# A tie?! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 13, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989 "2010-06-13T05:02:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/1 "2010-06-13T05:02:22Z")
Fucking limeys. That’s worse than being beaten. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/2 "2010-06-13T05:07:25Z")
Without question, the greatest rant I’ve seen on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/3 "2010-06-13T05:14:01Z")
The awesome thing is that he’s probably complaining about tying at soccer. And none of us could give a shit. \o/ Lurn to play [football](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football)! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/4 "2010-06-13T05:17:36Z")
Was it zero-zero? I need my contempt for the game reinforced. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/5 "2010-06-13T05:41:14Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Was it zero-zero? I need my contempt for the game reinforced. 1-1, which seems even lamer, somehow. Also, while I’m not an Anglophile or anything, I will say this: American football is the stupidest piece of shit sport ever invented. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/6 "2010-06-13T06:00:40Z")
Eh, all sports are silly if you’re just watching others have all the fun. ---
**Author:** ![Cort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/77aa72/32.png) [@Cort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cort)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/7 "2010-06-13T06:17:25Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] Lurn to play football! [/QUOTE] Three things: 1. If the ball spends more time in your hands than it does at your feet, you have no right to call whatever the hell it is you’re doing “football”. 2. If, amidst all this throwing and catching, you have to stop for a rest every ten seconds like they do during the Superbowl, you have no right to call this weird activity a sport. 3. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/8 "2010-06-13T06:41:25Z")
> [@Cort](#): > > 1. If the ball spends more time in your hands than it does at your feet, you have no right to call whatever the hell it is you’re doing “football”. American football is far more closely related to the medieval games of football from which both sports derive. It was a run about and _throw_ a ball to each other game. > [@](#): > > Sir Frederick Morton Eden in the “Statistical account of Scotland,” says that at the parish of Scone, county of Perth, every year on Shrove Tuesday the bachelors and married men drew themselves up at the cross of Scone, on opposite sides; a ball was then thrown up, and they played from two o’clock till sun-set. The game was this: **he who at any time got the ball into his hands, run with it till overtaken by one of the opposite part; and then, if he could shake himself loose from those on the opposite side who seized him, he run on; if not, he threw the ball from him, unless it was wrested from him by the other party, but no person was allowed to kick it.** The object of the married men was to hang it, that is, to put it three times into a small hole in the moor, which was the dool or limit on the one hand: that of the bachelors was to drown it, or dip it three times in a deep place in the river, the limit on the other: the party who could effect either of these objects won the game; if neither won, the ball was cut into equal parts at sun-set. In the course of the play there was usually some violence between the parties; but it is a proverb in this part of the country that “All is fair at the ball of Scone.” Sir Frederick goes on to say, that this custom is supposed to have had its origin in the days of chivalry; when an Italian is reported to have come into this part of the country challenging all the parishes, under a certain penalty in case of declining his challenge. All the parishes declined this challenge except Scone, which beat the foreigner, and in commemoration of this gallant action the game was instituted. Whilst the custom continued, every man in the parish, the genry not excepted, was obliged to turn out and support the side to which he belonged, and the person who neglected to do his part on that occasion was fined; but the custom being attended with certain inconveniences, was abolished a few years before Sir Frederick wrote. He further mentions that on Shrove Tuesday there is a standing match at foot-ball in the parish of Inverness, county of Mid Lothian, between the married and unmarried women, and he states as a remarkable fact that the married women are always successful. (Bolding added) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/9 "2010-06-13T07:03:27Z")
Nobody gives a shit. American football is fucking retarded. Deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/10 "2010-06-13T07:42:25Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Nobody gives a shit. American football is fucking retarded. Deal with it. Oh I agree. American football is lame. And like I said in my second post, watching other people play a game is lame. But even still, I have to admit that American Football has far more dynamics to it of the two. Soccer comes down to team play. American football requires both that and strategy. They don’t just take a break periodically, they meet up and strategize for their next attack. Soccer, they may as well just be playing tag. A version of tag where no one ever even gets tagged. Ultimately, sport fandom mostly comes down to indoctrination. It’s passed on through the generations like religion and what recipes your mom does and doesn’t burn that seems just perfect to you. Evaluating sports by what should be interesting to watch or play is irrelevant. Break the cycle man. Break the cycle. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/11 "2010-06-13T07:57:29Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Lurn to play [football](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football)! That’s not football. [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hqosNvv5E) is football! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/12 "2010-06-13T08:17:05Z")
That just might be the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen. Now off to Wikipedia so’s I can understand what I just watched. 🙂 (Bit worried about some of those players though, looks like it can be really rough on the body.) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/13 "2010-06-13T08:17:42Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > **A tie?!** > > Fucking limeys. That’s worse than being beaten. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The awesome thing is that he’s probably complaining about tying at soccer. Looking at the title and OP I guessed that the British were making **friedo** wear a tie and that he’d rather be beaten. A position I have some sympathy with… ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/14 "2010-06-13T10:34:31Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > That’s not football. [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hqosNvv5E) is football! 🆒 Yup, and all on rock-hard ground without armour or even long shirt sleeves. Rules is a football code for the seriously deranged. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/15 "2010-06-13T10:36:34Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Yup, and all on rock-hard ground without armour or even long shirt sleeves. Rules is a football code for the seriously deranged. 😃 Or those who are just not quite good enough as proper footballers. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/16 "2010-06-13T11:28:17Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > But even still, I have to admit that American Football has far more dynamics to it of the two. Soccer comes down to team play. American football requires both that and strategy. They don’t just take a break periodically, they meet up and strategize for their next attack. Soccer, they may as well just be playing tag. A version of tag where no one ever even gets tagged. Only to people who don’t understand much about football. I am a Rugby League fan. It is a game very similar to American football with forwards and backs, the equivalent of downs, positions that require certain types of players, set plays and patterns of play designed to generate advantages. However the idea that any game, be it Rugby League, Rugby Union or American football, where the players line up in formation and then run a play for a few seconds, can compare with a game where every player interprets and puts in place a strategy with an ever changing environment, is simply nonsense. It isn’t happening in slow motion, the players are doing it on the fly you just don’t know what they are doing. You only had to watch the first game of the World Cup and understand the defensive changes South Africa made that allowed them to attack, to get a better idea of how intricate it all is. All done without a huddle or a talk to the coach, in a game where possession can change in an instant and you don’t get to run off and work out what to do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/17 "2010-06-13T12:07:58Z")
Can’t they just make the field half the size so the pace picks up a little? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/18 "2010-06-13T12:12:06Z")
Why not just have the goals stretching from one corner flag to the other, and do without corner kicks, which nobody is very good at anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/19 "2010-06-13T12:19:06Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The awesome thing is that he’s probably complaining about tying at soccer. And none of us could give a shit. \o/ > > Lurn to play [football](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football)! More commonly known as handegg. Or rugby for girls. ---
**Author:** ![Marmite\_Lover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Marmite\_Lover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marmite_Lover)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989/20 "2010-06-13T12:37:08Z")
**Sir Frederick Morton Eden in the “Statistical account of Scotland,” says that at the parish of Scone, county of Perth, every year on Shrove Tuesday the bachelors and married men drew themselves up at the cross of Scone, on opposite sides; a ball was then thrown up, and they played from two o’clock till sun-set. The game was this: he who at any time got the ball into his hands, run with it till overtaken by one of the opposite part; and then, if he could shake himself loose from those on the opposite side who seized him, he run on; if not, he threw the ball from him, unless it was wrested from him by the other party, but no person was allowed to kick it. The object of the married men was to hang it, that is, to put it three times into a small hole in the moor, which was the dool or limit on the one hand: that of the bachelors was to drown it, or dip it three times in a deep place in the river, the limit on the other: the party who could effect either of these objects won the game; if neither won, the ball was cut into equal parts at sun-set. In the course of the play there was usually some violence between the parties; but it is a proverb in this part of the country that “All is fair at the ball of Scone.” Sir Frederick goes on to say, that this custom is supposed to have had its origin in the days of chivalry; when an Italian is reported to have come into this part of the country challenging all the parishes, under a certain penalty in case of declining his challenge. All the parishes declined this challenge except Scone, which beat the foreigner, and in commemoration of this gallant action the game was instituted. Whilst the custom continued, every man in the parish, the genry not excepted, was obliged to turn out and support the side to which he belonged, and the person who neglected to do his part on that occasion was fined; but the custom being attended with certain inconveniences, was abolished a few years before Sir Frederick wrote. He further mentions that on Shrove Tuesday there is a standing match at foot-ball in the parish of Inverness, county of Mid Lothian, between the married and unmarried women, and he states as a remarkable fact that the married women are always successful.** that quote sounds like he is describing rugby rather than football [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tie/542989.md?page=2)