Soccer, ice hockey, and basketball are the same game, played in different contexts. Those different contexts, in turn, lead to different sets of rules. Even though on the surface these rules are different, at their essence they exist to achieve similar outcomes.
Though there are many other things that could be listed, some of the things that make these games (and many others) the “same” include:
Though there are many other things that could be listed, some of the things that make these games (and many others) the “same” include:
- Two teams that “own” one half of a defined field of play
- An objective of moving an object into a defined “goal” at the other team’s end of the field
- An objective of preventing the other team from putting that object into the goal in your team’s end of the field.
These similarities are put into play in different ways. For example, each is played on a different surface. The field/court of play are different sizes. The number of players on a team are different, based (I assume) in some degree on the size of the field. A soccer team has 11 players on the pitch, a hockey team six, a basketball team five.
In ice hockey and basketball, possession of the object of play is contested at the start, with a face off or jump off, respectively, while in soccer one team is given possession outright. In basketball and soccer, if a ball goes out of bounds the team who did not last touch it puts it back into play, while in hockey there is a face off (mainly, I presume, because there is no “sideline”).
Another interesting aspect of the games, and the rules, is how they address preventing a member of the offensive team from loitering in front of the opponents goal.
In ice hockey and soccer, this is addressed through the offside rule. Though even here there is a difference. In soccer, offside is determined by the relative position of players on the field, no matter where they are, while in ice hockey offside is determined by the relative position of an offensive player to a fixed location on the ice. Basketball, on the other hand, does not have an “offside” rule. Rather, they use the three-second rule, which is based on the relative position of an offensive player to a fixed location on the court, with the added constraint of time.
Love them or hate them, rules are a part of the game. And a part of life. They (usually) exist for a good, or at least well meaning, reason. You can get by ok without understanding why they exist, what purpose they are meant to serve, but you can be so much more successful if you take some time to learn the rules, understand why they exist, and figure out how you can use them to your advantage.