Denied by Missing

Watching a footbal (soccer) match in England the other day, I had for the hundredth time that an attempt on goal was "denied by the crossbar." Hockey announcers say something similar.

Folks, a shot that hits the crossbar has missed the goal. It wasn't on the way in and the crossbar suddenly jumped in front of it. I think it's only the fact that the posts in hockey and soccer are rarely hit that leads people tp say this. You never hear of a basketbal shooter being "denied by the rim."

Comments

  1. Anonymous3:04 PM

    "a shot that hits the crossbar has missed the goal. It wasn't on the way in"

    Two comments:

    1. Since the goal comprises the goalposts and the crossbar, a shot that hits the crossbar has in fact hit the goal, albeit that isn't a goal.

    2. Whether or not the ball was on the way in, but for the crossbar, would surely depend upon the trajectory of the ball?

    Julius (up the blues)

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  2. Well, the crossbar is certainly a part of the goal seen as a physical construct, but it's not a part of the goal in terms of "When the ball is there, its a goal." And certainly, with the right flight path, a ball can strike the crossbar and proceed into the scoring area of the goal. That shot didn't miss.

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  3. Re Emma's post, i.e., hitting the crossbar hits the physical goal but not the teleological goal.

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