Natural Selection as Applied to Soccer
0 Comments
»
Darwin's theory of evolution is nothing new, but did you know that sports select individuals in a similar manner to environments?
The average height of an NBA player in '07-'08 was 6'7" tall, again that is the average. This average person also weighs just 221 lbs.
The average weight of an nfl player is 240 lbs and is 6'1" tall.
To sum it up: if you are going to be in the NBA, you generally will be tall, very tall, and if playing in the NFL brings home the bacon, chances are that you are a very large and hefty man.
In soccer however, there is less of an extreme mold. The average soccer player is 5' 9/5" and weighs 166 lbs, my god they aren't freaks of nature!
Basketball, football, and other sports select very few body types. Soccer selects a much broader array of persons, allowing for more diversity in the game, I attribute this to soccer being as much as a match of skill as it is a physical contest. Tall, short, skinny, or strong all body types have advantages and disadvantages in the game. A smaller person is readily able to make up there lack of size with increased agility. The tall person has an advantage on headers. The strong person has advantages on the ball. The skinny sprinter is comfortable on the wings. Yes, these are generalizations, but I know you can picture what I am saying.
Let's look at (arguably) the two best players in the game, Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. Both of these players play similar positions and have similar roles in the game. They both play on the wing or up top and score or assist many goals.
Messi is a whopping 5'7" tall and breaks the scale at 147 lbs.
Christiano is 6'1" and 165 lbs. Just looking you can see they are both built differently, however the success of each at the game has been tremendous.
The playing field is less selective in soccer, making the game more versatile, more unique, and fun to watch and play. Soccer is game that is not necessarily about how big and fast you are, but also how smart and skillful. From a genetic standpoint, a much greater percentage of the population could play soccer professionally, which increases the competitive selection for traits other than size.
Subscribe by RSS
Posts
