GOALLLLLLLLLL.....................

The World Cup is going on now. The USA pulled an upset recently. I would call the interest among USA sports fans tepid at best regarding the USA soccer team. I read some speculation that interest would pick up in the USA if the soccer team made it to the next round. I agree but it the increased interest will be very slight. My take is that most USA sports fans consider soccer to be a very boring spectator sport. I know I do as the lack of scoring and the monotony of viewing the play makes it hard for me to sit through more than 5 minutes watching a game. Admittedly I don't know that much about the game but how much is there to really know? I've tried to watch several matches in the past and a few this year. It seems that after about 5 minutes I start channel surfing and when I get back to the game I haven't missed a thing. What I find most intriguing about the game and what makes keep trying to get interested in soccer is the rest of the world's fascination with this game. I don't get it and I never will probably. I saw a news account of people lined up on the streets in Paris watching their defending world champs get skunked again. Soccer mania is fascinating but I don't get it.

many of the points you make are the same as many make about baseball. i guess it is a matter of what you grow up with.


Pat

I agree though that it depends on what you grew up with and baseball tends to be boring to lot of people. I do think soccer takes a lot of athletic skill although I prefer playing sports where I could use my hands. I do like Austrailian rules football and I don't think the Aussie's are into soccer either.

The other day, two teams played to a 0 – 0 tie. That’s only a little worse than 1 - 0, which is considered a scoring frenzy.


I don’t get it either. I understand that these World Cup players are highly skilled, and I have no animosity for all the smug, self-righteous soccer moms who have been saying for years that soccer will dominate US sports soon, but how long can you watch two teams kick a ball back and forth? My god! Maybe putting up a tennis net at midfield, or something, would add an interesting twist.


Maybe Americans can’t understand this no-hands stuff.


Tom D

n.m.

In the same manner that I could care less about the national track and field championships each year, but get up for the Olympics, I dont care about the MLS or Premier League, but get up for the World Cup. I find it very compelling.


If you like hockey, I think you will like the World Cup. If not, then there's little chance you will care.


I do think the sport would be better if the eliminated the offside rule. But that'll never happen.

I've always found it rather amusing that many Americans think Soccer is a very boring sport, while Football is one of the most exciting sports in the world....while many people in other countries think Soccer is unbelievably exciting, and Football is incredibly boring.


Personally, I love both sports. I think it's a shame that more Americans don't appreciate Soccer, but I doubt that it will ever change to any great degree.


I agree with others who have said that it depends on what you grew up with. In England, they'll show a Curling match, live and in its entirety, in prime time. They'll show 3 hours of Snooker, or even Darts. They love Rugby, but try to show them Football or Baseball, and their eyes will gloss over, just the same as if you try to make an American watch Cricket.

I understand many Americans lack of interest in soccer. Personally I love the game. I grew up playing it, played on scholarship in college, and trained professionally/played semi-professionally.


During my lifetime, I have been fortunate enough to have been to a Super Bowl, the NBA finals (Bulls Vs Utah in Chicago when Jordan hit the winning jump shot at the buzzer), World Cup matches, and professional matches in Europe. I can honestly tell you, that without question, the most exciting sporting event I have ever been to was a Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London. Nothing else I have ever witnessed has compared to that experience. Now I will be the first to admit, soccer can be brutally boring. I would liken a pitching duel in baseball to a 0-0 draw in soccer. You have to appreciate the finer points in the game to enjoy these types of games. Understanding the skill it taks to be running at pace and passing a ball 50 yards in the air and putting it on another players foot who is also running is not easy to do unless you have tried it. Since the majority of Americans have never played the game, they cannot appreciate the skills need to play at the internatioal level or any level for that matter


There have been some great matches in this World Cup. England Vs Argentina was fantastic. In the same token, ther have been some awful matches to watch - England Vs Nigera an example. One of the reasons soccer is so popular in most countries is that it truly is a "poor man's sport". In reality, you only need a ball to play street soccer. Therefore, the expense relative to hockey or football for example, is minimal. Most of these countries do not have leagues of multiples sports such as football and hockey because of equipment costs.


Anyway, the Belgium-Russia game, Italy-Mexico game, and the US-Poland game should all be good.

The second round matches and beyond are usally all entertaining as the teams have to win or they are eliminated. Hopefully the US will reach the second round. I agree that this still will not do much to raise interest. However, if we make it to the final 8 teams, then I think it might get some notice. Problem is - all games are played in middle of the night here as the tournament in being held in Japan and South Korea.


Ok, I will top rambling now. Gotta get ready to watch the Spain-South Africa match. /images/smile.gif


Just some thoughts,


Michael D.

Part of the interest in the World Cup is in its egalitarianism. Almost every country in the world has a national soccer team. Almost every country in the world tries to qualify. They have set up the tournament so that there is at least somewhat equal representation between the different parts of the world. As we have seen in this tournament, on any given day you can have a big upset, which is good enough for most of the underdog teams, who go into it with the same expectations as the low seeds in the NCAAs- play well, make some noise, and don't embarass yourself (or your country for that matter). Interest IMHO would be much diminished worldwide if you only saw the top European and South American teams play every year.

I have always maintained that soccer should adopt the ice hockey offside rule i.e. put a "blue line" out there somewhere and let the boys do whatever they want once they gain the zone.


Haven't been able to watch much of the first round action given the telecast times but I plan on staying up late for the second and subsequent rounds. It is no doubt a great event and entertaining to watch so long as you are able to appreciate the finer points of the game as Michael points out.