Because players Dive all the time during the entire game, usually to gain possession. It's more on the refs to clean it up, realize it's a dive, and give a RED card for it and I guarantee that **** stops. What FIFA really should do is give cards while reviewing the games, be it yellow or red and have that impacted for the next game. That would keep the players honest.
Poor sportsmanship?! Give me a break. You've seen Scola flop 10x's harder and more often and yet you cheer for him religiously. I don't see how there was bad sportsmanship either.... when you know you've seen worse with Sports in the US. Full out brawls in NBA games, Biting ears off in Boxing, blatant kicks to the nuts (Hayneworth) , the **** that goes on in the bottom of a pile up after a fumble etc. The US had their chances and lost. It's tough but don't blame it on "poor sportsmanship".
"We aren't done yet. We had a bad decision against Slovenia (when a late goal was ruled out), but we are Americans. We get on with it, we don't complain." - Landon Donovan Proud of you Landon. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8ZZf619DIpo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8ZZf619DIpo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> And I'm proud to be an American Where atleast I know I'm free/ But I won't forget the men who fought In South Africa, and made history/ By beating Algeria To get into, the final, 16...
did you just quote yourself and say great post? but isnt baseball the same? baseball requires patience with games sometimes lasting 3 hrs+ and there a definitely times when you wait for something to happen and not get a great result ie: getting runners on base and not driving them in. i think theres something more to it than just people arent patient, people dont "get" the game etc....i'm not sure what it is, but soccer needs to figure out why the lackluster interest in soccer in america and try to tap into that.
Spot on, he's just too conservative. We're getting to the point that we're good enough to no longer rely solely on defending and countering but Bradley seems prefer that. Between the start of the second half and our goal we played well but after the goal we reverted back to the low pressure tactics. I realize it's tough to play at that level for a long period of time, but it would have been better to keep the momentum going instead of playing an extra 30 minutes. And the last 15 minutes we should have been throwing everybody forward, at that point you have to take risks.
Wasting Time There’s only minutes left to play, but you have a 1 goal lead. Besides playing good defense, is there anything else you can do to keep that lead? For many coaches and players, the strategy of “wasting time” becomes an integral part of the game at this point. But how do you waste time the right way? Injuries This is probably one of the worst things I’ve seen, especially in professional soccer. Many times players will fall to the ground rolling around in agony as if they were shot. Some fall on their own complaining of cramps or pulled muscles, all to waste time. However, this is one of the worst strategies to use since referees will add extra time for injuries, which results in a longer game than expected. Substitutions The first thing many coaches turn to is the use of substitutions as a way to delay a game. Players will purposely walk off the field slowly. However, be careful with this since referees are accustomed to this strategy and will card players if they take too long. Referees may also stop time during substitutions if they get to be numerous, realizing that they are being used to waste time. But, for those players that stay on the field, at least it provides a quick breather and breaks up the momentum of the game, especially during those intense last few minutes. Kick-Ins/Throw-Ins When your team restarts the game with a kick-in or throw-in, this is another area where you can waste some time. Players can take their time retrieving the ball and putting it back in play. Again, be careful with this since referees are accustomed to this strategy and will card players if they take too long. Possession Possessing the game is probably one of the best ways of wasting time. Having possession of the ball puts you in control. The opposing team can’t score if they don’t have the ball (usually)! The opposing team has no choice but to work extra hard and take risks in order to retain possession. By doing so, they may leave themselves vulnerable, providing a scoring chance for your team. Keeping possession can also involve working the ball into the opposing team’s defensive end and holding it there. Opposing players will get frustrated and may end up fouling you which can end up in a free kick. Depending on where that free kick is, you may or may not want to shoot. Instead, you may want to retain possession.
Yeah... the whole patience thing is bunk... the pacing of baseball is far more agonizing than soccer... and football has so much start and stop... 4 hours games where only 45 minutes is actual "ball in play" action? yikes... THAT takes patience. As for pragmatism vs. artistry... I don't see that either, you can find art and pragmatic elements in all sports... soccer is no exception...
The funny thing is, no one would ever use the word 'Patient' to describe Ghana. They are anything but, and their lack of patience has hurt them if anything.
Thank you AsianSen for calling DM out on his poor sportsmanship rant! The better team won. Deal with it and dont act like a spoiled brat.
Not at all. Within the inning, there's a dead ball after each ball/strike/runner reaches base. The continuity aspect of soccer is what makes it a hard sell in the US - a pragmatist nation that micromanages each and every mechanical aspect of the game. In basketball if you don't have a leader like Deron Williams the coach has to literally spoon feed directions to players and it's rare when they play on down the stretch in the fourth (Don Nelson, Phil Jackson both take unique approaches to the game).
What's pathetic is how soccer will once again fall back to being the 5th-10th most popular sport in America just like it's always been. If we followed soccer this closely, cared about it, and were genuinely passionate about it and not just during this sweet stretch then I'm sure we'd have some Lebron's/Kobe's of soccer being groomed.
Where did I say the better team didn't win? Ghana was better. I have no reservations about that. They played a pretty damn good game. But you can't defend poor sportsmanship. And if you do, shame on you.
Who said I'm blaming it on poor sportsmanship? Can you please show me where I made any excuses for the US losing other than being outplayed? Poor sportsmanship is poor sportsmanship. You cannot defend it. It doesn't matter if it's the Rockets, the Dynamo, Ghana, or the US national team. It's lame, and no one should excuse it.
Strawman. You said you had to have patience, and baseball having that patience is key. Hell in basketball Patientce is key. You aren't going to sell anyone on your "Americans lack something naturally" argument. Because quite frankly it's silly. I guess the entire world lacked the tools to play basketball...that is until they started to care about it more.
You purposely misinterpret posts and take things out of context to give yourself something to talk about. "Patience" is required by the fans while maintaining a decent attention span. Even if your team is full of flair and attack prowess like the Spanish you can come up against defensive walls like the Swiss and be shut out. Oftentimes you won't even get more than 1 or 2 legit opportunities on goal, the entire game will go into wasted buildups. And that's why you can't compare the patience to baseball, where each batter has the same chance as the guy before and after him to make an impact. Keep in mind this is the highest level of soccer, if you've ever watched Premiership games outside of the big 4, or the 2nd and 3rd tier leagues, you know you need extreme levels of patience to put up with that. But these are the building blocks of football in countries with strong premier leagues. It ties in to the ease of life factor at the end of the day. How fiesty can you get in limited areas, trickery, deception, etc. and quite frankly, this is where the US will always lack. It's a completely different mentality to a wide receiver running routes, so I think the fact that the "premier athletes" go for the MLB, NFL and NBA is a moot point.
Does anyone remember why Jim Rome went ballistic 2-3 years ago when he found out his kid (or someone else's) wanted to play competitive soccer in the US instead of other sports? I can't remember what he was saying but he was being more of a drama queen than usual.
right... because every GREAT football team fielding country has 307 million people???? What the eff is this crap about?????
