Sports you do not "get"

[celtic]

UFC. Done some you tube research.

Seen better fights in the playground in Glasgow.

[AdamM]

yep, got it
Sky+ set this time

[AdamM]

UFC. Done some you tube research.

Seen better fights in the playground in Glasgow.

questionable research then

[Graham C]

Watched some form of fighting in a cage once and it was brutal, wouldn't watch again, too much for me.   Certainly don't get that, I just don't understand why you'd want too.

[scotty2hatty]

Watched some form of fighting in a cage once and it was brutal, wouldn't watch again, too much for me.   Certainly don't get that, I just don't understand why you'd want too.

Would you have preferred it in a ring?

[Graham C]

Watched some form of fighting in a cage once and it was brutal, wouldn't watch again, too much for me.   Certainly don't get that, I just don't understand why you'd want too.

Would you have preferred it in a ring?

I'd rather not watch people kicking the shit out of each other at all.   It looked horiffic. 

[scotty2hatty]

Watched some form of fighting in a cage once and it was brutal, wouldn't watch again, too much for me.   Certainly don't get that, I just don't understand why you'd want too.

Would you have preferred it in a ring?

I'd rather not watch people kicking the shit out of each other at all.   It looked horiffic. 

I have no idea what you've been watching but there isn't really any kicking the shit out of each other. It's not 'no holds barred'!

[AdamM]

to be fair, I do understand it being too brutal for some people.
Sure there are technical ground fights or sometimes clean and clinical KOs with no blood or Ground and Pound.

However, sometimes it does get bloody, or the sound of elbow against head against canvas comes through clearly, or a limb will get broken.

If you  don't like combat sports, of any kind, you certainly won't like MMA.

What I don't get is people who will happily watch boxing, but not MMA.

[kinboshi]

League > Union and I grew up in a middle class family down south.

Union just doesn't flow enough and is dogged by penalties that the vast majority of fans couldn't give an opinion on whether the ref was right or wrong to give it that way. These penalties then decide a lot of tight games, farcical state of affairs for a spectator sport.

Union >>>>>>>>>>> League, and I grew up in the middle of Rugby League heartland.

For some reason the stop-start nature of League pisses me off massively.  However, I'm not averse to stop-start games in general, as I adore the NFL, which is as stop-start as it gets.  It's just that Rugby has an alternative version that doesn't suffer from this.

I'm the other way round with rugby.  I find union too stop-start, and too many interruptions in the play.  The ball is in play 75% of a league game, 50% of a football match, and 33% in a union game (can't remember the source for those stats, but they seem pretty accurate - stand to be corrected though).

A good game of union is good.  A bad game is bloody awful.  A poor game of league is still entertaining and worth watching for me though.  Guess it's often what you're brought up watching.

[Boba Fett]

Watched some form of fighting in a cage once and it was brutal, wouldn't watch again, too much for me.   Certainly don't get that, I just don't understand why you'd want too.

Would you have preferred it in a ring?

I'd rather not watch people kicking the shit out of each other at all.   It looked horiffic. 

I have no idea what you've been watching but there isn't really any kicking the shit out of each other. It's not 'no holds barred'!

This, its so technical and tactical now and its shifted massively towards good athletes with excellent technical skills are just way better than crazy tough guy brawlers.  I think it makes it more watchable, like you dont have to be 7 foot tall, 20 stone, be able to bench press a bus and be completely crazy to learn how to compete effectively and with the weight-classes anyone could learn and compete.

Also loving the evolution of it as certain styles used to dominate other styles and now people are getting more well balanced and its showing which parts of different martial arts are effective and which are completely useless.  Like hey Karate blackbelt, you know all that stuff you spent your whole life learning? Well only around 20% of it is useful against another skilled fighter.

MMA has completely revolutionized combat sports and just combat in general

[Matt.NFFC.]

Golf. 

You could be really good in general but on any day you could hit bad shot after bad shot.  How frustrating is that, when practicing seems utterly pointless.  I hated it after I tried to play a round (twice).  Never again will I pick up a club.

Will happily watch the Ryder Cup though!

All Motor Sport.

Round and round and round and round.........dull dull dull.  Only a couple of teams/drivers can win.  Pointless.

Baseball.

The batsman does really well and hits a great shot, only to be caught in the deep easily 'cos he's wearing a FOOKIN GLOVE FFS!.  If they didn't, I'd actually watch it as it would be good to see the fielders use their skill to try and catch them out in the outfield.

[kinboshi]

Watched some form of fighting in a cage once and it was brutal, wouldn't watch again, too much for me.   Certainly don't get that, I just don't understand why you'd want too.

Would you have preferred it in a ring?

I'd rather not watch people kicking the shit out of each other at all.   It looked horiffic. 

I have no idea what you've been watching but there isn't really any kicking the shit out of each other. It's not 'no holds barred'!

This, its so technical and tactical now and its shifted massively towards good athletes with excellent technical skills are just way better than crazy tough guy brawlers.  I think it makes it more watchable, like you dont have to be 7 foot tall, 20 stone, be able to bench press a bus and be completely crazy to learn how to compete effectively and with the weight-classes anyone could learn and compete.

Also loving the evolution of it as certain styles used to dominate other styles and now people are getting more well balanced and its showing which parts of different martial arts are effective and which are completely useless.  Like hey Karate blackbelt, you know all that stuff you spent your whole life learning? Well only around 20% of it is useful against another skilled fighter.

MMA has completely revolutionized combat sports and just combat in general

Isn't that only necessarily true in a ring/cage, when fighting according to specific rules?  Obviously, in the cage you're not allowed to stamp on the knee, attack the throat or eyes, etc., that are all valid targets when I was doing karate (not karate merely for sport).  The mixing of the different disciplines is definitely one of the interesting aspects to me though, and it takes the debate away from 'this' martial art is 'better' than that one.

[redarmi]

Agree with everything said about Rugby union.  I simply don't get it.  Also cannot really watch basketball although I do bet on it a lot.

On Poetry - So you don't like If by Kipling Keith?  Or are impressed by the way Wilfred Owen is able to express the horrors of war so succinctly?  I don't sit around reading poetry but it is a lot more than simply rhyming couplets.  At its best it can express ideas using language better than almost anything else imo.

[kinboshi]

In terms of a spectator sport, I find swimming very unappealing.  I get that they're fantastic athletes, and the dedication and training they put in is immense - I just don't find it exciting to watch.  Maybe it's of limited appeal to those involved in it, like many sports - not one for the uninitiated?

[kinboshi]

League > Union and I grew up in a middle class family down south.

Union just doesn't flow enough and is dogged by penalties that the vast majority of fans couldn't give an opinion on whether the ref was right or wrong to give it that way. These penalties then decide a lot of tight games, farcical state of affairs for a spectator sport.

Union >>>>>>>>>>> League, and I grew up in the middle of Rugby League heartland.

For some reason the stop-start nature of League pisses me off massively.  However, I'm not averse to stop-start games in general, as I adore the NFL, which is as stop-start as it gets.  It's just that Rugby has an alternative version that doesn't suffer from this.

I'm the other way round with rugby.  I find union too stop-start, and too many interruptions in the play.  The ball is in play 75% of a league game, 50% of a football match, and 33% in a union game (can't remember the source for those stats, but they seem pretty accurate - stand to be corrected though).

A good game of union is good.  A bad game is bloody awful.  A poor game of league is still entertaining and worth watching for me though.  Guess it's often what you're brought up watching.

Interesting article with some stats:
http://www.voxy.co.nz/sport/nrl-vs-super-14-differences-game-and-players/971/28136