TL;DR. Usually this discussion is pointless. But I will say, at first glance soccer seems slow. But if you can get in a run of watching soccer in a few days or weeks, let's say the World Cup, the Olympics, UEFA, etc...and then go back to watching basketball, football, etc. Afterwards it actually feels the opposite. Football, basketball, etc suddenly feel slower than soccer because of all the stops and starts. In soccer it's constantly moving, any team can score in a matter of seconds, and when they do it's a huge deal. So in it's own way it's a lot more dramatic.
Uh, the winner is decided on the field, over the course of 38 games, not just who happens to get hot at the right time (like say the Champions League or the various Cup contests)....I can't recall the last time anybody won their league via GD or goals scored.
I'm sure you know what I meant. The idea of playing a baseball season, or a football season, or a basketball season, and then declaring the champion based on regular season record would be anathema to the American public. You can call that "decided on the field" if you want, but it's not the way we decide winners, here in the US of A.
Eh, it doesn't bother me much. Actually I think in baseball, for example, it's kind of lame to see a mediocre team happen to get a hot pitcher/pitchers at the right time and be able to torpedo another team's season.
But, that's exactly what they do. The team that has the best season wins the championship. How many times do you hear the question in American sports, "Yeah X won the title, but it was clear that Y was the best team this season."? There's no bulls*** computer formula. There's no bulls*** committee. If you're the best team and you finish in 1st place...you finish in 1st place and get to go on to European competition (Champions League or UEFA Cup). On the flip side, what do you think would happen if they did in baseball or basketball what they do in soccer overseas...relegate the last place teams to the lower divison? Could you imagine the Clippers in the NBDL with the Austin Toros coming up to the NBA? The Royals get sent down to AAA while the Toledo Mud Hens get promoted to MLB. To me, that's freaking cool. You can't be that owner who just sits back and collects tv money while your team is the whipping boy every season. If you want the money, you have to compete and stay in the top league.
Lame? That's like the best part about baseball. Same with hockey. All it takes is a dominating goalie to advance in the playoffs.
And if the NBA used the system that soccer uses, the Houston Rockets would have zero titles. San Antonio won more games in 95, but they were not the better team, and we proved it. For that matter, Dallas wasn't the best team in 2007, the Suns weren't the best team in 05, and the Pacers weren't the best in 04.
there aren't "playoffs" in the traditional sense but every country has tournaments sometimes more than 1 which serve like NCAA basketball ones (england has the FA cup, and the carling cup). also, international play is a huge part of the season whether it is club teams (uefa champions league) or for countries (world cup, etc). so yes there are playoffs.
cause some1 might shoot and kill u right before u score a goal http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=628629&sec=world&&&cc=5901
But entire seasons would play out differently too. The intensity would be higher for every single game, players would be less likely to sit out for lame reasons (Pop wouldn't sit out Duncan and Parker for kicks a few weeks ago) or minor injuries, etc. I don't know if we'd still win, but I would expect a better effort out of our team in closing out Chicago too - for example. It's a totally different animal when the season is your playoffs, much like college football. College football only has one extra game to determine it's champ, actually. And that system doesn't work in the NCAA because every team cannot play every other team (understandably) and opinions play a huge factor.
Think of your favorite Rockets memories... the Kiss of Death. Dream abusing Robinson in the WCF, or blocking Starks' three in game 6. The words "Clutch City" themselves, when we came back from 0-2 against the Suns. None of them would exist. And don't tell me they'd be replaced by other memories, because without a playoff, the situation isn't set up to have those moments. Your season closes out with meaningless road games against the Clippers, or the Nets, or the TWolves. Taking this season's standings as an example, the only meaningful games left would be ones involving the Lakers and Cavs, with the Celtics and Magic holding out the faintest of hopes of making up a 4 game deficit in 16 games. The Spurs, who had to deal with Manu's injury early this year, would be out of it, as would the rest of the Eastern and Western conferences. Meaningless games for the rest of the season. I suppose the Wizards, Thunder, Grizzlies, Clippers, and Kings would be fighting to keep their spot in the league.
politicians call it a socialist sport, and campaign against it, like republican jack kemp. I'm not making it up. I remember the quotes from the book "how soccer explains the world." It's a good read.
I'm not arguing any of that. The playoffs are suited for drama. But my reply is in regards to having a season determine a champion and all that entails. It's not necessarily any less 'accurate' than having an actual bracket system. You can't use the arguement that the best team isn't the same as the team w/ the best record when the rules aren't laid out as such. Teams strategize to peak come playoff time. But if there is no playoffs, teams would be playing harder, much earlier. You're changing the topic again.
you are looking at it the wrong way. there are about 2 months left in the soccer season and i will use manchester united as an example. right now they are at the top of the standings with a sizable, but not comfortable lead. it should also be noted that based upon your rank in teh standings , it determines what tournaments you play the following season. for example the top 4 teams in the premier league play in the champions league, and then the next 2 play in the uefa cup (similar to NIT). all these spots are still in doubt with less than 10 games left in the schedule so there are still plenty of meaningful games left. also, as of now manchester united is in the "final 4" of the FA cup - a tournament of all english teams which is more than 700 total teams. they are also in the "elite 8" in the uefa champions league (out of 32 of the top european teams) which is probably the most prestigious annual trophy with the most prize money.
The topic is "Why don't Americans like football (soccer)?" My response to that in part is that we, as Americans, prefer a playoff system, which soccer traditionally does not have. You are the one who's perhaps discussing a different topic, or maybe the topic got sidelined somewhere. But I was trying to keep the the OP's discussion.
I quoted and responded to a specific point you made. It's not even an 'I'm right you're wrong' point I'm trying to make either. Lesson learned, I won't bother next time.
Right right It was more a response to people saying soccer is boring while at the same time claiming they'll gladly watch the world cup. However, that probably has more to do with the nature of the event itself than the level of play. In the end it's all about exposure and the willingness of the public to try and dig a little deeper into the wonderful sport.
i am sure it may have been said but the reason why soccer doesnt do better is TV. you cannot commercialize soccer as well as other sports, with timeouts, ad sponsorship etc. if corporate america cant buy into a sport it will not do well. i think hockey is similar in that fashion and there is a reason why hockey does poorly here and has some of its games on smaller national networks. why does football work? its easily commercialzed, same with basketball and baseball. soccer will not generate as much revenue as the other sports from advertising so the major network will not invest as much into showing soccer games --> not many americans really caring for the game
In soccer the game is too much about possession. There are just not enough shots on goal. NASCAR is exciting for wrecks, and battles at the end of races. Most of NASCAR is extremely boring. I don't know many people that watch it just to watch the cars go around the track for 500 miles. Baseball I think is popular because it is so rooted in American culture. Teams have long traditions, and you grow up rooting for a specific team. I think this is why people like me watch World Cup, but could care less about watching MLS games. It is easy to get behind your country because you've grown up loving the USA. I hope MLS makes it as a league. Soccer deserves to be popular in this country. With the growing hispanic population in this country, I think they could grow like the NBA. The question is can they attract the talent that the long established leagues can. I wonder if we had just 3-4 teams that competed with the clubs from UEFA. Sort of a worldwide league. I think it would make Soccer better in the U. S.
