OT: Why does soccer appeal

[Adios]

And an IED country. Maybe the US will be as awesome as Afghanistan and Somalia some day.

Did I say low-life? Don't worry. One day, you'll be sucking on Asia's toe cheese. You know, like before "colonialism".

 

[ZooCougar]

Did I say low-life? Don't worry. One day, you'll be sucking on Asia's toe cheese. You know, like before "colonialism".

A hit dog howls.

 

[Adios]

A hit dog howls.

Speak for yourself. Even Somalia has more history and experience with civilization than your ancestors.

This is why we have the World Cup. Expose dimwits like you.

 

[pepband99]

There is literally is a thing called simulation. There is more diving in the NBA these days.

...and i heartily root for dookie flopping and other nonsense to be similarly penalized. Enforce the rule (for both soccer and basketball), and the games improve.

 

[pepband99]

Nah, there really isn't all that writhing in an average game. Even so, I wouldn't mind seeing more yellow cards for simulation.

See @ZooCougar , it really isn't that hard.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

IMO, Gaelic football is more interesting. Closer to American Football/soccer, though in Ireland the popularity is about evenly split. Soccer is a distant third.

Happened to be in Dublin for the GAA semi-finals. Makes Super Bowl Sunday look like a kids birthday party, especially in the counties that are playing.

In 2018, the misses and I ended-up in a small pub in Dingle Co. Kerry for the Hurling GAA (glad we hit the pub after driving over Conor pass, not before). Not a soul on the street, but the pubs were all rollicking as upstart Limerick upset defending champ Galway. As luck would have it, we stayed in Limerick the next night right along the parade route to their stadiums. I think most of the city was up the entire night.

 

[DrZzzz]

For @Kitaman who wants to understand the game, and why he should become a fan, as suggested by @Waquoit . I was never a serious player, but my HS team played in the state championship game every year I was there, then soccer was huge at UConn and we went to most games as part of the North Goal Gang. I had friends who were HS players, and I joined intramural teams. I'm too slow to be good. Years later started watching on TV due to the National Team World Cup efforts.

Positives about the sport: Very few stoppages in play. No commercials. Very limited substitutions. That means that overall fitness is critical, and pacing is critical. There is impressive athleticism, but not usually the size/strength focus we see in US football and basketball. Speed and skill, ball placement. The biggest thing I noticed from UConn level soccer to MLA to Europe to World Cup is accuracy of ball placement on passes. The football analogy would be throwing a deep pass that the receiver catches in stride perfectly vs a pass that he has to come back for and make contested. Strategy takes longer to pick up, and I am no expert. There are some clear differences in teams that focus on possession and controlled short passing to move up field. Others may have a strong defense and counter-attack game (like a steal and fastbreak in basketball). Others may rely on deep balls to speedy wing players.

Maybe somebody who is a less of a casual than me can help him understand the game. Offsides was counter-intuitive to me when I was introduced to the game. For hockey fans, it works like the blue line, except it isn't fixed, it moves with the last non goalie defender for the other team.

Soccer decreases height advantage. Most sports require length. It’s not enough to be tall in most sports. You need height and wingspan. Because of this most sports favor tall athletes with long arms. Not so with soccer. You can’t touch the ball with your hands. Maradona was 5’5”. Soccer has a wider global audience and more athletes to pick from (no need for long arms).

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Soccer decreases height advantage. Most sports require length. It’s not enough to be tall in most sports. You need height and wingspan. Because of this most sports favor tall athletes with long arms. Not so with soccer. You can’t touch the ball with your hands. Maradona was 5’5”. Soccer has a wider global audience and more athletes to pick from (no need for long arms).

True in most positions, not all. I was the starting keeper for my team in 7th Grade. I was maybe 5' 1" then and maybe grew an inch going into 8th Grade. My friend went from 5' 2" like me to 5' 6" in 8th Grade and eventually 6' 2' by 12th Grade. Never started in net in a competitive game again. LOL. Height is also needed in the Center Back position and maybe depending on the team's preferred formation and style, holding striker (think McBride or Giroud).

 

[ZooCougar]

Speak for yourself. Even Somalia has more history and experience with civilization than your ancestors.

This is why we have the World Cup. Expose dimwits like you.

Wow Butchie.

 

[ZooCougar]

Soccer decreases height advantage. Most sports require length. It’s not enough to be tall in most sports. You need height and wingspan. Because of this most sports favor tall athletes with long arms. Not so with soccer. You can’t touch the ball with your hands. Maradona was 5’5”. Soccer has a wider global audience and more athletes to pick from (no need for long arms).

I don’t know about that. It depends on the way you play it. If you are short then you better be skilled like Barcelona.

I’ve watched Germany pretty closely. They are big and skilled.

The USA against Germany in 2002 looked like giants against Lilliputians.

 

[ZooCougar]

See @ZooCougar , it really isn't that hard.

Well as someone who actually watches the game, simulation gets called quite appropriately, not as often as you geeks play iron man though.

 

[ZooCougar]

Not everything

You’re an illiberal.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Meanwhile, USMNT tonight vs Honduras. 7:30 eastern on CBSSN.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I don’t know about that. It depends on the way you play it. If you are short then you better be skilled like Barcelona.

I’ve watched Germany pretty closely. They are big and skilled.

The USA against Germany in 2002 looked like giants against Lilliputians.

And the US should have won, damned 3 blind mice missing an obvious handball. That should have been a PK (hopefully then goal) and red card.

 

[ZooCougar]

And the US should have won, damned 3 blind mice missing an obvious handball. That should have been a PK (hopefully then goal) and red card.

Yup. I was at that game and right behind the damn goal.

Many of the US players had Bundesliga experience and were familiar with the Germans. Our fitness gave us a real edge. After Germany scored they let us have the ball and we ran the crap out of them.

Two things I noticed when the whistle blew. Many German players collapsed, they looked wasted. It was obvious that they knew and respected our players. We should have had that goal but that was a special game.

 

[Chuck]

I don’t know about that. It depends on the way you play it. If you are short then you better be skilled like Barcelona.

I’ve watched Germany pretty closely. They are big and skilled.

The USA against Germany in 2002 looked like giants against Lilliputians.

I'm partially responding to push down the cesspool-like posts.

I think you proved the previous point a bit with "it depends on the way you play it." I don't disagree that height helps on the field, but you can be a short/shortish player and make up for it in most ways. But not at the goalkeeper position. My daughter's team has a really fundamentally strong goalie, but she's 5'2" (and not growing). They played a couple teams that just bombed a few shots from 30+ yards out knowing that there is nothing she can do about a shot near the bar. It put a lot of pressure on the defense to not let someone get off a shot even from long distance, which then exposes other space. I was a 5'9" goalie and there were definitely some things I couldn't get to that a 6+ footer with wingspan would have.

 

[Waquoit]

And the US should have won, damned 3 blind mice missing an obvious handball. That should have been a PK (hopefully then goal) and red card.

That was the game that kickstarted my fandom. It was also where a Zoo Cougar-esq soccer snob tried to mansplain to me that it actually wasn't a handball because reasons. So I've been on to these guys for awhile.

 

[ZooCougar]

I'm partially responding to push down the cesspool-like posts.

I think you proved the previous point a bit with "it depends on the way you play it." I don't disagree that height helps on the field, but you can be a short/shortish player and make up for it in most ways. But not at the goalkeeper position. My daughter's team has a really fundamentally strong goalie, but she's 5'2" (and not growing). They played a couple teams that just bombed a few shots from 30+ yards out knowing that there is nothing she can do about a shot near the bar. It put a lot of pressure on the defense to not let someone get off a shot even from long distance, which then exposes other space. I was a 5'9" goalie and there were definitely some things I couldn't get to that a 6+ footer with wingspan would have.

I’d rather be big and skilled. Germany’s World Cup’s are all you need. Sure the US tired them out but we lost. We lose that game 9 out of 10 times.

 

[ZooCougar]

That was the game that kickstarted my fandom. It was also where a Zoo Cougar-esq soccer snob tried to mansplain to me that it actually wasn't a handball because reasons. So I've been on to these guys for awhile.

Liverpool posers have no business calling anyone a soccer snob.

 

[meyers7]

So myopic. I wonder why the English royalty would prefer rugby over soccer. Must be the tea and biscuits.

Football is a gentleman's game played by hooligans. Rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen.

 

[ZooCougar]

Come to an Athletic game and I'll buy you a cookie.

Me gusto cookies.

 

[Adios]

Me gusto cookies.

ZooMexicanChant?

 

[Kolumbo]

Farmington High School defeated Cheshire High School, 3-2, for the Class LL state championship last night at Dillon Stadium in Hartford. Great high school soccer being played. When you watch the game closely, every pass, cross, shot is important, similar to every play in football. Except the soccer game literally takes about 90 minutes rather than 4 hours because you don't have the inane clock stoppage and tv timeouts. You never know when a pass or a misplayed ball will result in a goal.

It was 2-2 at the half. Farmington's #10 intercepted the ball from the Cheshire defense and shot it past keeper to make it 3-2.

 

[meyers7]

Farmington High School defeated Cheshire High School, 3-2, for the Class LL state championship last night at Dillon Stadium in Hartford. Great high school soccer being played. When you watch the game closely, every pass, cross, shot is important, similar to every play in football. Except the soccer game literally takes about 90 minutes rather than 4 hours because you don't have the inane clock stoppage and tv timeouts. You never know when a pass or a misplayed ball will result in a goal.

It was 2-2 at the half. Farmington's #10 intercepted the ball from the Cheshire defense and shot it past keeper to make it 3-2.

Nice goal.