What's Not To Like About Soccer? | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

What's Not To Like About Soccer?

fishfanmiami said:
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:brewskis:
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:lol:
 
Kdawg954 said:
I think the notion that soccer is "slow" is very overblown. I mean think about it. A football game is 60 minutes and normally takes 3 hours to finish. A soccer game is 90 minutes and takes less than 2 hours to finish. So a sport that is 30 minutes longer takes over an hour less to finish.

I get the buildup in the midfield, and the passing back and forth can be a strategical bore at times, but I think the execution of a team's plan in soccer is easily the most exciting aspect of any sport in the world. It's like chess, you have to look beyond the pieces in the present and see the moves in advance to understand the quality being put on display and I think then people can appreciate the sport more.

I played soccer for roughly 7 years and was one of the top goalkeepers in the FYSA during that period, so maybe I appreciate it more than the average American but it's the ultimate "team" game.

Look I can't convince people into liking something or not. Hell I'm a sports nut, I enjoy watching golf, horse racing, tennis . . . hell I've even put in time watching Tour de France (actually camped out to watch a stage while in Belgium) and Formula One . . . and at times I find these sports more entertaining than American Football.

I love my Dolphins, hell I'm not on a U.S. national soccer board or a Miami Heat board or a Marlins board talking about the World Cup, I'm on the board of the team I love more than any team in the world . . . . but soccer gets a bad rap in this country and I'm glad this country is starting to embrace it.
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The average NFL game has something like 10 minutes of actual ACTION going on, the rest of it is pre-snap stuff, penalties, etc.

Its funny to see the reaction of Europeans to watching NFL. I watched the Superbowl with a bunch of European friends (Irish/Portuguese/Swedish/British) I had a few years back and they were bored to tears with all the break in action. They couldn't understand how anyone could possibly find this plodding sport (that stops every 2 seconds) interesting.

As with any sport, it becomes interesting when you begin to understand the strategy and the stakes.

In the NFL, 4th & Goal in the opponent's 5 down 4 points with under a minute to play is only interesting to someone who understands the sport and the stakes. To a casual observer, they may wonder why anyone would be excited by this circumstance. But the fan is enthralled, because we understand the situation and are mapping out all the different strategies that the team may utilize to score the pivotal game winning touchdown. It's in those few seconds of anticipation that the game is most interesting.

The more one begins to understand the strategies and circumstances in soccer, the more interesting it also becomes.
 
Yea I love the nfl but the stop start nature of it drives me mad. Im always suprised that injury time outs dont have a sponsor yet.

The amount of stops, add breaks etc is something that actually holds it back worldwide quite a lot.... I love the sport and it still drives me mad in every single game
 
SkapePhin said:
The average NFL game has something like 10 minutes of actual ACTION going on, the rest of it is pre-snap stuff, penalties, etc.

Its funny to see the reaction of Europeans to watching NFL. I watched the Superbowl with a bunch of European friends (Irish/Portuguese/Swedish/British) I had a few years back and they were bored to tears with all the break in action. They couldn't understand how anyone could possibly find this plodding sport (that stops every 2 seconds) interesting.

As with any sport, it becomes interesting when you begin to understand the strategy and the stakes.

In the NFL, 4th & Goal in the opponent's 5 down 4 points with under a minute to play is only interesting to someone who understands the sport and the stakes. To a casual observer, they may wonder why anyone would be excited by this circumstance. But the fan is enthralled, because we understand the situation and are mapping out all the different strategies that the team may utilize to score the pivotal game winning touchdown. It's in those few seconds of anticipation that the game is most interesting.

The more one begins to understand the strategies and circumstances in soccer, the more interesting it also becomes.
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That's a good point about the stakes.

Football is just intense, from first snap to last snap, and it all means so much. Soccer, basketball, etc, ok you know you're going to get to the other end of the field and have your shot, plenty of times, and you can get down there in a few seconds. Football, it's so much harder. Unless you throw a hail mary, it takes quite a long time to get to the end zone. In the 4th quarter, you're looking at the clock and sweating. On any given snap, you know this could be your last possession, you might not get the ball back unless your defense comes through. You know, that even if you do get it, three-and-out is a real possibility. So are fumbles, interceptions, dropped passes, sacks, and any number of things that can kill a drive. Yes....there is stoppage in the action, and there is not stoppage like that in other sports. I see that argument. But as you said, if you understand the stakes in the game and the effort given by each individual player, you can appreciate it.
 
HoneyB said:
That's a good point about the stakes.

Football is just intense, from first snap to last snap, and it all means so much. Soccer, basketball, etc, ok you know you're going to get to the other end of the field and have your shot, plenty of times, and you can get down there in a few seconds. Football, it's so much harder. Unless you throw a hail mary, it takes quite a long time to get to the end zone. In the 4th quarter, you're looking at the clock and sweating. On any given snap, you know this could be your last possession, you might not get the ball back unless your defense comes through. You know, that even if you do get it, three-and-out is a real possibility. So are fumbles, interceptions, dropped passes, sacks, and any number of things that can kill a drive. Yes....there is stoppage in the action, and there is not stoppage like that in other sports. I see that argument. But as you said, if you understand the stakes in the game and the effort given by each individual player, you can appreciate it.
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there's actually no guarantee for that in soccer. a lot of good teams keep the play away from their own goal by holding the ball, especially late with a lead.
 
There is nothing wrong with soccer as a sport. If you are able to appreciate a game with tons of interruptions like Football or sit through a game with no time limits like Baseball you can handle 90 minutes of soccer. It's simply a cultural thing. Americans invented Football, and modern baseball and basketball, so it's no wonder very few here play soccer. Kids in the U.S. have many choices as what sport to play....in the rest of the world kids play soccer in school, in the streets and in the playgrounds. Soccer is the only game in town in most places, so the talent pool is rich, the fan base is huge and your local team or your national side is a very big deal.
 
Southbeach 2 said:
Soccer is having a hell of a time in trying to take a foothold with American fans. Why do you think that is?

For myself, I use to think it was boring, and had no interest. My wife is from Cali, sent some time in Mexico on real estate deals, and loved the game. She finally dragged me to a game in Lauderdale to watch the Strikers a team of over the hill guys like Mueller and Cubillias in front of maybe 5,000 fans, not a VG example.

However, after seeing it live, and understanding what was going on, I became a fan, and it became fun to watch on TV. FWIW
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the world cup can be fun and this one has been but outside of that it's a pretty boring game. I have a hard time watching the WC, I sure can't sit and watch anything less than that.

I like baseball and baseball can be painfully boring at times too but I understand baseball and don't understand soccer.
 
IMO it boils down to this:

We as Americans generally couldn't give two squirts of monkey piss about what the rest of the world likes. We love OUR sports, & don't care what anyone else thinks.
 
That being said, I'm watching the WC (only) when the US is playing partly because I find it humorous when we beat another nation that lives & dies with the result in a "niche" sport to us. :chuckle:
 
WestPhish said:
There is nothing wrong with soccer as a sport. If you are able to appreciate a game with tons of interruptions like Football or sit through a game with no time limits like Baseball you can handle 90 minutes of soccer. It's simply a cultural thing. Americans invented Football, and modern baseball and basketball, so it's no wonder very few here play soccer. Kids in the U.S. have many choices as what sport to play....in the rest of the world kids play soccer in school, in the streets and in the playgrounds. Soccer is the only game in town in most places, so the talent pool is rich, the fan base is huge and your local team or your national side is a very big deal.
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another thing to consider is that, in a lot of countries, soccer is the only game children can play because of poverty. most people can't afford expensive sports gear. in soccer, all you need is a ball, or something similar.
 
Bumpus said:
That being said, I'm watching the WC (only) when the US is playing partly because I find it humorous when we beat another nation that lives & dies with the result in a "niche" sport to us. :chuckle:
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I agree, if our best athletes played soccer we'd be a power in soccer.
 
nyjunc said:
I agree, if our best athletes played soccer we'd be a power in soccer.
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Wait, what?!?

Did we just agree on something?


Well, damn - that clinches it for all time. Soccer is dumb. Even Bump & junc agree. :lol:
 
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