I played soccer and long continued the statement that soccer players (professional) were the best in the world. That stopped when I met hockey. Soccer is still good, but I can't argue against the conditioning that hockey players have. I even wanted to criticize the frequent line changes ("What? You can't play more than 2-3 minutes at a time?"), but it is necessary given what they are doing. My favorite line about it was how a guy explained to me it's "Like soccer, in that you are ALWAYS moving. BUT, you go faster, put blades on your feet, and hand every guy a stick." Respect for hockey.