Jillian Approved: Humor, News and Nonsense

AFC CHAMPIONS: New England Patriots ( 21-12 San Diego Chargers)

NFC CHAMPIONS: New York Giants (23-20 (OT) Green Bay Packers)

Check out who made the Super Bowl.

The Hubby and I were supposed to make it over to a friend’s house in time to watch the New England/Chargers game, but as usual, we were late. We overslept. The good news is (well maybe it’s not GOOD news) I knew the Pats were going to win. Even though we missed practically the whole game I don’t feel THAT bad, it’s not like I’m surprised by the outcome. But I suppose since it’s the play-offs EVERY game is worth watching. Yeah yeah yeah. I’ll try and catch the highlights of this game a little later.

It appears the Giants beat the Packers. I like E. Man but I never thought the Giants would make it this far OR win tonight’s game ( I actually saw this game… all of it!). I think I underestimated the Giants this season, they just didn’t seem THAT good to me. Apparently they played well in their last couple of games (which I didn’t watch, so maybe that’s why I thought the Packers were going to win for sure) and that momentum carried them to victory tonight. Well, congrats are in order nonetheless, so: Congrats!

I know of one fan in particular that hoped to see HIS team rubbing the NFC Championship trophy tonight. Sorry dude.

By the way, if you haven’t already heard, it was cold in Green Bay tonight.

So either last night or Friday night, the Hubby and I were watching this show called “Sport Science”. Now allow me to elaborate. Basically, the show asks questions along the lines of, “Who can jump the highest?” or “Who hits the hardest”, etc. and then proceeds to bring in different athletes who participate in “experiments” to answer the posed questions. I thought it was cool and pretty informative.

I spend a lot of time online and sometimes I run into people who say American football players are wimps compared to Rugby players because they wear pads. I used to get pissed a lot because none of the idiots saying that crap could take a hit from either sport. Assholes.

Enter “Sport Science”.

The episode we caught was entitled, “Who Hits the Hardest in Sports?” A couple of their “experiments” involved Rugby Players and American Football players.

In Rugby one of the hardest hits a player can sustain is called the “hospital pass”, that’s basically when a player is reaching up to catch the ball thereby leaving his body vulnerable and gets hit hard (tackled) by a defender. The defender can drive his shoulder into the rib section of the targeted player and as a result, send him to the hospital (get it? “hospital pass”?). Because there are no pads in Rugby, the force from a hit like this is centered in one area of the body. “Sport Science” brought in a Rugby team and had them perform the “hospital pass” on one of their teammates who was outfitted in all kinds of sensors to measure the force of the hit. Needless to say, it was pretty hard. To give viewers an idea of just how hard the impact was, the show compared “the hospital pass” to being hit with a sledgehammer. OUCH.

On to Football.

“Sport Science” then measured the force from a football player getting hit running “across the middle”; it’s like when a Wide Receiver runs across the middle of the football field and BAM! he gets the shit knocked out of him by a Linebacker. Quentin Jammer, Cornerback for the San Diego Chargers, was more than willing to help. For his experiment they had to use a crash test dummy that resembled a player because no one would volunteer to get hit (who would?). What was the result? It turns out that getting hit “across the middle” is like being in a 35mph car accident. Since football players wear padding, the force is dispersed rather than being focused in one area (Rugby).

And you know what? It turns out that getting hit “across the middle” was harder than Rugby’s “hospital pass”. It all comes down to: Do you want A LOT pain where the force is dispersed or less pain that’s focused in a single area? Car accident or sledgehammer? I’ll pass on both thanks.

I would have liked to see Quentin actually hit a live person so I’d feel more confident of the results, but I’ll take what I can get.

My conclusion: Football ROCKS!

But really, BOTH Rugby and Football players are pretty bad-ass.

For more information on “Sport Science” click HERE.

And did you hear it was cold in Green Bay tonight?

*****

THING OF THE DAY:

Oh man… did I love this commercial!