goes for both figure skating (husband, dearest...) and football.


Can't someone advise these "big" lineman on more figure flattering outfits?

And come on people - I was just going for satire here. It really sounded like a serious discussion? Really? I'll have to watch that. Just when I thought I was clearly ridiculous.

Tim

[LilJen]

How about a similarity between (American) football and skating? SPANDEX!!

[CanAmSk8ter]

Can't someone advise these "big" lineman on more figure flattering outfits?

And come on people - I was just going for satire here. It really sounded like a serious discussion? Really? I'll have to watch that. Just when I thought I was clearly ridiculous.

Tim

I sensed the satire in the OP... it was more the responses that I thought were becoming more and more serious.

[lovepairs]

Watch it CanAM, or Curling hits the list next. :)

(I actually like curling ... definitely a real sport.)

The Curling people are out of their minds! Lee and I trained in Laurel at The Gardens a few summers ago, and they have this "Curling" center next door. So, just out of curiosity we went in there one day, and these folks who were totally skunked (seems that they drink and eat a lot while curling) tried to recruit us like missionaries in China! We almost didn't get out alive!!! They are totally serious about keeping the ice clean--constantly sweeping!

[SharonDudd]

I LOVE this post!! I am a huge fan of both figure skating and football and thank heavens for TIVo so that I can record 2 totally different events at the same time!!

For those in the UK and Europe...US "football" evolved from rugby actually. It was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the "forward pass" was invented that American football became more of a "hands on" sport so to speak. It wasn't until about the mid-20th century forward that the padding and other safety equipment was added. Before that, it was leather helmets and not too much else.

Kids football leagues start really early here and safety is really enforced, as it needs to be. It's a rough game all around but it also opens a lot of opportunities for kids on all kinds of levels. Team sports are huge here, from t-ball to little league baseball, soccer (the same game you play, btw), football basketball and other team oriented sports for both boys and girls that give the kids safe and well monitored things to do. A lot are offered through the school or park districts making them affordable for almost everyone.

I got a real laugh out of a lot of the responses!!

[smelltheice]

but I still don't really understand why someone decided to call it football when it is predominantly carried or thrown. I figure there must be something in the sport's history to explain this.

[Query]

Lee and I trained in Laurel at The Gardens a few summers ago, and they have this "Curling" center next door.

Given the costs of building and maintaining such a facility for one not-so-popular sport, does it surprise you they have to be evangelical?

The Potomac Curling club spent about $1 million building it, with help from a national curling org, but saved a few pennies by deliberately not making it strong enough for skating. (They also use low height unprotected fluorescent lighting, which is more efficient than the arc lights most rinks use, but would have been damaged by hockey pucks.) They subleased the land from Gardens, which does some of the maintenance, and which leases all their land from the park service.

You have to pay a fair bit to join and they use fund raisers and solicit donations on top of that. Figure skating, speed and hockey clubs do the same, but curling is different, because it serves no obvious practical purpose. As for being drunk, curling is just bolling on ice. Heck, even football is more a sport than curling.

[smelltheice]

I agree about how low down the "what is a sport" ranks curling comes, even if Britain are the olympic champions but there is only one curling rink in England. The rest are in Scotland where it is more popular and they pay alot more for the ice time than skaters do but they consider skaters on "their" ice are as the devil incarnate.

[lovepairs]

Given the costs of building and maintaining such a facility for one not-so-popular sport, does it surprise you they have to be evangelical?

It's interesting, because it's like a freakin cult sport based on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD.) They are constantly "cleaning/sweeping." They keep their ice really really clean and polished at all times. It's like the way my father used to symonize his Cadi back in the 50's!!! :lol:

Actually, I'm really fascinated by Curling and will probably convert, because I'm an OCD type myself--you should see how clean I keep my house! Constantly sweeping--so, why not take it on the ice! :D