Quote Originally Posted by Animeniax View Post
I see personally that if you jump for the ball, you leave yourself open to injury from other players jumping at you "going for the ball". So defending yourself by raising your legs is smart, plus it can help you get more air (how Michael Jordan used to jump so high and maintain so much air time). Your basketball analogy doesn't really work, as that sort of contact is blatant and not a part of the game. But in soccer, jumping for the ball, slide tackling, and clipping are common occurrences while going for the ball.
I really don't understand the logic here. If two players are jumping for the ball, sure there is some risk to both players. It is only fair that one isn't allowed to raise their legs to *defend* themselves at the expense of the other also going for the ball. Why is it *smart* if one player blatantly disregards the rules to risk injury to the other one that is actually following them? That is just dirty...

In hockey, for example, keeping possession of the puck makes you fair game to hits from the opposing team (that's the rule). If the possessor were to raise his stick at the direction of the incoming player trying to make a hit to *defend* himself, I wouldn't call it smart but plain dirty.