Why Soccer Should have way more American fans

[tigerbob]

From my viewpoint alot of the movement in a soccer game seems kind of meaningless. All the positioning and gradual establishment of field position can be eliminated by one big booming kick down the other end of the field.

I know a true affecionado of the sport sees it differently. Also as a hockey fan and someone who played street hockey as a kid as a goalie, the inability to score 20 goals a game on a net that big compared to the goalie drives me nuts.

Then not being able to score 100 touchdowns a game when the goal line is over 50 yards wide must drive you crazy.

 

[martybegan]

From my viewpoint alot of the movement in a soccer game seems kind of meaningless. All the positioning and gradual establishment of field position can be eliminated by one big booming kick down the other end of the field.

I know a true affecionado of the sport sees it differently. Also as a hockey fan and someone who played street hockey as a kid as a goalie, the inability to score 20 goals a game on a net that big compared to the goalie drives me nuts.

Then not being able to score 100 touchdowns a game when the goal line is over 50 yards wide must drive you crazy.

If all you had to do was throw of kick the football towards the end zone and have it land there I would agree with you. The soccer equivalent would be for a person to run into the net with the ball when other people are allowed to whack at em.

Nice equivalence try there. bravo.

 

[Oddball]

If all you had to do was throw of kick the football towards the end zone and have it land there I would agree with you. The soccer equivalent would be for a person to run into the net with the ball when other people are allowed to whack at em.

Nice equivalence try there. bravo.

That's known as Aussie rules football....A really fun game to watch.

 

[tigerbob]

From my viewpoint alot of the movement in a soccer game seems kind of meaningless. All the positioning and gradual establishment of field position can be eliminated by one big booming kick down the other end of the field.

I know a true affecionado of the sport sees it differently. Also as a hockey fan and someone who played street hockey as a kid as a goalie, the inability to score 20 goals a game on a net that big compared to the goalie drives me nuts.

Then not being able to score 100 touchdowns a game when the goal line is over 50 yards wide must drive you crazy.

If all you had to do was throw of kick the football towards the end zone and have it land there I would agree with you. The soccer equivalent would be for a person to run into the net with the ball when other people are allowed to whack at em.

Nice equivalence try there. bravo.

You're the one who brought up the hockey goal / soccer goal "equivalence".

And attacking an objective 53 yards wide with 11 players defending it is probably easier than attacking an objective 8 yards wide with 11 players defending it.

And even less easy is attacking an objective only 6 feet wide. But then that only has 6 players defending it. And they're on skates.

But then again a puck is smaller than a soccer ball, or indeed a football, so in theory it's tougher to stop.

I realize this is becoming a stupid point, but dismissing one sport by drawing parallels with another is always a bit daft.

 

[tigerbob]

If all you had to do was throw of kick the football towards the end zone and have it land there I would agree with you. The soccer equivalent would be for a person to run into the net with the ball when other people are allowed to whack at em.

Nice equivalence try there. bravo.

That's known as Aussie rules football....A really fun game to watch.

Aussie rules is cool.

 

[martybegan]

Then not being able to score 100 touchdowns a game when the goal line is over 50 yards wide must drive you crazy.

If all you had to do was throw of kick the football towards the end zone and have it land there I would agree with you. The soccer equivalent would be for a person to run into the net with the ball when other people are allowed to whack at em.

Nice equivalence try there. bravo.

You're the one who brought up the hockey goal / soccer goal "equivalence".

And attacking an objective 53 yards wide with 11 players defending it is probably easier than attacking an objective 8 yards wide with 11 players defending it.

And even less easy is attacking an objective only 6 feet wide. But then that only has 6 players defending it. And they're on skates.

But then again a puck is smaller than a soccer ball, or indeed a football, so in theory it's tougher to stop.

I realize this is becoming a stupid point, but dismissing one sport by drawing parallels with another is always a bit daft.

Its just that soccer fans always seem so offended when people dont like thier sport. I can understand why people dont like football/hockey/baseball etc, but only with soccer fans do I usually get the "ZOMG WHY DONT U LIKES SOCCERZ ITS AWSOMEZ"

 

[tigerbob]

If all you had to do was throw of kick the football towards the end zone and have it land there I would agree with you. The soccer equivalent would be for a person to run into the net with the ball when other people are allowed to whack at em.

Nice equivalence try there. bravo.

You're the one who brought up the hockey goal / soccer goal "equivalence".

And attacking an objective 53 yards wide with 11 players defending it is probably easier than attacking an objective 8 yards wide with 11 players defending it.

And even less easy is attacking an objective only 6 feet wide. But then that only has 6 players defending it. And they're on skates.

But then again a puck is smaller than a soccer ball, or indeed a football, so in theory it's tougher to stop.

I realize this is becoming a stupid point, but dismissing one sport by drawing parallels with another is always a bit daft.

Its just that soccer fans always seem so offended when people dont like thier sport. I can understand why people dont like football/hockey/baseball etc, but only with soccer fans do I usually get the "ZOMG WHY DONT U LIKES SOCCERZ ITS AWSOMEZ"

I love soccer, but I still find it bizarre when people try and pick holes in the personal tastes of others, particularly with regard to something as nebulous as sport. We all like what we like.

BTW, I happen to love baseball and ice hockey. And football.

Can't stand hoops though.

 

[Toro]

Its mostly because of sports saturation. The other 3 big (and one so-so big, hockey) sports are already entrenched here. For soccer to make a move it would take one of the others to die off really.

It's because there's no scoring and the only real excitement comes from drunk hooligan fans.

Americans refused to bored to death for their sports entertainment.

Nonsense. Americans like baseball. 10 minutes of action rolled up into 3 and a half hours.

 

[Toro]

I love soccer - one of the best weeks of my life was going to Paris for the World Cup in 1998.

I was in Azteca for the 1986 World Cup final. Got to see Maradona dismantle Germany. Also saw Germany v France in Guadalajara and the 3rd place match France v Belgium. I had tickets to Argentina v England but gave them away to go to my high school grad with some whore who fucked one of my friends. Anyways, here is what I missed, perhaps the greatest goal of all time.

[youtube]jk-kXwjASEE[/youtube]

I went to Italia 90 but didn't see any matches. I was outside the San Siro puking my guts out while my friend was in the stadium to see Brazil v Scotland.

 

[Oddball]

Its mostly because of sports saturation. The other 3 big (and one so-so big, hockey) sports are already entrenched here. For soccer to make a move it would take one of the others to die off really.

It's because there's no scoring and the only real excitement comes from drunk hooligan fans.

Americans refused to bored to death for their sports entertainment.

Nonsense. Americans like baseball. 10 minutes of action rolled up into 3 and a half hours.

Try managing a team some time...The game positively flies by.

 

[Toro]

It's because there's no scoring and the only real excitement comes from drunk hooligan fans.

Americans refused to bored to death for their sports entertainment.

Nonsense. Americans like baseball. 10 minutes of action rolled up into 3 and a half hours.

Try managing a team some time...The game positively flies by.

Baseball is a fun sport to play. I don't mind watching baseball. Used to watch it all the time when I had the time. But in terms of action, I don't think Americans should be calling out soccer.

 

[tigerbob]

I love soccer - one of the best weeks of my life was going to Paris for the World Cup in 1998.

I was in Azteca for the 1986 World Cup final. Got to see Maradona dismantle Germany. Also saw Germany v France in Guadalajara and the 3rd place match France v Belgium. I had tickets to Argentina v England but gave them away to go to my high school grad with some whore who fucked one of my friends. Anyways, here is what I missed, perhaps the greatest goal of all time.

[youtube]jk-kXwjASEE[/youtube]

I went to Italia 90 but didn't see any matches. I was outside the San Siro puking my guts out while my friend was in the stadium to see Brazil v Scotland.

Painful to watch, but I have to admit it's one helluva goal. Until his first......

 

[rightwinger]

Because they play for an hour in a 1-0 game. Teams play not to lose instead of playing to win

America will never embrace Soccer......Just ain't going to happen

Actually they play soccer for 90 minutes, plus 10 minutes or so for half time.

But I can understand your confusion. Football and hockey go on for an hour. Oh, hang on, they actually go on for closer to 3 hours don't they, because of all the commercials and time outs.

But you're right though. I hate watching a sport where the game actually goes on 100% of the time.

Give me something where 2 out of every 3 minutes is either anchors and color analysts dribbling on, or commercial breaks. That's the way sport should be.

Watch a game for 45 minutes at a time without a break? That sounds hideous.

My fave of course is hoops, where 2 minutes takes upwards of half an hour. Awesome.

I kicked the ball down to your side of the field....you got the ball and kicked it to my side of the field....I got it back and kicked it to your side of the field

90 minutes of non-stop action

 

[Paulie]

Its mostly because of sports saturation. The other 3 big (and one so-so big, hockey) sports are already entrenched here. For soccer to make a move it would take one of the others to die off really.

It's because there's no scoring and the only real excitement comes from drunk hooligan fans.

Americans refused to bored to death for their sports entertainment.

Which is why they consider a no hitter a classic....

Only a baseball fan appreciates a no-hitter. And a true baseball fan enjoys ANY kind of baseball game. The no-hitter is just that much sweeter to witness.

And a no-hitter doesn't necessarily have to be devoid of typical excitement, like scoring. The team throwing the no-hitter can be scoring a lot of runs themselves, or the game can be a nail-biter at 1-0 with both teams making exceptional defensive plays to help their cause. Every good no-hitter involves at least one spectacular defensive play to preserve the no-hitter.

 

[Dr Grump]

Americans refused to bored to death for their sports entertainment.

So you must be an ice hockey fan?? Obviously if you refuse to get bored to death baseball, American Football and basketball are not your cup of tea. Doctors hook up insomnia patients down here to ESPN to watch those three sports to cure them. Works every time....

 

[Dr Grump]

Anyways, here is what I missed, perhaps the greatest goal of all time.

Which was almost overshadowed by the Hand of God goal in the same game....

 

[Gunny]

Anyways, here is what I missed, perhaps the greatest goal of all time.

Which was almost overshadowed by the Hand of God goal in the same game....

The world is SO concerned.

Remember your generation, junior. You ain't that tough. Line up. There're some people that aren't neo-pansy lieftards left in the world.

 

[tigerbob]

It's because there's no scoring and the only real excitement comes from drunk hooligan fans.

Americans refused to bored to death for their sports entertainment.

Which is why they consider a no hitter a classic....

Only a baseball fan appreciates a no-hitter. And a true baseball fan enjoys ANY kind of baseball game. The no-hitter is just that much sweeter to witness.

And a no-hitter doesn't necessarily have to be devoid of typical excitement, like scoring. The team throwing the no-hitter can be scoring a lot of runs themselves, or the game can be a nail-biter at 1-0 with both teams making exceptional defensive plays to help their cause. Every good no-hitter involves at least one spectacular defensive play to preserve the no-hitter.

Yeah, I know, I was just being contrary.

 

[Toro]

Anyways, here is what I missed, perhaps the greatest goal of all time.

Which was almost overshadowed by the Hand of God goal in the same game....

The world is SO concerned.

Remember your generation, junior. You ain't that tough. Line up. There're some people that aren't neo-pansy lieftards left in the world.

Maradona, Hand of God goal

[youtube]-eZhBCqh8l8[/youtube]

 

[Montrovant]

The international nature of soccer is probably the best explanation I've heard for the lack of popularity in the US of soccer. I don't like the game personally; I have a hard time looking at is without thinking of hockey and being disappointed. I, too, have always looked at that huge goal and wondered at the lack of scoring. I'm sure there's reasons for it, which if I paid attention to the game I would understand, but I am unwilling to spend the time

I would never defend baseball as an exciting sport. In general it bores the hell out of me. There really is very little action for the amount of time spent playing. However, although it's lost popularity over the years, it still spent a long time as 'America's pastime'. It is an ingrained part of US culture still.

Basketball sucks. No need to say more.

I love football. While there certainly is a lot of time spent without anything going on, between plays and tv timeouts, the action that does occur far outstrips baseball and makes for a more engaging watch. Of course, the violent nature of football may have a lot to do with that

I also love hockey. I'm not sure if I'd say I prefer it or football. Overall I might say football, because the small number of games played makes each more important, but I consider hockey the best playoffs of the major sports. I'm more interested in watching teams I don't care about in the NHL playoffs than in any other sport. I am not a fan of some of the more recent rules changes aimed at increasing scoring, and I'll happily admit I enjoyed when fighting was a more integral part of the game, with the enforcers always ready to hop on the ice to beat someone up, but I still think hockey has the best combination of speed, agility, violence, all wrapped up in best-of-7 series.

I've made fun of soccer many times, but I do it in the same way I make fun of France; it's not so much a true dislike of the thing, just a silly way to vent I don't foresee soccer gaining popularity in the US anytime soon, but I'd never have expected NASCAR to become as big as it has, so who knows?