Differences between American football and soccer in terms of their popularity, how they are played and organizational structu

Differences between American football and soccer in terms of their popularity, how they are played and organizational structures

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Introduction

A sport is an activity that entails physical exertion and skills, whereby a player or team competes against another or plays for enjoyment. It usually composed of activities that need individuals to conquest the playing field and it all entails winning and teamwork. There exist different sporting competitions to entertain and or to determine loser and winner, soccer and football being among.There are variant sporting activities which can be played with hands and feet. American football and soccer are major sporting activitiesthat represent hands and feet sports and the two are widespread among American citizens. Soccer and football are both fascinating, but they have differences and similarities. This research paper explains the differences between American football and soccer in terms of their popularity, how they are played and organizational structures. In comparing the two sports, the researcher conducted an interview with one football and one soccer fan in America. Then arguments of the interviewees were compared and contrastedwith other secondary sources.

The two, soccer and American football are both popular games. However, American football is common only in America while soccer is common globally. The two are at times confusing since soccer in some parts of the world is called football. Even though the two have some similarities, there exists significant difference between them. According to football interviewee (Kenneth Jones) and confirmed by Kumar 2011, football is among the most popular sporting activities in the entire globe. Kumar 2011 further states that people around the world are enthralled when football World Cup commences and this confirms the sport’s popularity. Though the soccer interviewee (Henry Martinez) argue that soccer is more popular than football, his arguments can be on the basis that he is new in football and does not quite understand it well. Henry Martinez says,“Football is new to me and I do not find it fun at all’ (interview, question 7).

How they are played

The most noticeable dissimilarity between American football and soccer is that soccer is played by kicking the ball and goalkeeping is the only person permitted t handle the ball. The American football is however, played by throwing and catching the ball. The American football requires the players to have great muscle and strength. American football can be compared to bulls that have set targets, and so show no mercy on their way to achieve their set goals and reach the target. Other popular actions as witnessed in American football are bone-crushing hits and fights or struggles among players. Soccer, on the other hand, requires intelligence rather than physical power and muscles. Although there is physical contact among the players in soccer, the players’ intentions is not to beat each other.

Enjoyments

Pele, 2008 argues that ever time he watched soccer, he would often fall asleep. According to the author, nothing really takes place between the pitches; everyone just sits there eating popcorn and chatting. The American football, according to the author is a little bit faster or rapid compared to soccer. This brings out the other difference between the two games and this come from their speed and rapidness. This is confirmed by Kenneth Jones, the soccer fan, when he said that he enjoys being a soccer fan and as long as he can afford a god wine, cable and some pop corn and he would keep watching soccer and support his favorite team. On the contrary, Kenneth Jones stated that football makes him hang out with people who share the same passion (interview, question 12 and Pele, 2008).

Objectives of games

The other difference that stands out is the objective of the game. American football’s main objective is t score by carrying the all past opponent’s touch line. When a user does that, it is called a touch down. Scoring can also be through kicking the ball and this is called Field goal. On the contrary, to score a goal in soccer, there is a goal at the field end. The objective or scoring means passing the ball through the opponent’s goal. According to Kumar 2011, normally in American football, a game is played by two teams each having 11 members in the field. However, a team can exist between eleven to 18 members, others being substitutes. In soccer, at times a score is made with the help of head (Kumar M., 2011). In soccer, only the goalkeeper has the mandate to touch the ball by hand. The two games, American football and soccer have distinct conducts and method of moving the ball. The options include kicking, carrying, using head, or throwing the ball.

Winning in the two games, soccer and American football and other football types are similar. The person with highest goals becomes the winner. Suppose the two teams have equal scores at the end of the game, a penalty is used to determine the winner. The other noticeable difference is in the shape of balls (MacGregor, 2013). Soccer normally has spherical ball. To start with, American football is played with elliptically shaped ball while soccer s played with a spherical ball. On scoring the football rewards a team six points for a touchdown, one point for additional point three points for field goal and two points for safety. The other difference is in the field size. American football pitch is 120 yards long, while a soccer pitch ranges between 100 and 130 yards.

Durations of games

The other difference is heighted by Parrish 2014 on the playing times of the two games. Parrish 2014 states that soccer continues for a period of two 45 minutes, for each half. On the contrary, American football has short rests for instance in 40 seconds between different play in the match, and this takes a period of 15 minutes quarter. Parrish 2014 concurs with Kumar 2011 that in soccer only the goalkeeper can touch the ball with hands. The other difference as noted by Parrish 2014 is that soccer only allows three substitutions of player in any single game. American football however permits unlimited substitutions in any game. The wearing also differs between the two, in soccer players put on jerseys, shorts and cleats, while in football, the players put on uniforms, helmets and shoulder pads.

On the contrary, soccer and American football are both outdoor games and ports. The two games are played outside the house or in the field. The other common similarity is that a game in both is played between two teams, each having players with uniforms. In both cases, there exists contact and harmony between the team members and players. The contact also includes collaboration and cooperation between the members and the team leader otherwise known as coach. Additionally, soccer and American football have similar goals, all aspire to win. The two sporting activities have various players grouped into; offensive, defensive and a goalkeeper. The existence of defined strategies in their playing also denotes the similarities between the two sports. Since in soccer the goal posts are on the ground and in American football it is on the air, in the latter it is hard t score compared to soccer.

Flexibility

The other noticeable difference between the two is that they have different ways in which the balls are passed. The American football players tend to have higher flexibility whereby they can use both hands and feet in passing the ball. On the contrary, in soccer only legs are allowed while hands are not permitted. The other difference is on their referees. There are five referees in soccer while American football has one referee. On score, the two differs in that for soccer one pint is one goal while in American football, points differ by scores. One score contains six points, the next one contains three points, and the final has two points.

According to Buchanan and Swiboda 2004, the playing field in soccer, for one thing, while not nearly as open a space as a go boards, is considerably less striated than the football field, which in addition to having goals, is striated that every yard-line is marked (Lidsey, 2002). The degree of distinction and hierarchies among soccer players is also considerably less than among football players. Soccer players are not as interchangeable as go pieces, but offensive and defensive players ad activities alternate roles far more fluidly in soccer than in football, which stops the action and substitutes entire teams n changing from offence to defensive and back. In soccer, offensive players play defense and defensive players play offensive far more routinely than in football, where such role-changes are exceptional and very short-lived (Lidsey, 2002). Buchanan and Swiboda 2004 also note that soccer team exhibits almost no internal hierarchy, whereas football teams are rigidly hierarchies, with linesmen doing the grunt-work and quarterbacks calling the plays.

References

Buchanan I., and Swiboda, M., 2004. Deleuze and Music. Deleuze Connections Series. Publisher Edinburgh University Press, 2004

Kumar M., 2011. Difference between Football and Soccer | Difference Between. Retrieved from http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-football-and-soccer/#ixzz30NmxLfp1 on 30th April 2014.

Pele, 2008, Pele: The Autobiography. Publisher Simon and Schuster.

Parrish 2014, Similarities & Differences Between Soccer & Football. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/375126-similarities-differences-between-soccer-football/ on 30th, April, 2014.

Lidsey E., 2002. The Bigger Bang. Publisher Cambridge University Press.

MacGregor, J., 2013. An American perspective on race in European football. Retrived from http://www.espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/6361?cc=3888.