Creature Vs Creature: Football/Soccer Vs. Formula One

In this edition of Creature vs. Creature, I have collaborated with Bleacher Report's Formula One Co-Community Leader, Saraswathi Sirigina to compare Association Football (simply football or soccer) and Formula One.

Here are my views.

I've always had a difficult time understanding how F1 has been a sport - that said, motorsport is quite specialized in its own way and has a specific audience. For instance, in India, F1 has had a following since Narain Karthikeyan's introduction into the sport.

Very few people actually know what the sport is all about, so in terms of reach - there is no comparison with football.

Recent scandals in F1 have also reflected poorly on the sport. But what has kept it going is the innovation - when Michael Schumacher was unstoppable, winning race after race, the rules for qualifying were altered so that the monopoly in the sport could be reduced to an extent - and it did work and make F1 a lot more competitive. F1, as far as I'm concerned, is a lot of fun to watch in bits but it's difficult to sit through a race and watch it lap by lap.

In many ways, the sport is as much about the car as it is about the drivers' talent - while that is the nature of F1 - it dilutes my interest from the sport.

I remember someone telling me that cricket started off as a rich man's sport with players belonging to clubs only being able to participate and F1 is no different. There isn't a wide enough presence in the world for the sport to make an impact and in India, we only know Karthikeyan and maybe,  Karun Chandok to an extent - and both hail from a higher strata of society.

This, coupled with Vijay Mallya's investment in Force "India" again strengthens the argument that the sport, to participate in, is not a common man's sport.

Football on the other hand, is an ordinary man's sport in many ways. Added to this, it's a global sport - making it inherently popular. It's a pulsating experience to watch a high quality football match, and the global popularity of the various leagues has certainly improved its status in many countries.

I don't know if you can really compare the two sports head on, but if you take popularity and simplicity of viewing for the benefit of people who watch the sport for the first time - the result is a no-brainer.

However, this comes from a person who has watched, played and loved football for over 10 years now. I'm quite confident that an avid F1 fan would beg to differ - but for me, football trumps all sports just because of its global appeal.

As far as F1 is concerned, it is still very much a growing sport, with races being held in a lot more countries than ever before, it will gain a lot more popularity.

That said, can you compare it to football?

As far as I'm concerned, there's no chance.

To read Saraswathi's views on Formula One vs. Football, click here.