No offense or judgement meant to anyone if that’s your thing (to each their own). That’s just how I see pretty much all professional sports - the super bowl is just the poster child for it.

  • 🐍🩶🐢@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    A man from England told me this, when talking about the difference between Rugby and American Football. Rugby is a thug sport played by gentlemen. Football is a gentleman’s sport played by thugs.

    • mahomz@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      This is a very well known phrase in England, but it refers to football (soccer) and rugby. I have never heard this in reference to American football and cannot even imagine how the meaning would translate.

      The meaning of it comes from football being a supposedly gentle game of skill, but played and loved by the common people and with a long history of bad behaviour on and off the pitch, versus rugby being a rough, bruising, injury riddled sport that was played by aristocratic rich kids in private schools who are all excellent young men destined for greatness.

      Of course this is mostly oversimplified bollocks, but with just enough truth behind it to make it funny.

    • yata@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      I think you confused football with Amerixan football. It is referring to what you would call soccer.

      • 🐍🩶🐢@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Nope. This was a comment from a Brit when we were discussing the difference between Rugby and American football. I found it an apt description at the time.

    • Minotaur@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      Feels… vaguely racist.

      Maybe not even vaguely. Like I really cannot think of what the distinguishing line between “rugby players” and “American football players” is that would make one group ‘thugs’ other than “one of them is predominantly black”

      • 🐍🩶🐢@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        He was describing American football players/teams as thugs. It is not meant with race in mind at all. For a little context there was some big argument going on the TV and the American team was throwing a hissy fit and screaming at the officials.

        Edit, to add: Rugby can be quite violent, but the players have some respect for the game and officials. I don’t really follow sports, but I found Rugby fascinating when I was over there! What a neat game.