by Mark Schwartz

Created on: June 27, 2009

The very nature of one sport being better than another is highly subjective, but there are certain things most sports fans would think are important to any sport: interesting players, exciting plays, and fascinating traditions. An analysis of each of these three factors shows that hockey is a better sport that football.

For one thing, interesting players are a big part of both hockey and football. What makes a player interesting? Both good and bad behavior can be interesting, but one thing most fans will not tolerate is bad behavior that affects someone's play on the field. Date supermodels, be involved in scandals, but don't cheat and don't fail to give maximum effort. This is where hockey has a distinct advantage. Certainly there are characters in hockey (Sean Avery's recent exploits are well-known), but for the most part they don't let it get in the way of their play on the ice. Fighting, for example is not only part of the game of hockey, but it can provide a major strategic advantage. In football, however, fighting can draw major penalties, suspensions, and, worst of all, never provides a strategic advantage on the field. When football players fight with each other, they can still be interesting, but not in a way most sports fans would want. When hockey players fight with each other, they can obtain legendary status and help their team win. The players in hockey are usually interesting because of their dating lives or run-ins with the law off the field, and most fans are OK with that. The players in football are more likely to be criticizing their coaches, whining about their contracts, and refusing to play hard when unmotivatedthis is not something the fans are generally OK with.

Both hockey and football have exciting plays, but in hockey you are less likely to know when an exciting play is likely to happen. This makes it necessary for fans to keep paying constant attention to the game, making things more exciting. In football, most fans know they can step out for a bathroom break after a touchdown is scored, since there will be an almost-routine extra point, then a brief timeout, and then a kickoff. While it's true that touchdowns can be scored on any play, long touchdowns are rare. Goals from mid-ice, however, can happen any time as well, and are perhaps more likely.

With the possible exception of baseball, no professional sport has as many fascinating traditions as hockey. The sport has been around for a long time, and rivalries abound. Matchups between the original six NHL teams are always heated contests. The octopus being thrown on the ice is another great tradition, and the legend of the Stanley Cup is second to none. Many NFL fans don't even know the name of the trophy the Super Bowl champions get, but every hockey fan (and many non-hockey fans) know the Stanley Cup. Re-using the same trophy, and putting the names of all the past winners on it, makes the quest for the championship that much more interesting, and motives the players that much more. Also, there's just no equivalent in football to the Zamboni.

Most people willing to take a reasonable look at things will see that hockey has many advantages over football, and is in fact a better sport.

Learn more about this author, Mark Schwartz.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.