Hockey or Soccer

[Dino Velvet]

Dude's gotta YouTube page of nothing but Hockey Fights. Looky. http://www.youtube.com/user/fchockeyfights

[Sulka_bewitched_me]

Soccer played on an open pitch (345x222 feet) with 11 players (+ 6 subs ) who apart from injury/substitution/red-carding will stay the course of two 45+ minute halves with a 15 minute break for a typical game. A player's only protection is a pair of shin guards.

Ice Hockey played on bounded ice (200x85 feet) with 6 players rotated (on the fly sometimes) from a squad of 18-ish over three 20 minute periods. Players are protected by substantial padding.

Soccer players dont' 'get away without wearing padding' since they wear studded-boots and during tackles these can inflict injury on unprotected bodies at speed so blood injuries are common. A ball contested in the air can result in an elbow in the face causing a broken jawbone etc. granted some gamesmanship is involved in trying to win a free-kick from an advantageous position or a penalty. Broken legs are not uncommon and knee injuries too.

In Ice Hockey fighting is officially prohibited in the rules (so you think they'd have got a grip on that by now) but enjoyed by the crowd. In soccer we're more civilised and prefer to eliminate violence by penalising it.


This doesn't make any sense at all. Blanket statements seldom work, ask yourself why there's a lively transfer market in Soccer for example. I'll leave you to ponder.

Fighting in hockey IS prohibited BUT it is penalized as well so your statement "In soccer we're more civilised and prefer to eliminate violence by penalising it." is a mute point. Oh and although VERY rare I have seen all out brawls in soccer with both teams AND coaches/training staff getting involved. So get off your "high horse" about civility. There's a lively transfer market in soccer because you're referring to professional footballers but again anyone can hop onto a football pitch at the park and kick a ball around. The same can't be said about hockey. You have to learn how to skate not to mention skate AND use a hockey stick to stick handle the puck. WAY BIGGER LEARNING CURVE! Again I fail to understand why hockey players wearing padding is a bloody issue. The speed of the game requires it........not to mention have you ever been hit with a road hockey ball? If not a puck (vulcanized rubber) is 1000 times worse if you're hit by one and that's with padding on and it's significantly more painful/dangerous than an errant elbow or cleated foot and that's with protective body equipment, helmet and (more and more) a face shield. Those in the soccer/football camp seem to equate no padding = a more manly sport. As I said before you don't see the diving in excruciating pain as another hockey player skates by his opponent (barely touching him in the process) or the mock injuries that football/soccer players typically feign in hockey. Now tell me again which is the more civilized sport?

[Jericho]

What, did you have to Google to find an appropriate insult lol? Hmmmm hoser hasn't been used by any Canadian um like since 1983! Maybe we're showing our age Jericho? Anyways.......ANYONE can play soccer while a "select few" can play hockey. THAT is the difference in the "skill" department. Like I said, just brush against a footballer/soccer player and they're on the ground writhing in agony. As for fighting in hockey you are obviously uneducated on the sport as you have fallen into the typical trap of stereotyping the sport for that and that alone. I've played both sports and can tell you at the speed that hockey takes place as opposed to football/soccer you'd be a complete imbecile to even attempt to play hockey without padding (unless you want to end up in a hospital for a few months). You can get away without padding on the pitch because the pace is as slow as watching paint dry. Are there some magnificent plays in football/soccer? Absolutely, but nowhere near as many in 90 minutes as opposed to 60 minutes if you were to average it out.

Whoosh!
Indeed, hoser, I'm showing my age...And you're showing your lack thereof.

[Jericho]

I'm thinking that last one was a bit subtle for you...So I'll go for the rim shot.

Maybe we're showing our age Jericho?

Said Sulka_bewitched_me!

[rodinuk]

Let's break it down into individual areas:

1 - Violence in the games

Fighting in hockey IS prohibited BUT it is penalized as well so your statement "In soccer we're more civilised and prefer to eliminate violence by penalising it." is a mute point.

My impression was that considering the amount of officials on the ice they don't exactly rush over to break it up allowing players to get ready by dispensing with stick/removing gloves. Ok poor choice of phrase on my part then - would have been a better say that there seems to be little progressive regulatory movement to stamp it out. In recent years soccer has moved to make a two-legged diving tackle particularly from behind a foul that can result in broken legs/ankles can now mean instant dismissal from the game. Yes there is the occasional all-out brawl in soccer but as you say thankfully it is rare. However in both sports we'd all be naive to think that violence would be totally eliminated so yes it's a moot point.

2 - Accessibility

Soccer is an easily accessible game - great isn't it? All you need is an area of flatt-ish ground plus a ball and something to demarcate the goals and you're away.

Ice hockey is clearly not an easily accessible game as you require an iced surface, specialised equipment in the form of helmets, skates, padding, sticks, goalnets (and an organ player ). So you dont' see a lot of Brazilian hockey players I guess. Statistically speaking then there's a much smaller pool of players to choose from in hockey.

3 - Skill in the games

I'm not decrying the abilities of ice hockey players Acquiring the basic skills to play soccer may be simpler and quicker because of the easier accessibility but it still requires years of training and coaching plus natural talent. Just because anyone can access it doesn't mean they're any good at it.


4 - Protection

Again I fail to understand why hockey players wearing padding is a bloody issue.

I never said this - I'm all for requisite body protection in contact sports.

I have no idea of the mass or composition of a road hockey ball but I have suffered a regulation cricket ball hitting me at high velocity in the mouth so
I'm painfully aware of what it feels like to sustain such an impact.

I don't see what value there is in arguing that being hit by a puck into a padded body is 'significantly more painful/dangerous' than an action in soccer which results in a broken neck/leg/jaw or shredded testicles? To my mind it boils down to the fact that they're both dangerous sports which carry high-risk of injuries.

[robertlouis]

Apples and oranges and a pretty pointless debate. The aficionados of either sport will defend and advance their own as somehow being "better".

I've always been a soccer fan and played to a reasonably high amateur level in Scotland - right-side midfield - and still think of it as the beautiful game. It can achieve artistic flourishes that few other sports can.

Hockey generates an altogether different kind of excitement. When I lived in Germany I became a big fan of Cologne, with their mix of East Europeans, native Germans and second tier US and Canadian players. It's visceral, physical and very skilled, but it definitely has more of the Roman circus about it.

Agree to differ, then move on, chaps.

And I suspect Dino knew what he was starting.....

[Dino Velvet]

And I suspect Dino knew what he was starting.....

Smart man. I don't fight with anybody but I do start a little trouble admiring it from higher ground trying not to get any on me.

Is there any kind of Hockey played in Great Britain? I would imagine if you thought it was worth the effort that you guys could put together a decent team over time.

[rodinuk]

Is there any kind of Hockey played in Great Britain? I would imagine if you thought it was worth the effort that you guys could put together a decent team over time.

You could always try reading the thread

[robertlouis]

Smart man. I don't fight with anybody but I do start a little trouble admiring it from higher ground trying not to get any on me.

Is there any kind of Hockey played in Great Britain? I would imagine if you thought it was worth the effort that you guys could put together a decent team over time.

Field hockey, as you call it, is played in a lot of schools, and as Rodinuk has rightly stated, has gained a higher public profile because of GB success in the Olympics - both teams fared well in the London games, with the women taking a medal.

When it comes to ice hockey, I much prefer what we get in the Winter Olympics, when they're playing for national pride and not money, plus we get to see the US and Canada at each other's throats and every former soviet bloc country knocking lumps out of the Russians.

One of our biggest problems with ice hockey is the lack of suitable venues - dozens of ice rinks, even in major cities, have closed over the last fifty years. A lot of youngsters try to emulate by playing to ice hockey rules on inline skates. It's very popular at college level.

[Dino Velvet]

Field hockey, as you call it, is played in a lot of schools, and as Rodinuk has rightly stated, has gained a higher public profile because of GB success in the Olympics - both teams fared well in the London games, with the women taking a medal.

When it comes to ice hockey, I much prefer what we get in the Winter Olympics, when they're playing for national pride and not money, plus we get to see the US and Canada at each other's throats and every former soviet bloc country knocking lumps out of the Russians.

One of our biggest problems with ice hockey is the lack of suitable venues - dozens of ice rinks, even in major cities, have closed over the last fifty years. A lot of youngsters try to emulate by playing to ice hockey rules on inline skates. It's very popular at college level.

Gotcha. I was thinking you might have some small hockey clubs more than teams. Shame about the rinks. More for hobbyists than serious players at a beginning stage. We don't have California kids get into the NHL but Culver City has a great league for kids and teenagers to play and compete. Inline Hockey is popular here too.