Football pundits v rugby pundits

[CrumblingTerrace]

I'm a fan of both sports. What I love about rugby commentary and punditry is that they don't take things too seriously. There are plenty of occasions where they make light of what's happening on the pitch or poke fun at one another (I'm looking at you, Ben and Austin).

Football, in contrast, is so serious. They have to build up the drama, the magnitude, the stakes of every match and every moment. That's the product Sky sell.

[ourla]

I'm a fan of both sports. What I love about rugby commentary and punditry is that they don't take things too seriously. There are plenty of occasions where they make light of what's happening on the pitch or poke fun at one another (I'm looking at you, Ben and Austin).

Football, in contrast, is so serious. They have to build up the drama, the magnitude, the stakes of every match and every moment. That's the product Sky sell.

It's weird but football commentary on the radio is much more jocular - like you say on TV it's less say.

That said a lot of people seem to not like Austin.

[Noggs]

The ref has a very difficult job in controlling what is a technically complex sport and hence is always right, even when he's wrong.

At local league level he often has to rely of coaches from both teams to run the line and hence has no help with decisions other than with respect to the ball going out of play and the conversion of a try, It is therefore important that he is given respect. There is a formal system for coaches to comment on performance if they wish but most refs are happy to discuss any 'incidents' over a pint in the bar after the game.

The professional game is clearly different in many respects but I like the way the pundits look at various decisions and often give their views without hammering the ref if he disagrees. As a supporter I often call what I see at the time only to find I was wrong when later reviewed. That's part of the pleasures in watching sport.

Debate on the forum about referring decisions is fine but at the end of the day it has no effect as the decisions have been made. We all have refs we like and don't like dependent on our views on how the have performed but I for one have respect to all of them. Without the officials we would have no sport to watch.

[Dokie]

The ref has a very difficult job in controlling what is a technically complex sport and hence is always right, even when he's wrong.

At local league level he often has to rely of coaches from both teams to run the line and hence has no help with decisions other than with respect to the ball going out of play and the conversion of a try, It is therefore important that he is given respect. There is a formal system for coaches to comment on performance if they wish but most refs are happy to discuss any 'incidents' over a pint in the bar after the game.

The professional game is clearly different in many respects but I like the way the pundits look at various decisions and often give their views without hammering the ref if he disagrees. As a supporter I often call what I see at the time only to find I was wrong when later reviewed. That's part of the pleasures in watching sport.

Debate on the forum about referring decisions is fine but at the end of the day it has no effect as the decisions have been made. We all have refs we like and don't like dependent on our views on how the have performed but I for one have respect to all of them. Without the officials we would have no sport to watch.

Great post.

[Tiglon]

The ref has a very difficult job in controlling what is a technically complex sport and hence is always right, even when he's wrong.

At local league level he often has to rely of coaches from both teams to run the line and hence has no help with decisions other than with respect to the ball going out of play and the conversion of a try, It is therefore important that he is given respect. There is a formal system for coaches to comment on performance if they wish but most refs are happy to discuss any 'incidents' over a pint in the bar after the game.

The professional game is clearly different in many respects but I like the way the pundits look at various decisions and often give their views without hammering the ref if he disagrees. As a supporter I often call what I see at the time only to find I was wrong when later reviewed. That's part of the pleasures in watching sport.

Debate on the forum about referring decisions is fine but at the end of the day it has no effect as the decisions have been made. We all have refs we like and don't like dependent on our views on how the have performed but I for one have respect to all of them. Without the officials we would have no sport to watch.

Great post.

Seconded!

I disagree with many decisions, but I always respect the referees for the job they do. More often than not it's the complex nature of the laws rather than the referee himself that leads to problems - no individual law is particularly complicated, but they all affect each other and when trying to apply numerous laws to any given situation there is always room for different interpretations.