Thank you! I really do think their ignorance leads to hatred of the sport. 90% of Americans know nothing about the game of soccer (rules, strategy, skills involved, history and tradition). I don't care that a majority of Americans don't like or wanna watch soccer. As Dr.Ludicrous pointed out, my problem is with brain dead ignorant idiots who continue to go out of their way to make cave men coments like "soccer bad", "soccer boring", "soccer too slow" every single time a soccer thread is started or conversation about soccer occurs. Go back and look at all the soccer posts in the last few months, you'll see those comments. I HATE baseball because to me it is boring, but I don't go into every single baseball thread and comment on how boring it is. You would be pissed too if that was the case, as you admitted. I agree with most of what you say. I grew up in Africa so Soccer was in "my blood" b/c I played every day and followed the local teams and the world cup from an early age. I never got to watch basketball, baseball or American Football but once I moved here I immediately got into basketball (NBA) and football (NFL) but just can't watch baseball at all. I think if Americans learned the rules and intricacies of the game as well as became familiar with some of the greats and witnessed a game in person where the atmosphere is like it is in the rest of the world, they would gain an appreciation of it. Sadly, the MLS doesn't offer that kind of excitement (although it has been good for the development of young players and improvement of the national team). The U.S. vs. Mexico game at Reliant a few years ago is a perfect example (Close to 70,000 people showed up) and the atmosphere was unbelievable. I heard alot of callers into 610 say they never watch soccer and didn't care for it but after witnessing the game at reliant, they gained an appreciation for it.
Living in Houston my entire life, and traveling to my parents Ranch in Mexico never offered me the opportunity to witness a soccer spectacle. That is what the U.S.A vs. Mexico in Reliant game was. It was just so much fun to watch the passion of the fans. When a group would start the U.S.A. chant, there was a flood of Mexico chants which was deafening. But, it was amazing because fans would keep yelling U.S.A with tremendous passion and pure adrenaline. I'm sure some people might still be trying to recover their voice The crowds in Soccer game are wild and loud throughout the entire game, it's awsome. Unlike when I go to the Rockets game, where A LADY complained to me that I was being too loud; And I felt sorry for her and sat down as quiet as a church mouse, because she was with her elderly mother I hope that paints a picture of the Atmosphere created in soccer juggernaut games!
I love World Cup soccer and fully support team USA. I love backing my country in any real sport. The one thing I hate about soccer is the emphasis on possession. I would like to see more shots on goal. A great save is every bit as exciting as a goal. All-Star soccer games are probably extremely exciting. I also think that penalty shots are very exciting. I dislike hockey for all the same reasons, but I love playoff hockey. The Stanley Cup playoffs are the most exciting for me next to the Super Bowl.
Soccer...in addition to being boring...has the most racist fans in the world. Have you ever seen what goes on at soccer games in Europe?
Best thing to do is to start ignoring ignorant idiots. Unfortunately, racism is a huge problem around the world. It is still a major problem in the US, it is just not as open (even worse it is covert racism). Again, to lump the bad apples with the majority that aren't part of the problem is unfair. I guess all baseball players are drug addicted convicts who rob people because that one depressed former player robbed a jewelry store or whatever it was.
Not quite the same thing...FANS throw bananas at black players and do monkey chants when they touch the ball. The stadiums also allow mass groups of skinheads to waive swaztica flags and bring signs when the Israelis are playing that say "the ovens are your home" etc. You cannot even begin to compare what goes on at a soccer game with that of a baseball/football/basketball game
Yeah, I saw a special recently about how that kind of behavior goes on at soccer stadiums in europe, I was shocked. If a group tried something like that at at Football/Baseball/Basketball game here they'd be in for a serious ass kicking by pretty much the entire crowd.
I don't mind the game, except those annoying sports commentators that yell for 15 minutes after they score.
Again, racism is a big problem, especially in Europe but those are a minority in comparisson to the number of worldwide fans who don't act that way. I watch matches all the time and never see that type of stuff. I never hear racist chants or people with swazticas. I know it does occur because I have read reports and seen documentation of it but it is not reflective of the majority. FIFA has taken measures to try and get rid of this but those ignorant folks need educating cause there is no excuse for that kind of behavior. These types of incidents also sadly occur in the U.S. (Warren Moon & Patrick Ewing were taunted in similar fashion as well). It happens and it is sad but shouldn't reflect on the majority (and has nothing to do with the quality of the sport itself).
How hard can it be to make sure fans dont walk in with stalks of bananas....or how hard would it be to confiscate a swaztica flag or racist sign. I'm sorry...I seem to forget the game at Madison Square Garden where 20 bananas were thrown at Patrick Ewing and people chanted "hoo, hoo hoo" like a chimp everytime he touched the ball. Please refresh my memory. Let me help you...it never happened even remotely to the extent that it does in some of those soccer matches. Not to mention that Ewing and Moon played in sports that were dominated by blacks (at least basketball was...,maybe not so much football)....so if they were being taunted openly, it would have affected a lot more than just ewing and/or Moon.
i LOVE the guy who yells GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
I didn't see the report you are talking about but I think it is the one that aired recently on HBO. I heard previews for it on the radio but don't have HBO so I couldn't watch it but incidents like that are unfortunate and I know for a fact that FIFA has heavily fined and even forced teams to play in empty stadiums as punishments. There is no excuse for that type of stuff going on and if they continue they should be banned all together from professional leagues and competitions. I wasn't in the states when these occurred but I have heard about the incidents. Ewing was chanted at and called a monkey by fans when he first arrived in NY. I've seen interviews of him discussing this. As far as Moon goes, I researched the incidents in the Chronicle archives because I was going to write a paper on him. There were racist signs made and chants at the stadium and some even showed up in his neighborhood to taunt him. In any case, racism is racism and it is horrible. It shouldn't be tolerated on any level and I am not going to sit here and argue about which incident is worse than the other because to me they are all unexcusable and disheartening.
By the way, if anyone finds suckor a little too dull, I found a slightly more exciting alternative here.
I'd rather watch soccer than golf. Golf on TV is the worst. The WORST!!!!! During the Masters, I always go play golf....you can always get a tee time. Why watch golf when you can play it? THE WORST!!!! (Hiding in foxhole now bc Houston is full of people who sit on their asses and watch golf all the time)
