Flopping, Diving, and Timewasting: The World Cup Way

blogs.chron.com ^ | July 03, 2006

[thehumanlynx]

Flopping, Diving, and Timewasting: The World Cup Way

Mis amis footballeurs: How do we stop the madness? (In my best French accent...)

In this World Cup, especially in the group phase and 2nd round, huge numbers of the fittest athletes known in team sports have apparently suffered more life-threatening injuries than in an entire season of ER. In an amazing coincidence, many of these mortal wounds occur near their opponents penalty area; the rest seem to occur to players (victims, really) on teams holding a one-goal lead. In fact, it seems every one of Italy's opponents was tought Pai Mei 's five-point palm exploding heart technique--but fortunately, FIFA's triage units, along with Italy's outstanding medical staff, have formulated just the perfect solution in their bottle of Magic Water to allow these players to continue play unaffected...

[Triggerhippie]

Too true. We also need to get the NFL cleaned up with the amateur dramatics of:

1) trying to get an interference call and flopping on the ground,

2) Finger pointing during an offsides call,

3) The 'Icky Shuffle' and other endzone prancing about,

4) Time-outs, stoppage of plays (the Aussies don't stop, nor do they wear pads!)

5) Pads. If it's a contact sport, make contact. Don't puss out behind pads.

[burzum]

If someone dives and then fakes an injury I think that the opposing team should then be allowed to give them that injury, perhaps with a little interest carried over. If someone dives (in general), then the opposing team should be able to give a 10 second beatdown. Watch the problem go away.

I think it should be a wakeup for FIFA that the final in this World Cup is the Divers vs. the French! I don't know who to root for other than perhaps both teams will somehow simultaneously be disqualified, perhaps by a meteor.

[Mr. Mojo]

You thought correctly.

[thehumanlynx]

I agree. Thats why it pisses me off. It wont grab hold in the US till they toughen the game up. Soccer is a great game, tons of strategy and is truly a team game. America will never realize this until they respect the game, and you have to respect the players first then respect for the game will follow.

Its kinda hard to respect a grown man who looks like he is passing a jagged stone through his urethra.

[thehumanlynx]

team should then be allowed to give them that injury

Great Idea! A 10 second enforcement period. Petition FIFA

[burzum]

Yeah but soccer is popular in Afghanistan when their national sport consists carrying a goat carcass across a goal while on horseback while other players try to beat the crap out of you to take it. There are no real rules except that guns and knives are frowned upon (but not whips).

Yes, the sport exists, it's called Buzkashi. If the Afghans can enjoy a sport where someone isn't killed every game, perhaps we can as well.

[muleskinner]

Which teams flop the most? I can see going down after a shot in the noggin, or a kick across the shin, but yesterday's flop-fest - esp. Portugal's Rinaldo taking a dive whenever he got inside the goal area (whatever that area is called) was too much.
And I was rooting for Portugal. I would have expected the cheese-eating surrender monkeys to whine like little girls more than the Portugeese.

OTT, I've enjoyed the semifinals.

With all the criticizing of announcer O'Brien, what's the alternative - besides the Mexican station. Is ITN on DirectTV?

[thehumanlynx]

sport consists carrying a goat carcass across a goal while on horseback while other players try to beat the crap out of you to take it.

Sounds like a sweet game. Replace the carcass with a ball and remove the horses and you have a game that I and many kids regularly played. Good Old "Smear the Queer" . . . or "tackle the guy with the ball" if you are a PC psycho.

[don'tbedenied]

Flopping is further exasperated by the almost complete lack of scoring. Key victories (or ties) have been obtained by flopping in the penalty box (US-Ghana, France-Portugal, Italy-Australia) or flopping to get a 2nd yellow or red (Portugal-Sweden, Italy-US)to obtain a man advantage.
The game of football has become a disgrace. When one of the chief tactics to score is to feign injury you know the game is in the dumper.
Because football is part of the culture and history of so many countries (and it's so cheap to form teams), it won't have any problems staying popular but it will never become very big in the US, where it isn't part of our culture and we have the bucks to buy sporting equipment.
.

[thehumanlynx]

the goal area (whatever that area is called)

18 yard box

[beeler]

Soccer's for euro-wussies. I've never seen such pathetic men in my life. I watched several games and at least one player per game was taken away on a stretcher. I can't recall the last time I saw a real football player taken off the field on a stretcher. However, there is some good competition in the World Cup.

[thehumanlynx]

I still hold onto the hope that it could catch on here... my naivete

[burzum]

The saddest thing about his World Cup final for me is that that French seamstresses had already made up the French Battle flag in case they were to face Germany:

But even France isn't going to surrender to the Divers.

[thehumanlynx]

Soccer's for euro-wussies. I've never seen such pathetic men in my life.

the way it is now is wussy, punish the fakers, make it a mans game again.

I want it to take off here b/c we have such good athletes here. I want to win a stinkin WC. We lost to Ghana for crying out loud...

[Locomotive Breath]

Soccer (football) is a sport for children and Europeans. But I repeat myself.

[thehumanlynx]

I'll agree that it is in that state here in the States. but add the rest of the world (hispanics, Africans, Asians, S. Americans...)to the Europeans.

[don'tbedenied]

I used to think it would, but this World Cup has convinced me that a no scoring, high flopping game as no big future here.
Most of these teams, including ours, only play one forward.
In the quarters, I watched Enlgand-Portugal play nil-nil after 150 minutes, then France beat Brazil 1-0. 240 minutes of the best teams in the world and one goal? And have you ever seen a worse way to settle a tie than a shoot out?

[al_c]

Emmitt Smith did it his whole career, and no one seemed to notice. Everytime he was carried off we'd place bets on the number of offensive plays till he returned.

Wrong. Emmitt actually played hurt quite often. Case in point ... in one of the SBs against the hapless Bills, he was playing with a badly injured back which probably would've been a season-ender for most RBs.

[Gator101]

Me too. I kind of got into soccer during the '98 World Cup. But now as I have many more games under my belt the continuous flopping has really ruined it for me.

What they should do is make the penalties much less severe. In soccer a well timed flop can get you a penalty shot which is often as good as goal, which in a game where a 2-1 game is considered a high score, that's pretty much the game. Or in the case of a red card, your opponent is down a man for the rest of the game! That's crazy!

In most every other sport I can think of if a player is ejected you lose the specific player...not his position as well for the rest of the game.

Perhaps if the rewards for flopping weren't so good there would be a lot less of it. Likewise, if somebody faked it you could send out an enforcer (like in Hockey) to punish them without throwing away the game.

[thehumanlynx]

Shootouts arent too good, i agree. I like the idea of a sudden death period or two before shootouts. There has to be a line drawn somewhere, if you cant get it done in regulation.

the 4-5-1 is pretty weak and obviously defensive. I figure we should be aggressive and switch it up. Set Johnson and McBride up there and get some offense going. I think Arena made some pretty serious mistakes this tourney. I'm not too pleased with his ideas. We need to play to win. Dempsey was a bright spot though, he and a few other young guys showed promise.. (landon was not one of the ones showing promise)