I don’t understand American football at all. It looks like all-in wrestling with crash helmets.”

Sting, Musician

Pros and Cons of Playing American Football or Rugby

advantages and disadvantages of playing american football

American football and Rugby are quite popular sports and are played by millions of people all over the world, both on a professional as well as on a recreational level.

Even though playing those sports has many advantages, there are also some problems related to them.

In the following, the pros and cons of playing football or rugby are examined.

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Advantages of Playing Rugby or Football

  1. Playing American football can improve your overall fitness
  2. May be good to lower stress levels
  3. Rugby and football are team sports
  4. Can be good to unplug from your daily life
  5. You can learn how to compete
  6. May boost your confidence
  7. You may learn to become assertive
  8. Playing rugby or football can be fun
  9. Easy to get girls
  10. Professional football or rugby career
  11. You can become a millionaire

Playing American football can improve your overall fitness

One important advantage of playing football is that you can greatly improve your overall fitness level. American football and rugby are quite physical sports and you will train numerous different muscles.

Sufficient levels of exercising are quite important for us to stay healthy in the long run and especially in case you work in an office job, playing football or rugby might be a great way to get sufficient exercising and also to get a nice contrast to your daily work.

May be good to lower stress levels

Many people in our nowadays society are often also quite stressed since they have so many things to do in the workplace and in their private lives.

Moreover, due to the excessive information flows we experience today, many people feel quite overwhelmed since they are no longer able to deal with all this information, which may in turn lead to excessive stress levels over time.

Hence, it is crucial to mitigate this stress somehow.

One way to lower your stress level is to play football.

Due to the physical nature of the sport, you can greatly reduce your stress and may feel much better afterward.

Rugby and football are team sports

Another advantage of rugby or football is that they are both team sports.

It is quite important that you learn to work in a team since it is also crucial for your corporate career.

Through playing those sports, you can learn how to become a team player.

In turn, you may also be much more capable to succeed in the corporate world.

Can be good to unplug from your daily life

Some people also just need some time for themselves.

This means just unplugging from everything and everyone in order to mentally relax for a while.

Playing football can be a great way to do so since you will not be available for phone calls or to answer messages while you play and therefore, you may get some time for yourself to really think about your life.

You can learn how to compete

Life is one big competition and the sooner you learn how to compete, the better you will be off in various parts of your life.

This is not only true for sports, but also in the corporate world where you have to be assertive once in a while.

Moreover, there is also plenty of competition when it comes to finding your significant other.

Thus, learning how to compete is crucial for success in various parts of your life and you can learn this by playing American football or other sports.

May boost your confidence

Playing rugby can also significantly improve your overall confidence level.

Since you will play in a physical environment and will be knocked down from time to time, you will learn how to stand up for yourself.

Moreover, over time, you will become better and you will realize that you are actually capable to achieve things in life.

Those insights will give you a great boost in confidence, which may further push you.

You may learn to become assertive

Football is a quite physical sport and in order to become really good at it, you also have to become assertive and push against your boundaries.

Learning how to be assertive is not only important in sports, but also in our lives.

We all experience difficult periods in our lives and in order to overcome those unpleasant events, assertiveness is a key element for it.

Playing rugby or football can be fun

Playing rugby or football can also be quite a lot of fun.

Many people like to play those sports on a recreational basis after work or on weekends.

Depending on where you live, those sports may be quite popular and you may find many people in parks which you can join for playing.

Easy to get girls

Since football is a rather masculine sport and you will strengthen your muscles quite a lot, it will also help you to get girls.

Even though many girls may not admit it, most of them like guys with muscles who are quite athletic.

Hence, in case you have problems with getting girls, playing football may greatly improve your chances in this specific area.

Professional football or rugby career

You may even be able to turn playing rugby or football into a professional career.

However, keep in mind that only a really small minority of people who practice this sport get good enough to really earn money from it.

Thus, make sure to have backup plans in case your professional football career doesn’t work out like planned.

If you really aspire such a career, you might apply for a college scholarship since most players who make it into the NFL are actually drafted straight from college.

You can become a millionaire

If you are extraordinarily good, you may even be able to become a millionaire by playing American football.

Yet, please notice that the chances for getting to this level are incredibly low.

Moreover, also keep in mind that you may only have a few years to make a fortune since you will either become too old or you may also have to quit your career due to serious injuries.

Disadvantages of American Football and Rugby

  1. Quite physical sport
  2. High risk for injuries
  3. Practicing American football takes a lot of time
  4. May conflict with other career paths
  5. Plenty of equipment is needed
  6. High levels of pressure
  7. Not easy to learn
  8. Stress with your teammates
  9. Time-consuming at a professional level
  10. Can be hard to find a football field to play on
  11. May lead to long-term health issues
  12. You may need a personal coach
  13. You may simply not like playing rugby or football

Quite physical sport

Apart from the many advantages of playing football, there are also several problems related to it.

One downside of playing football or rugby is that they are both quite physical sports and many people simply don’t like to get hit on a regular basis.

Thus, if you are a rather sensitive person, playing football might not be the right hobby for you.

High risk for injuries

Especially in case you play rugby or football on a professional level, the chances for serious injuries are extremely high.

Numerous talented players had to quit their careers due to injuries and chances are that you will also suffer from injuries of many sorts sooner or later in your career.

Practicing American football takes a lot of time

Especially at the beginning, it can take plenty of time until you learn the basic skills and to see some progress.

Hence, many people quit rather early since they are tired of not seeing any progress and they go for other sports that are easier to learn instead.

May conflict with other career paths

Since you will have to invest plenty of time for playing football, chances are that you will also have less time for other things.

This can also include your corporate career.

Especially if you play football or rugby on an advanced level, you may have to decide sooner or later whether you want to pursue a corporate or a football career.

Plenty of equipment is needed

Another disadvantage of playing football is that you have to get plenty of equipment.

Since it is such a physical sport, you will need at least some protection in case you get tackled hard.

Thus, this also implies that you will have to spend significant amounts of money and also that it takes a long time to get ready to play.

High levels of pressure

If you play rugby or football on a professional level, also the pressure can be enormous.

Imagine millions of people watching your steps on TV.

If you make just one mistake in an important game, chances are that you will get a big shit storm through social media.

Not easy to learn

Football is also not easy to learn at all. It requires plenty of coordination, physical strength and you will also have to learn the rules and incorporate them into your thinking while you figure out what to do on the field.

Hence, especially if you are rather new to football, it may take you quite a while until you see real progress which can be quite frustrating.

Stress with your teammates

From time to time, you may also experience some stress with your teammates.

Even though most of the time, you will act as a unit, there might also be times where you may disagree with the overall strategy and disputes may be quite common.

Time-consuming at a professional level

Especially on a professional level, you will have to practice quite hard and chances are that there will not be too much time left for your private life.

Therefore, make sure that you are fine with making this time equipment before you decide for a professional football or rugby career.

Otherwise, chances are that you will quit sooner or later.

Can be hard to find a football field to play on

In some regions of our planet, it may also be quite hard to find a football field in your neighborhood.

Quite often, you may even have to improvise and make your own field somehow.

Thus, depending on where you live, you may also have difficulties to play football in a serious manner since there might simply not be any football fields nearby.

May lead to long-term health issues

Many football players also suffer from serious long-term health issues, even at the time they’ve already quit their active careers.

Studies have shown that the overall life expectancy of football players is far lower than average.

Hence, if you want to live a long and happy life, playing football on a professional level might not be the way to go for you.

You may need a personal coach

If you really want to get to a professional level, you may also need a personal coach who can help you refining your skills.

While there is plenty of free material on the internet regarding how to improve in football, you may still need a coach if you really want to get to the top level.

You may simply not like playing rugby or football

While some people love playing football or rugby, others are simply not interested in this sport at all.

Consequently, if you are one of those people who just do not find anything interesting about playing football, you should go for other hobbies instead.

Top 10 American Football Pros & Cons – Summary List

American Football ProsAmerican Football Cons
Playing football can improve your fitnessSerious health issues
May be helpful to unplugAdverse long-term effects
Can reduce your stress levelMay be bad for your corporate career
American football is a team sportFootball is a quite physical sport
You can unplug from your daily lifeInjuries are rather common
You learn how to competePlaying football can be time-consuming
Easier to get girlsHard to learn at the beginning
You can make it your professional careerYou may need a coach
Playing American football can be funHard to find football fields to practice
You may become a millionaireYou may not be interested in playing football

Should You Play American Football Or Rugby?

As we can see from the previous analysis, playing football or rugby can have many important advantages.

However, playing those sports also implies some issues and you have to evaluate by yourself whether football or rugby are sports that match your personal preferences or not.

If you want to give it a try, make sure to get started right now and get your football here on Amazon.

If you come to the conclusion that those sports are not for you, you may want to check out other sports like soccer, basketball, hockey, golf or tennis instead.

Sources

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Football

https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/birth-of-pro-football/

https://www.growthofagame.com/2014/11/10-ways-become-better-football-player/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

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