Re: Monday morning quarterbacking 50 years on

[keithr]

wrote:
> The term "Monday (or Tuesday, in the era of Monday Night Football)
> Morning Quarterback" is often used derisively in the sense that any
> idiot can see after the fact what the pros are paid to think likely
> before it. It also reflects, as Sailer says, on the fact that whereas
> soccer comes down to which team is in better condition physically,
> American football is essentially as much a strategy game as an
> athletic one and the strategy of opposing coaches and quarterbacks is
> to use their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses against
> those of opponents is what makes it a great spectator sport, as
> opposed to soccer which is a stinky spectator sport. Road racing vs.
> oval track is also a question of participant (SCCA, IMSA, hobby racing
> depending on one's wealth) vs spectator emphasis as well.
>
American football is essentially something to fill the spaces bteween
the commercials.

[calvin coolidge]

On Mar 24, 3:20�am, keithr > wrote:
> wrote:
> > �The term "Monday (or Tuesday, in the era of Monday Night Football)
> > Morning Quarterback" is often �used derisively in the sense that any
> > idiot can see after the fact what the pros are paid to think likely
> > before it. �It also reflects, as Sailer says, on the fact that whereas
> > soccer comes down to which team is in better condition physically,
> > American football is essentially as much a strategy game as an
> > athletic one and the strategy of opposing coaches and quarterbacks is
> > to use their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses against
> > those of opponents is what makes it a great spectator sport, as
> > opposed to soccer which is a stinky spectator sport. Road racing vs.
> > oval track is also a question of participant (SCCA, IMSA, hobby racing
> > depending on one's wealth) vs spectator emphasis as well.
>
> American football is essentially something to fill the spaces bteween
> the commercials.

Don't get me started. "Enriquez passes to Gomez. Gomex passes to
Enriquez. Here comes Mtombo. Enriquez shoots past Mtomobo but Ntambe
gets it. Here comes Enriquez behind it. He gets the ball back!
Enriquez passes to Gomez. Gomex passes to Enriquez. Here comes Mtombo.
Enriquez shoots past Mtomobo but Ntambe gets it. Here comes Enriquez
behind it. He gets the ball back!"

I also enjoy how a world championship can be determined by a bunch of
free kicks. That's excitement!

[[email protected]]

On Mar 24, 11:25*am, calvin coolidge >
wrote:

> I also enjoy how a world championship can be determined by a bunch of
> free kicks. *That's excitement!

It's called 'sudden death' overtime.

But, apart from all that, any nation that makes Cricket - a sport that
makes Baseball look as exciting as basketball - into a national sport
will have a rather distorted view of excitement.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[KeithR]

calvin coolidge wrote:
> On Mar 24, 3:20�am, keithr > wrote:
>> wrote:
>>> �The term "Monday (or Tuesday, in the era of Monday Night Football)
>>> Morning Quarterback" is often �used derisively in the sense that any
>>> idiot can see after the fact what the pros are paid to think likely
>>> before it. �It also reflects, as Sailer says, on the fact that whereas
>>> soccer comes down to which team is in better condition physically,
>>> American football is essentially as much a strategy game as an
>>> athletic one and the strategy of opposing coaches and quarterbacks is
>>> to use their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses against
>>> those of opponents is what makes it a great spectator sport, as
>>> opposed to soccer which is a stinky spectator sport. Road racing vs.
>>> oval track is also a question of participant (SCCA, IMSA, hobby racing
>>> depending on one's wealth) vs spectator emphasis as well.
>> American football is essentially something to fill the spaces bteween
>> the commercials.
>
> Don't get me started. "Enriquez passes to Gomez. Gomex passes to
> Enriquez. Here comes Mtombo. Enriquez shoots past Mtomobo but Ntambe
> gets it. Here comes Enriquez behind it. He gets the ball back!
> Enriquez passes to Gomez. Gomex passes to Enriquez. Here comes Mtombo.
> Enriquez shoots past Mtomobo but Ntambe gets it. Here comes Enriquez
> behind it. He gets the ball back!"
>
> I also enjoy how a world championship can be determined by a bunch of
> free kicks. That's excitement!
>

Personally, I can live without soccer too. Try one of the variants of
rugby or even aussie rules, full contact games with no armour, just a
little padding and the players play the full 90 minutes without
commercial breaks to get their breath back. I get terminally bored by
both baseball and cricket although some of the modern versions of
cricket make baseball look as interesting as drying paint. The best
advice that I have heard about basketball is that the game should start
with 1 minute to go and 100 points each on the scoreboard.

[KeithR]

wrote:
> On Mar 24, 11:25 am, calvin coolidge >
> wrote:
>
>> I also enjoy how a world championship can be determined by a bunch of
>> free kicks. That's excitement!
>
> It's called 'sudden death' overtime.
>
> But, apart from all that, any nation that makes Cricket - a sport that
> makes Baseball look as exciting as basketball - into a national sport
> will have a rather distorted view of excitement.
>
> Peter Wieck
> Melrose Park, PA

It's kind of telling that cricket and soccer would have 10-100 times the
number of followers that baseball and gridiron have.

[Ian Bell[_2_]]

wrote:
> On Mar 24, 11:25 am, calvin coolidge >
> wrote:
>
>> I also enjoy how a world championship can be determined by a bunch of
>> free kicks. That's excitement!
>
> It's called 'sudden death' overtime.
>
> But, apart from all that, any nation that makes Cricket - a sport that
> makes Baseball look as exciting as basketball - into a national sport
> will have a rather distorted view of excitement.
>
> Peter Wieck
> Melrose Park, PA


LOL, I love this thread. Of course, anyone who thinks cricket is about
excitement is completely missing the point ;-)

Cheers

Ian

[Ian Bell[_2_]]

wrote:
> On Mar 24, 11:11 am, " > wrote:
>> On Mar 24, 11:25 am, calvin coolidge >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I also enjoy how a world championship can be determined by a bunch of
>>> free kicks. That's excitement!
>> It's called 'sudden death' overtime.
>>
>> But, apart from all that, any nation that makes Cricket - a sport that
>> makes Baseball look as exciting as basketball - into a national sport
>> will have a rather distorted view of excitement.
>
> In England the purpose of "football" (soccer) games is to provide a
> staging point for riots.
>
>
>

Or, as we like to call it today, 'Darwinism In Action'.

Cheers

Ian

[Engineer[_2_]]

On Mar 24, 12:11*pm, " > wrote:
> On Mar 24, 11:25*am, calvin coolidge >
> wrote:

(snip)

> But, apart from all that, any nation that makes Cricket - a sport that
> makes Baseball look as exciting as basketball - into a national sport
> will have a rather distorted view of excitement.
>
> Peter Wieck
> Melrose Park, PA

Now, now, Peter... put your fingers on one of your 6 volt car radio
vibrators if you want excitement! :-)

"Cricket lovely Cricket,
At Lord's where I saw it..."
This calypso was written after the West Iindies won the test in 1950
against England at Lords.
http://www.cricinfo.com/database/MISC/HUMOUR/WI_ENG_1950_CALYPSO.html

Great game! "With those two little pals of mine
Ramadhin and Valentine."

Cheers,
Roger

[calvin coolidge]

On Mar 24, 7:52�pm, keithr > wrote:
> wrote:
> > On Mar 24, 11:25 am, calvin coolidge >
> > wrote:
>
> >> I also enjoy how a world championship can be determined by a bunch of
> >> free kicks. �That's excitement!
>
> > It's called 'sudden death' overtime.
>
> > But, apart from all that, any nation that makes Cricket - a sport that
> > makes Baseball look as exciting as basketball - into a national sport
> > will have a rather distorted view of excitement.
>
> > Peter Wieck
> > Melrose Park, PA
>
> It's kind of telling that cricket and soccer would have 10-100 times the
> number of followers that baseball and gridiron have.

Isn't that the McDonald's argument?

[ScottW2]

On Mar 24, 9:26*pm, wrote:
> On Mar 24, 9:52*pm, keithr > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > wrote:
> > > On Mar 24, 11:25 am, calvin coolidge >
> > > wrote:
>
> > >> I also enjoy how a world championship can be determined by a bunch of
> > >> free kicks. *That's excitement!
>
> > > It's called 'sudden death' overtime.
>
> > > But, apart from all that, any nation that makes Cricket - a sport that
> > > makes Baseball look as exciting as basketball - into a national sport
> > > will have a rather distorted view of excitement.
>
> > > Peter Wieck
> > > Melrose Park, PA
>
> > It's kind of telling that cricket and soccer would have 10-100 times the
> > number of followers that baseball and gridiron have.
>
> *Beisbol is very popular in the Latin world along with Japan. (Taiwan
> and Korea also play) *whereas American football coexists with soccer,
> rugby, Australian rules football, and others worldwide. The only
> variant of baseball (considering baseball and cricket as essentially
> wholly different games) that I know of taken seriously is softball
> which is for girls and old people.

When I was a kid there was a lot of men's semi-pro fastpitch softball
which certainly wasn't for old people. They had their own world
series and teams came from all over the US to compete.
It has since diminished but that game was not to be confused
with rec. league slow-pitch softball.

I recall the King and his Court coming in every year to start things
with an exhibition game. Pretty amazing.

http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/playerphotos.php


>
> *It's like board games: chess is chess and that's it,

except for speed chess and lately speed pool (which IMO, sucks)
but there it is.

ScottW