AWs soccer success fails to impress all in Dunedin

Dear Mr. MacDOnald,

35,000 people.  Best atmosphere ever at a New Zealand sporting event.  Off to the worlds biggest sporting event.  Who cares what it's called, the whole country is talking about it.

Lubs
News.

Flights to Wellington $230, match tickets $39, watching tired old farts roll out the same tedious arguments, PRICELESS WORTHLESS

I SYMPATHISE with Alan McDonald's sentiment that all the other games are forms of football. However, it must be clarified that the game of rugby historically sprang from a rebellious group of footballers, who could not agree with a new set of rules, supported by the majority of players and clubs, which aimed to reduce ongoing tendencies for indiscriminate property damage, injury, and death experienced during the hitherto mob-propelled game. While this wayward group of sportsmen preferred to perpetuate practices of shin kicking, tripping and carrying the ball, the newly formed Football Association forbade any handling of the ball.

While it could be argued that rugby may represent football in its most original form, one cannot deny that the Football Association rules immortalised soccer as the true ball game of the foot.

Cath[/quote]

[quote]ALAN McDonald believes that we should continue to copy the Americans in referring to "football" as "soccer". The truth is that well over 90% of the world uses the term "football". It is the accepted international term for the game. I can understand the Americans using "soccer" but this is only because they have an existing game they refer to as "football".

Rather than "soccer people arrogantly forcing the term on us", we should be happy to play in the Fifa (sic) World Cup, rather than use a term that is seen as an American comedy name for the world sport.

Tim