Me and my boys were talking tonight, and the topic came up about who would win in a foot race, NFL players, or Football (Soccer) players? There are very good points to be made for both sides. Let's setup a race and see what would be what.

First let me break down the two sports for those who may understand one less than the other.



[align=center]American Football - A highly intense, physical, strategical game. Players train year round in weight rooms, with weight coaches, and is very physically demanding on a players body, depending on position. 4 quarters of consistent contact and involes a good amount of sprinting.

Football (Soccer) - A cardiovascular heavy game. Players run year round, and is very physically demanding not so much on the entire body, but centered on more lower body concentration. 90 minutes of consistent running, jogging, sprinting the length of 130 yards.[/align]
Now that we have a little understanding about the two games, lets get the participants sorted out.



[align=center]We're going with Wide Receivers, and Defensive Backs for the NFL side.

For the Football (Soccer) side we're going with Forwards and Midfielders. [/align]
We are going for the fastest of the fastest here, so a Goalie vs. Kicker is out of the question. Unless you think Adam Vinatieri can run a 4.3 40, we'll save that for another conversation.

Now there are fast players everywhere in any sport, so i'm going to go with a selected few from both sides that are more so common than your average player.



[align=center]NFL fastest players would include:

Chad Johnson (Bengals)
Santana Moss (Redskins)
Randy Moss (Raiders)
D'Angelo Hall (Falcons)
Champ Bailey (Broncos)
Marvin Harrison (Colts)
Rasheen Mathis (Jaguars)
Justin Miller (Jets)[/align]


[align=center]Football (Soccer) fastest players would include:

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
Landon Donovan (Galaxy)
DeMarcus Beasley (PSV)
Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
Shaun-Wright Phillips (Tottenham)
Robinho (Real Madrid)
Djibril Cisse (Liverpool)[/align]

Keep in mind, this is simply the names that pop into my head. Feel free to add anyone you feel is deserving. But make it reasonable and within arms length. Meaning again, leave Vinatieri on the bench.

As far as the length of the distance traveled, NFL Players are known nationally for their 40 yrd dash times. Footballers given the nature of their sport, and for the amount of running they do, we'll throw 10 yards to the 40 and make it a straight 50 yard dash.


And yes the question has probably entered your head for the NFL side, pads or no pads?

For this hypothetical race, we're going no pads for the NFL side, just like the Fastest man competition at NFL Pro Bowl Weekend.


So you have the participants. You have the distance. I leave it in your hands.



[align=center]Which group do you think would end up with more race wins?

The NFL side, of the Football (Soccer) side[/align]

I don't think any footballer runs as fast as a wide reciever.

Reason being that a footballer, even the fastest ones like Henry and Martins are still in essence, stamina players and not all out sprinters. Henry needs to be moving for 45 mins constantly sprinting and jogging alternatively with few breaks.

A wide reciever is basically just a sprinter. He catches and runs. He gets a lot of time to breathe and recover during all the stoppages and so his stamina need not be as high.

You can tell from looking at the body types.

[align=center]NFL fastest players would include:

Chad Johnson (Bengals)
Santana Moss (Redskins)
Randy Moss (Raiders)
D'Angelo Hall (Falcons)
Champ Bailey (Broncos)
Marvin Harrison (Colts)
Rasheen Mathis (Jaguars)
Justin Miller (Jets)[/align]





Why is Marvin Harrison on this list?

We have plenty of extremely fast football players (Ronaldo has to be in the top five).

But nobody has mentioned rugby (?) confused3

If it's raw speed (and amazing agility/strength) you're looking for, look no further than Jason Robinson (England rugby player).



The man can run 50 yards in just over 5 seconds (from stationary). That's a speed world class 100 meter sprinters would be proud of - butRobinson has done it week in, week out, whilst dodging 6'4" rugby players!

!





He's a truly remarkable athlete and as tough a man as any NFL player you canthink of(rugby players don't even get to wear body armour - they're hard as hell).

Typically, the fastest NFL players are running backs and cornerbacks. Justin Miller is the reigning NFL's fastest man and he is a kickoff return/cornerback. Here are some others to consider:

DeAngelo Hall, Cornerback (Atlanta Falcons)

Reggie Bush, Running Back (New Orleans Saints)

LaDanian Tomlinson Running back (San Diego Chargers)

Michael Vick, Quarterback (Atlanta Falcons)

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about soccer so I can'tmake a comparison.

Put any american "football" team on a track against a REAL football team (soccer) and the americans will drop dead from a heart attack with their fat, lazy, nasty stomachs hanging out of their uniforms. NFL players are gluttonous, disgusting imitators of the greek "homoerotic let's rub each other's booty, feed our faces until we nearly burst and then vomit" lifestyle.

you are so silly. you should learn about a sport before you make a comment like that. in american football it (usually) depends on the position you are playing, that determines what your body size and wieght has to be. not all of the nfl players are fat and sloppy as you put it. some of them are very fit and in shape. and yes some of the others are very fat and out of shape. but actually they have to be that size for their specific postion and yesmany in thenfl want their players to be fat . so depending on the player's postion on the team is what determines what size or weight he has to be (usually). and yes they also do have weigh-ins, where they must meet a certain weight. yes it is a concern to have players that are so obese playing such a physical sport, but some of the players accept it. but once again not all of the nfl players are fat and out of shape. some are but some aren't and many of them are up to par when it comes to being healthy and in shape. actually i enjoy watching many of the football players nicely toned thighs in there tight pants and their nicley toned arms. i am asusming you are not from america or you don't know anything about american football...

The only out-and-out sprinter I can think of that has made a decent fist of pro football (soccer) is Darren Campbell, and he only made it to League 1/2 status (Plymouth Argyle, Newport County). Speed is really only a virtue if combined with a level of skill in ball control, shooting ability and endurance over 90 minutes or more. Aston Villa's Tony Daley (he of the flat-top curly perm) is the fastest top-level footballer I can remember.

Would have thought the gridiron guys would have the edge - as others have said, more scope for stretching out, as well as the different pattern of play.

It has nothing to do with the sport. You have sprinters in Football and in American Football. They are Football players who run the 100m in 10,3sec and you have American Football players who can run that fast.
btw...if you reduce the length down to 50m (yards), I would rather put in some defenders. The Cannnavaros, etc are quicker when it comes to explosive speed.
But If you let them run 20km, Football players will win easily..that's for sure