USA Soccer Team Draws with El Salvador, Fails to Qualify for '12 Olympics

AP ^

[38special]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jaime Alas scored in stoppage time and El Salvador ousted the United States from Olympic qualifying Monday night with a 3-3 tie.

The Americans had to win to reach Saturday's semifinals in Kansas City, Kan., and they led 3-2 on Joe Corona's goal in the 68th minute.

But Alas scored his goal off the hands off keeper Sean Johnson to stun the Americans, who missed the Olympics for the second time since 1976.

[1rudeboy]

So what? Is the operative fact that they are playing here, or that they are U.S. citizens?

I'm a huge fan of baseball . . . and I understand that I am watching a ton of foreign players here on visas. But watching U.S. citizens play soccer makes the sport "3rd World?"

[driftless2]

"five minutes"

I get soccer games on my tv, so occasionally I'll stop flipping channels to catch the ahem action. Invariably the announcers are in a highly agitated state about all the wondrous things happening on the pitch as they call it. The fans are singing, chanting, shouting, waving signs. Meanwhile the players are busy kicking the ball to one another, losing the ball to the other team, getting it back, kicking the ball to one another in midfield, losing it, getting it back, losing it. Then one player appears to have been harmed by an opposing player and falls to the pitch writhing in agony. The ref pulls out a yellow card, and the almost fatally injured player promptly jumps up and resumes running around.

Finally, after what seems an interminable amount of time, one player finally manages to get off a very weak shot that either sails far wide of the goal or is easily repulsed by the goalie, and they start the kicking-losing-getting the ball back-falling down in agony scenario all over again. I check back thirty minutes later, and the score is still nil-nil.

[Vaquero]

here is just some Reasons, real and exagerated...why soccer bites the big one.

[driftless2]

"sick of soccer"

You aptly pointed out the flaws of soccer. I'll add, if they took away three players and shortened the field, soccer would be an interesting game. It's like if you had ten players per team on a basketball court. The court would be too crowded, and even Michael Jordan would have a difficult time scoring. What soccer needs, as has pointed out millions of times by bored Americans, is more scoring. Obviously, most of the soccers fans in the world are more than content with their low-scoring, soporific sport. Until the rules change, I won't be a fan.

[1rudeboy]

I didn’t click on your link, but thanks anyway. There are plenty of real reasons to dislike soccer . . . that’s why you didn’t have to exaggerate the “3rd World” issue, especially when you are speaking of baseball in the same breath.

[1rudeboy]

You highlight something that makes FR soccer threads amusing: on the one hand, there are people arguing that soccer is Marxist, etc., and on the other hand, there are people arguing that it is too difficult to score (and that scoring should be made easier).

[driftless2]

By arguing that scoring should be made easier in soccer, I'm also arguing for some sort of scoring in soccer. Soccer is so low-scoring and unrewarding that it dwarfs all other sports in that respect. In any sport, there must be some kind of reward for good onfield activity. If players are executing all sorts of great plays and doing fantastic athletic things and rarely getting a chance to score, you have a very boring sport.

But I find low scores in all sports are exceptionally boring. If you tell me a football game will end up 3-0, I'm not going to watch it. In fact, most sports are set up for low scores. For example, why do pitchers get four balls instead of three? If pitchers only got three balls, they'd have to throw more strikes meaning the batters would get more good pitches to hit, meaning higher scores. Higher scores means more players running the bases and more chances for great defensive plays like trying to throw a runner out as he tries for an extra base. But that's just me. Like soccer, it seems most baseball fans are content with low-scoring games. If you only gave one point for touchdowns and a half-point for a field goal, American football games would seem low-scoring as well. My rule for all sports: more offense-scoring please.

[1rudeboy]

I understand the point, but we are on a thread where the final score was 3-3. So that's roughly one score every fifteen. I don't think it's unreasonable. Just my opinion, of course.

I don't want soccer to go down the road that the NFL has taken. Again, your mileage may vary.

[1rudeboy]

oops--fifteen minutes

[dfwgator]

It’s socialism in the form of a sport.

Socialism is sharing all of the revenues equally like the NFL does. In the English Premier League, bad teams get relegated, and good teams get promoted.

[dfwgator]

I was about to mention EPL. There’s soccer, then there’s SOCCER.

The MLS is like Rookie League Baseball compared to the EPL.

[dfwgator]

Judging by your Freeper handle, why can’t Berlin do any better than Hertha Berlin? Amazing such a large city as Berlin can’t have better teams.

BTW I am picking Bayern Munich to win Champions League, they seem to be on a roll.

[dfwgator]

Actually, we produce some pretty decent goal keepers, too

Tim Howard is one of the best goalies in the EPL, I bet Manchester United still wishes they had him. And yes, I am an Everton supporter.

[38special]

I enjoy both leagues, the BPL and MLS. MLS is getting better and have a good product. Some MLS players can play in the BPL.

[dfwgator]

Any sport can be boring if you’re not vested in it, if you don’t follow a particular team.....I mean how boring is a baseball game between two teams you don’t care about?

It takes time to learn the teams and players and traditions of the game. I got into the EPL a few years ago, I started learning about the teams and their histories, and now, I follow the EPL more than I do even the NFL. I have since expanded that to Europe, in general, the Italian, and Spanish leagues and the UEFA Champions League.

[dfwgator]

Landon Donovan played for Everton for two months this season, but he had to return to the Galaxy, I wish he would stay permanently in Everton, the more US players, playing there, the better.

[driftless2]

"any sport can be boring"

I couldn't agree more. My favorite sport is basketball, but if the teams are just running up and down the floor playing uncontrolled ball, I won't watch. All sports have to be played correctly to be interesting. However, soccer seems to be the worst for inhibiting skill and denying reward. It's nothing to do with the individual skiil of soccer players, many are very skilled. But when skilled players only get a shot off every other year, their efforts are unrewarded and the game is difficult to watch.

[Choose Ye This Day]

That would definitely help—and we have to have more of our national team players go live a few years playing in European and South American leagues. They need to learn other styles of play (and not just boot it downfield) and they have to get used to playing with a higher caliber of players.

[Choose Ye This Day]

It’s probably FIFA that won’t allow players to participate in the Olympics. I’m guessing, I don’t know. But FIFA tends to rule with an iron fist.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Berlin pulls too many foreigners.

Bayern Munich winning the Champions League would be really special for the fans because the final is going to be played in Munich. I am fully on-board for that!