Rasho Brezec wrote:Al n' Perk No Layups! wrote:Rasho Brezec wrote:I was talking about handball, not water polo.
Point still stands.
Did you ever watch an entire game of handball? This is a sport full of hard contacts literally on every possession, just like american football. You are being hammered by 6'5" 225 lbs guys everytime you have the ball on offense. The first thing coaches teach you about handball is how to fall because you're on the floor most of the time.
Also, like in american football, injuries are pretty severe. One player got hit in the eye and almost got blinded because of that. I know a lot of people who played handball and can't even lift their shooting arm now because of shoulder injuries.
I'd say these two sports are quite comparable in terms of toughness.
Handball has contact that more closely resembles that of Basketball than that of Football. 225lbs is light for a football player, and getting hammered is not as bad as being nearly cut in half. Too rough in handball gets a foul, too rough in football gets a congratulation. Getting hit in the eye is a freak incident, Orlando Brown was nearly blinded by being hit in the eye from a flag. The eye is a soft, delicate structure which could easily be damaged. Eye damage is not a measure of toughness, you could be blinded in rhythmic gymnastics. How many broken spines have come from playing handball? Broken legs? Torn ACLs, PCLs, MCLs or entire knee blowouts? How many snapped achilles? Broken arms? Broken Pelvis? Internal injuries? Brain damage? Torn ligaments? Broken feet?
Football players get more injuries and play through more injuries than any other athletes. Giants rookie LB Jonathan Goff just broke the transverse process in his back, and he's expected back by the end of preseason. Here's just a small rundown of some of the notable injuries players on my team (NY Giants)
played through this season:
David Diehl our starting left tackle tore ligaments in his hand, if you know anything about football you know hands are pretty important when blocking. He didn't even miss a single practice.
In fact he's only missed one practice his entire football career and no games despite multiple nagging injuries.
Eli Manning our starting QB separated his throwing shoulder causing a torn labrum in the first game of the season, not only did he not miss a game, he came back in during that same game and threw a TD.
Plaxico Burress our number one WR sprained his right ankle early in the season, he couldn't practice because it was so painful, as a receiver he was putting a lot of pressure on that ankle not only to run but to make sharp cuts while running routes and landings off of jump balls, yet he played every game.
Aaron Ross our rookie CB strained his hamstring and missed only one game.
Shaun O' Hara our starting Center sprained his knee and missed only one game.
Osi Umenyiora our starting Right Defensive End sprained his knee in the first game of the season and did not miss a game.
Brandon Jacobs badly sprained his knee after an O lineman fell on him in the first game, he missed five games and then was back playing full speed.
Sam Madison played the entire regular season battling a hamstring injury.
Antonio Pierce our starting MLB suffered a concussion mid season, missed a couple of practices then was back on the field without missing a single game.
David Tyree our pro bowl special teamer missed two games with a fractured wrist (and an additional one after his mother died).
Kiwika Mitchell our starting weakside LB sprained his knee in the last game of the season but didn't miss a single playoff game.
The only major contributors who missed major time or could not come back from injury were Mathias Kiwanuka with a broken fibula late in the season after Osi fell on his leg, Derrick Ward with a broken leg mid-season, Craig Dahl with a torn ACL at the end of the season, and Steve Smith who missed most of the season with a broken scapula but was back for the playoffs.
I know there were more injuries that either I can't remember or you don't hear about (pulls, minor sprains and strains).
That's just one team, who had a relatively healthy season. That's not even getting into ironman legends like Brett Farve, who have battle through crazy amounts of injuries.
For every one guy that can't lift his arm from playing handball there are 100 Football players who suffer from debilitating injuries or worse (quadriplegic, paralysis from waist down, dead, etc).
Handball is a contact sport, Football is a collision sport. The two do not compare.