An observation about soccer....

[Azazello1313]

all you gotta do is watch 5 minutes of a world cup game, then 5 minutes of a high school soccer game. the difference will be eye-opening, to say the least.

[Big Country]

Can;t say for sure what they WILL do, but strategically speaking, Japan should take less risks by pressing forward too aggressively exposing themselves to a strong counter attack. That's not too say they won't play to win, it just means they likely won;t go on a full press attack, whereas Denamrk will likely take the opposite approach and really press the attack, sending extra players forward, albeit exposing them to a couonter attack by Japan.

 

 

This is where the unique setup of the round robin format to play into the tournament really pushes varying strategies. Not much different really than the US-Slovenia game yesterday, except that the US could have advanced with a draw if England drew or lost.

[KevinL]

For nearly the entire soccer game, guys are trapping the ball and kicking it 20 yards to a teammate. The teammate then traps the ball and kicks it to another teammate. I can do these things ...I was in good shape, I couldn't do what that guy on tv just did.

 

Right. And all Usain Bolt does is put one foot infront of the other, and they give him an Olympic medal! What's so special about that?

[Seahawks21]

Right. And all Usain Bolt does is put one foot infront of the other, and they give him an Olympic medal! What's so special about that?

Exactly. This is why track isn't that alluring of a sport to the average sports fan in the USA.

[untateve]

Come on, it isn't that difficult. If I practice for three hours I doubt I'd have much trouble trapping and passing the ball. I do concede that it is much more difficult to do with your feet than with your hands, but leading a moving target isn't exclusive to soccer. You have to do the same thing with every football pass and most basketball passes, you just get to use your hands instead of your feet. A halfway decent athlete can trap the ball and pass it again without too much trouble. Not at the level of the guys in the world cup obviously, but much more closely to their level than you would be able to get to if you were at bat against a major league pitcher, blocking a defensive end, or trying to score on Ron Artest. I've got about zero shot at any of those things. I've got a much higher chance at being able to trap and pass the ball. Again, I could never claim to do some of the freakish things that you see on the pitch, but I just don't think they happen all that often.

 

I actually have a tiny bit of personal experience with this. Granted, this is a little kids story, so it has to be tempered tremendously, but when I was ten years old, I had never played a minute of soccer in my life, other than a little bit at recess. There was a national skills contest that you could compete for in your local youth league. My next door neighbor was one of the people in charge of coordinating this, so I got to enter for free. She thought I was the same age as her son, so she put me in the U-12 group. There were about 500 soccer players in the group, all two years older than me, most of whom had played soccer since they were about five. I ended up getting third in the skills contest and was invited to the regional competition, but was unable to compete because I wasn't affiliated with a team. My point being that a decent athlete can do most of the things that occur in soccer. I'm not sure you can say that about many other sports.

 

I watch an American Football game, and there are at least a few dozen times every game when I say "wow, that was amazing!". Same with basketball and to a lesser extent baseball. It seems with soccer, I only say that a handful of times per game. I understand that there is a small amount of the game that I don't understand fully, but this isn't my first rodeo. I've watched hundreds of soccer matches over the years, so I'm not completely oblivious either. Just my two cents as to why the average American sports fan is a bit bored by soccer. I'd gladly entertain other theories.

 

Either you are fishing to see if you can bait those who love soccer or you are quite naive.

[BillyBalata]

I . There was a national skills contest that you could compete for in your local youth league. My next door neighbor was one of the people in charge of coordinating this, so I got to enter for free. She thought I was the same age as her son, so she put me in the U-12 group. There were about 500 soccer players in the group, all two years older than me, most of whom had played soccer since they were about five. I ended up getting third in the skills contest and was invited to the regional competition, but was unable to compete because I wasn't affiliated with a team.

 

 

Well, I certainly hope this year you got yourself on a team so you can compete again. I would hate for you to miss out on regionals two years in a row.

[Seahawks21]

Either you are fishing to see if you can bait those who love soccer or you are quite naive.

If you and/or azazello could enlighten me, I am certainly all ears. So far the retorts have been "dumb post" and "you are quite naive". Those are pretty high-quality, intellectual arguments.

[Ursa Majoris]

Exactly. This is why track isn't that alluring of a sport to the average sports fan in the USA.

So.....all Bolt does is put one foot in front of the other?

[untateve]

If you and/or azazello could enlighten me, I am certainly all ears. So far the retorts have been "dumb post" and "you are quite naive". Those are pretty high-quality, intellectual arguments.

 

I think the definition of naive can be found in a dictionary. You said "Come on, it isn't that difficult. If I practice for three hours I doubt I'd have much trouble trapping and passing the ball." I think that this is, at best, a naive statement.

[alexgaddis]

If you and/or azazello could enlighten me, I am certainly all ears. So far the retorts have been "dumb post" and "you are quite naive". Those are pretty high-quality, intellectual arguments.

I could go out and shoot hoops with buddys at the park, should I try out for an NBA team?

 

I could play catch with a baseball and glove at the park, should I try out for an MLB team?

 

I could go skate with buddys down at the park, should I try out for an NHL team?

 

I can throw AND catch a football, should I try out for the NFL?

 

Moran

[Azazello1313]

I think the definition of dumb can be found in a dictionary. You said "Come on, it isn't that difficult. If I practice for three hours I doubt I'd have much trouble trapping and passing the ball." that is a dumb statement.

 

fixed.

[Big John]

I could go out and shoot hoops with buddys at the park, should I try out for an NBA team?

 

I could play catch with a baseball and glove at the park, should I try out for an MLB team?

 

I could go skate with buddys down at the park, should I try out for an NHL team?

I can throw AND catch a football, should I try out for the NFL?

 

Moran

Or be on the sidelines?

[Seahawks21]

I could go out and shoot hoops with buddys at the park, should I try out for an NBA team?

 

I could play catch with a baseball and glove at the park, should I try out for an MLB team?

 

I could go skate with buddys down at the park, should I try out for an NHL team?

 

I can throw AND catch a football, should I try out for the NFL?

 

Moran

That isn't the point. I'm going to take hockey out of the equation for these purposes, since I am admittedly clueless.

 

My point is this: take a normal guy with amnesia that has never seen or heard of any of the above sports. Have him try to play each sport for a few minutes. He is going to look and perform a lot more like the professionals that play soccer than he is any of the other sports on your list.

 

 

Look, I'm not saying that the athletes aren't amazing. The overriding question on the table has been "why don't average Americans appreciate soccer?" The best answer I can come up with to that question is because it appears to the naked eye that these athletes aren't doing amazing things, compared to other sports. Nobody as of yet has made any kind of compelling point as to why that would not be a fair statement.

 

And I'm the "dumb" "moron". You people never cease to disappoint.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Seahawks21

[untateve]

That isn't the point. I'm going to take hockey out of the equation for these purposes, since I am admittedly clueless.

 

My point is this: take a normal guy with amnesia that has never seen or heard of any of the above sports. Have him try to play each sport for a few minutes. He is going to look and perform a lot more like the professionals that play soccer than he is any of the other sports on your list.

 

 

Look, I'm not saying that the athletes aren't amazing. The overriding question on the table has been "why don't average Americans appreciate soccer?" The best answer I can come up with to that question is because it appears to the naked eye that these athletes aren't doing amazing things, compared to other sports. Nobody as of yet has made any kind of compelling point as to why that would not be a fair statement.

 

There is a difference in asserting that you, Seahawks21, can make the type of passes, traps, etc. that professional soccer players do routinely after only a three hour training session vs stating that it appears to the naked (read: uninformed/naive) eye that these athletes aren't doing amazing things.

 

So which is your point?

Edited June 24, 2010 by untateve

[Cunning Runt]

For what it's worth, I still don't like the offsides rule in soccer.

[untateve]

My 10-yr-old, who has played rec soccer for a few years, is watching Uruguay - S Korea with me. He just exclaimed, "Oh my God! How can they make such accurate passes?!?"

 

It's nice that a 10-yr-old has such an appreciation for the difficulty of such a seemingly easy maneuver.

[gbpfan1231]

My 10-yr-old, who has played rec soccer for a few years, is watching Uruguay - S Korea with me. He just exclaimed, "Oh my God! How can they make such accurate passes?!?"

 

It's nice that a 10-yr-old has such an appreciation for the difficulty of such a seemingly easy maneuver.

My youngest just said. "How did that Korea dude just miss that free kick by 50 yards or so?"

[Big John]

My youngest just said. "How did that Korea dude just miss that free kick by 50 yards or so?"

You have no children.

[gbpfan1231]

You have no children.

Was wondering how long that would take - looks like 10 minutes.

[darin3]

Was wondering how long that would take - looks like 10 minutes.

That's what she said.