John Cleese on soccer vs. american football

[astr0creep]

 

All hail Joss Whedon!

[Laozi]

hmmm... The comparison of rugby to football is a little over done. I mean rugby could be a real tough sport, you know, if the British weren't the ones playing it all the time.

[Deraldin]

btw, basketball, another US invention, was actually invented as a practice for football when the weather was bad.

 

taks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Bah, a Canadian was the one that invented the game though.

[taks]

Bah, a Canadian was the one that invented the game though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

good. i hate basketball. any sport where one person can make the difference between first and last place is not a sport in my book.

 

taks

[Craigboy2]

The quintessential American comedic counterpoint to the quintessential British Comedian

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=D-E6weZIdG8&search=simpso

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[Jediphile]

Am I showing my age if I say I think Giles (from Buffy) summed it up perfectly:

 

Ms. Calendar: "It's just such a rugged contest."

Giles: "Rugged? American football? Heh heh."

Ms. Calendar: "And that's funny because...?"

Giles: "Well, I think it's rather odd that a nation that prides itself on its virility

should feel compelled to strap on forty pounds of protective gear just in order

to play rugby."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Classic.

 

Another favorite Giles quote is when he returns to help after being absent for a year, but is mugged before he can meet the gang. Upon awakening he simply utters:

 

"Now I know I'm back in America - I've been knocked unconscious..." :D

[alanschu]

i can't blame cleese for not knowing this as our version of football is not very popular outside of NA (kanadian football is very similar so i lump it with the US and refer the them in the same context). heck, i couldn't tell you squat about crickett and that's apparently very popular in other places.

 

Meh, I don't think it has much to do with Cleese being over there. I didn't know either.

 

good. i hate basketball. any sport where one person can make the difference between first and last place is not a sport in my book.

 

The closest that that has ever happened would be Wilt Chamberlain. Even then, he was still getting beaten by the better team. I admit that Basketball is a sport where one player can make a greater impact than in most other sports, but your example is just a bit too much hyperbole.

[taks]

uh, michael jordan.

 

taks

[Laozi]

Jordan won 0 championships without Scottie Pippen.

 

Infact theres only been one player to win a championship in basketball without atleast one other Hall of Famer on his team

[alanschu]

uh, michael jordan.

 

taks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Michael Jordan took a (3rd) last place team to a team that barely made the playoffs and was subsequently crushed in the first round of the playoffs the first three years he played.

 

 

 

 

Who's that Laozi? The only people I can think of are waaaaay old school people, like George Mikan.

Edited June 22, 2006 by alanschu

[Skynet]

Who's that Laozi?  The only people I can think of are waaaaay old school people, like George Mikan.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottie_Pippen

[Laozi]

No, Mikan played with Slater Martin, a Texan and Hall of Famer, and I believe atleast one other, but I'm not sure.

 

No, Hakeem Olajuwon's first title in '94.

 

"Hakeem was at the pinnacle of his career. In that year, he became the only player in NBA history to win MVP, Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Olajuwon's fame was well-deserved, as the Rockets team was probably one of the most lightly-loaded championship teams of all time. Neither the other starters (Robert Horry, Otis Thorpe, Vernon Maxwell and Kenny Smith) nor sixth man Sam Cassell were considered stars at the time, documented by the fact that Hakeem was the only Rockets All-Star player that year [3]."

 

Now you can almost argue that Horry will be in the Hall of Fame, but not for the conventional reasons, he's just hit big shots at big moments, and in no way lead any team to a championship.

 

You might be able to argue that the Pistons team that won it a couple of years ago won't have anymore then one Hall of Famer on it, but I guess we'll have to see how that plays out.

Edited June 22, 2006 by Laozi

[alanschu]

Ah yes, the good ol' dream.

 

 

Kenny Smith was clutch. He nailed that 3-pointer to send it into OT when Mr. Not-so-clutch Nick Anderson blew the 4 free throws :D

 

In the span of two playoffs, Hakeem smacked around the three other dominant centers. I particularly loved how he schooled David Robinson the day he received the MVP award in '95.

 

 

EDIT: @ Skynet, I know who Scottie Pippen is.

Edited June 22, 2006 by alanschu

[taks]

Michael Jordan took a (3rd) last place team to a team that barely made the playoffs and was subsequently crushed in the first round of the playoffs the first three years he played.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and then he followed it up with 5 titles. duh. now the entire focus of the league is two kids that started out of high school.

 

taks

[Laozi]

Plus Hakeem is one of the nicest "famous" people I ever met, he spent about twenty min. with my friends and I signing all kinds of stuff and even dunked two basketball. I got so excited I almost wet myself.

[alanschu]

and then he followed it up with 5 titles. duh. now the entire focus of the league is two kids that started out of high school.

 

taks

 

6 Titles actually. Thanks for coming though.

 

 

And it wasn't until he had the better team. Before that, they used to get chewed up and spat out by Detroit Pistons.

 

 

Notice how none of those high school kids won anything this year? The only time Kobe won was when he happened to also have the most dominating player in the game on his team. Not even Shaq can win on his own though. He had a solid team and Duane Wade this season.

Edited June 22, 2006 by alanschu

[taks]

oh yeah, 6, even worse. he went away and they were nothing, he came back and they won again.

 

and, exactly WHERE did i say the star would get them the title? i said the one player can make the team.

 

taks

[alanschu]

He went away, and they proceeded to lose to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semis in 7th and final game, after putting up an impressive 55 win season (2 less than the year before).

 

The Knicks were the team that went to the finals that year, losing in the Finals in 7 games as well.

 

The following year they struggled, but still won , but they also had to endure the loss of other key players on their team, namely All-Star Horace Grant. Bill Cartwright also retired, and while he wasn't looked upon to score like he was in the early 80s, he still (with Grant) provided the solid interior defense necessary. The second year Jordan was gone, they had to rely on players like Will Perdue and Toni Kukoc to defend the other team's big men. Not a pretty picture. The only remaining contributors from the 1993 that won the championship two years earlier were Scottie Pippen and BJ Armstrong.

 

Unless you think a 55-win season, a first round sweep of Cleveland, and a 7th game loss to the eventual Eastern Conference champions that were one game away from winning the whole thing was "doing nothing," then I don't know what you're talking about.

 

 

and, exactly WHERE did i say the star would get them the title? i said the one player can make the team.

 

You said that one player can take you from last place to first place. I naturally assumed by first place you meant championship. If you actually meant first place in the season standings, you'd still be wrong.

[Laozi]

And actually Jordan came back mid-way through the 2nd season and they lost to the pacers I believe in the playoffs

[alanschu]

They lost to the Magic in 6. (with Horace Grant jumping and celebrating in the United Center, playing against his old team).

[Laozi]

Oh, ya that's right, and they beat the original Hornets in the first round and Alonzo Mouring was really critizing the officiating.

[alanschu]

Yeah, there was a questionable play regarding a Hersey Hawkins drive to the net that could have tied/won the game.

[Skynet]

EDIT:  @ Skynet, I know who Scottie Pippen is.

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Heh, I thought you were one of those confused Europeans. It seems my sarcasm detector needs new batteries.

[alanschu]

Nah, you just misunderstood me. I wasn't being sarcastic, I was asking about which player won a championship without another Hall-of-Fame type player (the Hakeem Olajuwon answer).

[Walsingham]

hmmm... The comparison of rugby to football is a little over done. I mean rugby could be a real tough sport, you know, if the British weren't the ones playing it all the time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Good attempted zing, there, mate. But no-one who actually knows rugby would gather the Scots, Welsh , and English into 'Britain' where rugby is concerned. We play very different games.