Okay, I was a twittering fool Sunday afternoon. I decided I was going to watch my first full soccer game since the United States beat Colombia in the 1994 World Cup. It looked like a really good choice for the first 45 mins of the Confederations Cup Finals.
By now, you have heard that the US jumped out to a shocking 2-0 lead in the first half against heavily favored Brazil. It looked like the US was carrying momentum from their monumental upset of Spain from last week. I was feeling quite patriotic, seeing that this was a pretty big game since it was an FIFA final. It is like when I watch gymnastics or figure skating at the Olympics. That is the only way you are going to get me to pay attention to those sports, if the Americans are in the finals.
One thing was clear while watching this game, if the Americans didn’t start playing better defense, they were going to allow Brazil back into it and eventually lose it. The US goalie, Tim Howard, was playing unbelievable in the first half, and he needed to be since the US defense had more holes in it than a colander. Well, about a minute into the 2nd half, bang! 2-1. That was the beginning of the end. Any pressure the US was putting on Brazil in the 1st half was gone. The game took place deep in the ‘merican zone the rest of the way. Brazil looked like it had tied it earlier in teh 2nd half, but the ref had a terrible angle on one shot that clearly crossed the line. However, it didn’t matter as those one-named soccer players ended up tying the game, and then taking the lead with 3 mins left in regular time, or whatever it is called and eventually winning 3-2.
I would tell you that I was disappointed, but I wasn’t. Only the real soccer fans were upset about this game. But today? The rest of this country still doesn’t give a crap about soccer. Quite honestly, they wouldn’t have cared if they won. It would have probably garnered more international attention than it would here. You can knock hockey all you want, but it is immensely popular in this country compared to soccer. Don’t get overly excited if you are a soccer fan. Just last week, they got their asses handed to them by the same Brazil team, and only made it into the semis against Spain because of a stupid tie-breaker rule that they use in soccer.
So with that said, back to your regularly scheduled sports coverage.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Why is it always necessary to bring up that no one cares? What does that have to do with anything? You’re arguing with yourself.
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So does that mean we don’t give a crap about this post?
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The thing is sparty that as a soccer fan I don’t care that “nobody” cares. By nobody, you obviously mean the typical American. The fact that the MLS is a bug on the American sports windshield doesn’t deprive me of enjoying the game. I can always get my fix. I can watch Fox Soccer Channel and see soccer being played at its highest level in Europe, South America, and anywhere else outside of the US. So the lack of American interest does not deprive me of a product to consume. The fact that it is the most popular sport in THE REST OF THE WORLD means that soccer will be around to be enjoyed by those who appreciate it for as long as I’m alive. I don’t have to be limited by the appetite of the typical American sports fan. And that is a very good thing.
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Maybe 10-15 years ago soccer fans argued that soccer could become huge here. I don’t think anyone does that now. It has created its own little niche though and MLS actually does quite well for itself. It is still expanding, they are getting soccer specific stadiums built. I think soccer fans are content with its place in the US.
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waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!
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damn cbh, you should be happy, people agree with you. get a screenshot, because it won’t happen again.
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That was a real question.
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And another thing. Yes, the American’s lost. And yes they backdoored there way into the elimination round. But once there, they performed admirably. They beat the #1 ranked team in the world, on a neutral site. And then they pushed (arguably the true #1 team in the world) to the limit. While they were outmanned, both on paper and in reality, they did not embarrass themselves. Is the US an elite soccer power? No. We have a relatively short history with the game. We have a hard time developing talent in the US because of the attention garnered by the “major” sport and the lucrative nature of participating in those sports (scholarships and salaries). So what we accomplished this week, while either unimportant or ignored, is worthy of recognition. Will it make a difference moving forward? Probably not a big difference in the development of soccer’s future in the US. But to those who have learned the game and appreciate its beauty, it gives us a reason to hope.
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I am cherishing the moment for I understand it will be fleeting. I used to rag on soccer a lot but living with my roomate for the past year who is a huge soccer fan has exposed me to the game. I just understand it better now.
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Early reports have the ratings pretty high.
Interesting. I like soccer a lot, especially the international competition. That being said, besides the rules I know very few players who are not from the US, I know virtually nothing about any professional leagues, and I think the Champions League is the coolest idea ever, if only I knew exactly how you qualify.
I did watch yesterday’s game though and it was good.
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it was a difficult game to grasp?
really? you mean the ridiculous contracts that they get overseas is not an allure? how is it any different from tennis or golf? we seem to be able to do a lot better in those sports. soccer is a more readily available sport as well.
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I think the reason most Americans find soccer to be boring is that the relatively infrequent goals are mostly random events during the game with nothing leading you to believe there will be a goal until it is actually scored. In football, teams either march down the field or someone gets behind the defense, either way, there is a buildup of excitement. Americans don’t like to feel like they are wasting their time watching unimportant stuff and in soccer something like 80% is just random noise leading to nothing. Even if you have possession in the opponents’ end it’s not likely to yield a score. In football every play has some sort of significance towards gaining a first down or the defense forcing a punt. No play is random.
/way too long of a comment
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It is a difficult game to enjoy if you don’t understand the strategy behind it. If you are just looking for goals then it will seem boring.
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only 1 time was i able to go sit down and play with my potty putter.
that sounds funny.
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The exact same thing can be said for baseball. If you’re just looking for runs it is boring.
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you watch hockey (except on friday nights). you think the strategy is that different?
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On a tennis note: Ana got worked over by one of the Williams sisters in her the first set
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Much different, much tighter space to work with leads to more action, never seems boring to me.
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The lucrative contracts overseas are alluring, but because of the poor development infrastructure in the US for young players it is not realistic. You are right…soccer is a cheap game for kids to play (unless you are pretty good and get on traveling select teams), but kids don’t see soccer on TV that much. It is not heavily marketed or covered by our MSM. So kids grow up wanting to be Koby or LeBron or Peyton Manning (no kid wants to be Eli) or even Tiger. They are the darlings of American sports. You ever seen a Landon Donovan commercial? And how often do you hear about those lucrative foreign contracts? They happen all the time but we only hear about the record setting ones or the ones attached to those coming to play here (read Beckham). Foreign soccer salaries aren’t publicized like the NBA, MLB, and NFL salaries are here. And because soccer will never reach that level of attention, it will always be a less attractive path to sports stardom.
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/fix’d
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Agreed. I know it will never happen, but it would have been cool to see MLS do something similar to the English League with the whole promoting the good teams and demoting the bad teams to different levels after every season.
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sisters? thought one was a dude
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Landon Donovan, 38 secs in.
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Good point how could I have missed it
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sparty – you can simplify hockey and soccer strategy and say the objective is to put the ball/puck in the net. Hockey obviously is much faster paced and the on ice personnel changes every 45 seconds. The strategy is somewhat similar, but not the same. And you don’t have to deal with power plays in soccer. Once you get thrown out of a soccer game, you’re out. In addition, most humans have good to great manual dexterity. Soccer is a sport that you almost never use your hands.
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Yeah…that commercial got heavy rotation in the US.
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when was the last time you saw a hockey player make an attempt to hit a puck in with his his head, chest or knee? it happens on deflections, but never purposely. that strategy of the actual on field play is considerably similar. the terminology may be different, but there is poke checking, fore-checking, back-checking. is there more stoppage in hockey? sure, but once the action is going, they are basically the same.
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i was reaching.
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Ana had to retire as she hurt her thigh
I’d assume there would be no shortages of volunteers to massage that for her
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that was me.
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I am not denying they are fundamentally similar. In fact, as a southerner, my love for hockey is based on the similarities with soccer regarding the flow of the game.
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soccer fans = punk rock fans.
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Soccer is my favorite sport…played it for a long time (and still wish I played now even though I’m not that great). It’s definitely similar to hockey, but still totally different mainly due to the vastly larger field which changes strategies. It’s hard sometimes to watch soccer on the TV (if you can find it) because you don’t get the same field of view as when you’re actually attending the game itself. I love to see plays develop and know where everyone is on the field…just makes it even more interesting to me.
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Sparty you’re a tool. Stop writing about sports you have no idea about, go back your crappy MSU that no one gives crap about.
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so you are telling me that you want this to be all about Michigan State? NO PROBLEM!!! Everyone thank EKim.
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thanks Ekim
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and twice as many guys on the field. please tell me what the on-field strategy is.
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Hahaha. Good stuff.
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sparty–It’s not proportional…just the fact that the field is bigger means there’s more ground to cover and less confined space action which makes it more boring to the casual viewer which I can totally understand. Ever see an indoor soccer game? It’s just as full of action as hockey.
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i have seen it indoor soccer, and that is less popular. nobody has given me stategery yet.
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Score at least one more goal than the opponent.
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sparty loooves to argue
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exactly.
even more exactly.
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This argument reminds me of my friend who likes golf while I watch cycling. Some of his arguments revolve around saying how much more money golfers earn or how more popular it is in this country. I couldn’t give a crap. I find golf boring to watch. He’s free to watch it.
However I get very excited at the end of a bicycle race when there are riders I have been following all competing for the win. To each his own and I couldn’t give a shit if nobody else watches it.
Then I just email a picture of Michelson’s man-boobs to him and I win the argument.
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