The conversation will usually start with someone saying that football should be played with the feet. In a statement about soccer and American football. “What you guys should really call it is egg-in-hand-ball.” Then they laugh at their joke. They then follow that up with rugby being the better game because they aren’t all padded up.

My response to both these statements is soccer or football is boring. You sit for three hours watching guys run back and forth on a field, and when they get kicked in the shins, they roll over crying about it. When it comes to rugby versus American football, I say we can have both in the world. They are different games and don’t need to compete with one another. Yes, Americans are all padded up, but that’s because they hit each other so hard they often get concussions. I know this isn’t as much of an issue in Rugby because they spend the game huddled together on the field reaching under each other’s sweaty crotches looking for the ball. But to each their own. One game throws the ball forward and the other behind them. One involves an understanding of the game to play, and the other consists of a bunch of hugs and ball grabbing. To each their own I say.

There are two better games that I have found while living in Ireland. The first is Gaelic Football and the second is Hurling. I’ve you have never heard of these, then you should check them out, and try to make them a national sport in your own country. Gaelic Football is like soccer but interesting as it involves bouncing the ball on the field and multiple way of scoring. Hurling, my favorite of the two is like hockey, lacrosse, and baseball.  What’s great about these sports is they are played by people who love playing them. The players don’t really make any money at them. In Hurling, if a guy gets kicked or in some cases hit in the head with the hurly stick, they don’t cry about it, they keep playing with blood running down their heads. In Gaelic Football they don’t just run back and forth they bounce the ball they kick the ball, they have multiple ways of scoring, and if someone gets knocked over they don’t cry about it, they get up and keep playing.

So let us stop the whole American versus European sports conversation and just embrace Hurling and Gaelic Football as they are way better than Soccer and American Football.