Saturday, November 17, 2012

Knee Taking

Football is a popular game in USA.  It is more famous here than cricket in India.  It is not soccer or rugby.  It is sometimes called American Football by non-Americans.  Every city in USA has organized football leagues for kids starting from the age of 5.  They are put into different levels by age and weight.  They play several games each year.  Parents, family, and friends of all players come to root their teams.  The grounds are so noicy, you would sometime mistake that there is an India-Pakistan cricket match going on there.

Then these kids play high school football representing their schools.  They then move on to college football.  A few talented and lucky players become professionals and make millions of dollars each year, playing only 16 regular games.

There is a custom in the kids level and high school level football games.  It is called “taking a knee” when a player is injured.  Does not matter if the injured player is your own team or opponent, They will kneel down until the player is removed from the field.
 
(Courtesy: Yahoo)
One coach said:

We take a knee and we pray for that player, that the injury is not serious or life-threatening

Sounds like a good practice that every kid in every sport should follow worldwide.

I asked a football expert.  He said:  Kids are asked to drop to one knee not so much out of respect but to keep them under control while the coach tends to the injury.

Always several explanations for every action.  At least, we will take the good ones.

PS: If someone thinks knee taking is demonstrating Christian belief, it can be changed somewhat to suit the local custom and beliefs.  It is the thought that counts, i.e. pray for the injured player whether he/she is on your team or your opponent’s team.

21 comments:

  1. We know this game as rugby. We are also familiar with baseball but we have not played these two games much. I remember playing this game once with a soccer ball and I guess we had to stop it because we broke a glass-window! These games require a huge ground and that was one luxury we don't have at our homes. But cricket is not like that - We can even play it inside the house or on the terrace :)

    Destination Infinity

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  2. This is interesting knowing about the custom on knee... and the practice of the game.

    First time entered your blog. Nice :)

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  3. These kind of customs will teach youngsters to be concerned about others difficulties too.

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  4. Thanks for your comments Rajesh. Often people confuse American Football with Rugby. It looks similar but they are different. For example, here are a few differences: the number of players in each team, the field and equipment used, how the action starts and stops, and the number of points awarded after scoring.

    American football field is slightly less than Cricket field. American Football playing field is 120 yards long by 53 1/3 yards wide. (110 meters by 49 meters). Diagonal/Diameter is about 120 meters. Cricket does not have a fixed dimension of the field. Its diameter is around 450 feet (137 m) to 500 feet (150 m).

    The above dimensions are for organized games. American football also can be played inside the house or terrace if we want to.

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  5. Thanks for your comments Jeevan. And, welcome to my blog. I am glad you liked this post.

    Jeevan, please visit here as often as you can. Thanks.

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  6. Thanks for your comments Chitra. You are absolutely right.

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  7. I was not aware about this custom. Every game, every country, every game in every country has different rules and regulations, customs and traditions.

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  8. Thanks for your comments Neha. You are absolutely right. Every country and every game has different traditions.

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  9. I liked the meaning of the ritual of waiting for the injured to be taken care of. Yes, we can also follow some type of this gesture which will develop concern for others in the youngsters.

    Thanks for the information, SG! I never knew it!

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  10. such customs teach empathy for fellow players..

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  11. Good thing you brought this to our notice. It is always good to know about certain gestures followed in certain sports.
    Unless one is football fan, one would not even know what it means, if posed as question in a quiz program.
    Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  12. Thanks for your comments Sandhya. Yes, all kids should follow this type of gesture.

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  13. Thanks for your comments Renu. I agree with you.

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  14. Thanks for your comments rama. I am glad you liked this post.

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  15. Knee Taking?
    Wait a minute...you're talking about football?

    OOOPS!
    Sorry I thought "taking a knee" was a story about Paula Broadwell and me.

    Regards,
    David Petraeus

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  16. Thanks for your comments General Petraeus. Yes, it is about football General. If I were writing about you, I would not have just stopped with Paula Broadwell. I would have added Ms. Jill Kelley and her twin sister Natalie Khawam also. You are one lucky guy General.

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  17. Well I am not so much a football fan but this was interesting.

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  18. Thanks for your comments Meera. I am glad you found this post interesting.

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  19. ok honestly i am really bad at any sports..i can prolly try playing football with a tennis ball :P

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  20. Thanks for your comments Sulagna. Don't worry if you are not into any sports. As you promised 2 years ago, please visit the San Francisco Bay Area with your family. We will re-live the Johnny Walker memories.

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  21. this was interesting .. !

    never knew about this custom!

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