if you like DC, you know who RONDON/Steve Rondinaro is, i marched with him from the beginning of the Squires till 1972
Posted on 08/19/2012 10:47:26 AM PDT by Jakarta ex-pat
I have just finished watching an absolute scorcher of a game between Manchester City and Southampton (the current league champions won 3-2) and would like to state my case why America needs to embrace this game ASAP.
1) Football (soccer) is THE premier spectator sport in the world.
This doesn't mean baseball, basketball, Ice Hockey, cricket, American football, rugby, Australian rules etc don't have a place at the table. But week in and week out, the thought that David can and does beat Goliath makes it genuine.
2) It can be played anywhere.
Unlike most team sports, no equipment is required to play except a ball. And I don't necessarily mean a football. The kids at my school use "paper" balls, and when I was a kid, we used sweaters for goal posts.
3) It is an international language.
With the chances of our children traveling internationally becoming far more frequent, to be able to communicate with others is a huge asset. Yes learning languages is important, but that's no good if you have nothing to talk about. The EPL is represented by almost half the world. Moreover it is the most watched league in the world. Having some knowledge of its stars and traditions does no harm.
Once again, I'm NOT saying other spectator sports are boring ( well ok basketball and baseball). But in this shrinking world, if you don't know Rooney from Drogba, Pele form Maradonna, or Juventus from AC Milan...you are left with talking about ....
GO A’S!!!
Here’s a game that’s just as exciting. Like rugby only players used to be able to punch each other in the face;
http://www.economist.com/node/2204483?story_id=2204483
Why not?
As I said to another poster, I may have reworded the title, and put more effort into 3, which was the main reason for writing the piece.
Nevertheless, I come to FreeRepublic to keep up with the news, remind myself that conservatives have generally the same views as myself, and to join in the "conversation" once in a while.
From time to time, I go further and "post" an opinion.
That the majority of posters will agree or disagree is unimportant. (though it's nice when they do!)
One can't take replies too personal, or you'd never "join in."
As always,
keep smiling,
Philip
I agree with you. Soccer is BORING. DULL. A little kid’s game until the boys can play football.
Football is a religion in Texas. I don’t see us becoming athiest anytime soon.
Good post!
FRegards,
LH
Here's an idea of what it's like on the field:
Euphonium Cam
This ain't 'marching band', any more than high school soccer is Colorado Rapids soccer.
In matches that end with scores of 2-3, even a squirrel can find a nut once in awhile.
That's not to say games with high scores are any more decisive. You can tune into the last 10 minutes of a basketball game, and either find it to be a blowout, or a matched score of 89-91.
You have it wrong, That cheating Ellis picked up the ball and was penalized for it, Rugby came about when a guy twice his size tackled him, pushed his face in the mud and told Ellis never to touch the ball again. Then he picked up the ball and scored a try!
Rugby is growing faster in the US than soccer is, in St Paul/MPLS we have 12 mens club side teams, almost all of the colleges in MN has both mens and womens sides and its growing even faster in the high schools. Recently, in Texas of all places, 30k fans came out to watch our national team
agreed, this year for the 1st time in 6 years I get to play in a league match against one of my best friends, he fish-hooked me while on the bottom of a ruck back in 2004 while we were on the same team, I keep reminding him of pay back! in 2 weeks it will happen, then we will all go to the bar drink, and brag about it!
we still do! just have to do it first
Don’t know & don’t care!
if you like DC, you know who RONDON/Steve Rondinaro is, i marched with him from the beginning of the Squires till 1972
I agree with Rush Limbaugh when he says that the most exciting thing about a soccer game is the riot by fans of the losing team.
Very interesting map. According to it, basketball predominates in the Baltic states, of all places.
Just go into the urban areas of a country, or rural for that matter, and count the names of famous sports players on the kids' backs.
That is, indeed, true. One can also note what they're wearing on their heads. In Southern California, the baseball caps one usually sees are Cardinal and Gold (University of Southern California Trojans football), blue (Los Angeles Dodgers baseball) or red (Anaheim Angels baseball). I'll be wearing my Cardinal and Gold cap this fall as well as well as my Orange and Black Occidental College cap.
At a recent family reunion in Ohio, my relatives, virtually to a man, were Ohio State Buckeyes fans--and not big fans of the Trojans, off-and-on rivals since 1936. Over the border in Pennsylvania, I saw a lot of Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers hats and t-shirts.
Keep smiling and wearing yer cap!
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