NFL: Why Football is More Physically Demanding Than Soccer

steve tripe by Correspondent Written on June 21, 2008
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Yes, I know soccer fanatics are going crazy at this statement, but I challenge soccer nuts to plead their case because there's no soccer game that takes a heavier toll on the body than the NFL

That is why if we had our NFL players like the fast, agile guys, we could dominate in Soccer. 

Yes, I'm a huge NFL fan, and this can be seen as a complete biased opinion, but I'll state some cases. 

First, after a game in the NFL, it takes at least a few days to recover.  You can't play a game of football in the NFL and go out in two days and play another.  You can in soccer. 

Right there, I could just say "end of story."  Soccer also doesn't require the mental aspect of football to learn playbooks, take notes and study in the classroom even harder than on the field.

Soccer is mostly endurance.  NFL players need some endurance, a lot of weight lifting to have a hard physique to take the physical pounding that is said to be like getting in a car crash every hit. 

I heard someone say they had grown up being fed the NFL their whole life and was actually more interested in soccer now.  Well, maybe that's because its a lot easier on the body.

Soccer players don't constantly run, it's mostly the midfielders who do the most running; the other guys' times are just waiting for a play to develop.  I'm not saying the guy is soft because he's now a soccer player, because I know it's just preference, but if you were to choose between the two and got equal pay, soccer would be a safer route.

Chances are you'll live a long life playing soccer instead of football. Also, you're less likely to have a career-ending injury that jeopardizes even your post-soccer life. 

NFL players have to be in tip-top shape in order to take the pounding they get; otherwise they risk terrible injury.  Also, I've seen 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebackers who can run as fast as any elite soccer player with speed. 

Ray Lewis during his prime was eye-opening fast for his large physique. That's what college players say is the difference between college and the NFL: the speed. 

Not only would NFL players with the speed and athleticism if they were just as good at soccer be able to dominate, but those foreign players would just bounce off the likes of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and many more.

Hah, soccer players try to get physical with the NFL players? Come on, bring it on. They'll rock your world.

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written on June 21, 2008 Sports

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