Alternative sports?

[tallwingedgoat]

Most of the sports we know today were invented in the late 1800s but the rules were not formalized for decades. What are some changes to popular sports that would make them more successful? Are there also overlooked sports that should be given a chance?

I think association football would be better if it were more like basketball. Get rid of the goalie and just make the goal smaller. Give extra points for long distance goals. The game would be faster with much higher scoring.

MMA would be better if there's a time limit for ground fights. It would be more exciting as well as more realistic because in a real fight you don't have the luxury of staying on the ground long.

Fencing should use heavier, more realistic weighed "swords". The game right now is too fast and too tilted toward teenagers.

 

[Cockroach]

Fencing should use heavier, more realistic weighed "swords". The game right now is too fast and too tilted toward teenagers.

May I ask how much experiance you've actually got on the fencing piste or if this is just mutterings by someone who knows the name of the sport but little more?
Personally, I'd say do away with the [insert extensive string of expletives] priority/right of way rules for Sabre. That and make sure foils are a bit more rigid to put an end to people scoring by flicking the blade past the guard.

 

[tallwingedgoat]

May I ask how much experiance you've actually got on the fencing piste or if this is just mutterings by someone who knows the name of the sport but little more?
Personally, I'd say do away with the [insert extensive string of expletives] priority/right of way rules for Sabre. That and make sure foils are a bit more rigid to put an end to people scoring by flicking the blade past the guard.

I have no experience with fencing. I'm a kendo and iaido practitioner and find fencing uninteresting to watch. I have a collection of historically accurate European sword replicas, sadly modern fencing has next to no application to the real swords of the past.

 

[MacCaulay]

Back in the early-20th century, forward passing (i.e. passing past the line of scrimmage) was illegal in football. It got changed for the sake of making a more interesting game since most teams were rushing instead and this tended to produce smaller yard gains.
Once they changed the rules to allow forward passing, the yardage gains in games increased dramatically.

Harry Turtledove used this in a very interesting way in the American Empire series, keeping both versions of football going.
This mirrored in many ways the current state of baseball with the Designated Hitter rule, where in the American League the batting team can put in a DH for the pitcher but in the National League the pitcher has to bat.

It would be kind of interesting to see how football would have progressed had the AFC and the NFC worked out in that same way in OTL.

 

[TheSevenLeggedFallyDowner]

Back in the early-20th century, forward passing (i.e. passing past the line of scrimmage) was illegal in football. It got changed for the sake of making a more interesting game since most teams were rushing instead and this tended to produce smaller yard gains.
Once they changed the rules to allow forward passing, the yardage gains in games increased dramatically.

Harry Turtledove used this in a very interesting way in the American Empire series, keeping both versions of football going.
This mirrored in many ways the current state of baseball with the Designated Hitter rule, where in the American League the batting team can put in a DH for the pitcher but in the National League the pitcher has to bat.

It would be kind of interesting to see how football would have progressed had the AFC and the NFC worked out in that same way in OTL.

That would be crazy. Interesting, but crazy. With the DH rule, it's a fairly minor differennce. The forward pass is a MAJOR part of the game. It would change the whole pace and strategy of the game. If they did it like interleague play like baseball does (where they play by the home teams rules), the home team would always win. Also, the AFC/NFC thing probably wouldn't happen. The rule was changed in the early 20th century. There was no AFC until the AFL was formed in the 1960s. I suppose we could have the AFL form with the old rules, almost like a rebellion against the rule change, but in that case I doubt the leagues would ever merge.

I always thought it would be cool if the NBA had more than just a 3-point line. Maybe they could have a series of half-circles to deliniate between different point values from 1-5. That could make for a more interesting game. Plus it would make comebacks easier. Of course, the 5-point line would be at like half-court.

 

[flippikat]

Most of the sports we know today were invented in the late 1800s but the rules were not formalized for decades. What are some changes to popular sports that would make them more successful? Are there also overlooked sports that should be given a chance?

Rugby Football.

Basically the evolution of Rugby, if the English Rugby administration allowed players to be compensated in 1895.... with none of the northern clubs splitting off to form Rugby League.

Imagine a world in 2008 with nationwide rugby competitions in England and Australia, involving the best of all union/league talent.

A game that still features line-outs, but includes "play the ball" from Rugby League, and 6-tackle sets. (introduced to create a fairer split of posession in games, after dominance by a few teams in the 50s/60s...)

 

[MacCaulay]

That would be crazy. Interesting, but crazy. With the DH rule, it's a fairly minor differennce. The forward pass is a MAJOR part of the game. It would change the whole pace and strategy of the game. If they did it like interleague play like baseball does (where they play by the home teams rules), the home team would always win. Also, the AFC/NFC thing probably wouldn't happen. The rule was changed in the early 20th century. There was no AFC until the AFL was formed in the 1960s. I suppose we could have the AFL form with the old rules, almost like a rebellion against the rule change, but in that case I doubt the leagues would ever merge.

I always thought it would be cool if the NBA had more than just a 3-point line. Maybe they could have a series of half-circles to deliniate between different point values from 1-5. That could make for a more interesting game. Plus it would make comebacks easier. Of course, the 5-point line would be at like half-court.

James Naismith played with that idea. It eventually came down to the point that there were just too many circles and lines on the court. I mean, christ, you've got three complete circles between the keys and the center. It was just too confusing. The funny thing is it would've been possible today, especially with the camera technology they developed for tracking football games and posting lines of scrimmage.

But you're right. It would never happen. You'd have to make some sort of World Series/interleague rule like you mentioned. I suppose if...say...wherever you're playing the Super Bowl, that team's conference's rules apply kind of thing could work. But I still don't see it happening.

Though it would be interesting to see what difference that would've made with, say...the Bears (seeing as I'm a Bears fan) a few years ago, who's weakness was most assuredly in their quarterback and who's strength was in their defense.
Most kids wouldn't have quarterback posters on their walls, they'd have linemen.

 

[Ruschurch]

If the whole split conference thing went down in football, how would you determine which rules of football are played in the Super Bowl?

Seriously, you couldn't have teams playing with and without the forward pass compete with each other.

It would be like having the champion of the Rugby World Cup, the Football (soccer) World Cup, the Super Bowl, and Aussie Rules Football play a round robin championship where the rules were determined at the coin flip. Every game would be over as soon as the stupid oversized coin hit the ground.

 

[redsoxrule124245]

Back in the early-20th century, forward passing (i.e. passing past the line of scrimmage) was illegal in football. It got changed for the sake of making a more interesting game since most teams were rushing instead and this tended to produce smaller yard gains.
Once they changed the rules to allow forward passing, the yardage gains in games increased dramatically.

Harry Turtledove used this in a very interesting way in the American Empire series, keeping both versions of football going.
This mirrored in many ways the current state of baseball with the Designated Hitter rule, where in the American League the batting team can put in a DH for the pitcher but in the National League the pitcher has to bat.

It would be kind of interesting to see how football would have progressed had the AFC and the NFC worked out in that same way in OTL.

forward passing was made legal mainly to decrease injuries. that's why the double wing double tight end formation is illegal in College and pros, to many injuries

 

[Fenrir_Angerboda]

I have no experience with fencing. I'm a kendo and iaido practitioner and find fencing uninteresting to watch. I have a collection of historically accurate European sword replicas, sadly modern fencing has next to no application to the real swords of the past.

I do Ki-Aikido and Find Fencing intresting.
but let's put it this way, do you see people doing a sport/martial art that involves a wooden replica of a Claymore or Gladius?

 

[Alexius]

I have no experience with fencing. I'm a kendo and iaido practitioner and find fencing uninteresting to watch. I have a collection of historically accurate European sword replicas, sadly modern fencing has next to no application to the real swords of the past.

It certainly isn't a sport "focused towards teenagers", experience is more important than physical speed or strength. Fencing has an Under-23 category, because people that young are at a disadvantage against older, more experienced fencers. Some examples:
The French epee team in Beiijing included the Jeannet brothers (28 and 31), and Ulrich Robeiri (26). They won gold. The youngest men's fencing medallists were 23 (Yuki Ota of Japan, who won silver in individual foil and James Williams of the USA, who won silver in team sabre). The oldest was 35- Luigi Tarantino of Italy, who won bronze in team sabre.

A sport where there are very few medallists younger than their mid to late 20s, and several in their 30s, is not one "focused towards teenagers".

 

[MacCaulay]

If the whole split conference thing went down in football, how would you determine which rules of football are played in the Super Bowl?

Seriously, you couldn't have teams playing with and without the forward pass compete with each other.

It would be like having the champion of the Rugby World Cup, the Football (soccer) World Cup, the Super Bowl, and Aussie Rules Football play a round robin championship where the rules were determined at the coin flip. Every game would be over as soon as the stupid oversized coin hit the ground.

Basically, you could make it so that the rules of whatever team's stadium you're playing the Super Bowl in apply. So...let's say the AFC has the forward pass, and you're playing in Kansas City, then you'd be playing WITH the forward pass (meaning: as we know football today.).
If you're playing in, say, Green Bay, which is in the NFC, then you'd be playing WITHOUT the forward pass.

So we're basically grafting the DH usage rule from Major League Baseball onto the NFL. It would work out pretty well, I think.

As a Bears fan, I'd be psyched to see this. We could more or less destroy any team's rushing game and fire back with the fact that we didn't have to build around our quarterbacks anyway.

 

[Campbell1004]

Pistoling. Now let me explain before you cry out in anguish, "Hey man! Thats already a sport!"

In my Pistoling, two teams of three each are given pistols with full clips and camouflage uniforms. Then they are dropped on a jungle island with three days of worth of water and food. If one team doesnt kill the other in that time both teams lose and are fed to lions.

The lions have pistols as well.

 

[Thande]

I think it would be interesting if cricket (and its derivatives baseball and rounders) had continued using the early 18th century bat, which was shaped more like a hockey stick.

This might be a consequence of the wars in the 18th century being different, as apparently cricket in Britain swiftly developed in a cycle of spurts of popularity and then falling out of favour, spending on whether the troops were at home and bored or away at war.

 

[TheSevenLeggedFallyDowner]

Pistoling. Now let me explain before you cry out in anguish, "Hey man! Thats already a sport!"

In my Pistoling, two teams of three each are given pistols with full clips and camouflage uniforms. Then they are dropped on a jungle island with three days of worth of water and food. If one team doesnt kill the other in that time both teams lose and are fed to lions.

The lions have pistols as well.

This is supposed to be alternate sports, not alternate barbaric methods of execution. Unless of course you're thinking like paintball with pistols or something.

 

[Campbell1004]

This is supposed to be alternate sports, not alternate barbaric methods of execution. Unless of course you're thinking like paintball with pistols or something.

Ya... Paintball....

But I would watch three on three games of guys with paintball guns hunting each other through the woods. Or better yet, large scale paintball conflicts without the crappy cardboard tanks and such.

 

[TheSevenLeggedFallyDowner]

Ya... Paintball....

But I would watch three on three games of guys with paintball guns hunting each other through the woods. Or better yet, large scale paintball conflicts without the crappy cardboard tanks and such.

Could be fun to watch.