Will This Be the Year I Like Soccer?

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Oops, forgot this smilie in my post:

And yes, like the U.S., we call it "soccer", which is about as popular here as it is in the States.

I think one of the reasons it is so popular world-wide is that it is can be played with minimal investment - all you need is a ball. Most other sports require considerably more equipment. So soccer appeals to those in under-developed countries. Of course, this doesn't explain it's popularity in places like Europe - instead, I attribute this to the fact that Europeans are simpletons who are easily entertained.

 

I enjoy watching soccer when I can, but I don't have cable, so it isn't so common. That being said, I have been caught at Campus and skipped class to watch a game when it gets shown (such as France vs. Argentina a while back). As for tournaments go, I've also heard that the best is the European Championship because (almost) all of the teams are high caliber, without any cupcakes. However, after the first round, the World Cup usually provides something similar. Also, I agree that the Africas Cup is a pretty form of the sport, with lots of movement and speed throughout the match. Champions League and Premier League matches are broadcast over here occasionally as well and are also fun to watch.

On a related note, it's incredible how popular the FIFA games are over here, including amond those who do not like soccer. It's so strange.

 

It wasn't the commercial breaks (or at least, not just them); it was also how the game is played. It seemed like every 15-20 seconds there would be a foul or something and the teams would line up again. Not that you don't get in football/soccer, but it seems to take less time and happens much less often. Actually, it's a foul if you take too long to bring the ball back into play - I don't know if it's the same in American Football.

Chances are, he either faked it, or at least wanted to play it safe so he could get examined. It's not my favourite moment of the game, but as I said it's often a tactical move so it's hard to completely prevent in a high-stakes game. Simulating an injury is usually penalized with a yellow card, which is a fairly serious penalty in tournament play - iirc if you get 2 yellow cards in 2 games you miss the next one, if it's in the same game you get a red card, which is even more trouble. Perhaps referees could be stricter about it, but I don't know how much further they'd be willing to take it.

 

Soccer players move at pretty much the same pace as hockey players!

Ice hockey players go faster, but normal hockey players run no faster than soccer players (although the ball probably goes faster).

Aldeth, the reason you don't like soccer is nothing to do with how good USA is. USA is miles better than Australia or New Zealand, but we seem to like soccer a bit more than you. One of the main reasons you don't like soccer is because your Dad didn't like soccer and you don't know who any of the players are and you have no emotional attachment to any of the teams.

The reason you don't like soccer is probably the same reason why I don't like basketball. I just don't think it's possible to avidly follow an unlimited number of sports so you have to pick and choose.

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If people want to be really pendantic, then the correct name for the sport is neither soccer nor football, which are both shorthand abbreviations for "Association Football".

As in the translation of FIFA as Federation Internationale de Football Association, i.e. the International Association Football Federation.

"Football" is a confusing term to use on these international forums because it could refer to American Football, Association Football, Rugby Union Football, Rugby Leagur Football, Australian Rules Football, or Gaelic Football, each of which is insanely popular in specific parts of the world (and in each of those parts of the world, each of those sports is confusing shortened to just "football").

 

With fieldhockey the ball goes a lot faster, and hurts. I have aluminum plates in my shinguards and can tell it is no luxury. Got a ball on it last sunday and the dent was 4 cm deep. If I was a soccer player it would have been time for act 3

 

Well in Australia, the main sport here (considered to be the National sport) is the Australian Football League. So you can see how confusing it can get. It's actually getting a lot easier these days because people tend to call football, AFL now. And instead of calling Soccer, Football, people tend to call it by the name of the league, the A-League. Just easier I suppose.

Now I can understand why people don't enjoy watching football. ESPECIALLY considering that in some games, the players fall down a little too easily Some may call this a tactic, but I find it just plain annoying. And until that element of the sport has been removed, people are always going to hate it Luckily there's so much to love about it

Side note, REALLY hope Spain gets knocked off the top spot soon

 

Oh - it was a heavily penalized game. There were 20 fouls called in that game, and while I have no interest in looking up the average number of fouls called per game, I'd hazard a guess that 20 is about double the normal number.

And yes, there is a penalty for not running a play in a reasonable amount of time - the penalty is called (appropriately enough) "Delay of Game". When a player is tackled, a referee places the ball back in the middle of the field (which can take several seconds if there's a bunch of players in a pile where the tackle took place). Once the referee does this, the play clock starts, and the team with the ball has 35 seconds to run the next play. (Of course, if there is a penalty called on the play, the 35 second clock does not start until after the official announces the penalty.)

That's a good point - soccer got to the table late.

 

Not sure what you're talking about here. In the US (and Canada) hockey is played on ice. If it's not on ice then it has some other name in front of it -- field hockey ... street hockey ... air hockey....

Splunge: I imagine soccer is pretty tough to play in Canada -- the snow shoes and camoflaged balls make for pretty slow games. Can you even kick a ball with snow shoes on?

 

Like American football, ice hockey is a variant of an older European sport. The original will tend to be called by its proper name and the newer sport gets an elongated title. I think hockey is what ye'd call field hockey, it's the olympic sport played by girls.

I don't think Shaman meant the amount of fouls in the game. The point was the entire game stops for a minute or two at least at the end of every play, most of which seem to last a lot less than the breaks. Americans seem to like sports that you can zone out of and don't need a lot of attention. Football takes place over two long periods with no real breaks in play. The intensity of American sports is generally much higher when play is going on though.

I'd say the simple answer is that you already follow plenty of sports. Ice hockey would be looked upon as a great sport in Ireland but noone ever bothers watching it as we've no interest. Also, the interest of others around you counts for a lot. I don't really like rugby but watching it with a group of fans does give an atmosphere and a good experience. It also gives you something to talk about.

 

No, it's not easy. That's why we don't wear snowshoes. But because you end up waist-deep in snow, you're pretty much restricted to headers, which is made even more complicated by the fact that using hands is illegal. So the game pretty much consists of rolling the ball along the snow with your head. Makes the goaltender position pretty easy, though.

 

I addressed this. At the conclusion of the play, assuming there is no penalty, the referee places the ball in the middle of the field. That takes a few seconds. Once the ball is placed, the team has 35 seconds to run the next play. Play does not stop "for a minute or two at least" at the end of each play. It stops for 35 seconds at most at the end of every play.

 

I agree with this. Most American sports with their breaks, timeouts (=commercials) are very different from football/soccer where the action is somewhat constant - but not so intense. The game goes "on" even when the ball isn't in play. Football players move about 10 kilometres/6 miles in one match, which would equal to very slow jogging or fast walking speed. NFL games are way faster and more intense, but the action seems very bite-sized.

Maybe that's one reason why soccer really hasn't made it in USA. I'd think that TV companies aren't very excited of showing a sport broadcast that consists of 2 x 45 minute blocks.

 

Huh? Girls have only played hockey at the Olympics since 1980, whereas men have been at the Olympics since 1908! The New Zealand men's hockey team even won a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

 

Maybe it's another local thing, hockey comes off very badly in the manliness stakes compared to hurling (another field game played with a small ball and sticks). I know some men play hockey, just as some women play rugby and boxing. I'd always consider rugby and boxing men's sports though.

 

Nowadays I suppose it all comes down to money. It's quite logically if you think about it. To have any chance to succeed in a sport there has to be some kind of training opportunities. Where in Europe, Africa, Russia and South America there are lot's of minor clubs for kids to start with football, in North America there are facilities to play American Football, Baseball etc.

The wages athletes earn are also not in comparison to one another. If there are no athletic nor monetary opportunities in a sport there is little reason to persue a career in it.

I, as most Europeans, cannot stand to watch American Football because of the slow pace. I can watch Rugby though, for some reason that feels more pure than American Football. I can also understand why most American find football to be a boring sport.

In the end it's all about how much you are exposed to something during the first 20 years of your life. If a peer ridicules a sport, there is a big chance you will come to feel the same way.

I have lots of respect for field hockey players, it is definitaly not an easy nor 'soft' sport. But let's face it, it's still played by the 'Kakkers' (rich kids) with triple collars

 

Hockey isn't just played by rich kids - you only need $10 to buy a stick, otherwise it has mostly the same gear as soccer or rugby union.

 

Apeman, I play hockey and am just above minimum wages. The kakker's or balletjes are only to be found in the university teams and a few teams in the The Hague area. We have all sorts of people.

The shinguards used for football are never to be used for hockey.

 

As I said I have a lot of respect for hockey players......

There's just a certain reputation coming with the sport (at least in the Netherlands). It's pretty much the same as your comment about a footballers IQ....

 

With regard to Footballers falling over a lot: don't forget the magic sponge that makes them all better!

 

I've never seen the magic sponge. I've seen a lot of magic spray bottles though. I've never undestood that. They spray cold water on the players socks and shinguards and everything is better. I know I'm usually miserable if my socks get wet.