Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why (As A Sports Fanatic) I Can't Get Interested in Soccer
Conservative HQ ^ | July 2 2014 | Ben Hart

Posted on 07/02/2014 9:55:48 AM PDT by PoloSec

I’m a sports fanatic. I love almost every sport.

I’ve tried to get interested in soccer. I just can’t.

Soccer is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

There’s almost no scoring in soccer. Too many games end 0-0 and 1-0.

Hours can go buy with barely a shot on goal – when no one even comes close to scoring.

I think there’s too much scoring in NBA basketball. But I’d rather have too much scoring than no scoring.

If this sport is ever to catch on in America, soccer needs to make adjustments to make the game more exciting to watch.

Adjustment #1: Dramatically shrink the size of the field.

Make the field about half the size it is now.

This will help increase the action in front of the goal.

Adjustment #2: Increase the size of the goal.

An increase in the width of six inches or so would probably be enough.

Adjustment #3: Put sideboards up around the field so the ball doesn’t go out of bounds so much.

Indoor soccer has this feature. Indoor soccer is much more fun to watch than outdoor soccer.

Passes that carom off the walls make the passing more complicated and interesting, like hockey.

Adjustment #4: Allow hitting in soccer, like in ice hockey and lacrosse.

Soccer need not make all these changes at once.

Try one or two changes at a time and see what happens.

People want to see goals. And people like to see hitting.

The National Football League is constantly tweaking the rules to make the game more exciting.

If the NFL never changed the rules, there would be no scoring because defense always catches up to the offense. Almost all the rule changes favor the offense.

Even the football itself has changed shape over the years to enhance the passing game.

Baseball created more home runs by bringing in the fences. Basketball created more scoring by adding a shot clock. Boxing created more action by making the ring smaller.

But boxing is being overtaken in popularity by martial arts caging fight because there’s a lot more action, a lot more actual fighting.

All other sports that I can think of constantly review and change the rules – to make their sports more exciting to watch.

Why can’t soccer make adjustments?

There is no sport that I can think of that is more boring than soccer.

Even golf is more exciting.

There are tense moments in golf, such as when Phil Mickelson is trying to sink a five-foot putt to win the Masters.

Baseball is slow. But it gets tense when the bases are loaded in a close playoff game if your team is involved. The tension in golf and baseball is created by the situation.

But there are few situations in soccer that create any tension because so much of the action takes place so far from the goal.

Is there strategy in soccer? I assume there is, but I can’t discern it.

It’s obvious there’s strategy in baseball and football. The fans can see it. The fans can question the strategy.

The fans can boo if the football coach decides not to go for it on fourth down.

Should they pass or should they run?

The fans can question whether it’s the right move for the baseball manager to take the pitcher out of the game.

Should the hitter bunt and try to move the runner over, or should he swing away?

Strategy is a big part of the appeal of football and baseball.

There’s a chess-match aspect to these sports.

There’s a lot of thinking involved. Should we do this? Or should we do that?

I’d Watch Soccer If It Were More Like Ice Hockey

I’m not sure there’s a lot of strategy in hockey either.

But hockey is exciting. Hockey is basically the same game as soccer. But it’s fast. It’s on skates. The rink is small compared to a soccer field.

Hockey is mayhem.

There are lots of shots on goal in hockey, lots of action in front of the net. There are fights. Many hockey players have missing teeth. They look cool. They look rugged. They are rugged. The puck is hard as a rock. It caroms off the boards. There is checking in hockey, where the player gets to slam the other player into the boards. You hear a loud thud when that happens.

Hockey is more like a gang fight on skates. The players are carrying a weapon – their hockey stick. Their skates are razor sharp.

Hockey is a truly dangerous game.

Hockey is much more of a man’s sport than soccer. In soccer, the players fall on the ground if they are barely touched. They then writhe around on the field screaming in hopes of drawing a penalty.

When the penalty comes or doesn’t come, that same player who was writhing around on the field crying suddenly jumps to his feet and resumes playing, perfectly healthy.

Hockey players don’t act like this. They would be laughed off their teams as sissies if they did.

In soccer, the clock keeps running during the alleged injury.

So if a team that’s winning by one goal just wants to run out the clock, that team can just fake all kinds of injuries — which often happens.

That sure makes for an exciting game.

And what’s up with the obsession with the hair of certain World Cup soccer stars?

The star player from Portugal (I forget his name) has a completely different hairdo and hair color every game. How much time is this guy spending in the hair salon?

Shouldn’t he be spending that time watching film or practicing?

Something else I’ve noticed.

Recent immigrants to America learn to love NFL football.

There’s a Mexican restaurant that I go to a lot in Chicago that doubles as a sports bar.

Mexico is known for soccer. It’s their national sport.

But at this Chicago Mexican sports bar I go to, the preferred sport there is NFL football.

Mexicans who move to America quickly become NFL football fanatics. So do Asians and Africans who move here.

These recent Mexican immigrants admit to me that American football is a whole lot more fun to watch than soccer.

They also love boxing and caging fighting.

Something else that bugs me about soccer is that it’s a sport that I feel is being forced on me by liberals who hate American football, who hate violent, dangerous sports.

Liberals are doing everything they can to feminize the NFL. There’s Breast Cancer Awareness month when all the NFL players are expected to wear pink. Kick-off returns are being phased out because they are so dangerous. Defensive players can no longer hit the quarterback, for some reason.

Former NFL great Terry Bradshaw suggests putting a skirt on the quarterback so the defensive player understands more clearly who he can’t hit.

During Super Bowl Week, there’s always the obligatory article in The New York Times on how violence against women (husbands beating their wives) rises during Super Bowl week.

Turns out this is a myth – a complete canard.

Violence against women actually seems to decline during Super Bowl week – probably because husbands are wrapped up in the game. The wife beating seems to resume after the Super Bowl is over.

There’s now the obsession with concussions in the NFL – as if concussions never occurred before now.

So now the NFL has banned leading with your head.

If we want to reduce concussions, maybe football should be played without a helmet, like in the old days. That would discourage players from engaging in head-on collisions with each other.

Some liberal writers have proposed banning football, banning boxing, banning caging fighting, banning car racing, banning all these dangerous sports.

But liberals love soccer.

Soccer’s not the least bit dangerous. About the worst injury you see in soccer is a pulled hamstring.

Well there is that guy in the World Cup from Uruguay who keeps biting the opposing players.

What’s up with that guy? And why doesn’t someone break his nose?

Do you remember when liberals tried to force the metric system on Americans?

I feel they are trying to do this to us with soccer.

Liberals told us we needed to adopt the metric system because that’s what the rest of the world uses.

They told us the metric system makes more sense and is easier to understand.

Not sure that’s true.

A foot is about the length of my foot.

Seems pretty straight forward and simple to me.

I have no idea what 2.34 centimeters is.

Is that like a centipede?

I think America’s measuring system is a lot easier.

But liberals continue to try to push the metric system on us, just like they are desperate to get America to love soccer – so we can be just like the rest of the world.

I don’t want to be like the rest of the world.

Frankly, I was also turned off by the big celebration in the media over USA’s soccer victory over Ghana.

Where the heck is Ghana?

I had to look it up on a map. What’s their population? Do they even have enough people in Ghana to field a soccer team?

Apparently they do.

If America is this excited about its World Cup victory over a dinky little country like Ghana, that’s pathetic.

We’re a nation of 320,000,000 people.

Yet we barely beat Ghana — 2-1.

If Wisconsin played Ghana, that would seem to be a more fair contest.

Then we went on to tie Portugal — another dinky country. This was also hailed by the media as great news for the USA.

If this is great news, America really is in decline.

Then Germany defeats USA, you guessed it . . . 1-0.

Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Here’s something else that’s off-putting.

USA keeps advancing in this World Cup tournament without winning.

We beat Ghana, and that’s it. We then tied Portugal and lost to Germany.

Yet we continue to advance in the tourney.

Why aren’t we eliminated?

Maybe that’s another reason liberals love soccer so much.

Nothing is at stake in these games. Your actual performance in the game makes little difference.

Everyone’s a winner. It’s almost impossible to lose at this game.

So no one feels bad.

UPDATE: Belgium defeats Team USA 2-1 to eliminate the US from World Cup competition.


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-117 last
To: PoloSec
They told us the metric system makes more sense and is easier to understand.

Not sure that’s true.


The metric system is the only one you want to use if you are doing scientific calculations. I think in metric terms in the lab.

But I also think in English units in the kitchen and in furlongs on the race track. It is a matter of practice and education.

But I have no use for soccer. I wish it would go away.
101 posted on 07/02/2014 2:06:55 PM PDT by Nepeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: All
 photo 10380272_774748479213022_4690072895017472658_n.jpg

Help FR Continue the Conservative Fight!
Your Monthly and Quarterly Donations
Help To Keep FR In The Fight !!


Sponsoring FReepers are contributing
$10 Each time a New Monthly Donor signs up!
Get more bang for your FR buck!
Click Here To Sign Up Now!


102 posted on 07/02/2014 2:18:20 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 101 | View Replies]

To: musicman
Hahah.

And how stupid does that make us look?

103 posted on 07/02/2014 3:42:13 PM PDT by RoosterRedux (Obama: Race is his cover...jihad is his game.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 102 | View Replies]

To: lwoodham
Sushi isn't American either...or Mee Grob or Tandoori chicken.

This is just a simple effing sport. It ain't about robbing your hometown.

104 posted on 07/02/2014 3:45:36 PM PDT by RoosterRedux (Obama: Race is his cover...jihad is his game.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 87 | View Replies]

To: RoosterRedux

I like Mexican food. Does that make me an illegal alien?


105 posted on 07/02/2014 3:51:39 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 104 | View Replies]

To: 1rudeboy

Heheh.


106 posted on 07/02/2014 4:51:52 PM PDT by RoosterRedux (Obama: Race is his cover...jihad is his game.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: 1rudeboy
Much like, every four years, some blogger feels the need to inform me that he thinks soccer is boring.

Definitely a waste of keystrokes since you knew that all along..........


107 posted on 07/02/2014 4:58:58 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco (By now, everyone should know that you shoot a zombie in the head. Don't try to reason with them...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Hot Tabasco; 1rudeboy
Waste of keystrokes versus those required for a gif insertion?

Point here is what?

108 posted on 07/02/2014 5:07:44 PM PDT by RoosterRedux (Obama: Race is his cover...jihad is his game.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 107 | View Replies]

To: PoloSec

I would rather clip my toenails than watch soccer. I don’t understand why other countries love it so much. Seems to me it’s just another reason to riot.


109 posted on 07/02/2014 5:47:20 PM PDT by ilovesarah2012
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PieterCasparzen

Your historical perspective is deeply flawed. In fact, almost cartoonish.

While you were busy navel gazing and not watching the world cup, those of us watching saw 10s of thousands of red white and blue clad Americans in cities across the US yelling USA USA USA. Hardly the behavior of citizens of the world, but typical of citizens of the USA.

Jazz had already made serious inroads to Europe by the 1930s with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli’s Quintet in Paris.

To use soccer terminology, your two shots on goal were so far from the goal, they look like errant passes. To no one.


110 posted on 07/03/2014 7:37:33 AM PDT by dmz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: LibertarianLiz

I had a nice debate with a Scot on this very subject the other day; and, I was trying to convey my feeling of being forced (as you pointed out) to like this game, to watch this game.

<><>>

Have you called the authorities regarding your kidnapping? It’s good that you were able to escape the kidnappers who were not only forcing you to watch the game but also to like it.

That must have been a terrible ordeal for you.


111 posted on 07/03/2014 7:49:12 AM PDT by dmz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: dmz

What’s cartoonish is the way the world cup has been promoted in news media.

It’s always painfully obvious when new world order has instructed the news networks to push one of their pet projects.

News12 is the cablevision cable channel here in nj. There was no end to its promotion of worldcup. Same on nbc, which I check out here and there just to see what nwo is pumping into the brains of the sheeple.

Are there American sheeple cheering, yes. Same thing with the Olympics, all the sheeple cheer for their nation.

So it’s all about nationalism, right ?

No sheeple, it’s not. It’s all about taking part in international things where the authority is supra-national.

Right now, nwo is trying to bring people from Central and South America into America as illegals; the message “they’re just like us”.

Soccer is a popular game in those areas. Making it widely accepted and popular in the US gives Americans something in common with those people on a personal level: their love of soccer.

NWO also wants America to accept middle easterners moving into the US en masse.

There’s a TV show right now, “the tyrant”, about the son of a “middle eastern” national leader who grew up and lives in America and has an American-looking family.

It’s not hard to figure out. It’s not hard to resist either, one just has to think for oneself. If I’m too sleepy to understand, I splash some hot coffee in my face, that wakes me up.

Every time nwo invents a new sport, a new hairstyle, new music, a new charitable movement, a new idiotic looking scarf that everyone wears, etc., I simply refuse to accept it and I find it repulsive. It’s all the same, a load of bs aimed at making money while manipulating the sheeple.

I like baseball, always have, always will, that’s it period end of story. But it’s a game, after all, and God takes priority ultimately to everything else in my life. The day baseball starts promoting the sodomite agenda, I’ll stop watching it and never look back.

I’ve got my moral guide, the Bible, I don’t care at all about what nwo says is good or right or wrong I reject it all and they’re all bound for hell, so good riddance, let God have his vengeance on his enemies.

I’m nothing but happy, whether poor, sick, tired, abused, kicked around - I am happy as happy can be. All I want and need is found in the Lord Jesus Christ and I try to joyfully strive every day to be joyfully obedient to him.

I fear not nwo who can only kill me; I fear him that can kill me and cast my soul into hell.


112 posted on 07/03/2014 8:56:39 AM PDT by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 110 | View Replies]

To: PieterCasparzen
Every time nwo invents a new sport, a new hairstyle, new music, a new charitable movement, a new idiotic looking scarf that everyone wears, etc., I simply refuse to accept it and I find it repulsive. It’s all the same, a load of bs aimed at making money while manipulating the sheeple.

You always, so eloquently, state what I am thinking and feeling but just can't put into words.

This pushing of soccer is sinister.

And I will ALWAYS call it soccer.

113 posted on 07/03/2014 9:41:09 AM PDT by riri (Plannedopolis-look it up. It's how the elites plan for US to live.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 112 | View Replies]

To: riri

I’m very glad you get something out of the posts.

I realize now that I left out an important point.

Nationalism works both ways: nationalism is not only good for America, it’s good for all nations.

NWO is NOT bringing people to America to do anything good in the long run.

In the long run, NWO uses people for it’s own evil agendas.

If one truly wants to help the citizens of a nation, one does not do that by luring their most ambitious people AWAY to another nation.

One truly helps the citizens of a nation by spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and thus bringing truth to that nation. Only then can the citizens of that nation begin to absorb other knowledge that one brings to them. One does not LEND them or their government money. One helps give them the knowledge to be able to BOOTSTRAP the prosperity of their own nation.

NWO seeks ONLY to enslave, not to help. Whenever you think you see them helping - they’re actually enslaving.

For example, we see all the tax-exempt “charitable” foundations (like habitat for humanity mentioned earlier).

They are all aimed at undermining the church, education, medical care and small business - while being a convenient tax dodge for the uber-wealthy !

Just think about a tax-exempt foundation that takes volunteers to repair homes of the poor elderly.

Sounds great, right ?

But it’s not great. What would be great is if money were donated to the charity, which it then SPENT on local small business home repair companies already in business to do the actual work.

The local businesses would then hire more employees who would then have paychecks, and the small businesses would have greater prosperity. The poor elderly would still get the same help, with probably better construction. And the donors would still get their almighty tax break. It’s the “volunteerism” that is actually devastating to small business.

To the Home Depot of the area - they’re fine with working with the volunteer builders because they sell product either way.

The reason why the Amish helping each other build structures works for them is that ALL their men are, in essence, professional builders. Everyone else is NOT in that situation.

America to a great extent is CHARITYING ITSELF OUT OF SMALL BUSINESS.

The monopolists love their tax-exempt charities, but they really love monopoly. Which in this case means no more small builders, only a few large homebuilding companies. That consolidation means only 1 or 2 choices of who to work for in the local area for construction workers. If they put in a union, all the better for the elites, now all those workers will help them politically and in stomping out any small independent building companies with union thuggery that the large building companies can’t legally do themselves. And with only 1 or 2 large building companies in the local area, they can set prices as they please, passing through any higher costs to the consumer who has no choice but to buy from the monopolists. The big companies are efficient in some respects, but woefully inefficient in others, and their inefficiency is rewarded nonetheless with ample profits if they can get rid of competition.

Basically all US industries are consolidated in this fashion.


114 posted on 07/03/2014 11:42:59 AM PDT by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 113 | View Replies]

To: PieterCasparzen

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/big-league-stew/mlb-teams-support-anti-bullying-initiative-lgbt-youth-202742617—mlb.html

You really don’t seem to pay attention to the actual outside world, just the one you’ve invented in your own head.

Soccer is not a new sport.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer

Is there anything on this topic you are not wrong about? So far you’re running a big 0 for 4.

But now given facts, I guess you’re done with baseball, eh?


115 posted on 07/03/2014 12:31:48 PM PDT by dmz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 112 | View Replies]

To: dmz

I’m aware that sodomy marketing has already begun, it was mentioned 1 time on YES, which is all I really watch.

It’s not a one-off trial balloon that will make me drop it, or the now compulsory corporate push for anti-bullying off-air programs they have, it’s when I get good and sick of it because they start pushing it in my face on air. It’s the same reason I don’t bother with currently produced music, TV shows, movies, etc. It’s all bs.

But there’s no way to have some pure standard for the products and services one buys. After all, since practically every large business in America is in on all the nwo bs, one would have to live like a bear in the woods to completely disengage from doing business with such organizations, obviously not practical.

Soccer...

is new in the US WHEN COMPARED TO baseball and football. When my grandfather was playing in local mens baseball teams there was no soccer around. My grandfather was a NY Giants fan. There was no soccer to speak of at the time in the area, except perhaps if one counts anyone who happened to kick a can down the road or some such.

When I was a kid I played baseball because it was interesting and fun. I could have played soccer, but that would have really amounted to just running around for hours kicking a ball. I got plenty of running to suite my tastes in before school in the morning and had no desire to kick a ball around.

For those countries where soccer is a well-loved national sport, like baseball and football are in the US, I say more power to them, it is wonderful that they have their well-loved tradition of soccer, or futball, or what have you. I do not feel any urge to force them to play baseball, or sneakily indoctrinate them by luring them into playing baseball. If they want to, fine, if they don’t, fine. And obviously the soccer fans don’t have anything to do with pushing soccer in America, it’s the elites who run my TV that are doing the pushing.


116 posted on 07/03/2014 2:01:55 PM PDT by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 115 | View Replies]

To: RoosterRedux

You have a point. As for me I care nothing about soccer, never watch it, never will. It doesn’t affect me in any way. So much is happening to our country right now that I’m just on edge. We are seeing invasion by muslims, Mexican’s, commumists, Marxists, Facists, and socialists. I don’t need an invasion of soccer fanatics on top of everything else.


117 posted on 07/04/2014 9:39:17 AM PDT by lwoodham (Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 104 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-117 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson