The Football (Soccer for us dumb Americans) Thread

[The Count Dante]

I broke Messi....hehehe I start watch soccer, first game I watch he's playing, he gets hurt. Now where is that Ronaldo prick

Seriously...save the powers for him...

 

[the canadian dream]

The word on the internets is Messi only bruised his knee (although further tests are required). This after he went on record saying he feared for his career.



Pray that it is only a bruise because that guy is amazing he just plays for a dick of a team.

 

[the canadian dream]

Welcome to the Game!



It is easy to root for them. Irish football is always...chaotic. They will crack a ball down field, just cause. They can throw guys off their game real easy while they stand there scratching their heads wondering why. Not to mention they BEAT BARCELONA

Scottish football you twat!!!! I know it's confusing when a Scottish team dawns green and white with a huge clover on its chest but no one ever said the Scotts made much sense. Scotts and the Irish play the same style though like you said. Straight up confuse the hell out of your opponent by doing off the wall shit. Scotts do it by having 2 teams in Glasgow. One with an Irish name and uni and the other a legendary team pure Scottish and playing in the 3rd division...

I need to talk to my Scottish step father as I think he might have had a heart attack when they beat Barcelona. Although he is a Man U fan which I can't wrap my head around. It looks like the Scotts are going to make Dec 5th a national holiday. All the stories online are crazy. It's as if the Scotts have trounced the english monarchy. I too will be pulling for the Celtic until they draw Juventus and upset them...because its traditional Italian football to be beat like a mule by a dark horse. Celtic fit the bill perfectly.



I need to rename this thread the Euro Football thread but I dont know how to change it. Maybe a Mod could do it?

 

[jakobeast]

Welcome to the Game!



It is easy to root for them. Irish football is always...chaotic. They will crack a ball down field, just cause. They can throw guys off their game real easy while they stand there scratching their heads wondering why. Not to mention they BEAT BARCELONA

I have watched a few matches. There are times I am left scratching my head wondering whythere aren't attacking. Then the next minute the ball in behind the goalie. There are fun to watch.



Moreso then that, the fans are a great show as well. Them holding a funeral for the Rangers? Fucking hilarious.

 

[The Count Dante]

Scottish football you twat!!!! I know it's confusing when a Scottish team dawns green and white with a huge clover on its chest but no one ever said the Scotts made much sense. Scotts and the Irish play the same style though like you said. Straight up confuse the hell out of your opponent by doing off the wall shit. Scotts do it by having 2 teams in Glasgow. One with an Irish name and uni and the other a legendary team pure Scottish and playing in the 3rd division...

I need to talk to my Scottish step father as I think he might have had a heart attack when they beat Barcelona. Although he is a Man U fan which I can't wrap my head around. It looks like the Scotts are going to make Dec 5th a national holiday. All the stories online are crazy. It's as if the Scotts have trounced the english monarchy. I too will be pulling for the Celtic until they draw Juventus and upset them...because its traditional Italian football to be beat like a mule by a dark horse. Celtic fit the bill perfectly.



I need to rename this thread the Euro Football thread but I dont know how to change it. Maybe a Mod could do it?

HA! Scot, Irish, it is all the same dirty white people...Coach is all Irish and ginger, I cant determine the difference!

Oh, I would have LOVED to be there for them beating Barcelona... That is an incredible accomplishment for them.

 

[The Count Dante]

I have watched a few matches. There are times I am left scratching my head wondering whythere aren't attacking. Then the next minute the ball in behind the goalie. There are fun to watch.



Moreso then that, the fans are a great show as well. Them holding a funeral for the Rangers? Fucking hilarious.

There are a lot of similarities with soccer and hockey, more so if you are watching Spanish style soccer which is really a series of short-pass cycles where they will pass to patches not people. Barcelona's A team, I think there is like 2 guys who are taller than 5'2". A couple searches on formations and strats around them, basic off-sides knowledge and you are set!



But just like in hockey, anything can happen at any time. Just one poor pass, one positioning error, one long ball and the whole game can turn.



Fans are great too. Some of the most beautiful stadiums I have seen are devoted to soccer and each one has their own...feel to it. Listening to the fans is part of the fun.



I also really like the Heineken blip ads where they create a theater atmosphere. It really does capture how fans see the game.



And truly, watch the UEFA 16 (and in some regards the Europa tourney) and you get to see the best of the best that soccer will give ya.

 

[supraman]

Dave any clue when barcelona's A team will play next, you've talked them up so much I have to watch

 

[The Count Dante]

Dave any clue when barcelona's A team will play next, you've talked them up so much I have to watch

UEFA 16 round 1.

You can be sure that all 16 teams will bring their top squads for that. I dont think there are any cable stations that would cover La Liga matches. I see a couple games from time to time with other leagues, but cable seems to be Premier, UEFA, and Europa league for the most part.



Mind you I dont love Barcelona football at all really, not my style. But it is so... interesting to watch. Like a team of leprechauns that you cant touch and dont let you even possess the ball for more than 7 seconds.

 

[LordKOTL]

HA! Well, the WOMEN sure arent. the US women dominate international play and continue to do so!



Soccer just....doesnt work as a spectator sport in this country. Which is also odd because it is the most popular sport played in this country for kids under 15. Although soccer was SO close in the 70's with Pele, Furphy, and MY favorite: The Super Arrogant, HUGE headed, the only man to EVER call Pele "average": Chinagilia!! WHOO!!



It really is just a difference in culture. The best description I have heard to describe soccer from a sports writer, that expands on soccer's nickname as the "Theater of Chance": <paraphrase> "A football match is like a 2-Act play. The first Act is played with no interruptions, you have your intermission to get treats and talk about the first Act a bit, then in for the 2nd Act of the play. "



There is no sport like this in the US. Every game has very distinct stoppages in play, and designed to be this way. US audiences cannot fathom watching a 2 hour sporting event to end in a 0 - 0 tie. And for a game where all you have to do is kick a ball into a net that is 8 feet by 11 feet, it is the most complex professional game in my opinion, for the same reason a game like Go will never be played the same way twice.



I am actually surprised more hockey fans arent soccer fans. The same complexity you have in hockey are increased exponentially in soccer.



This is not to be a pro or con for US sports fans or US culture in general, but as US sports fans, we need to see many offensive chances, many shots, high scores, etc. If you look at the history of sports and their rules, the US does a great deal to attempt to force these endeavors in their sports: 3 pt line, Icing and their changes, shot clocks, changes in field of play, etc. When you look at soccer, the changes made throughout history are not vast at all. The field of play is very simple and hasnt changed much. There are seldom major rule changes outside of some tweaks. (Although it quite true that soccer off-sides is the most complicated rule IN ALL OF SPORTS {and needs to be}, so maybe that is enough for soccer).



This is certainly more of a con, but another huge reason is simple: The USA cant stand to lose in international play. We cant understand why countries like Spain, England, and Brazil dominate and cant understand how losing by only 1 goal to Italy is a HUGE "victory" for US soccer.



We were close again when the World Cup is hosted in the States, but until we field a team that beats all these countries we look down upon, it will never pick up.



Speaking of, a funny video on what US coverage of soccer would look like if it WAS popular:



http://www.justaguyt...-look-like-this

I have a theory on US sports and popularity:

From Most popular and going on down:



Gridiron Football:



The average amount of playing time is around 13 minutes, while the amount of time it takes to play a game is around 3 hours. Aside from a lot of standing around, you can fill a lot of that time with commercials, which bring the TV networks advertising revenue.



Baseball:

Essentially an untimed game, usually lasts about 3 hours each, but you are GUARENTEED 16 distinct stoppages of play in the middle of, and the end of an inning. That time can be used for advertising and bringing in cash for the networks.



Basketball:

More or less continuous motion, but they have stoppages for just about everything. It's been awhile since I followed Basketball, but I believe it's 4 periods of 12 minutes each, meaning 48 minutes of play over a 2½ span. The rest is filled with advertising--not as much as can be had with Baseball or Gridiron Football.



Ice Hockey:

More or less continuous motion like Basketball, albeit at a much faster pace. The nature of the game makes stoppages less common than basketball; there's a better chance that an entire period of Ice Hockey could be played without a single stoppage than a period of Basketball. Further, there are rules in Ice Hockey (i.e. the icing rules) which prevent TV timeouts during stoppages. You have 3 periods of 20 minutes each over the course of 2½ hours. As such, less time for advertising.



Football (Soccer):

Continuous play like Basketball and Ice Hockey, Clock is always running even when play stops and stoppage time carries over after a half is played. Stoppaes tend to be relatively short and there's not really any method in place for a TV break during the halves, leaving only intermission for commercial breaks. You have 45+ minute halves over a period of about 2½ hours. Substantially reduced time for advertising revenue--even with the LED billboards bordering the field.



In General, americans are the type to be glued to their TV sets, and exposure=popularity. For my friends who I've gotten into Football (soccer), and ice chokey, they were reticent to follow them at first because they weren't exposed to it and the rules were confusing. Once they got the rules and could follow play more they started to follow them. As such, I think the US popularity of soccer being bigger amongst the younger generations has a lot to do with (a), us older folks didn't have channels like Fox Soccer, and out sport TV times were on general (as opposed to specific) networks, which would naturally err more towards sports they could pump advertisements into and (

soccer is a popular sport for kids to play because it's substatially cheaper than ice hockey (and less dangerous), less dangerous than gridiron football (and cheaper if it's an actual league and not two-hand tough), less chance of smashed windows as in baseball, with the anti-weaponry huggy-feely brigade infesting american culture less kidds running around with bats, and baseball is less instant-gratification and action so it's not as popular with the ADHD crowd.



As for myself, I only got into soccer recently when a buddy introduced me to the Timbers Army--a fan group similar to that if the Euro-leage fan groups. The level of hooliganry appealed to me and I quickly picked up on the game and asopted the Timbers as my team. I think when it comes to fandom of soccer, I'm lucky. The entire Cascade Corridor (Vancouver BC, Seattle, and Portland) seems to be a veritable hotbed of soccer fandom so it's not that "niche" out here like it seems to be in Chicago.



Unfortunately, i think there's something on the fritz with my cable wiring and I can't pull in Fox Soccer, which sucks because I also adoipted Manchester United as my Euro team and I can't catch their matches that much.

...I need to rename this thread the Euro Football thread but I dont know how to change it. Maybe a Mod could do it?

No you don't. I think the world would be a much better place if "Soccer" was properlycalled "Football" and American football took on the name it has in the south pacific: Gridiron.

 

[the canadian dream]

Thats a pretty good point Lord regarding advertisement space. Probably have something there to add onto the dislike of football by the American majority. If not for those who immigrated from footballing countries there probably would be no one at all watching in N.A. Although football is a highly played sport with the youths. Interesting theory about the advertising regardless.



I suggest this to anyone who has never been to a live footy game. GO!! It's a blast. Dare I say its the funnest live sporting event when you are dealing with pro teams? Can't beat the energy at a live pro football game. And the game is actually really good live. May pick up on a few things you don't see on television esp behind the action situation. And for those who don't think there is real contact in football? I dare you to stand in a corner kick.



Another thing I really like about football is its length of play. Two 45 minute halves (give or take short periods of extra time which for some reason is fascinating and fun). The game average is around an hour and 35 minutes. That's perfect. And I love that the clock doesn't stop running LOVE IT!! And as I mentioned above watching set kicks like corner kicks is fun as all hell. Free Kicks just outside the 18? Unreal watching players curve balls in and pick spots.

 

[jakobeast]

I have a theory on US sports and popularity:

From Most popular and going on down:



Gridiron Football:



The average amount of playing time is around 13 minutes, while the amount of time it takes to play a game is around 3 hours. Aside from a lot of standing around, you can fill a lot of that time with commercials, which bring the TV networks advertising revenue.



Baseball:

Essentially an untimed game, usually lasts about 3 hours each, but you are GUARENTEED 16 distinct stoppages of play in the middle of, and the end of an inning. That time can be used for advertising and bringing in cash for the networks.



Basketball:

More or less continuous motion, but they have stoppages for just about everything. It's been awhile since I followed Basketball, but I believe it's 4 periods of 12 minutes each, meaning 48 minutes of play over a 2½ span. The rest is filled with advertising--not as much as can be had with Baseball or Gridiron Football.



Ice Hockey:

More or less continuous motion like Basketball, albeit at a much faster pace. The nature of the game makes stoppages less common than basketball; there's a better chance that an entire period of Ice Hockey could be played without a single stoppage than a period of Basketball. Further, there are rules in Ice Hockey (i.e. the icing rules) which prevent TV timeouts during stoppages. You have 3 periods of 20 minutes each over the course of 2½ hours. As such, less time for advertising.



Football (Soccer):

Continuous play like Basketball and Ice Hockey, Clock is always running even when play stops and stoppage time carries over after a half is played. Stoppaes tend to be relatively short and there's not really any method in place for a TV break during the halves, leaving only intermission for commercial breaks. You have 45+ minute halves over a period of about 2½ hours. Substantially reduced time for advertising revenue--even with the LED billboards bordering the field.



In General, americans are the type to be glued to their TV sets, and exposure=popularity. For my friends who I've gotten into Football (soccer), and ice chokey, they were reticent to follow them at first because they weren't exposed to it and the rules were confusing. Once they got the rules and could follow play more they started to follow them. As such, I think the US popularity of soccer being bigger amongst the younger generations has a lot to do with (a), us older folks didn't have channels like Fox Soccer, and out sport TV times were on general (as opposed to specific) networks, which would naturally err more towards sports they could pump advertisements into and (

soccer is a popular sport for kids to play because it's substatially cheaper than ice hockey (and less dangerous), less dangerous than gridiron football (and cheaper if it's an actual league and not two-hand tough), less chance of smashed windows as in baseball, with the anti-weaponry huggy-feely brigade infesting american culture less kidds running around with bats, and baseball is less instant-gratification and action so it's not as popular with the ADHD crowd.



As for myself, I only got into soccer recently when a buddy introduced me to the Timbers Army--a fan group similar to that if the Euro-leage fan groups. The level of hooliganry appealed to me and I quickly picked up on the game and asopted the Timbers as my team. I think when it comes to fandom of soccer, I'm lucky. The entire Cascade Corridor (Vancouver BC, Seattle, and Portland) seems to be a veritable hotbed of soccer fandom so it's not that "niche" out here like it seems to be in Chicago.



Unfortunately, i think there's something on the fritz with my cable wiring and I can't pull in Fox Soccer, which sucks because I also adoipted Manchester United as my Euro team and I can't catch their matches that much.



No you don't. I think the world would be a much better place if "Soccer" was properlycalled "Football" and American football took on the name it has in the south pacific: Gridiron.

My issue with your theory with hockey is this: what about the 1st and 2nd intermission? That is close to almost 40 minutes of commercial time a network can have. That ain't too shabby.



It really shows up in the playoffs and overtime. 20 minutes of no commercials. Sweet.

 

[supraman]

So any of you bums play FIFA 13 on Xbox?

 

[supraman]

Also how about that Man City Man United game. Wow. my first exposure to crazy football fans

 

[the canadian dream]

Also how about that Man City Man United game. Wow. my first exposure to crazy football fans

God Damn Van Persie!!! Making my boy Balotelli cry. Damn good ending. Hell of a strike but he got help with the deflection or else thats in the keepers hands. Nothing pisses a keeper off more than a lazy deflected ball off your wall. Had to be Van Persie to end it also. God damn trader!!! He should still be in Arsenal!! Not god damn Man U!! Typical Dutch asshole

. **** Rooney too.



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuAF-StT9qA[/media]

 

[Pez68]

What's this I'm hearing about 86 goals in 60 or so games for Messi? That's fucking insanity.

 

[the canadian dream]

What's this I'm hearing about 86 goals in 60 or so games for Messi? That's fucking insanity.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/sto...ga-barcelona-lionel-messi-scoring-record.html



The guy is amazing. If anyone has never seen this guy play they don't know what they are missing. It's as if the ball is glued to his foot until he pushes a button which releases it at the speed of light. He's the best forward I have ever seen play the game. I really don't know how one gets that great...have no idea. He is an anomaly.

 

[roshinaya]

Messi is indeed a generational talent. The things he's accomplished already at the age of 25 are incredible, three time Ballon d'Or, three time CL champion, multiple La Liga titles and cup titles. It could be argued that his legacy as one of the greatest is already cemented with these credentials, but him leading Argentina to a WC win would just be the cherry on top.

 

[LordKOTL]

My issue with your theory with hockey is this: what about the 1st and 2nd intermission? That is close to almost 40 minutes of commercial time a network can have. That ain't too shabby.



It really shows up in the playoffs and overtime. 20 minutes of no commercials. Sweet.

NHL has a total of 34 minutes of intermission time (17 minute intermission per NHL rulebooks). I'm not sure the total on Basketball since it's halftime is different than it's period breaks. However, you're looking at the same timeslot (about 2.5 hours) for each sport; one with 60 minutes of playing time vs. 48 minutes of playing time. Both are pretty much continous action sports so it's safe to say that when the gameclock is running there's something going on.



As such, in basketball, you have 48 minutes of guarenteed action, vs. 60 for ice hockey. 2.5 hours is 150 minutes. You're looking at 102 minutes of non-basketball in a timeslot vs. 90. From a network's level, that's 12 more minutes of possible advertising time, or 24 commercials.



To compare. Gridiron football is usually a 3 hour timeslot, yet even though gametime is 60 minutes, so on the surface you're looking at 130 minutes on non-football. There are numerous onlike and sports magazine studies that put the *actual* playing time at anywhere from 11 to 15 minutes, making even more time for commercials.



On the other hand, Soccer has a 2 hour timeslot, 90 minutes of action, with a guarenteed 15 minute half. You're looking at only 30 minutes of commercial time.



While I don't think that this is the bigest factor in popularity, it likley contributes to accesibility because a general network (like NBC), even a general sports network (like Root, CSN, NBC Sports), will want to get in the most advertising revenue for the least amount actual broadcast.

Also how about that Man City Man United game. Wow. my first exposure to crazy football fans

I'm pissed. I can get into a long explaination of why, but needless to say both Fox Soccer HD and SD havbe major connection issues on my digital cable. I had to miss the game and I love United.



P.S. TCD: You a Southsider by any chance?

 

[supraman]

NHL has a total of 34 minutes of intermission time (17 minute intermission per NHL rulebooks). I'm not sure the total on Basketball since it's halftime is different than it's period breaks. However, you're looking at the same timeslot (about 2.5 hours) for each sport; one with 60 minutes of playing time vs. 48 minutes of playing time. Both are pretty much continous action sports so it's safe to say that when the gameclock is running there's something going on.



As such, in basketball, you have 48 minutes of guarenteed action, vs. 60 for ice hockey. 2.5 hours is 150 minutes. You're looking at 102 minutes of non-basketball in a timeslot vs. 90. From a network's level, that's 12 more minutes of possible advertising time, or 24 commercials.



To compare. Gridiron football is usually a 3 hour timeslot, yet even though gametime is 60 minutes, so on the surface you're looking at 130 minutes on non-football. There are numerous onlike and sports magazine studies that put the *actual* playing time at anywhere from 11 to 15 minutes, making even more time for commercials.



On the other hand, Soccer has a 2 hour timeslot, 90 minutes of action, with a guarenteed 15 minute half. You're looking at only 30 minutes of commercial time.



While I don't think that this is the bigest factor in popularity, it likley contributes to accesibility because a general network (like NBC), even a general sports network (like Root, CSN, NBC Sports), will want to get in the most advertising revenue for the least amount actual broadcast.



I'm pissed. I can get into a long explaination of why, but needless to say both Fox Soccer HD and SD havbe major connection issues on my digital cable. I had to miss the game and I love United.



P.S. TCD: You a Southsider by any chance?

ouch man that sucks I got dish and not a single issue with the feed.

 

[LordKOTL]

ouch man that sucks I got dish and not a single issue with the feed.

Yeah, the thing is, just about every other channel comes in 100% fine. Hell, when Root sports plays a socer match (MLS, Premier, or otherwise) it's crystal clear. I don't think it's Comcast's fault (and honestly, I would have gone Dish/Direct TV if the assbags for those companies DIDN'T drop the equivalent of a Cablecard solution before it ever came out). I have to be 100% sure it's nothing internal to my apartment before I get on Comcast's case, but my gut feeling is there's a wiring issue between Comcast's junction box (their limit of responsibility) and my apartment jacks (my limit of responsibility) which means it's the apartment complex's issue, and I have a feeling that unless i'm 100% positive that the fault doesn't lie with Comcast or myself, they will not fix it, and if it is their responisbility they'll drag ass about it.



But I tell you what--having a tri-tuner connected up to the backplane of my home network is awesome. I just have to work out that last kink with Fox Soccer and things will be golden--especially since I have a 3TB NAS device in which I store all recorded TV shows and whatnot. It's just too bad that more pay TV solutions (Satellite, Fiber, etc.) didn't come out with a cablecard or similar solution.