Soccer Polll
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Poll
 | 24 votes (80%) | ||
| | 6 votes (20%) |
30 members have voted
Of course many of them would rather play a real sport.
Quote: dogqckJust wondering why all the goalies I see are average height or less ? I mean some of these 7th foot guys have such a wingspan.
Of course many of them would rather play a real sport.
The soccer coach at my High School had the same thought. He grabbed our two 6-8/6-9 basketball players and forced them on to the team. I guess it was semi successful as the team went to the county semifinals.
I'd think agility would trump wingspan in goal, but I played one soccer game in my life, a club match for ROTC and got red carded about ten minutes in for running a guy over.
I attended a few Cosmos games when they were selling out Giant Stadium and it was an event forty years ago.
ZCore13
Not really a fair comparison, because MLS is really a minor league if you count worldwide.
"Baseball and basketball present a constant threat of personal disgrace. In hockey, there are three or four fights a game -- and it's not a stroll on beach to be on ice with a puck flying around at 100 miles per hour. After a football game, ambulances carry off the wounded. After a soccer game, every player gets a ribbon and a juice box."
Ann Coulter
Just a short step from the fights in Django
A brain is a terrible thing to waste. Its actually supposed to last a lifetime
Brett Farve cant remember jack. That's shocking
Having memories is a big part of being a human being.
I cant imagine living without memories. Its part of who I am
A lot of people love watching soccer. Me, not so much. I watch the World Cup of the U.S. is playing and the final if I'm not doing anything else.
ZCore13
Quote: Tanko" Everyone just runs up and down the field and, every once in a while, a ball accidentally goes in. That's when we're supposed to go wild."
Haha... Football is the exact same, only worse because the players stop the game every 15 seconds and just kind of mill around for a while.
I prefer soccer to football, but baseball overall.
I'm not much of a sports person in general, though.
Curling
Baseball & football
Hockey
Every other sport
Soccer
Basketball, because basketball is trash
These are facts, people. Facts.
Quote: RSIn order from most interesting to least interesting of COMMON sports —
Curling
Baseball & football
Hockey
Every other sport
Soccer
Basketball, because basketball is trash
These are facts, people. Facts.
You left off the greatest sport. Professional Wrestling.
Quote: RSIn order from most interesting to least interesting of COMMON sports —
Curling
Curling is not a common sport.
EDIT: Okay, not in the U.S. anyway.
Quote: TigerWuCurling is not a common sport.
EDIT: Okay, not in the U.S. anyway.
I would have agreed, until I stumbled upon Curling Night in America on one of my ESPN channels.
Quote: TigerWuCurling is not a common sport.
EDIT: Okay, not in the U.S. anyway.
It’s so great to watch, it makes the list, even though it isn’t common. It’s that awesome.
Seriously, it’s just fantastic.
I think that's a big thing -- if you enjoy playing the sport, you are more likely to enjoy watching it. In addition, I like the fact that I can watch for 45+ minutes at a time without commercials. And even though it can get boring, the action is virtually non-stop. And this last one is just a pet-peeve of mine, but I like the fact that for international competition, when they say the match will start at 1:00, it kicks off exactly at 1 -- unlike, say, the 3:30 CBS college game, which usually kicks off around 3:45.
That said, you won't find me watching soccer on a Sunday afternoon in the Fall. I voted for football.
I like that in baseball, you can see and understand most of what is happening. You can appreciate a good relief pitcher or defensive shortstop. Football is mostly chaos to the viewer who then just pretends to know who is a good cornerback or center because they read it somewhere or heard it on the radio.
Also, almost any body type can succeed so the players just have an inhuman level of skill and ability, vs just being specimens of one kind or another. In football and basketball, you can be better at every facet of your position but another guy goes pro because he is 2 inches taller.
Soccer is kind of the same and like baseball, draws from a huge talent pool. So the guys you see in the World's Cup are just phenomenal.
The good thing about football is that because it is so chopped up you often know when important stuff is going to happen. Football is good for watching while doing something else. NFL red zone channel is mighty fine viewing. Watching a single game start to finish is rough.
Soccer is better to watch start to finish because it never stops and the big plays are often a surprise. But this also makes it hard to watch while doing other stuff
Obviously, boxing is the best sport. But it is also, by far, the most mismanaged.
Quote: WatchMeWinI maintain, as I stated in the other world cup thread, most Americans dont care about soccer. The numbers dont lie.
Most Americans don't really care about any sport, but a large percentage do.
I think the world cup final draws about 20 million viewers, depending on who is playing.
Will be interesting to see what happens in the future, as the number of people who play football in their youth dwindles.
I wonder what a poll result would be for "would you allow a child to play organized football?"
Quote: Rigondeaux\
Will be interesting to see what happens in the future, as the number of people who play football in their youth dwindles.
I wonder what a poll result would be for "would you allow a child to play organized football?"
They are playing Lacrosse. Soccer is just not very appealing in America. Yes, perhaps for the children ages 4-12. Simple concept... kick ball in goal.
Actually, now that I think about it, I see a lot of organized soccer games at the park by my house.
So, soccer is DEFINITELY popular with younger children, but for some reason I guess they just grow out of it? Probably no support for it in high schools and colleges despite there being minimal equipment costs.
Quote: TigerWu
So, soccer is DEFINITELY popular with younger children, but for some reason I guess they just grow out of it? Probably no support for it in high schools and colleges despite there being minimal equipment costs.
I think people just get bored with it. Kick ball in huge net, boring. Make the goal the size of a basketball hoop and it would be much more interesting to me as it would take much more skill.
Quote: RigondeauxI like that in baseball, you can see and understand most of what is happening. You can appreciate a good relief pitcher or defensive shortstop. Football is mostly chaos to the viewer who then just pretends to know who is a good cornerback or center because they read it somewhere or heard it on the radio.
The ironic thing is that for most of baseball history, people didn't appreciate who was good and who wasn't very well. To use the example of the defensive shortstop, everyone "knew" that diving to stop the ball meant he was great. But not many understood that being in the right place before the ball was even hit was much more valuable. Cal Ripken had such a strong arm and understanding of the game that he could play far back in the right place and take away hits that looked routine; Derek Jeter had such a weak arm that he had to play closer in, so all his diving and jumping were plays that any other shortstop in the league would have made -- the exception being there were a lot of the times Jeter would let the opposing batter reach base, while no one else would have.
Now that we've been through the Bill James era, gone through Billy Beane, and now with the modern analytics it feels like everything about baseball has been discovered and everything new is just moving our understanding forward in smaller and smaller steps. With football, there is a whole new frontier for us to look upon and learn: lets develop good theory and data to show us the value of those cornerbacks and centers. Then lets figure out how important pass rush is compared to pass coverage against different offenses? How meaningful is 40-yard sprint time when compared to speed divided by body mass? How much power are the teams going to have fighting against guaranteed contracts? Etc
If most people disagree, than what about having a goalie in basketball, where one designated defensive player can't join his team on the offensive end?
Quote: TomGI've wondered how soccer and hockey would be without goalies. My opinion is soccer would definitely be better (probably have to shrink the goal); and hockey probably would be.
I never knew this until a couple weeks ago, but in hockey you can pull the goalie off the ice to sub in an extra player.
Quote: TomGI've wondered how soccer and hockey would be without goalies. My opinion is soccer would definitely be better (probably have to shrink the goal); and hockey probably would be.
If most people disagree, than what about having a goalie in basketball, where one designated defensive player can't join his team on the offensive end?
How about if you have six players on a basketball team, but three have to stay on their defensive end and the other three have to stay on their offensive end?
I've pretty much described high school girls' basketball up through, what, the 1960s? (And in some states, like Iowa, 6-on-6 was still played through the 1980s.)
Quote: RigondeauxMost Americans don't really care about any sport, but a large percentage do.
I think the world cup final draws about 20 million viewers, depending on who is playing.
Will be interesting to see what happens in the future, as the number of people who play football in their youth dwindles.
I wonder what a poll result would be for "would you allow a child to play organized football?"
We are going through this right now. 6 year old wants to play. There are flag football league for his age which his friends are all playing. I dont know if I want him to play flag football because if he likes it it will lead to real football in 2 years.
but I was too much of a hickup.
If you think soccer hasn't any defensive or offensive
strategy your wrong. Your formation dictates what
style you play whether attacking, counter attack etc... and
your players dictate which formation will work best, and there
is a lot more. If you can't see it its likely do to your overall
interest and lack of want to understand.
Soccer makes more money world wide than all
the other sports combined. its' okay not
to like it, but as far as knocking it you are
but a black pebble on a white sand beach.
Quote: TomGThe ironic thing is that for most of baseball history, people didn't appreciate who was good and who wasn't very well. To use the example of the defensive shortstop, everyone "knew" that diving to stop the ball meant he was great. But not many understood that being in the right place before the ball was even hit was much more valuable. Cal Ripken had such a strong arm and understanding of the game that he could play far back in the right place and take away hits that looked routine; Derek Jeter had such a weak arm that he had to play closer in, so all his diving and jumping were plays that any other shortstop in the league would have made -- the exception being there were a lot of the times Jeter would let the opposing batter reach base, while no one else would have.
Now that we've been through the Bill James era, gone through Billy Beane, and now with the modern analytics it feels like everything about baseball has been discovered and everything new is just moving our understanding forward in smaller and smaller steps. With football, there is a whole new frontier for us to look upon and learn: lets develop good theory and data to show us the value of those cornerbacks and centers. Then lets figure out how important pass rush is compared to pass coverage against different offenses? How meaningful is 40-yard sprint time when compared to speed divided by body mass? How much power are the teams going to have fighting against guaranteed contracts? Etc
That's true to a degree. Certainly, many excellent catchers never even saw the bigs because nobody knew about pitch framing. And that is a subtlety I cannot perceive as a fan.
And sure, Some flashy defenders were not actually that effective.
But the old stats do tell us quite a bit. And we can see what each pitcher, hitter and defender is doing as a play unfolds.
We might perceive what individual football players are doing only a few times per year, if we pay close attention. Even as we learn more about analytics, it will be hard to see it at work much.
Plus, a lot of football plays are fairly ordinary stuff being done with more speed and power. Sometimes I try to watch a 6/10 difficulty play by a third baseman with new eyes and take in how unreal it is.
It's quite possible that zero members of the forum could throw a curveball over the plate at all. Look at what counts as a good job by someone throwing out the first pitch. Even a fit young man.
But almost anyone can run down the field and make a catch.
I also prefer the vibe of baseball. Relaxed, deliberate and thoughtful. I think it is more of an extension of fishing or hunting, while football is more of an extension of combat.
At the upper levels, it's just freak genetics that makes a good ball player. People always said to be good at baseball, you have to see the ball very well. Now, it's more like being able to have a mind that predicts well where the ball goes, as I didn't know the eyes are blind when moving and the brain lies about what it sees.Quote: RigondeauxThat's true to a degree. Certainly, many excellent catchers never even saw the bigs because nobody knew about pitch framing. And that is a subtlety I cannot perceive as a fan.
And sure, Some flashy defenders were not actually that effective.
But the old stats do tell us quite a bit. And we can see what each pitcher, hitter and defender is doing as a play unfolds.
We might perceive what individual football players are doing only a few times per year, if we pay close attention. Even as we learn more about analytics, it will be hard to see it at work much.
Plus, a lot of football plays are fairly ordinary stuff being done with more speed and power. Sometimes I try to watch a 6/10 difficulty play by a third baseman with new eyes and take in how unreal it is.
It's quite possible that zero members of the forum could throw a curveball over the plate at all. Look at what counts as a good job by someone throwing out the first pitch. Even a fit young man.
But almost anyone can run down the field and make a catch.
I also prefer the vibe of baseball. Relaxed, deliberate and thoughtful. I think it is more of an extension of fishing or hunting, while football is more of an extension of combat.
Quote: onenickelmiracleSoccer in America is a sport for people who can't do anything else, for lots of kids, it's the only sport they'll ever play until they get older where the only sport they play is running from wedgies. It's mostly for kids with no physical characteristics good for something else, like height, strength or size.
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a joke or just extremely ignorant....
Quote: onenickelmiracleAt the upper levels, it's just freak genetics that makes a good ball player. People always said to be good at baseball, you have to see the ball very well. Now, it's more like being able to have a mind that predicts well where the ball goes, as I didn't know the eyes are blind when moving and the brain lies about what it sees.
I like the line "Genetics influence everything, yet determine almost nothing." There are lots of genetic freaks who don't make it to the top levels. Not everyone who's over 7' got an NBA contract. The best hitters in baseball are able to pick up the subtlest clues from the pitcher about what pitch is coming before the ball is released. And the best pitchers are able to hide those clues
Quote: onenickelmiracleSoccer in America is a sport for people who can't do anything else, for lots of kids, it's the only sport they'll ever play until they get older where the only sport they play is running from wedgies. It's mostly for kids with no physical characteristics good for something else, like height, strength or size.
Something that was coming out this World Cup is that soccer in America is open accessible mostly only to rich whites, while in the rest of the world it's available to everyone. Makes sense as one of the major reasons the US continues to struggle
Quote: RigondeauxBut the old stats do tell us quite a bit. And we can see what each pitcher, hitter and defender is doing as a play unfolds.
Absolutely. But up until very recently everyone was spending too much time looking at the wrong stats. If you read any old sports editorials, the writers would usually form an opinion and then find whatever data they could to support their position.
OPS is great at pointing us to the best hitters and we can easily use it to look at both Ty Cobb and Mike Trout; RBI only points us to the best hitters who also had the best teammates in front of them. Which one of those stats were people using to judge hitters for most all of baseball history?
Quote: onenickelmiracleSoccer in America is a sport for people who can't do anything else, for lots of kids, it's the only sport they'll ever play until they get older where the only sport they play is running from wedgies.
Soccer in America is a sport that all kids can participate and SHARE THE BALL EQUALLY
I played organized football
How many times did I get to touch the ball in multiple games. ZERO
I played organized baseball
How many times did I get to touch the actual ball in a game, just a few times.
Baseball and football, a whole lot of players on the field, only a select few get to play with the actual ball over and over. Kind of sucks
I find that hard to believe. When I go to the park, I see all kinds of people playing soccer. My neighbors across the street play soccer in their front yard. They are most decidedly not "rich whites."Quote: TomGSomething that was coming out this World Cup is that soccer in America is open accessible mostly only to rich whites, while in the rest of the world it's available to everyone.
For soccer, all you need is one ball and a field. What could be more accessible? Perhaps basketball is in cities where there are more courts than open fields.
It's only the men's national teams that struggle. The women kick a** globally.Quote:Makes sense as one of the major reasons the US continues to struggle
I love baseball, but it's not for everyone. I can't watch soccer unless it's the World Cup—and even then it's difficult for me to stay interested. But I understand that other people love it.
Heck, I used to enjoy watching bowling on TV. The strategy for each frame? Get a strike! (Unless it's the 10th frame and you just want the ball to stay on the lane!)
Quote: JoemanI find that hard to believe. When I go to the park, I see all kinds of people playing soccer. My neighbors across the street play soccer in their front yard. They are most decidedly not "rich whites."
For soccer, all you need is one ball and a field. What could be more accessible? Perhaps basketball is in cities where there are more courts than open fields.
A park and a ball are all that's needed to be introduced to the sport. And it might be enough to identify talent. But then what resources are there to help develop that talent?
Google search for "usa soccer minorities" turns up endless information about the barriers to soccer in the US for anyone from less affluent families
https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2018/1/17/16893094/jonathan-gonzalez-us-soccer-national-team-hispanic-player-development-sueno-alianza
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jun/01/us-soccer-diversity-problem-world-football
https://theconversation.com/until-youth-soccer-is-fixed-us-mens-national-team-is-destined-to-fail-85585
and on and on
Quote: TomGA park and a ball are all that's needed to be introduced to the sport. And it might be enough to identify talent. But then what resources are there to help develop that talent?
Google search for "usa soccer minorities" turns up endless information about the barriers to soccer in the US for anyone from less affluent families
https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2018/1/17/16893094/jonathan-gonzalez-us-soccer-national-team-hispanic-player-development-sueno-alianza
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jun/01/us-soccer-diversity-problem-world-football
https://theconversation.com/until-youth-soccer-is-fixed-us-mens-national-team-is-destined-to-fail-85585
and on and on
I agree. Costs little to introduce a kid to soccer, probably under $100 for everything you need and a season of rec league.
Around here, the cheapest competitive teams run about $1200 per year plus some travel and the highest level run about $2000 per season (2 seasons a year). Plus, you damn near need a stay at home parent to get to practices on time. Don’t forget $160-$450 for uniforms and shoes that can cost $300. My son will ruin a $60 pair in 3 games and a $300 pair in 6 months.
Football is much more accessible because so many people, businesses, and local government support it.
But then again I haven't really watched since the Stone Cold Steve Austin days.
Quote: smoothgrhMay I be a wet blanket and say: each sport has its own strengths and weaknesses!
I love baseball, but it's not for everyone. I can't watch soccer unless it's the World Cup—and even then it's difficult for me to stay interested. But I understand that other people love it.
Heck, I used to enjoy watching bowling on TV. The strategy for each frame? Get a strike! (Unless it's the 10th frame and you just want the ball to stay on the lane!)
I knew what you were talking about before clicking the link. I remember this from childhood. Pete Weber was excited for about two seconds before he went into a "WTF just happened slash 'I sorta feel bad for him' emotional state." I forgot that Weber, a fellow local, was the winner of that tournament.
Quote: TigerWuI never knew this until a couple weeks ago, but in hockey you can pull the goalie off the ice to sub in an extra player.
You must have not watched hockey until the Knights did well in the playoffs. It probably happens one out of every three games or so. It's also allowed in US indoor soccer too (same dimensions as hockey, and a more exciting game than outdoor, imo), but that player wears a special jersey and has the same rights as a goalie.
Quote: tringlomane
I knew what you were talking about before clicking the link. I remember this from childhood. Pete Weber was excited for about two seconds before he went into a "WTF just happened slash 'I sorta feel bad for him' emotional state." I forgot that Weber, a fellow local, was the winner of that tournament.
Yeah, the slow-motion instant replay made him look like a jerk for a couple seconds until the "wait, what?!" sets in and he showed genuine empathy. This moment and Mark Roth picking up a 7-10 split are what I remember from childhood!
