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Pointless things in sport...

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    #51
    Ten yards from the goal-line (and if deliberate a red card)

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      #52
      Originally posted by Amor de Cosmos View Post
      Ten yards from the goal-line
      Abolish the penalty and the game becomes a kick fest, what's to stop defenders hacking down attackers every time they're on to a through ball or handling the ball when they're caught out of position. A penalty,provided its correctly awarded , is an appropriate punishment.

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        #53
        I disagree, but until it's tried we can never know for sure. As noted cards can still be shown, and FK's close to goal still give the attacking team a considerable advantage.

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          #54
          Originally posted by Sporting View Post
          One point conversion in American Football. Hardly ever misses (anyone know the, er. percentage conversion rate)?
          That’s why the NFL moved it back.

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            #55
            Originally posted by jameswba View Post
            Or Owen Farrell's crouch and sideways stare at the posts as he's about to kick for goal in rugby.
            Oh, that is another one. If Eddie Betts can smash one through the posts on the run from the edge of the pitch, then I'm sure any rugby union kicker can do so without needing ten minutes of total fucking silence from the crowd.

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              #56
              Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View Post
              Those ridiculous celebrations by American Footballers when they make a tackle. Imagine if that happed in association football, high stepping celebrations after a knocking the ball out for a corner...
              Whilst the celebrations are ott, they do tend to come at a time that's crucial in the game. So when it's a 3rd down run for example and they stop the back from reaching for a 1st down and will lead to a turnover. To all intents and purposes, as the Defence don't score very often, this is the equivalent to them scoring a touchdown.

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                #57
                That used to be the case, but they are becoming increasingly common on rather bog standard plays, particularly in college football.

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                  #58
                  This is my favourite long-range kick:



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                    #59
                    Walking races. What's the point? It's so unnatural. And everyone cheats anyway.

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                      #60
                      Originally posted by Kevin S View Post

                      Dunno how you could be disappointed in The Boat Race. Its name tells you exactly what it is.
                      I’m disappointed any year when it doesn’t turn into wild water swimming after a crash

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                        #61
                        I'm not much of a rugby fan though I see a fair bit from time to time (union). My hot take would be to get rid of the ridiculous nonsense of both the scrum and the lineout. The scrum is a shambles, always done wrong and serves no purpose, other than opening up the rest of the pitch a bit. Opening up the pitch would be better served by reducing the game to 12 or 13 a side, but I digress. The lineout is similarly ludicrous. Apparently there are more laws governing the lineout that the whole of football, likewise for the scrum. Replace the scrum with a penalty or similar and the lineout with a soccer style throw in that can't go forward. Sorted.

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                          #62
                          Third and fourth placed playoffs. Bronze medals for both in the Olympics, otherwise just leave it.

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                            #63
                            Originally posted by seand View Post
                            I'm not much of a rugby fan though I see a fair bit from time to time (union). Opening up the pitch would be better served by reducing the game to 12 or 13 a side, but I digress. The lineout is similarly ludicrous. Apparently there are more laws governing the lineout that the whole of football, likewise for the scrum.
                            Hmm, 13 a side without lineouts you say?
                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYcLBexSsCY&t=25m12s
                            Last edited by Kevin S; 13-06-2019, 09:54.

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                              #64
                              Originally posted by Kevin S View Post

                              Hmm, 13 a side without lineouts you say?
                              *inserts winky thing*
                              the attritional nature of rugby makes it a grim watch for the most part

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                                #65
                                As the clip above shows, one of the main drawbacks of RL is that it has a very narrow fanbase, That empty ground is watching Wales v Ireland...

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                                  #66
                                  Game breaks in American Football.

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                                    #67
                                    With the toss in cricket being such an advantage in getting first dibs, instead of a toss determining which team gets the choice the captains should toss the coin with, say, heads being we bat and tails we bowl. Let fate take its course.

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                                      #68
                                      Originally posted by seand View Post
                                      I'm not much of a rugby fan though I see a fair bit from time to time (union). My hot take would be to get rid of the ridiculous nonsense of both the scrum and the lineout. The scrum is a shambles, always done wrong and serves no purpose, other than opening up the rest of the pitch a bit. Opening up the pitch would be better served by reducing the game to 12 or 13 a side, but I digress. The lineout is similarly ludicrous. Apparently there are more laws governing the lineout that the whole of football, likewise for the scrum. Replace the scrum with a penalty or similar and the lineout with a soccer style throw in that can't go forward. Sorted.
                                      Football is a bit disingenuous on the simplicity of it's laws. There are only 17, but it takes ~60 pages to lay them out due to the various sub-clauses. And then a further 80+ pages of clarifications to explain how they are meant to work.
                                      And having looked at the Rugby Union rulebook, there is only one law on the lineout, no.18 out of 21. It just takes 14 pages to explain all the various dimensions of it as the advice and worked examples are incorporated within it rather than listed as an apendix. It takes 10 combined for Football to explain how it's offside rule is meant to work. The most space in the FIFA rulebook (2015/16 version) was devoted to Assistant Referees. It takes 22 pages to explain their role and duties! In fact, the two rulebooks are remarkably similar in total length - 144 pages for Football and 145 for Rugby Union.

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                                        #69
                                        Originally posted by andrew7610 View Post
                                        Oh, add doubles tennis to the list for endless unnecessary fist bumps and high fives.
                                        Yes, all of those. Why do these point-by-point team touches become obligatory in some sports, but not others? I'd like to see the wicket-keeper and first slip fist bump after each delivery (once the ball is dead). There's no evident link between the quality of the volleyball point and the ensuing gesture. It could be a superb smash or a glaring error, the routine doesn't change. So the cricket fielders could do it after a six ... the bowler would love that.

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                                          #70
                                          Oh, if we're in grumpy grandpa mode, flowers thrown on the ice after major skating events. Just clap and cheer loudly, it's free, environmentally-friendly, and saves time.

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                                            #71
                                            Corner flags in football. The complexity of the offside rule for a casual viewer is a given.

                                            In cricket, the arcane nature of so many of the rituals is part of its charm or its unattractiveness, depending on your POV. But I think the slowness of play is the clearest obstacle to a casual observer, and I don't mean over rates but generally the time taken to do anything, and interruptions like movement behind the bowler's arm or needing to move the sidescreen. The apparent lack of any haste to get the game back on after a delay, as noted above, must also bother crowds at the game. Blue sky, no play, WTF?

                                            The fact that the slowest period is often the first hour, when you typically might get 11-12 overs, is also a disadvantage.

                                            Some general things that can easily be dumped: national anthems, medal ceremonies
                                            Last edited by Satchmo Distel; 13-06-2019, 10:57.

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                                              #72
                                              Originally posted by Kevin S View Post
                                              As the clip above shows, one of the main drawbacks of RL is that it has a very narrow fanbase, That empty ground is watching Wales v Ireland...
                                              I mean...that's what happens when you build a game to revolve around clubs in Northern mill or mine towns or neighbourhoods of Sydney (with a fairly lackadaisical approach to expansion, historically) and regard international footy as an irritating bother.

                                              Look at club and even provincial* rugby union, draw five figures and you're bossing it. It's the international game that people actually give a toss about.

                                              *though the first decade of Super 12 and, in particular, Super 12 cohabiting the landscape with already existing domestic provincial competitions in NZ and SA shows rugby union got this badly wrong. Average attendance is down loads. By how much is difficult to quantify but I've seen people claim somewhere around 40%.



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                                                #73
                                                Originally posted by Flynnie View Post
                                                I mean...that's what happens when you build a game to revolve around clubs in Northern mill or mine towns or neighbourhoods of Sydney (with a fairly lackadaisical approach to expansion, historically) and regard international footy as an irritating bother.
                                                The former wasn't entirely through choice, and the latter is particular to Australia.

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                                                  #74
                                                  Originally posted by Walt Flanagans Dog View Post

                                                  The former wasn't entirely through choice, and the latter is particular to Australia.
                                                  It also discounts the thriving game as it exists in Queensland. There may only be about 3 NRL clubs there, but every small town and suburb has a very big RL culture

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                                                    #75
                                                    Australia doesn't take the international game seriously, well that's sort of a problem for the whole of rugby league considering they don't take it seriously and are still the best country in the world at RL, occasionally by a considerable margin.

                                                    And bully for Queensland rugby league, good thing the NRL waited until 1988 to give Queensland a club. And yes, I know it was still called the NSWRL at the time. That's part of my point.

                                                    There is no intrinsic reason for, say, Wales and New Zealand to prefer a historically amateur code to one that pays, except for the lack of proper international rugby.

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