Theres no doubt there is a strategic element to it...which is why I said there'll be theatrics when foul subjectivity applies. From a fan perspective, my perspective, it makes me cringe. YMMV.
OT: Watching soccer and hockey
- Thread starter JS School
- Start date
Theres no doubt there is a strategic element to it...which is why I said there'll be theatrics when foul subjectivity applies. From a fan perspective, my perspective, it makes me cringe. YMMV.
"Cringe" it never made me feel anything, I wouldn't realize it was a big deal if Americans didn't talk about it so much. I am close with a lot of Europeans, they never think or talk about it, like me.
Not true at all, the most athletic are the ones who go farthest. Baseball is harder in what way? Hitting a fastball or curveball? Pitching? A lot of less athletic kids are good at baseball because they can do the singular task "hit", "pitch". It's crazy that you think the soccer players can get by with LESS athleticism? Obviously you don't understand the game and haven't watched good travel teams or high school teams. The athletes on the soccer teams are better athletes than those on the baseball and softball teams. The non athletic often can't hang even with better soccer skills. Not sure how you define athletic? So in your view hand/eye coordination is "athleticism"? Foot/eye coordination is harder, I'd take a soccer kid usually in speed, running endurance, and probably toughness over a baseball kid. It's way more physical than baseball.
Last edited:
I'm not exaggerating, there's a soccer club near us, that has 600 teams and 6000 players between ages 4-22, and that's just one of many within the area. This club has just this year had two of their alumni enter the MLS. Don't believe me if you don't want to, you don't live where I live. It is easier to make a high school football team than a soccer team. Usually these football teams don't cut players, you can keep 50-60 for football and they don't get that many kids trying out. Soccer teams here, where soccer is very popular will have 50-60 kids try out and keep no more than 20.
Here are a few simple statements about fan interest in watching sports:
1) If you don't understand a sport, you're not likely to enjoy watching it for more than a few minutes.
2) If you don't having a rooting interest in a game, even if you understand it, your interest in watching it will be low. I know football well, but I never watch CFL games, because I could care less whether Rough Riders or the Allouettes win.
These are more important factors than the factors cited above, such as the flow, strategy, or other details of the games themselves.
We can all critique soccer, hockey, lacrosse, etc, and even baseball, football and basketball. But the reason most Americans can't watch soccer is that they just don't care who wins. Ratings for soccer go sky high when America makes a run in the World Cup because viewers have a rooting interest for once. But there is virtually no carryover; two weeks later, 95% of those watching America in the WC have zero interest in watching an MLS or EPL game, because they could care less who wins.
1) If you don't understand a sport, you're not likely to enjoy watching it for more than a few minutes.
2) If you don't having a rooting interest in a game, even if you understand it, your interest in watching it will be low. I know football well, but I never watch CFL games, because I could care less whether Rough Riders or the Allouettes win.
These are more important factors than the factors cited above, such as the flow, strategy, or other details of the games themselves.
We can all critique soccer, hockey, lacrosse, etc, and even baseball, football and basketball. But the reason most Americans can't watch soccer is that they just don't care who wins. Ratings for soccer go sky high when America makes a run in the World Cup because viewers have a rooting interest for once. But there is virtually no carryover; two weeks later, 95% of those watching America in the WC have zero interest in watching an MLS or EPL game, because they could care less who wins.
On a different note, here is something I heard the recently departed Don Rickles say, many years ago about why hockey TV ratings were so low:
"The NHL needs to start using a puck the size of garbage can lid. Half the time, you can't see the damn thing."
"The NHL needs to start using a puck the size of garbage can lid. Half the time, you can't see the damn thing."
Yes true. Yes. I am sorry, I don't care if a kid is fast or can run longer. I am talking put a baseball bat in hand, have him try to throw and catch a football, have him swing a golf club, have him, and this is the kicker...play basketball. I'll take the 5 best baseball players over the 5 best soccer players every time.
Congrats, you live in Europe. I would love to spend time there. Must be fun. Are you near Barcelona, Milan or London?
Post should be pinned. It is admittedly why I have less than enthusiastic interest in the NBA. I have no real dog in the hunt. It is why I can get into International Soccer, including the Women's team, and can't get into the EPL. Your football/CFL analogy is spot on.
I can watch pretty much any college football game. Most college basketball games. Most hockey games. Spotty NFL and MLB games, mostly playoffs and "big" games. But I also have rooting interests in those sports so I follow them more closely.
These threads always end this way. I always start out saying who cares about liking your sport, we all have our preferences, people like different things, we all have different opinions and sure enough, the one or two soccer fans who are too thin skinned on their sport keep digging and digging. They can never leave it alone so they start talking g about how every other sport sucks and how great soccer is and then it turns into a pissing match. Every time.
Soccer fans can just never leave it alone. Every single time. Hockey fans used to be like this about 10-15 years ago but they have seemed to accept their sport as a niche sport, given up the hopes of making it mainstream inThe US. Soccer fans need to do same.
Soccer fans can just never leave it alone. Every single time. Hockey fans used to be like this about 10-15 years ago but they have seemed to accept their sport as a niche sport, given up the hopes of making it mainstream inThe US. Soccer fans need to do same.
Near BALTIMORE, MARYLAND,USA.
I don't know if you think I'm making this up, but no I haven't even exaggerated even a little.
I get it, you don't like it, like many here don't like soccer, but the problem is many know nothing about it and disrespect it. Like it's a little kids sport, and un-athletic kids can get by by hustling and when kids are 10 they gravitate to "the real sports" and soccer is only left with the poor athletes that can't hang in football, baseball and basketball. And by 10 kids are bored with it and leave for the real sports, anybody can do soccer, it's not hard, you just run around kicking a ball. that's the thing that irritates me, none of that is true. You don't like it, fine, that doesn't make it inferior and the athletes in soccer certainly aren't inferior. And I don't care if it ever becomes USA mainstream, all I'm say is don't be stupid and actually believe some of that nonsense that it's not a difficult sport that needs athletic ability.
But truth is, it is pretty mainstream in the USA right now, maybe not everywhere, but it's close to mainstream.
Anyone can run a kick a soccer ball. But to play soccer and play it well, one has to do things with their feet that others sports require with their hands. It's a different skill set and it's incredibly difficult. You don't get soccer? Fine. That's ok. But to minimize the athleticism is ignorant. I always like the stories of the great athletes of other sports who walk on to a soccer pitch and attempt to play. Then after 5 minutes, they get turned inside out, get their ankles broken after being made to look foolish, and then they storm off the field belittling the sport.
Geez I went to high school at a place w/ one of the top soccer and baseball teams in the state and the baseball team definitely did not have better athletes than the soccer team. In fact they had a lot of plodding kids who were too slow and uncoordinated for any other sport. They definitely didn't have better athletes than any sport I can think of, and they went to WPIAL finals (might've won, not sure).
A lot of those kids were slow and plodding and lets just say they were uh not the most coordinated kids when we'd get together to play backyard football or pickup basketball. And this is one of the top WPIAL baseball programs. The only reason they were still baseball players is b/c so many kids quit that sport to concentrate on others or start playing lax. This was the mid 90s.
A lot of those kids were slow and plodding and lets just say they were uh not the most coordinated kids when we'd get together to play backyard football or pickup basketball. And this is one of the top WPIAL baseball programs. The only reason they were still baseball players is b/c so many kids quit that sport to concentrate on others or start playing lax. This was the mid 90s.
Next thing you know they'll start up the stuff about soccer becoming more popular than baseball in this country.
I always heard that in grade school, along with the metric system will replace the imperial measurement system. 40 years later and the only thing that has changed is the way we buy a big bottle of soda pop.
I just cant stand these over statements.. we cant just leave it at a personal preference, we have to make up these crazy stories about thousands of kids meeting at the square in the middle of town or now how all the fat slow kids in Rpost's town play baseball and during their weekly pickup backyard football game, the baseball players were the ones picked last.
it's adults making these posts too, that's the truly discouraging thing here.. I played sports, you played sports, we all did.. some good athletes in my high school on the soccer team, the football team, the baseball team and the hoops team. some kids played multiple sports. there was no consistent movement of lesser athletes going to one sport over another, due to their inabilities. kids play what they like and what they are good at.. to say someone played a sport over another because they couldn't cut it, is dumb and false.
Well again, the sum total of this is........if the best are playing????? Then that means the best players in the sport are???
Football is uniquely American. Hockey isn't. And the US produces some of the very best players, if you rank the USA"s team internationally it is no worse than 3rd, probably 2nd. Basketball is dominated by the US. Baseball is more international now than ever, but the US still is tops at players and won the last International Tourney.
Soccer? According to the latest FIFA ranking, we are 23rd. We historically have ranked 20th. Granted more countries play soccer than the above sports, but.....again.....it is not like young Americans produced by the flooded and teeming with talent, esteemed Northern Maryland Soccer Association is flowing players into the EPL or other top Euro leagues. In fact, since the mid 2000's, the US has actually dropped internationally in FIFA rankings, we have....yes, BACKSLIDED!!!! In fact, we are in the exact same position that we were 1993, that was 25 years ago.
So we need to get a grip with this false narratives of "the best players are now playing soccer" just because Johnny Kickball and Jimmy Slidetackle from a particular white suburb of Baltimore play soccer over baseball.
New York, Miami, and LA were going to be underwater about the same time the metric system was to replace the imperial measurement system.
Unfortunately last time I looked all three cities are above water!
I watch the water levels in the news weekly hoping for that surge especially in NY!
lol we were all friends, dummy.
What world do you live in where kids don't play backyard football.
When we were kids, sure. Don't recall in high school, being 15-16 years old and the baseball team and soccer team meeting every Saturday like you've said. Time to change your story cause it sounds ridiculous.
Things are different now guys, soccer in America is the new thing, we are gonna be a force when these kids grow up.
Save this post for 2027, you'll hear the same thing. Might as well keep it in archives for 2037 as well, Same thing I heard in mid 90s. I'd love to be golfing btw, but I got two kids so that's gone.
Of course you'd love to be golfing.
It was a rhetorical question.
Pretty obvious you love golf.
You said that high school kids met for backyard football games and the baseball players were the slow prodding ones. I laughed at your story. It's cut and dry.
Listen, I get it, you are one of many thin skinned soccer fans that instead of being able to defend your sport, you take to insulting other sports with fictional stories of your youth. We get it, you are not alone. We've seen your types in all of these ongoing soccer threads. No problem here, we almost expect it.
You and the rest of soccer fans in this country should listen to me, take my advice but you don't. If you listened to me, you'd be happier, I promise you.
Here it is again. Enjoy your uniqueness, enjoy the fact that your sport in a niche sport at best in this country. Accept and embrace this. There is no honor in liking a sport that everyone else does. Take the road less travelled. Go to your want-to-be English pub on Saturday at 7am, drink a lager or some dark ale, and you and the 3 other fans in the bar, high 5 each other. You'll have seats at the bar, won't have to wait for a drink, no line for the bathrooms, it sounds great.
dude, I'm telling you, you get out there on a non crowded day, with a six pack or two, nice day, riding around on a cart, it's not a bad way to spend 4-5 hours.. but again, going back to the premise of this entire thread, what one person likes, another may not..
I'm actually starting to think about how nice it would be to drink a few boddingtons or smithwick drafts at pipers pub at 7am on a Saturday with 3 or 4 other people who enjoy the same sport I do.. I might have to give this whole soccer thing another try.. RPost, you say the word bro and I'm there, bright and early. first round is on me.. just tell me who is playing so I can do a little research before I jump on the bandwagon..
Damn rpost, you really are upset about this soccer thing. Ok man, well I hope your sport takes off here, for your sake.
i'm reading the rest of your post and it doesn't make sense. I'd rather play a real sport like the good old days but embarrass myself ? what?
If you are going to insult me, you have to do better both with clarity and originality. I'll give you another shot. Let me have it.
Last edited:
That's the thing, there are no "best players", if LeBron had concentrated on soccer since age 5, we might never have heard of him, he might never have gone beyond high school as a soccer player, the same people aren't better at every sport. People say if LeBron had played football he'd be a hall of fame TE, maybe, maybe he'd have been a backup TE at Ohio State? And that's awesome too, but there's no guarantee he'd be the best at every sport. 23rd in the world is pretty good out of over 200, what's wrong with 23rd?
I agree, totally with you! I actually like that it's a niche sport, I can DVR a game I want to see and be 1000% certain I won't hear anyone talking about the score.... Sort of like Pitt Football in Baltimore! LOL! The only thing I won't stop arguing about is the idea that soccer is "easier" and the people that play are the "lesser athletes left over after all the real athletes got to football, baseball and basketball", because that's simply not true! Because one thing is for certain, the best basketball, baseball and football athletes absolutely couldn't walk out on a soccer field and be able to compete, unless maybe they put YEARS of time in learning the skills.
And any soccer player couldn't walk onto a basketball court or baseball field and compete either. It works with all sports. Let it go man.
Ok, well I'm not saying that but others might be. All sports take skill. Gymnastics, tennis, soccer, football, no one is walking into a sport on day one and being successful at it. From badminton to water polo.
Actually, I personally think that gymnastics and figure skating are actually the hardest sports in the world to be mediocre at. People like you and me can do something and it looks like basketball, soccer, baseball or football, but some of that stuff gymnasts and figure skaters do is unreal.
Sure. If it makes you feel better, I admit it. And to make you feel even better, not even that good at golf.
Last edited:
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
-
Tune in tomorrow (Thursday) morning for a big site announcement!- Latest: OnCampusStadium
-
-
-
Womens team will be one and done today..how long do we- Latest: LeftCoastPanther