# There is no manlier sport... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748 "2005-04-05T00:21:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/1 "2005-04-05T00:21:07Z")
…than rugby. Not only does each player, pass, kick, run and catch. But it’s very physical like football but without the full body armour. The game is almost like soccer in that it keeps moving and there isn’t 10 seconds of random chaos followed by 3 minutes of ass scratching and wondering what just happened. Strategy is fluid and doesn’t require huddles with silly secret code play calling. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/2 "2005-04-05T00:45:03Z")
Which is why my alma mater women’s college had a team that could absolutely kick your ass. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/3 "2005-04-05T01:00:22Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > …than rugby. > > Not only does each player, pass, kick, run and catch. But it’s very physical like football but without the full body armour. The game is almost like soccer in that it keeps moving and there isn’t 10 seconds of random chaos followed by 3 minutes of ass scratching and wondering what just happened. Strategy is fluid and doesn’t require huddles with silly secret code play calling. But when was the last time you saw someone get their leg snapped in two, Joe Theismann-style, in a rugby match? Don’t get me wrong, I think rugby should be so much bigger in the United States than it is. Comparing it to football, though, doesn’t really work because the games are so different. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/4 "2005-04-05T01:02:26Z")
Ah, a game that does not neglect the difference between us and zebras. Which is why I find soccer so odd. Go Rugby, especially co-ed rugby. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/5 "2005-04-05T01:07:50Z")
I dunno, I always though noodling for catfish was pretty manly. I sure as hell don’t have the guts to try it. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/6 "2005-04-05T01:09:41Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > But when was the last time you saw someone get their leg snapped in two, Joe Theismann-style, in a rugby match? I’m surprised that kind of thing doesn’t happen during every rugby game. Lack of padding and helmets seems to make the game about _making the play_, not _making the kill_. It seem to me that this game is more about handling the ball, not the opposing player. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/7 "2005-04-05T01:10:33Z")
Original! An American-football-is-a-pussy-sport thread! I dare you and any three of your favorite rugby teams to walk up to Warren Sapp and say that. They’re both excellent sports. Rugby is tons of fun, and challenging both mentally and physically, but American football is far more strategic. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/8 "2005-04-05T01:11:45Z")
Rugby’s good, but I think caber tossing wins. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/9 "2005-04-05T01:12:04Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > An American-football-is-a-pussy-sport thread! You said it. Not me. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/10 "2005-04-05T01:14:15Z")
> [@Fuji Kitakyusho](#): > > Rugby’s good, but I think caber tossing wins. Damn! I popped in here specifically to mention tossing the caber! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/11 "2005-04-05T01:23:43Z")
There is no manlier sport than, hurling, They club each other to death with a frequency that would be frightening – if they weren’t too manly to be frightened, There are so many deaths in hurling that they don’t even track them. Inagine something like lacrosse with clubs more like baseball bats and no padding or helmets. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/12 "2005-04-05T03:40:18Z")
Try hockey sometime. Yeah, there are pads. You also wear knives on your feet and carry a nice long stick. And getting hit with a ball is nothing compared to a puck. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/13 "2005-04-05T03:48:24Z")
I’m gonna have to go with [drag racing](http://www.exceptionalkia.com/archives/000495.html). ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/14 "2005-04-05T03:58:59Z")
Nah, those are sports for pussies. I’m going with [ferret legging](http://kzsu.stanford.edu/~dougm/Humor/95/November/FerretLeggers.html). This is a reprint from Harpers from a while back, and appears to be properly credited. The original, full length piece, if I’m not mistaken, is by the wonderful author John MacPhee. ---
**Author:** ![robinc308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@robinc308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinc308)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/15 "2005-04-05T06:22:49Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > But when was the last time you saw someone get their leg snapped in two, Joe Theismann-style, in a rugby match? Perhaps. But breaking a leg aint so bad. Rugby though, does have a relatively high incidence of spinal injury - especially from scrums. Typically, it’s the front rowersat risk, and in schoolboy rugby they don’t let them slam into each other to engage because of the risk, but still… Then there’s always the getting your ears ripped off bit. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/16 "2005-04-05T07:07:43Z")
How manly can it be when one of its best players is apparently Gladys Knight? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/17 "2005-04-05T07:14:53Z")
You wimps. None of you’d last ten minutes in a gladiatorial death match. No, it’d be one little disemboweling and you’d all be running home to your mommies. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/18 "2005-04-05T10:58:10Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > But when was the last time you saw someone get their leg snapped in two, Joe Theismann-style, in a rugby match? > > Don’t get me wrong, I think rugby should be so much bigger in the United States than it is. Comparing it to football, though, doesn’t really work because the games are so different. Last time I did it to someone in Rugby was in the early 80s in a ruck. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/19 "2005-04-05T11:21:16Z")
**Boyo Jim** , our national sport isn’t THAT violent. The ball goes about 100mph, helmets aren’t compulsory, fights are common and even blood on the pitch won’t stop play, sure, that’s all true, but it’s not utter carnage. Usually. The Gaelic Athletic association, has more info on their website if anyone is interested. > **[GAA.ie - GAA Match Video and Highlights, Fixtures and Results, Latest News](https://www.gaa.ie/)** > > Official site includes news, history, an introduction to the various sports and their rules, programs, structures, and events. [http://www.gaa.ie/page/all\_about\_hurling.html](http://www.gaa.ie/page/all_about_hurling.html) ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748/20 "2005-04-05T11:27:00Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > **Boyo Jim** , our national sport isn’t THAT violent. > > The ball goes about 100mph, helmets aren’t compulsory, fights are common and even blood on the pitch won’t stop play, sure, that’s all true, but it’s not utter carnage. Usually. Aye, blood now results in a rolling blood substitutions, so a player can get stitched up and sent back on if ne’s needed. Helmets aren’t compulsory, and teeth are entirely optional. That goes for Gaelic Football as well as hurling. And it’s all ameteur. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-no-manlier-sport/297748.md?page=2)