Why will soccer never,ever catch on?

[One Timer]

His team one, because he did this.


http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/fail...nning-penalty-for-holland-against-mexico.html



First, I am a fan of soccer, I enjoy watching it for the most part and as I am watching this unfold I only think man that pisses me off, I wanted Netherlands to win, I like Van Persie and I was still upset.
Sorry but I can't help myself.......

1. Until the reward of a penalty kick (see 95% chance to score a goal when goals don't occur all too often) isn't so great that the risk of looking like an idiot by falling down inside the box the diving will continue. I don't blame the players, the rules almost encourage it, but imagine how cool it would be if they tried to stay on their feet as much as possible, instead of strategizing on how to get contact enough to trick the referee into granting the ever important foul inside the box, that would be a game I would like to see.

2. Robben was about 1 foot from out of bounds and three toes got stepped on, how is the appropriate penalty a goal??? If I spent 4 years training for this sport and that dive decided the outcome, how can you tell me some guy who took a theater class for half a semester in college isn't automatically the most valuable guy on the field?

3. Well, than when the theater guy has to actually take the penalty kick it probably won't go in, duh, oh wait, who is taking the kick now, yeah, please tell me how that makes sense.

4. Why can a guy play in game 1, get a yellow card, play in game 2 get a yellow card, can CONTINUE to play in game 2, but is not allowed to play in the next game? He is such a bad guy he should miss the whole next game, a game against a team that had nothing to do with his infractions, but he is allowed to finish the games against the teams in which the infractions occurred.

5. Red cards.......In the Champions league game in 2006 it was Arsenal vs. Barcelona, (see I wasn't lying about actually liking this stuff) Henry, my most favorite player vs. Ronaldinho, the stud at the time. So excited for this game! Well, basically what happened (true soccer nerds may dispute minor details but to the general public this is what happened) one team had a break away, GK had essentially a goal saving foul. Instead of giving a goal or a penalty kick and keeping it 11 vs. 11, the team went down one man because the GK was given a red card. They were already up a goal so for 70 minutes I got to watch this awesome game be completely one sided and terrible. Look it up to see what happened.
My point is, don't make it an uncompetitive game the rest of the time, yes I am sure the team with a guy down can still score but it is a very one-sided uncompetitive match, ESPECIALLY if the team a man down is winning, Lord help us do they go in defensive mode. Terrible. Make it 30 minutes down, or down 2 guys for 15 minutes, anything but hopeless inequity.

6. Solutions: make it so fouls on the sides of the 18 yard box are indirect kicks either from the spot of the foul or corner kicks, or something like that. Fouls in the center of the box are penalty kicks from either the spot of the foul if farther than the penalty spot or if closer than the penalty spot they get a penalty kick as they would like before.

7. Diving: hopefully they can change some things to make it not as beneficially, in addition they should watch tape after the game to penalize that crap, then it might stop. There was literally 3 Greek guys on the ground rolling around at once.

8. To prove that FIFA has done some good things, the aerosol can, fantastic, actually announcing the amount of injury time, another nice improvement.

Sorry it got a little long, I just had to get some things off my chest because I honestly don't care if it catches on or not, I am just curious why they legitimately don't modify it so the above gif (which hopefully is Robben diving) isn't the reason why teams win games.

 

[airportis]

His team one, because he did this.


http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/fail...nning-penalty-for-holland-against-mexico.html



First, I am a fan of soccer, I enjoy watching it for the most part and as I am watching this unfold I only think man that pisses me off, I wanted Netherlands to win, I like Van Persie and I was still upset.
Sorry but I can't help myself.......

1. Until the reward of a penalty kick (see 95% chance to score a goal when goals don't occur all too often) isn't so great that the risk of looking like an idiot by falling down inside the box the diving will continue. I don't blame the players, the rules almost encourage it, but imagine how cool it would be if they tried to stay on their feet as much as possible, instead of strategizing on how to get contact enough to trick the referee into granting the ever important foul inside the box, that would be a game I would like to see.

2. Robben was about 1 foot from out of bounds and three toes got stepped on, how is the appropriate penalty a goal??? If I spent 4 years training for this sport and that dive decided the outcome, how can you tell me some guy who took a theater class for half a semester in college isn't automatically the most valuable guy on the field?

3. Well, than when the theater guy has to actually take the penalty kick it probably won't go in, duh, oh wait, who is taking the kick now, yeah, please tell me how that makes sense.

4. Why can a guy play in game 1, get a yellow card, play in game 2 get a yellow card, can CONTINUE to play in game 2, but is not allowed to play in the next game? He is such a bad guy he should miss the whole next game, a game against a team that had nothing to do with his infractions, but he is allowed to finish the games against the teams in which the infractions occurred.

5. Red cards.......In the Champions league game in 2006 it was Arsenal vs. Barcelona, (see I wasn't lying about actually liking this stuff) Henry, my most favorite player vs. Ronaldinho, the stud at the time. So excited for this game! Well, basically what happened (true soccer nerds may dispute minor details but to the general public this is what happened) one team had a break away, GK had essentially a goal saving foul. Instead of giving a goal or a penalty kick and keeping it 11 vs. 11, the team went down one man because the GK was given a red card. They were already up a goal so for 70 minutes I got to watch this awesome game be completely one sided and terrible. Look it up to see what happened.
My point is, don't make it an uncompetitive game the rest of the time, yes I am sure the team with a guy down can still score but it is a very one-sided uncompetitive match, ESPECIALLY if the team a man down is winning, Lord help us do they go in defensive mode. Terrible. Make it 30 minutes down, or down 2 guys for 15 minutes, anything but hopeless inequity.

6. Solutions: make it so fouls on the sides of the 18 yard box are indirect kicks either from the spot of the foul or corner kicks, or something like that. Fouls in the center of the box are penalty kicks from either the spot of the foul if farther than the penalty spot or if closer than the penalty spot they get a penalty kick as they would like before.

7. Diving: hopefully they can change some things to make it not as beneficially, in addition they should watch tape after the game to penalize that crap, then it might stop. There was literally 3 Greek guys on the ground rolling around at once.

8. To prove that FIFA has done some good things, the aerosol can, fantastic, actually announcing the amount of injury time, another nice improvement.

Sorry it got a little long, I just had to get some things off my chest because I honestly don't care if it catches on or not, I am just curious why they legitimately don't modify it so the above gif (which hopefully is Robben diving) isn't the reason why teams win games.

the diving in soccer is no more ridiculous than the flopping and crying for fouls in the NBA.

it is a sport where the calls are made by a human official. usually reliant on one single guy who has a lot more ground to cover and is usually a lot further from a play than an NBA ref.

in the 1st half there was a clear penalty that should have been called.

refs dont always get the call right and a lot of times, more than not, they do. players are booked for simulation when a ref sees it. this happens a good amount.

and in any case, robben was fouled. a foul inside the box is a penalty and that is the rule. robben moved the ball and the mexico player missed completely and caught robben on the foot. regardless of how hard or how little of a foul it was, it isnt robbens job to jump over him.

nobody complains about a player driving to the basket looking to draw contact and get the foul to go to the free throw line so I am not sure there is a need to be up in arms over this play. he is looking to draw a foul inside the box. he is a smart player and he got the foul call.

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

Great article ..... Just 30 years too late. It's here. Get over it.

 

[Sportsaholic]

Great article ..... Just 30 years too late. It's here. Get over it.

Plus you can wager on it, what's not to love......usually free money....:shrug:

 

[jr11]

It will never catch on because the US Lebrons of the country will never play soccer. Our athletes will always play football baseball or basketball first, and those sports are on mainstream TV for kids to grow up with. Soccer is huge everywhere else in the world though and much of that is due to those countries not having any other sports to play with leagues to be in.

 

[yyz]

Great article ..... Just 30 years too late. It's here. Get over it.

It's where?


When do you see this game being watched by any Americans other than when the World Cup is being played? Go up to those Americans in those bars and restaurants, and ask them to explain the rules of this game to you. They can't. You would think after thirty years, a few people might know the reasons for the off-sides, yellow cards, or other types of stoppages.

Soccer is slightly more popular than the metric system in this country. That's it.

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

It's where?

It's on espn, fox and nbc. Go to their websites right now and see what they're leading with. It's on your sports ticker. It's at the globe pub on Irving park road at 7 am every Saturday August through May. Its 250 local chapters of the American outlaws. It's the conversation at my neighborhood BBQs It's at dicks sports. It dominates twitter and it's where any social media advertising budget is being focused.

 

[Cie]

the diving in soccer is no more ridiculous than the flopping and crying for fouls in the NBA.

it is a sport where the calls are made by a human official. usually reliant on one single guy who has a lot more ground to cover and is usually a lot further from a play than an NBA ref.

in the 1st half there was a clear penalty that should have been called.

refs dont always get the call right and a lot of times, more than not, they do. players are booked for simulation when a ref sees it. this happens a good amount.

and in any case, robben was fouled. a foul inside the box is a penalty and that is the rule. robben moved the ball and the mexico player missed completely and caught robben on the foot. regardless of how hard or how little of a foul it was, it isnt robbens job to jump over him.

nobody complains about a player driving to the basket looking to draw contact and get the foul to go to the free throw line so I am not sure there is a need to be up in arms over this play. he is looking to draw a foul inside the box. he is a smart player and he got the foul call.

One major disagreement. The soccer flopping is faaaaaaaaaarrrrr worse than basketball flopping. These sickos routinely writhe as if they are in pain only to pop up if the ref ignores them or gives them the call. Worst part of an otherwise enjoyable game.

 

[hedgehog]

I like the fact it's 90 mins and no commercials American football should follow suit

I watch the World Cup every 4 years and not much else, it's too boring for me, at least we can bet on it :mj07:

 

[Terryray]

Paul Doyle, of the Guardian, proposed this sensible solution to flopping:

?Rather than be lambasted for tweaking the rules to better serve justice, referees should be formally given the right to use their discretion when it comes to fouls in the area, awarding either a direct free-kick or a penalty, depending on how likely it was that a goal scoring chance would have ensued (as well, perhaps, as on the degree of malice).?

If the offender was sent off and the goal-scoring opportunity was restored to the victimised team via a penalty kick (rather than a free-kick for which the fouler's team can erect a wall) there would be less incentive to foul, no loophole through which to wriggle."

yes, folks would still argue endlessly ("how close was he to a scoring chance?" instead of "did he really fall?") but it does focus the question more directly, and would reduce the more ridiculous examples.

 

[Terryray]

Football is life itself

By Ian McDonald

THE BEST thing I ever read written about soccer, one of the best pieces about any sport I have ever read, was an essay called "Endgame" by an American, Adam Gopnik, on the World Cup of 1998 held in France. Before he saw the World Cup that year he had known hardly anything about the game.

Early on he makes the point, with which I secretly sympathise, that it is hard to make the case for soccer as an entertainment or a spectacle. The usual score lines, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0 (penalty shoot out), 2-1, 1-1 (penalty shoot-out), 1-2, etc - tell part of the story. In soccer the defence has too big an edge to keep the contest vibrantly interesting. It is easier to defend than to attack since it is always easier to break a sequence than to build one up. Soccer is a game in which this principle reigns supreme.

Because this is so the premium on drawing a foul, especially in the penalty area, is tremendous - there is a huge disproportion between such a foul and the reward - and therefore playacting fouls disfigure the game. A player takes the ball into the penalty area, gets breathed on hard, collapses as if sniper-shot, writhes in agony, demands morphine while team-mates gather and lament the tragic waste of a young life and more often than should be he is rewarded by the referee for all this nonsense.

Adam Gopnik describes the tedium he feels as he watches the first 10 days of 1998 World Cup matches. He sees the Brazilian star, Ronaldo, make a nice move, leaving a couple of Scottish defenders looking foolish. In the end Ronaldo fails to score yet that single move is described by commentators the next day, Gopnik observes, "as though it were the whole of the Peloponnesian War or a seduction by Casanova." Lovers of the game seem to him to have got the significance of what is going on completely out of focus and out of proportion. He watches Denmark play Saudi Arabia (1-0); Croatia play Japan (1-0); Nigeria play Bulgaria (1-0) and altogether he watches 16 matches not much different. He sees waves upon waves of slow-motion attack gradually build up and inevitably dissipate. There are what seem to him great stretches of numbing boredom and tedium.

After a while he spoke to an English friend who asked him how he was getting on looking at the Cup. "It's a bit * well, don't you think it's a bit lacking in entertainment?" There was a pause, then his friend asked him reprovingly, "Why would you expect it to be entertaining?"

NERVOUS AND TENTATIVE

That was the clue that set Adam Gopnik on the right track in his search to find the soul of soccer. In a new frame of mind, he watches a desperate, double-overtime game between an overmatched Paraguay and overwhelming favourites, but very nervous and tentative, France. "The Paraguayans, who looked worn-out from stress, essentially surrendered the idea of scoring, and kept dropping back - kicking the ball out, heading it out, willing it out, again and again. It was obvious that their desperate, gallant strategy was to force a nil-nil draw, over a 120 minutes, and then "go to penalties," the shoot-out at goal where anything can happen and anyone can win. The nil-nil draw wasn't a "result" they would settle for; it was everything they dreamed of achieving. When the game finally ended, as Laurent Blanc stumbled a ball into the Paraguayan net, what was most memorable was the subdued triumph. The French celebrated, but they did not exult; the Paraguayans cried - really cried - but they did not despair. They did not seem ruined or emptied out, as American losers do, they seemed relieved. The tears looked like tears of bitter accomplishment. We knew we were going to lose, the faces and the back pats said, but, hey, didn't we hold it off for a while? ("Heroique," murmured the French commentator)."

Adam Gopnik continued, "The next morning, I slipped in a tape I'd made of the fifth game of the NBA finals, for purposes of comparison. It was a French broadcast, and the commentators announced that the game was a test of truth - une epreuve de verite - for the Utah Jazz. To my surprise, I was, after a week of starvation, used to the austerity of soccer scoring. All those basketball points seemed a little loud, a little cheap. Points coming in from left, from right, cheap points, inspired points, stupid points - goals everywhere you looked, more goals than you knew what to do with, democratic goals, all levelled and equal. It was too much - like eating whipped cream straight."

A few nights later Adam Gopnik watches the Argentina versus Eng-land match to see who will go to the quarter-finals and revelation is complete. Entertainment is the furthest thing from his, or, he realises, anyone's mind. This is something much more gruelling, much more momentous, something to be etched on the soul.

"The match started off with two typically exasperating soccer events. After only five minutes, David Seaman, the English goalkeeper, lunged for the ball, and an onrushing Argentine stumbled over him. Penalty and, inev-itably, a goal. Then young Owen got tripped. He acted out the death scene from Camille and drew a penalty himself, which was knocked in by Alan Shearer, England's captain. A few minutes later, Owen raced half the length of the field - really sprinting, huffing - mesmerising an Argentine defenceman, who kept moving back, back, defeated in his own mind, and then he sent it in: 2-1, England! With 15 seconds left in the half, Argentina got the ball, executed a jagged, pinball-quick exchange of passes, and, shockingly, the ball was bouncing in the net, and the game was tied.

INJUSTICE AND TEDIUM

At the start of the second half, David Beckham was expelled from the game, leaving England a performer short. Though England scored on a corner, the goal was ruled out by the referee for a meaningless, barely visible (but undeniably real) elbow. Nothing happened in 30 minutes of overtime, and the game went into the self-parody of soccer: A series of penalty kicks. With England needing only one more to tie, David Batty, of Newcastle, stepped up, and rushing his shot, fired it right into the diving goaltender. The Argentine side rushed out into the pitch, weeping with joy and exhaustion." The Englishmen were also weeping, gutted with grief and exhaustion.

And so it was that Adam Gopnik saw sport in a new light. It was certainly not typically American sport which is all action, instant attack and counter-attack, lots of scoring, scoring all the time, runs and goals and outs galore, time spent without excitement scorned as time wasted, enactments to be vividly enjoyed completely out of the normal run of existence. World Cup soccer, Adam Gopnik found, was something else entirely.

"Soccer was not meant to be enjoyed. It was meant to be experienced. The World Cup is a festival of fate - man accepting his hard circumstances, the near-certainty of his failure. There is, after all, something familiar about a contest in which nobody wins and nobody pots a goal. Nil-nil is the score of life. This may be where the difficulty lies for Americans, who still look for Eden out there on the ballfield. But soccer is not meant to be an escape from life. It is life, in all its injustice and tedium: we seek unfair advantage, celebrate tiny moments of pleasure as though they were final victories, even score goals for the wrong side."

Another World Cup is now on. Be warned. It will not be entertainment. It will not be an escape from life. It will be life itself. Let us savour every moment.

 

[One Timer]

I like that article, thanks for the post. And no, soccer is not here, how do I know that, because every 4 years I have to sit and attempt to defend and explain it to people, all the while continuing to convince myself I should still watch it.

 

[lostinamerica]

Soccer will not be "here" until at least 5 or 10 or 15 years after our BEST high school athletes are opting to commit to soccer with the same passion and numbers they opt for football, and basketball, and baseball, etc.

Maybe when many of our BEST athletes speak English as a second language will such commitment be evident, but it sure isn't the case in 2014, or last year, or a decade ago.

GL

 

[Wineguy]

It's on espn, fox and nbc. Go to their websites right now and see what they're leading with. It's on your sports ticker. It's at the globe pub on Irving park road at 7 am every Saturday August through May. Its 250 local chapters of the American outlaws. It's the conversation at my neighborhood BBQs It's at dicks sports. It dominates twitter and it's where any social media advertising budget is being focused.

I agree with all these statements above and for those reasons I have watched this year more than ever, including matches leading up to it. I equate it to the Olympics, every 4 years more people in tune more than ever, then it dies down a few years, then the hype starts again. I would think most people that enjoy sporting competition will watch this year, because of social media abounding everywhere. You cannot help but know which Country is playing which.

 

[Mr. Poon]

It's on espn, fox and nbc. Go to their websites right now and see what they're leading with. It's on your sports ticker. It's at the globe pub on Irving park road at 7 am every Saturday August through May. Its 250 local chapters of the American outlaws. It's the conversation at my neighborhood BBQs It's at dicks sports. It dominates twitter and it's where any social media advertising budget is being focused.

So you are saying central Wisconsin isn?t a good litmus test of whether or not people understand the rules of soccer. Gotcha.

 

[yyz]

It's on espn, fox and nbc. Go to their websites right now and see what they're leading with. It's on your sports ticker. It's at the globe pub on Irving park road at 7 am every Saturday August through May. Its 250 local chapters of the American outlaws. It's the conversation at my neighborhood BBQs It's at dicks sports. It dominates twitter and it's where any social media advertising budget is being focused.

Poker is on ESPN, FOX, and NBC, too. Good call.

 

[The Joker]

Poker is on ESPN, FOX, and NBC, too. Good call.

1) You asked a question.

2) BBC answered.

3) You give him a reply worthy of a female losing an argument.




Good call.

 

[The Joker]

I like the fact it's 90 mins and no commercials American football should follow suit

I watch the World Cup every 4 years and not much else, it's too boring for me, at least we can bet on it :mj07:

Hysterical

 

[airportis]

It's where?


When do you see this game being watched by any Americans other than when the World Cup is being played? Go up to those Americans in those bars and restaurants, and ask them to explain the rules of this game to you. They can't. You would think after thirty years, a few people might know the reasons for the off-sides, yellow cards, or other types of stoppages.

Soccer is slightly more popular than the metric system in this country. That's it.

the Premier league on NBC saw huge jumps in ratings this year. pretty solid for a league that has 0 games in any prime time US time zone. some games start as early as 5am on the west coast and they still have dozens of dedicated pubs for viewing parties each weekend.

good call.

 

[yyz]

1) You asked a question.

2) BBC answered.

3) You give him a reply worthy of a female losing an argument.




Good call.

Actually, I gave him a great retort. After the WC is over, you won't see these web sites "leading with" soccer. I don't care about the one bar out of a thousand that shows soccer, either. The fact that BBC might talk about it at his cookouts isn't too important in the scheme of how America sees it, either. And, if social media advertisers are smart enough to go with the flavor of the day, who could blame them? Will they be there in two weeks? Will the BBQ be talking about it? Will BWW have their TVs tuned into soccer after the WC? Nope. And for the simple fact being.......America, by and large, doesn't give a shit about this fucking sport, no matter if YOU'RE a soccer mom, or not, Joker.