I have plenty of issues, but michigan still sucks, for starters.
I hate soccer and won’t watch the World Cup Thread.
- Thread starter LionJim
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I have plenty of issues, but michigan still sucks, for starters.
And I'd say similar things about music...I'll never understand the type that feels the need to broadcast that they think a music genre, artist, or song sucks. I like a wide variety of music...and those small pockets that I don't like, I respect the fact that there are those that do.
That's a soccer fan thing ... to compare ... I think it's an insecurity thing, but whatevs. Not my problem. I like the "breaks" in baseball, as long as they maintain a steady flow to the game, and don't get drawn out. It's time for strategy and focus, and gathering yourself for a max effort, quick burst activity. But I DON'T like breaks in hoops, despite being a hoops fan. I like different things in different sports.
But it's a typical soccer fan thing to point to their fave sport, and then another sport and say "constant action in soccer ... no breaks ... blah, blah, blah" ... the reality is, soccer takes its own "breaks" (most, in-game) fairly often. So, that's not a big draw. An average MLB game takes 2 hr 38 minutes. An average soccer match takes 1 hr 50 minutes to 2 hours. There's a difference there, but not a HUGE difference. As to "athleticism," I prefer hand-eye coordination to, for example, running stamina. To each, their own.
As to scoring ... an average MLB game results in 8.9 runs. So, essentially, a 5-4 game (on average). Now, sometimes some of those runs score in groups (3-run double, 2-run HR, etc.), so the actual scoring conversions are lower than that, and I don't know by how much ... but I'd guess it's around 7 ... maybe 6.5 at the lowest. Could be higher. The average scoring in this World Cup is 3.1 goals, and the historical average is 2.6-2.7 goals. So less than 1/3 of the scoring in an average baseball game. Compare to the NFL, where the average number of TDs is 5.7 to 5.8, and FGs made is 3.2 to 3.4, for a total of 8.9 to 9.3 scores per game, on average. So, very comparable to MLB ... they just look like they're scoring more because each score is "worth" more. But, both MLB and NFL obviously have more frequent scoring than soccer (and we don't need to discuss NBA in this respect).
I'm not a hockey guy, either. Just did not grow up with it. But I've watched it a bit, attended some games, and it's pretty cool. I just can't find the time to devote myself to being a "hockey guy" when hoops runs at the same time ... and I already like college and pro hoops. Hockey's more fun to watch in person than on TV.
Hockey does suffer from a drawback similar to soccer in that "game domination" doesn't translate to the score at a higher rate than other sports. Meaning, more so than in other sports, you will see one team really controlling the puck, pushing the pace, and getting great chances ... and you'll look up and the score is 2-1 the other guys ... because of some "lucky" chances that were converted. You'll see that in soccer, where, fairly often (compared to other sports), one team will possess the ball often and confidently, make great runs, get great shot opportunities, and it's 0-0. Then one set piece, one breakaway, or a penalty happens and ... boom, it's 1-0 the other guys. Does that happen occasionally in other sports? Of course ... but not nearly as often.
There's more of a "luck" factor involved in soccer. That's a large part of the frustration with soccer ... that there's a very low amount of scoring, and that scoring is more tied to "luck"/unintended opportunity than in other sports. That, combined with the incessant flopping and crying where they lay there, or roll around as if they were shot (so much worse than the barking for a foul that happens all the time in hoops), and the apparent haphazard nature of penalty calls and their huge significance to a game's outcome (especially when we're talking penalty kicks and red cards), and my "natural" predilection for hand-eye coordination bumping up against a sport that, essentially, bans hand-eye coordination from being a factor ... it's a tough sell for someone who didn't grow up with it, and already has a lot of other sports interests taking up their time.
i'm not even a soccer fan. I watch the world cup and that's it. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world so their fans can 'compare' all they want.
You like hand eye coordination, watch darts.
I don't find much luck in soccer. Now football on the other hand..........
I like soccer but always roll my eyes when soccer fans doing the play never stops, etc. declaration. Play stops a lot in soccer, they just don’t stop the clock and then add a double secret probation amount of stoppage time at the end.
I’ve always thought that they should stop the clock when the play stops rather than adding it at the end.
So, if soccer wasn't the most popular sport in the world they couldn't compare? Help me figure out what point you're trying to make here.
And I can counter any points they make ... all I want ... regardless of my favorite sport's popularity. Yours is just a strange statement.
You're not the boss of me. This is such a weird post you've made, overall (what, exactly, are you trying to do here?), but I'll indulge. I was actually VERY good at darts growing up. Paid for a ton of drinking in college and law school by winning dart matches. Very little interest in watching it, however (the clips I see are crazy, with how much the crowds get into it).
Very persuasive. Nothing really to address here.
So why aren't you a soccer fan? What sports are you a fan of, and why are you a fan of those sports over soccer?
I heard that the Haiti team was awarded 2026 Haiti World Cup Champions shirts last night.
So what's the deal with Pulisic's calf injury? I thought it was precautionary that he sat out the 2nd half vs Paraguay then he doesn't even play vs Australia. Did the U.S. coach go the the BGJ school of injury transparency?
Is that like the fifa peace prize?I heard that the Haiti team was awarded 2026 Haiti World Cup Champions shirts last night.
Love hand eye coordination?? Here's the sport for you.
Childs play. Real athletes work on their head to eye coordination with Headis.
I get that take and they do it for college kids still which is idiotic as so many kids play pro at that age already, but that will never fly for one big reason. So many games are won and lost in extra time. One of the biggest reasons why is officials aren't going to blow the whistle while a ball is being crossed or an attack is going on to tie or push for a winner. Are you going to stop it for every single goal kick, corner, or throw in? Again, I get the take, but that is one thing I don't see them changing.
The goals that are currently scored in stoppage time likely aren't scored in the final moments of stoppage time, where whether or not the official blows the whistle will determine if the goal counts. Regardless, those goals would still be scored if it wasn't "stoppage time," but was just near the end of the game, because they stopped the clock when there was no action on the pitch. I've read that stoppage time has increased significantly, because they're actually trying to account for all the huge lulls in action now ... rather than just let the time tick away, as has been done in the past.
Yes, I lately have seemingly seen a more cerebral approach to stoppage time. “You get one last shot” seems to be an unwritten rule when the announced stoppage time has expired, always has been, from my observations. Very seldom do I feel that stoppage time has been mismanaged. Caveat: I’m very often wrong when I discuss soccer.
That ridiculous red card, and the overreaching ramifications of penalties generally are yet another reason to hate soccer.
As a viewer, it's absolutely awful just because 90% of the time you don't know if it's offsides until AFTER a goal has been scored ... which wouldn't be as big an issue, if there were more than 1-3 goals scored in each game ... because they're kind of a big deal, you get all excited ... and then they pull the football away and you end up on your back.
Sucks to be a hater. I love watching people that hate the sport try to change the rules....it's like watching a monkey ***K a football. They really think they are on to something too. It's 49% ignorance, 51% arrogance to think the world needs to change a game to suit them. The offsides line means the back line has to work in unison or get punished. It means the forwards cannot cheat or they get punished.
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This World Cup has easily been some of the best soccer I’ve never watched.
I was proud to say I didn't watch a single minute of that **** show. However, went out to dinner on Tues, and they had it on 8 televisions and I couldn't find a seat to shield myself from the crap. I felt like a vampire trapped in sunlight.
