Why does the NFL play way less games than other sports?
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Let’s look at the nature of the sport. Big guys, the bigger the better, get a running head start and smash into each other. More often than not, they get hit by more than one guy. Now, take the size differentials between the guys running into each other. In my playing days, high school and community college, I was 5′ 8″ and 195# and played linebacker. I was supposed to tackle running backs that were 6′ 2′ and 220#. How about a wide receiver that was 6′ 4″, 180# getting hit by a defensive back that was 6′ 1″ but 210#? That 30# can make a big difference.
I wrestled at the 167# weight class. Every guy I ever wrestled weighed 167# or maybe a little less. It was an even match up. On the mat, height didn’t make a difference. Well it did a little. Since I was shorter than most of my opponents, I had a lower center of gravity so they had a little harder time taking me down. There are very strict rules as to the holds and how hard you can take down your opponent. Body slams, like in that phony WWE, are absolutely forbidden.
In baseball, size makes absolutely no difference. Our “*shortstop*” was 6′ 0″! I played catcher. Our 3rd baseman was 5′ 6″. Our left fielder was 6′ 6″. In baseball it’s speed, for baserunning, and technique, for batting. Most contact of opposing player in accidental, except for runners coming home and having played linebacker, they usually got the worst of the encounter. Now there are rules against severe contact when the runner is coming home! Sissy la-las!?!
So, the reason football has way fewer games is because of the injuries involved during the regular course of the game. A tight end is doing a crossing pass pattern and I get a free shot at him when he catches the ball. A 6′ 0″, 200# running back runs a swing pattern to catch a flare pass, he catches the ball and gets leveled by a 6′ 4″, 220# cornerback. He gets knocked goofy, NOT by any malintent by the cornerback, it’s just the nature of the game.
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