Football
By Austin Arquette | Torch Reporter
American football is arguably the best sport in the world and everyone who says this would be correct.
Football, in general, attracts so many people whether it’s high school, college or professional levels. Football gives you so much energy as a player and even just as a fan, but being a player is by far the best experience. The instant rush you get on a football field surrounded by some of your best friends (that you wind up calling your brothers) is the most energetic feeling.
Laying it all out on the line for those brothers and your coaches to get a win and make a play is what players live for. But most of all the feeling of the fourth quarter coming to its end when the game is on the line and you make a game-ending play or score the winning touchdown as the clock runs into double zeros will always make playing football better than any other sport. Giving everything, you have and leaving it all out on the field for each player is what it’s all about.
Playing the game of football is so much better than other sports simply because of being on the field in bright lights, under pressure and having so many fans and even teammates cheering and pushing you to shine brightly.
From the amazing defensive plays that don’t happen in other sports as much, to the insane catches, to all the scoring plays — mostly touchdowns — all the way to making the winning kick. These are all reasons that football is, and will always be, more fun to play than any other sport.
The absolute biggest reason playing football is better than other sports is because it teaches you so much more than a game. Football teaches you different life skills you can use after you hang up your cleats and helmets.
The game of football teaches you motivation to win, leadership skills which grow the more you play, friendships that last forever, how to be humble, team and individual cooperation, but the biggest thing the game of football can teach you is discipline. Major sports in the world today have football near the top three if not the top dog of them all, and for good reason.
Football is labeled as “America’s Game” and has been growing more and more every year. With all ages being able to relate to the game of football it spreads to so many people.
Whether you are a player, coach, fan or worker of the game, football reaches different ages and has a place for everybody. Football teaches you so much and is entertaining to not only play but even to watch.
Whatever your view is on football this game is one of the most popular and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Basketball
By Brendan Sanders | Torch Reporter
Football is undoubtably America’s game. That is a given. I spend most of my weekends on the couch or in the stands watching football. I pay attention to football much more than any other sport including basketball. But the question is not what sport is more popular. The question is what sport is better to play, and that’s where I believe basketball wins out.
The first reason why basketball is better to play over football is athleticism. There are certain genetic talents which make it so you can contribute to the game of football consistently. No matter what level you play, being fast or large gives you an advantage. While the same can be said about basketball, there’s a skill in basketball that evens out the playing field. The skill of shooting the ball into the basket. It doesn’t matter what height you are, how fast you are, or how strong you are, if you can shoot efficiently, you’ll be able to contribute. Passing and defending is much easier in basketball. I would help my best friends at the local YMCA win not by being a star scorer, but by passing it and defending. You don’t need speed or height to do those two parts of the game either. If you can anticipate a shot or a player move, you can stop almost anyone except the best of the best.
The next reason is that basketball is also much easier on the body. Playing on a 60 to 100-yard grass field is taxing to both the players legs and legs. You must be in shape to run down the field. A regulation sized basketball court is 94 feet by 50 feet. This gives a player who may not be in the best shape a better opportunity to get back and forth own the court without putting the body through too much stress. I don’t recall ever getting injured in all the years of playing pickup basketball with my friends. I still feel the effects football has had on me with my knees.
Basketball is the best recreational sport in America. Anyone can play the game, and it can be played almost anywhere, with any amount of people. It doesn’t matter how many people are able to play. Basketball can be played with two players just as well as it can be played with ten.
And this is just playing the sport, basketball can be much more fun to watch depending on your taste. The game is much more fast paced; thus, it is easier for people with less of an attention span to watch and enjoy the game. There is always scoring, the longest I’ve ever seen a game go without scoring was four minutes, and that game goes down as one of the greatest games in NBA history. It was Game 7 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
The best thing about watching basketball is the finishes. There may be nothing better in sports than a buzzer beater. Legends are made of last second shots that arc into the heavens before splashing down in the basket to win the game.
Collegewise, basketball is more popular in almost any aspect. From March Madness to the casual pickup game, college students are more likely to play or watch basketball during the winter and spring months.
Overall, basketball is great because you don’t have to be an athlete to play it. It is a game for the common man. It is also one of the most exhilarating games to watch.
Soccer
By Jonny Parshall | Opinions Editor
“Playing the game of football is so much better than other sports simply because of being on the field in bright lights, under pressure and having so many fans and even teammates cheering and pushing you to shine brightly.”
Um, Austin, doesn’t that describe every game? You’ve described nothing unique to the gridiron. And Brendan, how does basketball’s ease of passing and defending render it the better sport? Does challenge not make a sport more exciting?
Soccer is by far the best sport to play. In terms of athleticism, it is the most requiring. Picture putting the endurance and stamina required of basketball on a football field. Yeah, Shaq could not have done that. Lebron would have retired at 25.
People like to poke fun at soccer for its low scores. And that can be a drag. But when you score that goal — perhaps the only goal of the game? It makes it that much sweeter. That’s why you see soccer players going berserk, group-hugging after every goal. It’s an amazing accomplishment. You’ve completed what seems an impossibility.
American football might be the most popular sport in, well, America, but that’s only one country out of, like, 200. Of the other 199, PROPER football dominates like 180 of them. Hmm?
There’s no stopping and standing around, no commercial breaks, no timeouts, no pads and no 350-lb. “athletes.” You have to think on the fly, react in motion, set the attack without a moment’s hesitation.
It bugs me Ferris does not have a men’s soccer team outside of club sports. But I guess that allows the women’s team that much more spotlight. Whereas football is mostly dominated by men, soccer allows equal opportunity. One of my favorite memories is captaining a co-ed soccer team. We lost every game, but that’s beside the point. Women’s soccer is making strides in this country, dominating internationally and growing domestically.
While football is the most popular sport in the U.S., soccer is the fastest growing in popularity, and might even overtake the gridiron in, like … 50 years or something. Maybe that’s expecting too much. But it’s already overtaken baseball in ticket sales, and expected to outperform basketball within 10 years.
Americans realize it’s that awesome. It just took them longer than most cultures.
Soccer is the sport of the future. To refuse this fact is plain, embarrassing ignorance bordering on denial. You DO have to be athletic to play. It is a game for the common man AND woman. And while some sports “aren’t going anywhere anytime soon,” soccer is only going UP.