Rugby and Football The thick, broad-shouldered athlete breathes heavily and
grunts with each step as he and his teammates push mightily against the
opposition. His arms are locked over his teammates' shoulders, all of their
heads down. The two teams are pushing against each other like two moose fighting
over territory. He looks down to see the ball, sitting just in front of his
feet. If he could just hook it with his foot and heave it to his teammate behind
him... This is what every player in a scrum is thinking while they fight each
other for possession. Rugby is the true sport of men, because you wear no pads,
and it is even more violent than football; however, football requires that you
wear pads, thus being the true sport of want-to-be men. The rules of these
similar yet vastly different games are extremely complex, so only the basics are
necessary to distinguish the better sport. In football, the primary rule is that
you must advance the ball forward by throwing it or running with it. Once a
player with the ball is downed, the entire team lines up again, and the ball is
snapped to the quarterback. The short pause in-between each down may not seem
significant, but it definitely takes its toll on the excitement. In rugby,
however, the primary rule is that you can only advance the ball by running with,
kicking, or passing it. With passing, though, you can only pass the ball
backwards or directly to your side, never forward. Like football, you score by
running the ball into the endzone or by kicking it through the uprights. Also,
you must touch the ball to the ground for it to count, and it is worth five
points. When kicking, the ball can be kicked from anywhere spontaneously. If it
passes through the uprights, it is worth three points, as in football. The
equipment for the two sports is widely different, with football requiring much
more. In football, players must wear a large set of pads, covering most of their
body, and a masked helmet. The ball is made up of an inflated rubber bladder,
surrounded by stitched leather, and it appears ellipsoidal in shape. Most
players now wear cleated or spiked shoes, but flat-soles are often worn for
artificial turf surfaces. But rugby, being the true sport of men, uses no pads
of helmets. In fact the only equipment that are somewhat similar in both games
can be found from the ankles down. Players wear a jersey, usually long-sleeved,
athletic shorts, and cleated shoes. The ball has an oval shape to it, and is
blunter than a football so that it may easily be bounced and dropkicked. The
origins of football trace back to ancient Greece when they played a form of
football know as harpaston, and the Romans played a similar game, harpastum. In
medieval times, another form of football, calcio, flourished in Italy. Most
modern versions of football however, originated in England, where a form of the
game was known in the 12th century. Rugby is said to have originated when a boy
at Rugby School in Rugby, England picked up and carried the ball during a game
of football in 1823. Previously, the rules had only allowed the ball to be
kicked. As I said before, rugby is the true sport of men. It is the supreme test
of strength, endurance, determination, and agility. Whereas in football, the
players are so cocky and greedy about how much money they will make during this
game, that most of them do not even work their hardest to win, as long as they
make a living.