What's the difference between football and rugby?
Apart from the shape of the ball, I think the main contrasts are that the swearing and kissing cultures of the games are so totally different.
I regularly photograph both sports for the Echo and I assure you that these contrasts are very evident.
For example, I can practically guarantee that at some point when I am at a football match one of the players, or a spectator, having screamed a lungfull of Anglo Saxon expletives, will suddenly notice me, look suitably ashamed and mutter " scuse my French!"
Whereas, at rugby, even though the language is often far worse, they never ever seem to be in the least embarrassed that they have sworn and certainly never apologise about swearing. At football a great deal of volatile invective is directed at the referee who is pilloried by spectators for most of his decisions. Of course players can't do this or they have little yellow cards waved at them.
In rugby swear words are generally used as adjectives to describe the ball, various aspects of game play, or certain unspeakable acts of violence designed to bring opponents crashing to the ground.
Then there's the kissing. Rugby players are not great kissers.
Even if a spectacular try has been scored, slaps on the back and punching the air seem quite adequate to them.
But footballers are real snoggers!
When it comes to celebrating a goal they often indulge in the most ostentatious displays of affection.
Just a couple of weeks ago at Dean Court I snapped the Cherries Brett Pitman and David McGoldrick celebrating Bretts opening goal against Doncaster by rolling on the turf hugging and kissing in the kind of clinch that can get the film censors twitching. Rugby players simply do not do that.
l On the subject of bad language, did you know that in 1936 music hall comedian Hector Thaxter became the first person to utter the word "arse" on the radio?
That in 1969 Buzz Aldrin was the first man to swear on the moon and that thirty years ago, after viewing an episode of the comedy "Til Death Us Do Part" which contained the word "bloody" 44 times, Mary Whitehouse declared "This is the end of civilisation as we know it".
Mrs W had obviously never never been to a rugby or football match.
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