There’s a football vs. cricket discussion over at Corridor of Uncertainty. Not surprisingly, since it’s a cricket blog, everyone is saying how wonderful cricket is and how much football could learn from it.
But I still think that for moments of sheer, jaw-dropping brilliance, football is streets ahead of cricket, just because it’s less structured. Even the most memorable moments in cricket - like Warne’s famous Gatting ball - are variations on a theme. Yes, it was an extraordinarily good leg-break, but it was still rather like all his other leg-breaks. The great moments in football - from Gordon Banks, Maradona, Cruyff, Archie Gemmill, Paul Gascoigne - give you the sense of someone doing something impossible and unthought of. It’s like watching a magic trick, except invented on the spur of the moment in front of 70 000 people and with the World Cup at stake.
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Football, at its best, is unrivalled for drama, skill and passion - yet it seems to have gone downhill somewhat recently. For my money, the Premiership/Sky era has done the game some serious damage as well as some good. I’ve spoken to a lot of people over the last 12 months who are feeling disillusioned with football - but I’m sure that this general low feeling will disappear as the World Cup approaches.
I know what you mean. The relentless need to feed media space means the actual football gets lost in a constant white noise of transfer speculation and personality clashes and love-rat stories. Sport should be a simple pleasure, and some of the joy of it is lost. But as you say, the World Cup takes some beating.
I also think, though, that football gets a raw deal. It was reported after the Rugby World Cup that, on the way back from Australia, Mike Tindall tried to break the record for most cans of beer drunk on the flight - which is something like 27. But because he’s a rugby player (and, admittedly, because he’d just won the RWC) it was just a bit of a joke. Can you imagine the coverage if it had been Wayne Rooney?
cricket is the best sporteva no question
cricket and football both best sports ever most famouse sports is well but i like cricket then football
Football popularity is unrivaled. When someone says the World Cup even in India it means the Football World Cup. For all other sports it has to say Cricket World Cup or Basketball World Cup, etc. Even in India there is around 100000 people for inter club rivalry. Ok its only in Calcutta, but its there. FIFA has over 210 members. You need to qualify for the World Cup & for that matter all the Continental Championships , except probably Copa America.
Competition is intense at all levels. The Club structure is the best of all sports. The players are well known everywhere in the world. They have fanatical fan following. No other sport will have a Club Team visit another country than its origin and still have a house full and people lining up for a view of the players. Because of these club culture in football we see amazing teams of great players playing together. Well some American sports does have this but their popularity outside the USA & probably Canada is nothing to write home about. It will take a lot to displace football as the most viewed, followed & popular sport in the world.
Cricket has been an old sport, maybe with the newest format T20 they will have some air time to compete which is not Nation specific.
cricket is a boring game than football .. you can get giant killing in football.