Personally, I casually follow both baseball and soccer but I find it hard to believe that the same people that find soccer/football boring actually view baseball as the more exciting of the two. I guess it goes to the 'love of power for americans' argument 4chuckie alluded to, because personally I find watching baseball a more excrutiating experience with each passing year. As for soccer, while all the talk about lack of scoring chances and low scoring may be true, one thing is unrefutable; its definately among the most physically draining games out there, next to hockey, IMHO. You can say all you want about the difficulties of kicking a ball around, but the fact is its a tough sport to play. And this past World Cup reminded me how theres no other tournament in the world capable of arousing the excitment (shut up pervs ) of so many cultures simultaneously - the Olympics included. Here in extremely cosmopolitan Toronto, it was a sight to behold. I guess for most Americans, its for some reason or another unappealing (I think Jello is on to something with his theory) Azim da Dream
There's actually more to it than kicking the ball. You have to put power behind it and it has to be accurate. Then there is the matter of putting curve onto the ball to send it around defenders. If you think this is easy then you haven't tried it. Kicking a ball at 90-100 mph into the top corner of the goal from 25 yards out is very difficult. If you find soccer boring that is fine, boring is objective. But you can't say there is more action in a baseball game. The only time I can watch baesball is if I go to the stadium and watch the game with people, but soccer I can watch anytime, even if I don't care about the teams involved. You enjoy watching baseball because of the power and skill involved, but those same elements are in soccer.
Those of you criticizing soccer because of the "lack of scoring opportunities".....4chuckie, this means you in particular....are obviously speaking from a nearly complete ignorance of the sport. Soccer is as close as a professional sport can come to chess, which many of you no doubt find unbareably boring as well. When you're watching the ball being passed around, the players are setting up plays. What you don't see, is the constant battle of the down-the-field forwards jockeying for position with the defenseman, trying to gain an edge without becoming offsides. The reality of Soccer defense is that you are on the edge of disaster for 90 minutes a game. A breakdown can come any second. A score can come any second. You know all of those onside kicks? Those are all scoring opportunities. All of those long down the field passes? If the defensmen don't play that ball exactly right, and I mean all of the defensemen, that pass easily becomes a one on one match between the forward and the Goalie. Soccer has more tension in one match than most sports get in a season. Tension and release. That's what life is all about. But you're right, they don't award two, three, or even six points when someone scores. You get one. That's it. And the celebration when one of those horribly boring scores goes into the net, is greater than anything you'll find in baseball, save for a grand slam to win the World Series, or anything you'll find in football, save for a last second touchdown pass to win the Super Bowl. And in Soccer, you get that in every game. Tension and release. No flashing lights. No smoke and dancing girls. Just good old-fasioned tension and release. Just like sex.
"Those of you criticizing soccer because of the "lack of scoring opportunities".....4chuckie, this means you in particular....are obviously speaking from a nearly complete ignorance of the sport." You call it ignorance, I call it trying to watch and being bored to tears. I love hockey, baseball and football. Hockey is the most similar to soccer, well except the goalie actually gets to save 20-25 shots a night, guys can actually hit each other, and they guys get slammed into the boards and get up, without acting like someone just shot their dog. I consider a scoring opportunity a shot on goal, just like in hockey (or a FG or FT attempt in basketball or a situation in baseball when a runner reaches second base). I guess from your definition a scoring opportunity actually occurs every play in football or every possesion in basketball or each time a pitch is thrown in baseball. Call it what you want but it's tough to score when the ball is not close to the goal. Who knows maybe I'm just too American, but I cannot stand the sport.
Here is one for U.S residence. Here in Australia our sport is a bit similar to the U.S. We have our own sports we like, our own codes of football we follow. Anyway we get these usual comments for soccer fans: 1.Soccer is about to take off in Australia. When it does it will take over all other sports. 2. Sure your sports have international competition but they are not important. Soccer is the world game. 3. More kids play soccer then any other sport. Every 4 years Australia gets to within one game of making the World Cup and we always stuff it up! I think most soccer people just dont get it. Australia and the U.S. dont really care about soccer at all. Give us the NRL, AFL and NFL....they are the football codes we follow.
1. I detest baseball . . .basketball and football [WNBA > MLB IMO] Being draining and hard does not make a sport interesting I hate Nascar. . i hear that is draining. . same with track , beyond the 100 yd dash . . i ain't got much for it .. . oooo strategy . . . RUN FAST!!!!! Soccer is ok . . .but nothing i will set out to watch. I think they need a few rule changes that would help I think a smaller field would help Also . . SET SOME PICKS!!! MORE CONTACT BAY BEE!!!! Rocket River maybe i should watch Rugby
I have to Agree on this one. I mean . . .ever play a electronic game where u was the coach and did not interact on the field. . . for soccer Coach's Football is kewl . . . Rocket River
I have to disagree. It's close, but I disagree. If chess were all about pregrame planning, then yes, you're right. But in regards to setting up your opponent, drawing him out of position, reacting as changes are thrown at you, it's soccer. Now, these things happen in football, too, to a certain degree. But I think Soccer has the advantage in this argument because it's a coordinated, team attack when you're trying to draw someone out of position, as opposed to an individual (say, a widereciever trying to draw a corner out of position) on a football team. I mean, it's close, and we could probably go all day. I just disagree in regards to the similarity in spirit between Chess and Soccer.
4chuckie- It's just a difference in taste, my friend. I understand what you're saying, believe me. I think you're right in that we differ in our definition of scoring opportunities.
You can't score if you don't take a shot onj the goal. No chance to score = not a scoring opportunity.
And earlier you preached how in football you were only one good play away. So what is it, is there only a chance when you have the "shot" or is it ok to be one "good" play away?
Lets all be honest! I love watching football (soccer the real thing) but it will never be huge in the US because the US has NBA and NFL both of which i also love to watch (i didnt put baseball because it isnt a sport its turned into a science experiment). What I would love to see is any football, basketball, and especially baseball player kick a ball even 80 mph and then say that it takes no power. David Beckham's freekicks go over 100mph! then i would like to see a football player or baseball player play a full 90 minute game without a tank of oxygen on the sideline. To say soccer is dumb because there is no draft is a joke. The best thing about soccer in England and Soccer is that their is always a local team in one of the divisions. Ohh yea what about the lakers now? they have the best talent in the league by far. the same cant be said about a team in the English Premier league with that said I still love the NFL and NBA the salary thing is kind of a joke because look at the English premier league. It too is full of greedy players.
Guys, There is only one reason that Soccer has not taken off in America...one reason only. They do not stop play and this makes it bad for TV...No commercials. If we as kids grew up watching the sport and idolizing the stars we would be more enamored with the sport of soccer. The US is a "RIGHT NOW" country, we generally do not like to wait for things and our attention spans are very short. Personally, I love soccer and was one of the guys who got up to watch all the USA games live in the World Cup. I have also been to Old Trafford stadium to see Man U.... Soccer is a great sport...but it is best seen LIVE.... DaDakota
Every play in football is a shot on goal. There aren't three or four defenders waiting back at the goalline. If a back breaks away on a run up the middle, he has to beat maybe three or four guys and its a touchdown. If you are near your own goal in soccor, even if you manage to pass up to one of your forwards, there are still all of the fullbacks and the goalie there to stop you. I would say that you have a much greater chan to score on any given possession in football than you do in suckor, and I think that you would find it hard to disagree.
I will always remember standing outside Ibrox in March when Rangers scored an equalizer. You could hear the roar from the pub we were in like we were on the field. Celtic Vs. Rangers the most exciting game on the planet
Sorry, I know a lot of you anti-soccer people don't like pro-soccer players telling you that you just don't understand the game. But, you obviously don't watch enough soccer to really have an informed opinion about the sport. I love playing soccer, but I'll admit that I don't totally enjoy watching it on TV either. However, saying soccer is not a contact sport is a very ignorant comment. Over the years playing soccer I've had teammates who have done everything from breaking their leg in two to someone going into seizures on the field from massive contact to his temple. I recieved a concussion, a root canal, stiches above my eye, a chipped tooth, and multiple bruises all from playing soccer. There are not pads all over your body or helmets like there are in football or hockey. With soccer your legs take a beating whether its being kicked in the shin, dead-legged, a slide tackle taking out your legs, ankles, etc... Basketball is mostly upper body contact. If some of you think you run more of a risk injuring yourself in basketball than you do in soccer, you really don't know what you're talking about.
