Here sits a huge sports fan. I watch football, rugby, cricket, formula 1, tennis, athletics, snooker, darts, some boxing, some golf, I watch a variety of things at the Olympics....

I never play the sports category in the global challenge, who's the smartest and I dare not even attempt it in the piece of cake game because they are no interesting at all for me! Too many questions about sports that are obscure (to me) like baseball, gridiron and basketball.

This is by no means a complaint, I am merely stating a few facts there that tend to back up what many have said above.

I am smart enough to realise that there are many, many more US users of the site and have written far more quizzes on American sports. At the same time, those quizzes have been answered correctly more times than other sports quizzes because of the number of American quiz takers, thus making them eligible for use in the hourlies. Its just numbers

As an aside, I will try the sports category when I get to the higher levels in this GC (I've never got beyond Brainiacs before, but I think I'm set to break that!).

The American based sports questions you will see in the GC in those later rounds are obscure ones, even to those of us who follow the sports regularly.

Jeesh ! After reading all this, I think I have every number of excellent excuses, especially now, for disliking any number of sports quizzes and/or questions all over the place. It comes as a relief, too. Up until this thread, I had just assumed I had no very good clue about sports, in general. I reckon it's feeling better to know that, now, it's much more a digestable matter of knowing a little less about field varieties of hockey than I do about ice varieties of it . Whoever's getting to talking about different variations of it than those two? You need to stop ! I'm already *sports inadequate*. I need to start feeling *adjective inadequate*, too? Just kidding .. but I was thinking: here's this erstwhile editor, Nightmare, trying to champion the cause of quiz writers coming up with new quizzes in the Sports category. Seems like a worthy mission, yes? But, ye Gods, who would dare write one now? Not only does one have to research every question to make sure they have the "sporty" details right, they also have to cross-culture every adjective they use in it properly to make sure it's both inclusive (culturally) and specific enough to scratch every itch that could possibly be scratched? I'm currently having some mighty troubles building a quiz on Marvin Gaye (and I know lots about him --- both where he's from and what he did, where). I'll maybe try a "football" quiz next? Ugh. Not a chance! It'd take me four questions to clarify what I meant by the word 'football', evidently ...

Although, I guess, that'd mean it would be easier for me to write up six questions as opposed to ten ...

I've also played deck hockey on board ship using quoits, but plays just the same as the field sort. And there's one we played in a wooden gym with light sticks which also has a name but can't remember it. Same skills and moves for all really, except the ice sort requires professional skating ones on top. I still can't go backwards after 40 years...

It was a joke, clearly a very bad one that didn't translate. It was not intended at all seriously, and certainly not meant to imply that anyone who doesn't think as I do is wrong-thinking. If I actually thought that I'd never have said it in a million years. Nor was it an adverse comment on ice hockey or in favour of field hockey or any other sort of hockey. I have actually watched ice hockey in Canada, and it was as exciting as anything I've seen. Skill, speed, pace... it's a great game. I've never played field hockey in my life, and only watch it at the Olympics - but a very large number of people do play it worldwide and find that exciting too.

What I said was part of a light-hearted post that included my joking comments on how to answer baseball questions - I hope no one takes that seriously either or they'll all be blaming me when the answer isn't Babe Ruth. I've already apologised for offending you, I can't do any more than that.

Flopsy, I totally got your joke and it made me smile.

I thought your method for baseball questions was logical Flopsy and I was serious in my response. There is some humor in the method, but I think it will get you better then average results.

Re: "hockey"
When I made my comments, I assumed that at least 56% (53% Americans plus 3% Canadians) of the folks here knew that when bucknallbabe mentioned hockey in the same sentence as US Sports that she/he meant "ice hockey" rather than "field hockey". Yes Lesley, I'm completely at fault for thinking that the other 44% of the people on this site should also assume the same thing. I most definitely should have typed "ice hockey" instead of just "hockey". My apologies!

I also thought that more than half of us realised flopsy was only making a joke. I can also certainly understand some people taking offense when there are no "smilies" involved - unfortunately, with text comments, the "twinkle in one's eye and the wry grin" doesn't always come across in the way we hope it does (happens to me all the time lol) Anyway, the actual "day one" of the invention of ice hockey has been a matter of debate in this country (Canada) for over 100 years. So, depending on who you believe, the first ORGANISED field hockey teams in Britain predate the first ORGANISED ice hockey teams by anywhere from 6 to 30 years (neither of which would be as in their current forms today). So if "real" means "first chronologically", I can live with that lol. I certainly didn't take "real" to mean "the one and only".

Re: "football" (as in "soccer")
North Americans are often "ridiculed" for calling the game "soccer". The truth is, our game(s) of "football" (meaning gridiron type) were already well-established before the "beautiful game" caught on here in popularity. So we needed another name to differentiate between the two. We chose "soccer", which, I've been given to understand (I could have been misinformed), was a BRITISH invention, used by folks to differentiate asSOCiation ("assoc") football from rugby type football. "Soccer" rolls off the tongue more easily than "assoc" so the nickname stuck, I guess. In any case, the term didn't originate over HERE. Furthermore, some proponents believe that, from a strictly etymological point of view, the term "football" means ANY game played ON foot (as opposed to on horseback), not necessarily a game played WITH the foot.

Re: "football" (as in gridiron)
I realize most people think that the US version of "football" is the "only" gridiron game. However, Canadian (gridiron) football has different rules, as well as a different "style". Canadian football games are much more "wide open", we have a bigger field size, different number of players and, some feel, a more interesting/unpredictable game from a pure "entertainment value" perspective. For instance, while American football games can often be very low scoring (sheesh, some ICE hockey games have higher scores lol) and the final minutes of the game considered "boring" by some (i.e. that they are usually filled by nothing but timeouts and grounding the ball - yeah, I know, it's called "strategy" lol), Canadian games can actually be WON in the final seconds. When hubby is watching an NFL (the US version) game and I tell him dinner will be ready soon and he says "five minutes", I always ask, "is that football minutes or REAL minutes?" LOL. Anyhoo, when people say "North America", it would be nice if folks didn't assume that Canada is a part of the United States ~. Also, there are other forms of the game, for instance: "touch football" and "flag football" (neither of which are played on a professional level, but are still valid sports nonetheless).

I could "go on"... but.... yes, Gatsby, I DO understand your "frustrations" lol (enjoyed your post, btw)

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No sport is "real" until you play it yourself. I have the scars to prove it.

Flopsy you're an evil and vicious woman for so blatantly implying that all Americans are complete idiots and you should be flogged through the streets of Northampton as a penance. Wearing a hockey goalie's mask and a pink bunny costume.

Jakeroo - you are right. I chose to use the words "football" and "hockey" deliberately as they were specifically in the context of US sports and using my own self-imposed protocol, I referred to them using the same terms as I assumed the players of the game would - after all it is the NFL not the NAFL (National American Football League) and the NHL not the NIHL (National Ice Hockey League). I'm sorry you came into the criticism which possibly should have been directed at me. I wasn't around much yesterday so have only just caught up on the discussions.

Does that mean that I too am completely at fault for assuming that everyone would know that "hockey" is what you play on grassy fields?

Flopsy, I too got your joke and it made me smile too.

Richie, I like your thinking, but I can't help thinking that the pink bunny costume is a cruel step too far.

Suddenly this thread is a lot of fun.

Is NHL ice hockey? Gosh - really old, and still learning!

Right I'll apologise for being too thin-skinned. I was in the middle of a family crisis so I guess my funny bone wasn't working.

Will your tour be coming to Bedford?

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So long as Flopsy agrees (being the 'Star Turn',and all that),I'm sure we can nip across Northampton,on to the A.6,then straight down to Bedford!

By all means avoid Bedford - Milton Keynes is only a few miles away and has an ice rink - and an ice hockey team MK Lightning.