by Marie Hutchison

Created on: July 09, 2009   Last Updated: July 12, 2009

Hockey is by far a better sport than football. Hockey is a game that is full of action with little down time. Hockey is at least sixty minutes of intensity; if the players stop, the clock stops. Football on the other hand has a clock that keeps going even if the players are taking their time and setting up. Football has too much down time and loses its appeal.

Additionally, football players only play one game a week, with an occasional week off, depending on the schedule. I know that their bodies take a beating while they are playing, but who can not recover in a week? Football is not nearly as demanding as hockey is physically. Hockey players play at least three or four games a week during the regular season, which starts around October and ends around April/May. Furthermore, to win the coveted Stanley Cup, hockey players play (approximately) every other night during each series. There is no room for recovery; it is all about adrenaline, focus, and determination. Hockey players can play every other night for two months straight because are true athletes; they have to. Football players do not have to; they are given time to recover, while the hockey players suck it up and play.

There is no room for individuality in the game of hockey; the players who score goals do not jump around the ice as if they are individually great. After a goal in hockey, the players all celebrate together because the goal was a team effort. Football really seems to focus on a few individuals, rather than the team as a whole.

The number one reason hockey is better than football is because hockey players in general are much better role models than the players of any other sport. Baseball has steroid use and football has criminals; hockey is the only sport without a resounding number of players with inappropriate behaviors. During interviews with football players, a bit of arrogance and an inflated sense of self-worth can quite often be heard, while hockey players are humble and always talk of the strengths of the team. Hockey is always a team sport.

Hockey is a better model of what true athleticism should be. An athlete should recognize the value of teamwork, acknowledge the strengths of the team, be a good role model for children and adults, and should play with focus and determination. Hockey is a sport that any fan can enjoy; I do not know anyone who has attended a hockey game and not enjoyed it. Now that's what I call a sport.

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