American Rantings About World Cup Soccer (Football)

by RubaDub 75 Replies latest jw friends

  • cofty
    cofty

    they need AT LEAST 4 more referees on the field, 2 on each side and the main referee in the middle

    The ref has 2 assistants already - the guys with the flags - as well as a fourth official who supervises substitutions and the technical areas. The assistant refs have a button that buzzes the ref to catch his attention for offsides and other infringements.

    There is now a system to decide if the ball crossed the goal line but apart from that there will never be video evidence in football. The idea is to keep the game moving as much as possible. Refs will make bad calls but hopefully it will even out.

  • RULES & REGULATIONS
    RULES & REGULATIONS

    Americans may have short attention spans when watching baseball, football or hockey but at least we don't have HOOLIGANS. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lokomotive Leipzig fans before their team's encounter with Dynamo Schwerin in the East German FDGB-Pokal in 1990

    Football hooliganism refers to unruly, violent, and destructive behaviour by overzealous supporters of football clubs, including brawling, vandalism and intimidation. [1]

    Football hooliganism normally involves conflict between gangs, often known as football firms (the term derives from the British slang for a criminal gang), formed for the specific purpose of intimidating and physically attacking supporters of other teams. Certain clubs have long-standing rivalries with other clubs (usually, but not always, geographically close) and hooliganism associated with matches between them (sometimes called local derbies), is likely to be more severe.

    Conflict may take place before, during or after matches. Participants often select locations away from stadia to avoid arrest by the police, but conflict can also erupt spontaneously inside the stadium or in the surrounding streets. In such cases, shop windows may be smashed, rubbish bins set on fire, [2] [3] and police cars may be overturned. In extreme cases, hooligans, police, and bystanders have been killed, and body-armoured riot police have intervened with tear gas, police dogs, armoured vehicles and water cannons. [4]

  • cofty
    cofty

    What has hooligans got to do with the merits of the sport?

    As far the UK is concerned you are referring to a problem of the 1980s

    Hooligans are not football fans, they are tribal gangs who attach themselves to clubs.

  • DJS
    DJS

    Cofty,

    Soccer can be beautiful, I agree. I am amazed at the skill and athleticism. But 1 - 0???? That is common in soccer. I'd as soon watch paint dry. I tried to get into soccer a few years ago. My final moment of caring was an Olympic match between the US and whoever. The US lost 1-0 (wow, that's surprising). I read about it in the following day's news and the (world class) soccer writer wrote about the match that midway through the final period the (whoever it was) had a commanding 1-0 lead over the US. And he wasn't joking; it wasn't tongue in cheek. The only thing that should be commanding when the score is 1-0 is global thermonuclear warfare - when your adversary has none and you just fired your first at their critical target.

    They allow too darned many players to clog the net area. Enlarge the net and keep most of those guys on the other side of the mid-court line. Then I will like soccer.

  • cofty
    cofty

    If my experience of football was MLS or USA internationals I would hate it too.

    Enlarge the net

    Its 24 feet wide and 8 feet high!

  • RULES & REGULATIONS
    RULES & REGULATIONS

    Cofty

    You said this about American football fans :Its designed for people with the attention span of a goldfish.

    That's a bad generalization of American football fans!

    "Hooligans in the UK are not football fans?" If not,what are they? Why does soccer have riots all over the stands and field? Why are referees chased all over the field fighting for their lives?

  • cofty
    cofty

    Why does soccer have riots all over the stands and field?

    It doesn't. Not in the UK anyway.

    I am comparing the quality of the sport not the behaviour of a minority of it's fans.

  • problemaddict
    problemaddict

    I get the allure of soccer, and I have seen matches that are fun to watch. The more you watch, the more you understand. But I simply cannot dig the massive level of corruption, and the flopping. Sure the flops are in all spots (see NBA Finals), but they usually don't cost the game.

    I love soccer HIGHLIGHTS. Defensive and offensive. But there is alot of "filler", and I REALLY have an issue with a game that can end 0-0 with no winner. Yes call me the typical American or whatever but come on.

    Score 1-1....yay we both lose!

    Soccer just like football in America, is about the ritual. Its about being a fan, watchign on Sunday, going out and mimicing your favorites on any grass field with just a ball needed........its more than that the sport.

    I can't get into soccer. Is it because the USA isn't at the top of the heap? Nah. Of course I suppose that would help my interest.

  • cofty
    cofty

    Appreciating football takes time. When I watch a game most of my attention is on whats going on away from the ball.

    Once you get it, its not just 22 players rushing around, its a tactical challenge that requires a huge level of technical skill and athleticism.

    You need to be able to see what is going on in the different units within the team. How they set the hight of defensive line depending on the opposition and the state of the game. How the back 4 play a zonal marking strategy that becomes man-for-man in and around the penalty area. How the mids and strikers press the ball high up the pitch or whether they drop off and get organised behind the ball. Whether and how the full backs get forward to provide width in attack. How the team keep possession under pressure - a very very difficult thing to do - switching the point of attack until they can find space to get into the final third. How the front 6 interact with movement off the ball to shift defenders and create and exploit space. The split-second timing of runs and passes in the attacking third.

    Its like somebody protesting that they prefer beaujolias nouveau to a fine wine.

  • konceptual99
    konceptual99

    Don't waste your time Cofty. You'll get more mileage convincing the GB that evolution is true...

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