A question for those who don't like soccer.....

[TZ]

Do you dislike hockey and baseball as well? I wonder how much dislike is because Americans aren't really familiar with the strategies and rules of the game. I wonder if the same people who gripe about ties also dislike the 20 inning 1-0 baseball game as well (there was one of these earlier this year.
I'm not a big fan of the game myself but I believe its because I admittedly DON'T understand it. Though I think both baseball and hockey have some similarities.
Just wondering.:)

[meow2u3]

1. Soccer actually grew on me

I grew up--and still am--a big fan of baseball and hockey, but soccer grew on me when Pele played for the New York Cosmos of the NASL.

Speaking of the 20-inning 1-0 ball game, I loved it--the Mets won that game! :D What a hell of a pitchers' duel! The 0-0 tie/draw in soccer is much like the pitchers' duel in baseball; you just have to appreciate good pitching/goaltending and defense. Offense just doesn't always dominate in baseball, soccer, and hockey, unlike basketball, which is primarily a game of offense.

[sixstrings75]

2. It's called integrity. Don't ever compare 'soccer' to hockey

That's ridiculous.

Hockey players play with passion and heart. Soccer players embellish every little hit and lay on the pitch writhing in agony. They always grab the same spot on their shin as well - no matter where the contact was made.

It makes a mockery of this sport and leaves the casual fans like me laughing. It's so disingenuous, so blatantly fake, that I simply turn the channel when it happens - which seems like every 5 minutes.

When you lie on the pitch, flopping around like a fish, get the call, then jump right back into the game, you have no integrity, or respect for yourself or the game. It's a joke and really turns off people who like to see some integrity and honesty in sports.

Now I played a lot of hockey at a fairly serious level. Of course we tried to draw a penalty but to fake an injury would have made you a pariah, not just in the locker room, but around the league...

I do like to watch soccer though. There is a lot of little things going on all the time - but I can't get around the issues above.

Also, those damn vezuvalas, or whatever the hell they are, are ruining this world cup...

[KamaAina]

5. Diving is actually a two-minute minor in the NHL now

several diving penalties were called during the recent playoffs.

Basketball players, on the other hand, have never, ever, not since Dr. Naismith's day, ever once hit the deck after a teensy tiny little touch foul. :sarcasm:

P.S. The g-dd-mn buzzing things are 'vuvuzelas'. :grr:

[sixstrings75]

34. More strawman...

The distinction is between diving and faking an injury. Two entirely different circumstances.

And I never seen mention of the word 'basketball' in the op...

We're talking the comparison between hockey diving and soccer players faking injury.

To conflate the two is dishonest at best.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. Karl Malone and John Stockton "embellish(ed) every little hit..."

:think:

[sixstrings75]

33. My cat's breath smells like cat food.

There. I can do a strawman as well...

We're talking about the comparison between soccer and hockey. Not basketball...

[HuckleB]

35. Your whole original post is filled with ludicrous cliches, with little basis in reality.

You expect more in return?

Why?

[sixstrings75]

36. "little basis in reality"...

Are you watching any of the matches?

Can you honestly say that players faking injuries in soccer is not a systemic problem?

And if it is, do you not agree those actions are disrespectful to the game and the fans?

Really?

[HuckleB]

38. It's a problem, but nowhere near the way you describe it.

And it's actually being addressed. I've seen only one possible "fake" injury, and that is yet to be determined. The player did leave the field. I've seen yellow cards be given for flops, as they should.

At the end of the day, the drama you presented is not reality. You know it. I know it. Are you really going to pretend otherwise?

[sixstrings75]

42. Not pretending.

It happens far too often. I'm watching the Netherlands - Denmark match right now and I have actually seen some guys get tackled and NOT fake an injury. So it doesn't happen on every tackle, but it happens far too frequently. This is a big reason why soccer in the US and Canada will never reach the same status as it does in other countries. Sorry but that's just reality.

To me, it is the single biggest hurdle to major acceptance in the US. Soccer does have a lot going for it, I will never deny that. It is entertaining, even the 0-0 matches. I get it. I get the strategy, I get the flow of the game, I totally 'get' it.

I can see both sides of the debate on this one. Soccer haters will always hate it, soccer lovers will always love it. For me, there needs to be a few changes in regards to injuries. Something like if play get's stopped because you are 'injured', you are out for that match - why isn't that a good idea?

And those fucking vuvuzalas, or whatever the hell they are, need to be banned asap. My old college room-mate was a soccer nut and I seem to remember the songs and cheering of the fans was worth the price of admission alone...but those fucking horns man - they suck donkey balls.

[1gobluedem]

3. I understand the basics of soccer

But not most of the rules, how the clock works, what the little cards are for, and numerous other things. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I don't begrudge others' enjoyment of it, though. I've never understood why people find it SO necessary to disparage something you like because they don't. Why do they care so much? If you don't like it, just don't say anything. Unless it's a Republican extolling the virtues of the GOP or Fox News. There is a line on these things...

[HuckleB]

4. +1 !!!!!!

:yourock:

It's an odd phenomenon to me. I have good friends (and many acquaintances) who have spent years disparaging baseball in front of me, and I just don't understand the point. In a social studies/psychology sense, one wonders if they're trying to feel superior via their favorite sport, which probably derives from some lack of self esteem. All of that surmising is probably pure hooey, too. At the end of the day, I see it as a mark of maturity if you can be happy for people who enjoy something, regardless of what it is, uh, as long as it's not hurting others.

And, yeah, politics is another issue. We're talking entertainment options here.

Cheers!

[HuckleB]

6. I don't think it matters why someone dislikes a sport.

I just think it's bizarre that some feel the need to advertise their dislike for a sport, any sport.

:shrug:

Interestingly, according to Stark's "World Cup 2010," US viewership for the World Cup Final in 2006 was triple that of 2002, up to 16.9 million viewers. Further, 16.8 million watched the US-England game last Saturday ( http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/25898 ). No one is going to pretend that those numbers come close to the NFL's viewership, but they are close to World Series and NCAA basketball finals viewership, and might indicate that more Americans do know the game, and are interested, than in the past. Even if they're not, and these numbers are just a blip in history, there's no real point in disparaging an entertainment option that others dig, IMO.

[trotsky]

8. Dude, it's the sports forum.

If we couldn't disparage whatever the fuck we want, it would be a ghost town.

Douche.

:evilgrin:

[HuckleB]

10. So you're disparaging all sports and all sports fans?

Hmmmm.

:bounce:

[trotsky]

12. "Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races."

-- Homer Simpson

[JonLP24]

14. That's what I don't understand

I figured this would be a place to discuss sports that we like. If I wanted to discuss sports that people didn't like I would go talk sports in GD. :)

[HuckleB]

15. Nah. Clearly the sports forum needs more "I hate/am bored by X" threads!

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. Conversely, I think it strange that fans of a particular sport fret over those who don't care for it

I just don't like soccer. It's not a big deal. I'm not threatened by it, because I know baseball, football, hockey, basketball (not a basketball fan either unless the Lakers are getting thrashed), motorsports, and golf are here to stay, no matter how popular it gets.

[HuckleB]

21. No one's fretting.

However, it gets a bit silly when multiple "soccer is boring" threads get started. No one cares if you like soccer or not, but your need to advertise the fact is a bit bizarre, and that's being kind.

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. I don't need to advertise the fact that I think soccer is boring and that I don't like it.

You won't see any threads like that from me.

However, the OP was all about wondering WHY Americans don't like soccer. Like the game and be done with it, but don't worry about those who don't. Most who don't, won't ever.

Besides, I feel the same way about someone who has the inherent need to start threads about how boring NASCAR is. Don't like it if you don't want to. But don't disparage me for liking it. And don't compare me to some pot-bellied southerner with a tooth for liking it either.

You like what you like, I like what I like, and when we have likes in common, bully for us. When we don't, it's not that big of a deal.

[HuckleB]

29. Hmm.

So you didn't advertise it on this thread?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=215&topic_id=150430&mesg_id=150430

:rofl:

Sorry, but you can't have it both ways.

[cherokeeprogressive]

37. The intent was to convey that you wouldn't fine OP's like that from me..

[HuckleB]

39. That's nice.

You're still advertising, however.

[cherokeeprogressive]

41. You're right.

I hate me sometimes, I swear.

[trotsky]

7. I can't stand soccer or hockey. Baseball is OK but I don't go out of my way to watch it.

What I don't like about all those sports is that you can have all this activity and get all excited that something's going to happen, somebody's gonna score, aiiieee, can't take it,... oh, nothing happened. More of the same. Baseball, your team loads up the bases with 2 outs and the next batter whiffs. All that work for nothing. NOTHING! Soccer or hockey, you've got the ball/puck down there near the opponent's net and everybody is flying around, and then it gets kicked/hit out and it's back to passing back and forth.

Football at least, something is gonna happen when a team gets near the endzone. Something exciting - either a score, or a turnover.

Yeah, yeah, I know - I just can't appreciate the "exciting" things in soccer or hockey or basketball for that matter. The thing is, those AREN'T exciting. Period. :)

[TZ]

9. Big flaw in your argument..

Field goals in football are exciting? Who knew? :P

[trotsky]

11. Could be blocked! Could go wide!

But at least it's points on the board! :P indeed!

[HuckleB]

13. How is a field goal going wide different from a missed chance at goal, or leaving the bases loaded?

:shrug:

[trotsky]

16. Because something happens, duh!

:P

[HuckleB]

17. So nothing happens when a goal keeper stopping a shot, or a pitcher striking out a batter?

Hmmmm.

Very interesting.

:party:

[trotsky]

24. Yes, compared to either of those, a missed field goal is exciting.

That's my answer and I'm sticking to it.

[HuckleB]

27. Hmm.

I'm thinking I'll stick with the strike out in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, the bases loaded and the home team down by one.

I'm crazy that way!

:silly:

[cherokeeprogressive]

28. Now that there's a good choice. n/t

[TZ]

18. Well since the arrival of a certain fireball pitcher in DC

I'm beginning to appreciate the art of the scoreless game. :)

[HuckleB]

20. I just wish they'd give him a 20 year contract now.

Make sure he never goes to the Yankees!

[TZ]

22. +1,00000000!!!

:)

[cherokeeprogressive]

26. Super Bowls have been won on the last play of the game with field goals.

On the other side of the coin, one soccer team can keep the other from scoring the tieing or winning goal by merely playing "keep away".

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. I really don't think you can compare draws in soccer with 1-0/20 inning baseball games.

In the baseball game, it's entirely possible to have the home team come up in the bottom of the 20th, load the bases with no outs, then face a pitcher who has never pitched in the big leagues before who goes on to strike out the side on 25 pitches. You see, the difference is that in the situation I just described, there would be 25 chances for the complexion of the game to change. Or the pitcher himself could come to the plate and hit a two-run bloop single, pushing the winning run across the plate but only after a close play. In soccer, you can't score two points at once. In baseball you can score as many as four runs with one swing of the bat. I can't for the life of me imagine a soccer game being that exciting.

In soccer, all the team with the one goal has to do is play "keep away" for as long as it takes to run out the clock. You can't play "keep away" in baseball.

[Threedifferentones]

43. That strategy sucks.

If you play keep away, the ball is always in your half of the field, and you never open up a commanding lead. Most good teams don't try to ride out a 1-0 lead, they try to expand it. Up two goals MAYBE they try it your way.

How did Germany stomp Australia 4-0 if games generally come down to keep away? You have to get the ball pretty close to the other team in order to score.

In fact, none of the games I watched last weekend went as you describe.

Your criticisms are just ignorance.

Baseball players stand still 95% of the time, and thus the game is boring to watch, especially in person. This is not an ignorant criticism, it is an obvious fact that I confirmed while watching countless hours of baseball with my dad. Golf is a fine sport as well, but it is boring to watch for the same reason. It boils down to intense, still concentration, and sudden, stationary bursts of movement. Running and juking are so much more exciting to watch than swinging or pitching.

Then there's the coordination between teammates present in other team sports, which BARELY exists in baseball, but shines in both footballs.

Both footballs are exciting to me, as is hockey. Basketball could be if the fouls were not so iffy and so frequent.

All sports can be fun to play, but I can't for the life of me figure out why soccer hasn't replaced baseball in America as a spectator sport.

[City Lights]

31. I don't dislike international football, I just find it somewhat boring.

I do not like baseball. :boring:

I :loveya: hockey.

Even though hockey is typically low-scoring, like international football and baseball, it's a very fast-moving game. Never a dull moment in a hockey game. Baseball, on the other hand, cures my insomnia.

[Dr Morbius]

32. I don't like soccer, but that doesn't mean I dislike soccer.

There's a difference. I don't choose soccer as entertainment but I have nothing against the sport. I was about to write that I have nothing against fans of the sport, but I think many of soccer's fans take the sport WAY too seriously.

I find soccer kind of boring, but a lot of my friends find politics boring. It's all a matter of perspective. So again, not liking soccer is not the same as disliking soccer.

[TZ]

40. I love this thread!

Lively debate without really nasty insults ( watch it get locked now) :)