Posted on 06/16/2014 2:02:23 PM PDT by ReaganÜberAlles
Feels like this soccer crap is being forced on us on ESPN, etc. Yes, just change the channel but why is there this effort to make believe that Americans love soccer and love the WNBA? They are two artificially created.
The celebration after the last USA goal was tough for me watch.
Learn more about the game. It is not complicated. Go to a local soccer pub and watch a few games. It is a great social event in addition to being a sporting event. I am a a sports nut and have been for more than 60 years. I played basketball, football, and baseball in high school and intramural basketball and touch football in college. Soccer is an incredible sport, especially when your country is playing.
Yeah, pretty bad. At least we won’t be seeing it 30 times a game or something. There’s a reason nobody moonwalks down to first after drawing a walk in baseball.
The USA wins.
Freegards
Don't watch it. I just saw a great game and enjoyed every minute of it. Enjoy you sour grapes.
Really? So soccer is lame but football is good? What the difference there? At least in soccer there is a better chance you arent rooting for a bunch of urban street thugs.
Besides, people watch way more boring, useless sports. People watch NASCAR for cryin out loud. People actually watch fishing. They televise poker and bowling. Get over it.
Totally agree. It feels like the networks are desperate to get a new sport to catch on. Too bad soccer is such a snooze fest.
It’s unfortunate that you’te too ignorant to understand that concept.
...relax, Tiger, relax...serenity now...
...and while you’re relaxing, try refining your sense of humor...makes life more bearable...it really does...
...I mean, what good would a forum board be without a little bit of harmless snark...?
Maybe so but that hardly makes it mainstream. You can also pack 20K fans dressed like Darth Vader into a Star Wars Convention but that doesn't make it a national pastime.
I was watching one of the games at the hotel bar the other night and noticed that the time counted up instead of down like it does in other sports. That's just weird. I'm sure the game holds a certain appeal to a small subset of Americans, kind of how certain people like Jimmy Buffet music and listen to it all day long in Hawaiian shirts while sipping from margarita glasses. Nothing wrong with that, especially if you happen to be in Hawaii or out in the Caribbean.
If I lived in Portugal or Brazil, I might like soccer more.
In 2006, ESPN broadcast 21 soccer matches. The matches average a mere 263,000 viewers and a .2% ratings share. In 2013, ESPN broadcast 20 soccer matches. Viewship was down 220,000 people with a .1% rating. In 2014, NBC has broadcast 38 matches with a anverage viewership of 190,000 viewers per match and a .1% share of the audience.
You’re an idiot.
This just in, LeBron and the Heat still suck.
That's actually how time counts.
Time counting backwards. That's weird. Unless you're a maybe a bomb or something.
But, now, I guess you could run a mile in 0 seconds (or 0 minutes even,) if you started at 20 minutes and stopped for ice cream or something, as long as the line wasn't that long.
It's the most popular sport in the world. Next question?
I would dare say it you watched any sport where you didn’t know the teams or any of the players, it wouldn’t be very exciting to watch, because you’re not vested in it.
Once you get vested, either with a professional club or a National Team, then you sweat every kick.
I’ve watched a lot of Gator football and basketball games over the years, and nothing there matched the tension of today’s game.
It is silly to get into a debate about whether or not someone should watch soccer on TV.
As a collegiate sports photographer I put soccer into the category as baseball. There is nothing better than a good game. There is nothing worse than a bad one.
But I think being at field level is the only way to watch it. The game on TV is almost unwatchable.
tainted *
It’s the most popular sport in the world. Next question?
...next question, I guess, is what other game in the world costs next to nothing to play at its entry level, thus making it affordable for nearly every third world country to play...after that, the question would be does popularity relate directly to affordability, and after that, does popularity mean it’s any good...?
...continuing on with the questioning, why do soccer fans routinely act bestial in the stands, with multiple injuries and even death not uncommon, and the postulated answer might be that the action on the field is not good enough to keep them engaged, but their alcohol fueled anger at the insult hurled at them by the drunken hooligan next to them is...
...just asking, that’s all...hopefully, you don’t go sulking off to a corner because I had a little fun with you like some other guy did...
Not at all! I am happy to have this conversation. So I put your last answer first :)
...next question, I guess, is what other game in the world costs next to nothing to play at its entry level, thus making it affordable for nearly every third world country to play...after that, the question would be does popularity relate directly to affordability, and after that, does popularity mean it’s any good...?
Look at basketball. At its base level, all you need to play are two hoops, a ball, and appropriate clothing, and it is very popular as a worldwide game, very much like soccer in that respect. And I do think that affordability relates to popularity. Ice hockey, for example, is a very expensive sport for youth and as such there is less participation worldwide. And I do feel you can make an argument for good play based on the sample size of potential players.
...continuing on with the questioning, why do soccer fans routinely act bestial in the stands, with multiple injuries and even death not uncommon, and the postulated answer might be that the action on the field is not good enough to keep them engaged, but their alcohol fueled anger at the insult hurled at them by the drunken hooligan next to them is...
I postulate that the culture and ethos of soccer is the reason for some violence rather than any perceived lack of action on the field. It isn't pretty, but do remember that worldwide soccer rivalries make American sports rivalries look like nerdball because of the length of their rivalry and in some cases, the reasons behind it.
I'll give you a few examples: The Rangers/Celtic "Old Firm" in Scotland (The Troubles); The Real Madrid/Barcelona "Super Clasico" in Spain (Spanish separatism) and internationally, Holland/Germany (for obvious reasons). The other reason I postulate you are in error is because you don't see the kind of hooliganism in MLS that you unfortunately sometimes see in Europe and it's the same game.
And while we're on the subject of hooliganism, take a good look at the stands at your average NFL Monday night game. It's the best-kept secret in sports.
The "Eagles Court" in Philadelphia is one example, where disorderly fans could be taken, tried and sentenced to the rest of the evening in jail without ever leaving the stadium. Thankfully, that court is now closed. But just last year, three fans were stabbed leaving a Denver Broncos Thursday night game. And we've all heard about fans rioting after their teams win or lose a big game.
If your intention is to isolate soccer for hooligan behavior, that's simply not accurate.
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