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Soccer vs. Other Sports

Posted on 08/26/2005 10:37:29 PM PDT by philisthemaster

American football is a "manly" sport. Everyone knows that. It mixes strategy and tactics with pinpoint execution, and brute force. I don't care for the sport myself, but I'll admit it does take a lot of skill. What's the deal with making a touchdown 6 points though? Really. To make it seem like it has a much higher score? And I don't like how everyone who tries to give an accurate summary of a football situation usually says something like "u try running a set route at a set speed, jumping up in the air, catching the ball, and getting crushed by a HUGE guy." You can make any sport sound exciting if you break it down like that.

Baseball is probably on of my least favorite sports. To be fair, it probably takes more accuracy and precision than most sports though. I'm not saying hitting a 90 Mph ball with a round bat is easy, I'm just saying....why? Why would this sport be any "manlier" than soccer? It's all planned out by the manager. Hitting and pitching are the main two points I can really give to baseball. Catching? A line drive, sure, but anyone who can't catch a ball that they have 12 seconds to adjust to is just plain unathletic. There are definitely some exceptions, but it's not that hard. It's longer than a typical soccer match (as are most sports televised in America), and it's MUCH slower. Fun to play, but really...who wants to watch medicinally enhanced guys in tight pants swing at a ball and miss 20 times before one of them hits it...and gets out?

Basketball is one sport I can give credit to. Maybe the closest American relative to soccer. It's high scoring, which is what Americans want to see. It has flair, and style, and plenty of chances to go get snacks. I don't have a problem with basketball, but it just takes a lot more physical skill than mental. But that's not at all to say it doesn't take mental skill. I'm just saying that when you have 2.3 seconds to make a three pointer, you need a lot more physical than mental skill. There are plays and everything, I realize that, but it's been turned into a slam dunk contest. There aren't that many players who want to play the game for what it is, and not for the huge multi-million dollar deals they get. The game itself has TONS of strategy and mental activity, but when I say it has little, I'm talking about the NBA.

Finally we get to soccer. A lot of people hate the game because "it's all so low scoring." It may be low scoring, but it's a tactical game also. Every pass is building up to something, and when they finally pull the ripcord and get a shot, the resulting save or goal is usually worth the 5 minutes of waiting. Is it a slow game? Not as slow as football. Let's say there are 100 plays in a football game. That's one play every two or three minutes. One play that lasts maybe 5 seconds. And don't even get me started on baseball. A lot of other people hate soccer for the completely illogical reason that "you don't use your hands." Oh, is using your feet too hard? You use your feet because it requires more practice to learn. You're already used to using your hands to do everything else, so why not use your feet once in a while? It's also inaccurate to say you ONLY use your feet. The chest and head are used almost as much for many players. And it's harder than you think. To give a little situation, imagibe this: you're standing behind a muscular defender, and the ball is coming in at, oh let's say 60 Mph. Would you be brave enough to jump up and redirect the ball (which when fully inflated is just as hard as a basketball) with your forehead? All the while, the defender is grabbing at your shirt and pushing...and once you get in the air, don't think he won't throw an elbow, or even head you. I could go on, but I'd rather hear other people's opinions.

For what my plea is worth, please don't just say "soccer sux, its so gay." If you're going to say that, please give me a reason. I'm just wondering if anyone has a good reason to not like soccer.


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To: jjbrouwer

Yeah, I guess we'll stick to the retarded US pastimes, seeing as how this is a US board, based in the US, made for Americans, with 99% US participants. It's not like a soccer defense thread wasn't trolling from the beginning. No one here needs to take sh*t off of Philys who logs on solely to propagate this kind of crap then disappears forever (check out all his other posts), nor his (or her) champion.


41 posted on 09/03/2005 2:49:00 AM PDT by SoDak
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To: SoDak

Who's "we" - you and your boyfriend?


42 posted on 09/03/2005 4:59:30 AM PDT by jjbrouwer
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To: jjbrouwer

Great comeback, exactly what I would have expected.


43 posted on 09/03/2005 8:55:07 AM PDT by SoDak
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To: SoDak

I "disappeared forever" because I have other things going on in my life. This is the only thread I've posted on because maybe it's the only one I'm interested in. I'm not going to give my opinion on a political subject, or on really anything else. I'm not opposed to hearing anyone's opinion, I just don't want to listen to the same retarded "soccer is gay" comments. I was trying to listen to reasons for why people don't like the sport, not just the fact that they don't. As for all the posts about me being gay, I didn't ask anyone to defend anything I had to say. Someone agrees with me, and says something to defend what I have to say, so he must be having gay sex with me. Right? Nice logic.


44 posted on 09/04/2005 7:33:00 PM PDT by philisthemaster
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To: Clemenza

If by "real men," you meant guys that tackle each other onto the ground, lay there for a few seconds, then go pat their buddies on the butt after the game, then you hit it directly on the head. Have you ever watched a soccer game? The fouls are often almost as hard as the tackles in American football. Most people's view of the game is the American recreational league version, where everyone really does get to play, and no one offers any criticism. If you would take time to learn more about something before you generalize like that, maybe you wouldn't sound like such a moron.


45 posted on 09/04/2005 7:45:40 PM PDT by philisthemaster
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To: philisthemaster

Actually, the fellow defending you intimated "gay sex" pointed at people who disagree with you. I didn't. I don't necessarily see soccer as gay, I simply see it as deathly boring. I love baseball, some people think that baseball is boring. So what. I haven't felt the need to create a post about it. Also, although I like politics, I haven't felt the need to go to a sports forum to discuss the 2006 congressional elections.


46 posted on 09/04/2005 10:23:25 PM PDT by SoDak
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