Remember, the OP was watching the game (and these questions were being asked) in a bar. In bars people are either drinking or theyre drunk. And when youre drunk, the only quarters that you can reasonably think of are the ones in your pocket.
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Stupid soccer comments...like very stupid
- Thread starter crow01
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Remember, the OP was watching the game (and these questions were being asked) in a bar. In bars people are either drinking or theyre drunk. And when youre drunk, the only quarters that you can reasonably think of are the ones in your pocket.
Why is Baseball one of the biggest sports in the US then?
Seriously. Seeing a game in a stadium setting is enjoyable, but watching it on TV (I believe Ive said this before) is a slow and painful death.
I don't think Americans are ignorant of the sport. It seems that most of us under the age of 50 have played this game at some point in their life, even if it was as a kid in games without much strategy and skill involved.
I think it lacks popularity for some of the same reasons that hockey is less popular than American Football, Baseball, and Basketball. And for a lot of other reasons.
Americans will never be passionate about futbol because of:
-Low, or No scoring games which often end in a tie, and even worse, are ALLOWED to end in a tie instead of OT or a shootout for every game, not just the final games in a tournament or playoff.
-Games that end with the victor winning by a single point, and often that difference being somewhat arbitrary, and not because one team truly outplayed the other
-Inconsistent penalty assessment. The laughable theatrics of rolling around on the ground wincing and crying are not really the fault of the players, because the free kick they are granted IS a valuable advantage. What is needed is a penalty box, and the resultant powerplay. And controversial calls should be video reviewed so that if any player fakes their injury (as in having NO contact and acting if there was a heinous assault committed) then THEY go to the penalty box (for an even longer time than a player would be penalized for an actual infraction). And if a player does this more than once in a match, then send the goalie to the penalty box on the second "fake" injury. It would put an end to the theatrics immediately, because the faking would have a serious cost.
- Yellow and Red cards......eliminate these. It is absurd to have a penalty that affects a team in a subsequent match against a different team, because it gives the next opponent team an advantage in their match that they did not earn in any way. Limit all penalties to the match in which they occur.
- Not having a game clock. Have a large visible game clock, and have a referee impose a time out to stop the clock for real injuries when they happen. No more arbitrary added time at the end, where none of the players or fans know when the end of the game actually is. Have 90 minutes end when the clock hits 00:00.
- The offsides penalty. Eliminate the offsides penalty. This would add offensive advantage fairly to both sides and increase the number of goals.
I think it lacks popularity for some of the same reasons that hockey is less popular than American Football, Baseball, and Basketball. And for a lot of other reasons.
Americans will never be passionate about futbol because of:
-Low, or No scoring games which often end in a tie, and even worse, are ALLOWED to end in a tie instead of OT or a shootout for every game, not just the final games in a tournament or playoff.
-Games that end with the victor winning by a single point, and often that difference being somewhat arbitrary, and not because one team truly outplayed the other
-Inconsistent penalty assessment. The laughable theatrics of rolling around on the ground wincing and crying are not really the fault of the players, because the free kick they are granted IS a valuable advantage. What is needed is a penalty box, and the resultant powerplay. And controversial calls should be video reviewed so that if any player fakes their injury (as in having NO contact and acting if there was a heinous assault committed) then THEY go to the penalty box (for an even longer time than a player would be penalized for an actual infraction). And if a player does this more than once in a match, then send the goalie to the penalty box on the second "fake" injury. It would put an end to the theatrics immediately, because the faking would have a serious cost.
- Yellow and Red cards......eliminate these. It is absurd to have a penalty that affects a team in a subsequent match against a different team, because it gives the next opponent team an advantage in their match that they did not earn in any way. Limit all penalties to the match in which they occur.
- Not having a game clock. Have a large visible game clock, and have a referee impose a time out to stop the clock for real injuries when they happen. No more arbitrary added time at the end, where none of the players or fans know when the end of the game actually is. Have 90 minutes end when the clock hits 00:00.
- The offsides penalty. Eliminate the offsides penalty. This would add offensive advantage fairly to both sides and increase the number of goals.
Yup, and that was also to me
I'm just pointing out, by that comparison, they can both be dull to watch on tv.
The only sports I can watch on TV are Basketball or American Football, and I have to be drinking in order to enjoy them.
To be honest I don't care if Americans like football or not, it'll just be another team to beat us! I've explained in great detail why games that end in a draw are important in a league or group stage situation. Sport doesn't always have to have a winner in every game as long as there's an eventual tournament winner. In a league situation why shouldn't both teams in a hard-faught and close contest both take a point from the match? Seems fair to me.
Teams winning games they were outplayed in adds to the excitement. I LOVE F.A. Cup games where the minnows (any team from a lower league) snatches a goal and then hangs on to knock a major team out of the tournament. That's part of the magic of the cup.
Yellow and red cards are a good idea - you SHOULD be punished in subsequent games for serious misbehaviour in one game. It should act as a deterrent and it also means managers have to be more cautious with their tactics. Do you risk a player already on a yellow card knowing that you may not get through this round without them but will lose them in the next match if he gets another card, or do you rest him but know that may stop you qualifying? That's part of the thrill, however clubs should be able to appeal cards if they feel they were unduly harsh.
Laughable penalties, offsides and game clock I agree with you on, and if FIFA would stop being so ******** about video refereeing the penalties problem would be solved.
Pizza helps too. I have fond memories of big gatherings with beer and awesome deep-dish pizza at a friends house in Chicago when the SuperBowl-bound Bears (and Michael Jordan's Bulls) were happening...
I'm old... 
Not even beer and pizza can get me to watch baseball though.
Now MMA fights I can watch. No analogies of points and scoring to battles. Simple and direct beat-down-ing.
Aside from Baseball, soccer is the most nationally televised sport in America. ESPN alone shows close to 100 soccer games per year. There are dozen other channels that show fair amount of soccer including three soccer-only channels. Lack of advertising never stopped their carrying of the games. It does stop them from making too much money on soccer telecasts though.
Yeah I was explaining this to people too. What's the deal over there with this flag? My uncle (who lives in the West Midlands) was telling me that there has been complaints that displaying this flag is racist or something like that? I couldn't understand why. I could see how one might argue that with the Union Jack (with the whole 'sun never sets thing') but I really did get the protest over the cross of St. George thing.
What it is is that the English flag, the Cross of Saint George, was associated with the far right racist skinhead group the National Front for much of the 70s and 80s and displaying it pretty much showed your support for them and their views. I think they were able to do this because during the days of British Empire it was the Union Flag that everyone was patriotic about as it was before the days of Scottish nationalism so no one was using the Cross of Saint George for patriotic purposes. Happily since the early nineties we've reclaimed the flag as our own and now it's displayed EVERYWHERE during tournaments and often even when there are no tournaments.
The same group also appropriated Hubert Parry/William Blake's hymn "Jerusalem" and we've also taken that back from them with it being played before every home England cricket test match. Fat Les (the band with Keith Allen) did it best by doing a recording featuring a London Gay Male Voice choir and a Black Gospel Choir - both groups despised by the NF.
There's a description here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_England#Perceived_association_with_the_far_right though I don't think it's a great one.
