Football

The thick, broad-shouldered athlete breathes heavily and grunts with each step as he and his teammates push mightily against the opposition. His arms are locked over his teammates' shoulders, all of their heads down. The two teams are pushing against each other like two moose fighting over territory. He looks down to see the ball, sitting just in front of his feet. If he could just hook it with his foot and heave it to his teammate behind him...

This is what every player in a scrum is thinking while they fight each other for possession. Rugby is the true sport of men, because you wear no pads, and it is even more violent than football; however, football requires that you wear pads, thus being the true sport of want-to-be men.

The rules of these similar yet vastly different games are extremely complex, so only the basics are necessary to distinguish the better sport. In football, the primary rule is that you must advance the ball forward by throwing it or running with it. Once a player with the ball is downed, the entire team lines up again, and the ball is snapped to the quarterback. The short pause in-between each down may not seem significant, but it definitely takes its toll on the excitement.

In rugby, however, the primary rule is that you can only advance the ball by running with, kicking, or passing it. With passing, though, you can only pass the ball backwards or directly to your side, never forward. Like football, you score by running the ball into the endzone or by kicking it through the uprights. Also, you must touch the ball to the ground for it to count, and it is worth five points. When kicking, the ball can be kicked from

anywhere spontaneously. If it passes through the uprights, it is worth three points, as in football.

The equipment for the two sports is widely different, with football requiring much more. In football, players must wear a large set of pads, covering most of their body, and a masked helmet. The ball is made up of an inflated rubber bladder, surrounded by stitched leather, and it appears ellipsoidal in shape. Most