Question for ex-football and rugby players. Do you miss the violence?

[FLMountainMan]

Do you miss the violence? I’m not violent by nature, I’ve been involved in two fights in my life and have actually been told I don’t get mad enough more than a few times. But I really miss the jarring hits and violence of football. I wasn’t a particularly hard hitter in football in high school; at 6’2, 165 lbs., I was usually on the receiving end. FFS, I’m 35 years old (and the same weight) and I still relish the few collisions I’m involved in during soccer and basketball. I miss the bruising, the shock, the pain, the desperate split-second battle of position as the collision comes and you and your opponent both try to brace. The thing I miss the most is running back kicks. The focused fear as I caught the ball, looked up to see eleven bigass dudes sprinting towards me, and then actually began sprinting towards them. I remember I used to actually giggle when I made someone miss, even though I was seconds away from getting clobbered. Such a rush.

I think that’s why I like goalkeeping in soccer so much. It’s a somewhat similar feeling (but not nearly the rush). Anyway, anyone else out there think the same way or am I just a masochist with anger issues?

 

[FLMountainMan]

Guess it's just me.....

 

[Thomas]

um, is your future wife aware of this, ummm...proclivity towards being, um, laid out?

(I keed, I keed)

 

[West24]

i feel the same way about boxing. when i dont go for a while i really feel like punching something really hard. once you start i think you always yearn for the feeling of being able to hit and take aggression out in that manner.

 

[HgaleK]

I'm rather mellow by nature. I've been in a few more fights than you, but I'm the first guy to take a deep breath and walk away just because I don't see the point in risking your life over looking like hot ****. That said, I miss it like a motherfucker in football. I didn't get in to my swing until the end of season my freshman year of highschool, but when I did it was like a switch flipped in my head. I went from just playing my position to feeling like an attack dog tugging at the end of his leash, waiting for the snap to free me, and then the crack of my pads against his as took my prey to the ground. The contact went from being a necessary evil to the fuel that drove me.

 

[lasbar]

I was a little **** when I was playing football, getting sent off in my teens...

I strangely enough came down a lot when I was playing rugby...

Got into a few scraps but nothing major...

The fact i was 2 stones lighter than the other guys was part of this new found zeny attitude.

I don't like fighting at all except on a football or rugby pitch...

 

[HomerJ]

Played DB in high school. Role model was Chuck Cecil so you can imagine my play style. Would be nonstop penalty flags today..

Actually broke open my own face mask my junior year from repeated hits to the top bar. Got suspended for laying out a guy a good second after the ball went yards out of bounds uncatchable. It was on their sideline too LOL

I don't miss it. Too old for it. But the feel of going THROUGH someone is something else.

 

[in stitches]

Violence is one of the best parts of football. A guy getting flat laid out on a kickoff, dayam. Its gets more timid each year and ill miss it.

 

[origenesprit]



i feel the same way about boxing. when i dont go for a while i really feel like punching something really hard. once you start i think you always yearn for the feeling of being able to hit and take aggression out in that manner.

Same here.

 

[Piobaire]

Being on the wrong side of 40 now I think I can tell you most of this is a function of testosterone. When I was a kid I had a rather bad temper and would literally see red, as in the edges of my field of vision would pulse in red. Time would also slow down. I loved the physical nature of the sports I played. I kept that zest for physical impact for years but it has been slowly fading over the years. The last time I thought I was going to get into a donnybrook I can just remember thinking how stupid I would look if I showed up for work on Monday with a split lip of my knuckles all skinned. While I have fond memories of those times I am fine with the fact those days are past.

 

[globetrotter]

hmmm. good question, actually. I didn't really play any bal games seriously as a kid, but I did various martial arts, and then was in the military and security. then I gave it all up for a long time, and I guess I really missed it, but didn't realize what it was that I missed.

for the past few years I've been back boxing and doing some other phyiscal stuff - judo, BJJ, krav, and I am really enjoying it. I think that there is as aspect with men that roughhousing and being phyiscal is part of us, although I also agree with Pio that with age it diminishes.

 

[akatsuki]

Played rugby through college and did MMA too... It was pretty fun, but realistically it is more the high from heavy exertion - doing crossfit and O-lifts gets me that.

 

[Reynard369]

I think it's interesting that you see goalkeeper as the closest to other, more physical sports. I've played every position in soccer, and while you'll certainly get hit a good amount as teams try to jar you, you might like playing as a defender. Center backs spend a lot of time going up in the air trying to head balls away from their own goals, and fullbacks get to put in the best (see: hardest) tackles.

 

[FLMountainMan]



I think it's interesting that you see goalkeeper as the closest to other, more physical sports. I've played every position in soccer, and while you'll certainly get hit a good amount as teams try to jar you, you might like playing as a defender. Center backs spend a lot of time going up in the air trying to head balls away from their own goals, and fullbacks get to put in the best (see: hardest) tackles.

I was a little unclear - I don't see goalkeeper as the most physical position (although I do my best). I meant more the feeling of getting the kick in football, looking upfield and seeing everyone running at you. When there's a breakaway in soccer and two forwards are racing towards you, it feels the same.

But yeah, I love playing defender, but when I joined my current team, it became clear I was one of the least skilled (I've only been playing soccer since January). So, to feel like I contributed, I volunteered to play goalkeep. I play a really active, upfield style, challenging everything. It's fun

 

[NorCal]

Yeah, i miss it a lot.