Too Good to Not Share

taekwondave wrote:

I don't get why people go out of their way to knock soccer? Is it because it's the most popular sport almost every other country in the world? Everyone has a sport the dislike, but soccer seems to be a lightning rod of criticism in the US. I know a lot of people dislike basketball (like me) or baseball (not me), but they just let it be--rather than actively criticizing, they just ignore the sport and let those who enjoy it go on with their sport. I'm not trying to rant or be inflammatory, I'm just more curious than anything.

You know what, I'll tell you what I think it is. And it's the same problem with baseball and why Basketball and Football are blowing it out of the water in popularity in our country.



Soccer doesn't score enough points is one problem. We like offense here in the states. We like to see people put points on the board. You want soccer to be more popular here, I've got some ideas for that: 1. Shrink the size of the field to speed up the game, 2. Increase the size of the goal to encourage higher scores, and 3. GET RID OF THE WUSSY-NESS CURRENTLY BEING MENTIONED. We want a sport that feels manly and THAT kind of crap doesn't feel manly. I LOVE soccer, but I think it needs to be changed to keep up with other sports.



Baseball as well. A couple of things that would increase my interest in baseball: 1. Cut the number of regular season games in half. Too many games means none of them really matter that much. Each game matters in the NFL and the NBA is so tight every year that there is still drama there. Cut the number of games in half and I think you draw many more people to each game. 2. Instill time into it somehow. As of right now, baseball is boring to me because there are no in-game time restraints. I love the factor of clock management in football and basketball. Maybe give innings time limits and instill a "playclock" type situation for the pitcher. Nothing gets my heart racing like watching a countdown. Seeing time run down in football and basketball really help me. I feel like I can sleep through a whole baseball game. Bored to tears. There are a lot of ways something like this could theoretically be implemented. I haven't considered them all, but time is a great factor in sports entertainment that I think baseball misses out on.



So yeah. Soccer is a great sport, I agree. But it could do a lot to increase interest in our country where we have such fantastic alternatives.

And institute hockey like substitution. None of this "you go out you stay out" so you end up with a whole bunch of players pacing themselves. And maybe institute real tackling, blocking, linebackers, and full backs. Well, at least the subing thing. :)

CannonCougar85 wrote:

I hate seeing players fake injury or contact as much as anyone else, but as to basketball, the NBA has plenty of diving, simulation, or flopping as well and Stern doesn't seem to care.



At least you don't see players faking injuries in hockey. From a young age, hockey players are taught to get off the ice because the ref will only blow the whistle if he sees a pool of blood or thinks your paralyzed, so for minor injuries--broken bones, torn ligaments, etc.--you hurry get to the bench so your team isn't playing man down. It's all part of the hockey culture of putting the team in front of the individual.



[EDIT: typos...]

To prove your point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTdERYOtqsg&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ukde193ivM&feature=related



Also see Derek Fisher, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker.

The quickest way to stop this kind of BS nonsense is for the ref's to stand there and look at the flopper like "what are you doing?" while the offense scores on him. I don't think coaches will allow thier players to take dives like that if it costs them points. Teams are doing this because moron refs are calling fouls in their favor.

taekwondave wrote:
Soccer doesn't score enough points is one problem. We like offense here in the states. We like to see people put points on the board. You want soccer to be more popular here, I've got some ideas for that: 1. Shrink the size of the field to speed up the game, 2. Increase the size of the goal to encourage higher scores, and 3. GET RID OF THE WUSSY-NESS CURRENTLY BEING MENTIONED. We want a sport that feels manly and THAT kind of crap doesn't feel manly. I LOVE soccer, but I think it needs to be changed to keep up with other sports.

Thanks for the response. Before this thread gets too OT, I completely agree with you on the faking injury, but I wouldn't call it general wussy-ness. You have to be pretty courageous to run around with people sliding at your knees or sticking your head where you know you'll be headbutt or kicked. Anyway, it seems to me--based on what you say--the biggest problem is two fold:



1) American exposure to soccer is World Cup at least and World Cup/WC qualifying/MLS at most. The World Cup and its qualifiers tend to be played very conservatively because no team wants to blow it. Even the Dutch, Spanish, and Brazilians--teams known for their offense--played very conservative or "negative" football. I blame the Italians, who showed that defensive football wins championships.



Try watching a US World Cup qualifier against a lesser team like Honduras or Guatemala. The team will more or less park 11 men in front of the goal and try to make the US score--several teams followed that strategy at the World Cup (Algeria against the US). Unfortunately this type negative football is most Americans' exposure to soccer. I like the MLS, but for the average sports fan, the skill level isn't comparable to what they saw in the World Cup.



If you watch premiere domestic leagues, or even the European club or national team competitions, you'll tend to see a lot more up-and-down the field play with more scoring. Many will argue that the best soccer is not played at the World Cup, but at the European club or national team championships, where the talent is less watered down.



2) Soccer at its highest level is difficult to jump into as a fan. Imagine trying to educate your foreign friends on American football. The NFL is the pinnacle of football and college football is lower, but more diverse. Unfortunately, there isn't one best soccer league in the world, there are a few--Spain and England followed by Germany and Italy. France, Russia, Portugal, and Holland fall somewhere beyond that.



In addition to national leagues, there are intra-continental and intercontinental competitions, both at the club and the national team level. In a two-week span, at Dutch player for an English professional team, say Arsenal, may play a English domestic league match for Arsenal on Saturday, a European club championship match for Arsenal on Wednesday, another English domestic league match for Arsenal on the following Saturday, and a European national team tournament match for the Dutch national team the following Wednesday. That 4 matches for 2 different teams in 3 separate competitions in a 2 week span. You can't just pick a league and follow it--and I remember how overwhelming it was when I started to follow it.



I didn't become a soccer (or hockey for that matter) until college. I now play hockey, but I can't play soccer. But they are right behind American football for my favorites to watch.

I criticize baseball, standing around for three hours watching two guys play catch is hardly an athletic event. I also criticize soccer (and no, it doesn't matter how many people like it or don't like it, that doesn't make it better or worse than any other sport, more people eat at McDonald's than other burger places) because it has become such a flopped out sport that it just becomes a joke to see guys wriggling around on the ground like little girls. I also hate what the European and Latin influence has done to basketball, the flopping (which originates in soccer, so it makes me dislike soccer even more).