Football/Soccer

[destrukt]

yup, i agree with most of these guys.. actually, everyone except the troll i think.

mr-fusion, it's pretty awesome now, alot of people who know how into soccer i am are asking me questions and what not.

organised a friendly social match for this week and there's only a couple of us who are into it, the rest are just my normal friends but are still excited to play.

 

[sinkoman]

The points on equipment are irrelevant because American football is insanely boring to watch and play. Stop start, most players never actually touch the ball, too linear, moronic etc. You can see why this sport has almost zero appeal worldwide. Baseball is similar, insanely boring to watch and play. Why would kids want to play these games? Basketball is fun to play and has gained worldwide appeal, but it wasn't created by an American so that rules it out Look at the countries who play ice hockey, cold winters! Too cold to be outside in shorts and a t-shirt playing in the fields, so get inside and figure out a sport to play, ice hockey! Very small appeal worldwide simply for the aforementioned fact.

"Ice hockey is most popular as a sport in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural, reliable seasonal ice cover. "
wiki!

So why are these sports popular in America? Culture! Parents force/raise their kids to watch and play these sports. They won't grow outside of America so soccer/football will remain the global game. And of course, some people do actually like the sports...

It's the same in Australia. Rugby League and Australian football are culturally embedded and dominate in tv viewin, crowd attendance and junior participation. Soccer has had a hell of a time trying to gain popularity but now with Australia in the final 16 of the world cup it's reaching exploding point.

That makes sense, it being popular because it doesn't require special terrain.

Like how surfing is popular here because there's warm water, and high surf all year long. Yet not many places have warm water and waves combined, so it isn't popular in very many places.

 

[StardogChampion]

Why is Football THE most popular sport in the world?

I've watched American Football on tv a few times and it seems really stop-start. The guy will throw the ball, but the catcher fumbles it, then they all walk around for 5 minutes before it starts again, then they'll go to some commercials. There aren't any commercials for 45 minutes on our channels when soccer's on. There's also a lot of plays like "Blitz" or whatever, that no newcomers to the sport understand.

After watching football (soccer) for 10 minutes, you will probably understand everything except the offside rule.

It's also a lot easier to show off in soccer, but you can't really in American football. Maybe you could throw it... better?

It's easier to play soccer, since all you need is a ball and jumpers for goalposts. To play American football properly you'd need to setup all the 10-yard lines and somehow find a bar high enough to kick over. You can even play soccer on your own, by kicking the ball against a wall or practising keepy-uppies (hacky sack?).

 

[destrukt]

stardog ftw.. though we normally call it 'juggling' but i'm going to call it keepy-uppies next time and see what people's reactions are.

i used to play hacky sack soo much in high school.

 

[Raxxman]

yeah

Football is an amazing sport because it takes seconds to understand, lifetime to master, has strong teamwork qualities, and amazing individual skills.

 

[StardogChampion]

Germany vs Sweden is about to kick-off, so switch to the channel that shows World Cup games in the US.

 

[DreadLord]

Soccer/football is fantastic to watch, beautiful skills, non-stop flow of play. Easy for kids to get into, fantastic peaks and troughs in during the game. Insane exhiliration when goals are scored due to intricate precision of play.

It's pretty easy to see why it's the most popular sport in the world and will remain so for a long time. Culturally embedded in all of Europe, South America, Africa, the middle east and much of Asia.

The points on equipment are irrelevant because American football is insanely boring to watch and play. Stop start, most players never actually touch the ball, too linear, moronic etc. You can see why this sport has almost zero appeal worldwide. Baseball is similar, insanely boring to watch and play. Why would kids want to play these games? Basketball is fun to play and has gained worldwide appeal, but it wasn't created by an American so that rules it out Look at the countries who play ice hockey, cold winters! Too cold to be outside in shorts and a t-shirt playing in the fields, so get inside and figure out a sport to play, ice hockey! Very small appeal worldwide simply for the aforementioned fact.

"Ice hockey is most popular as a sport in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural, reliable seasonal ice cover. "
wiki!

So why are these sports popular in America? Culture! Parents force/raise their kids to watch and play these sports. They won't grow outside of America so soccer/football will remain the global game. And of course, some people do actually like the sports...

It's the same in Australia. Rugby League and Australian football are culturally embedded and dominate in tv viewin, crowd attendance and junior participation. Soccer has had a hell of a time trying to gain popularity but now with Australia in the final 16 of the world cup it's reaching exploding point.

Actually far more kids in America before age 10 play soccer than American football or baseball. Soccer is the general thing that every single kid around here plays. However, most people drop it shortly after age 10 and play American football through high school. So your "brought up with American football" argument doesn't really work.

I think soccer is fun to play, however I just can't watch it or get into it. It's like watching hockey.. But on grass.. It's like watching field hockey. American football however is incredibly fun to watch, but I suppose it's up to you.

Oh, and the "we're real men (rugby players) because we don't wear padding" argument is ridiculous. The hits people take in football are exponentially harder than rugby. If they didn't have padding in American football, you'd have 5 or 6 people breaking their necks per game. One or two break something per game as it is, let alone if they didn't have protection.

Germany vs Sweden is about to kick-off, so switch to the channel that shows World Cup games in the US.

The Spanish channel? I can't tell what they're saying though.

 

[kirovman]

It's like watching hockey.. But on grass.. It's like watching field hockey.

Err, I think Hockey is played on the grass.

It's Ice Hockey that's played on the ice.

 

[DreadLord]

Err, I think Hockey is played on the grass.

It's Ice Hockey that's played on the ice.

Lol, ask the Canadians. When saying "Hockey" it's pretty well understood that one mean's Ice-hockey. At least around here. I've never heard of anyone playing hockey on the grass.. Other than field hockey.. Which is a girls only high school sport.

 

[kirovman]

That's because they only have ice in Canada, no fields?

Hockey here is pretty much a girl's sport too.

 

[DreadLord]

That's because they only have ice in Canada, no fields?

The densely populated areas of Canada aren't much different than that of the Northern US.. They have plenty of fields during the summer months.

 

[kirovman]

:O

There's so much I don't know, and so little time to learn.

 

[Reaktor4]

I think soccer is fun to play, however I just can't watch it or get into it. It's like watching hockey.. But on grass.. It's like watching field hockey.

pfft

 

[15357]

I think theres a reason why American Football is called American Football.

 

[The Monkey]

Because football > every other sport

 

[AgentXen]

American football is just plain boring. Its great if your having a hard time going to sleep. Just turn on a football game and it will put you to sleep within minutes (IMO).

 

[xombine]

Soccer is for pussies. 'Nuff said.

 

[PvtRyan]

Soccer is for pussies. 'Nuff said.

Let me guess, you play "lets-dress-up-like-we're-about-to-disarm-a-bomb"?

 

[TheSomeone]

Beauty in simplicity.

 

[Voodoo_Chile]

Well it isnt technically true that Rugby is played without pading. They do wear quite abit,It just isnt the huge fiberglass(Or whatever they are made out of) pads seen in American Football.

I think one of the reasons why Soccer is so loved is that it's a fluid game. Aside from fouls and line outs the game keeps going and even when the ball is out of play aside from a huge foul or one involving a few people it generally gets sorted fast and keeps going. From what I've seen of American football it's a few seconds of intense excitement followed by another few minutes of people lining up again.

Ofc. the only true football is Gaelic football so screw you all!

 

[ríomhaire]

(calling it Football for the sake of stfu you Europeans)

You mean English, we call it soccer here too to differenciate from Gaelic Football.

 

[Ravioli]

"Even countries smaller than states (erhrm, those bastards from Gana) play the game."

"(calling it Football for the sake of stfu you Europeans)"

With those words im just drawing conclusions that you are a very miss informed ignorant everyday American. You speak as if America is the great empire of everything, and that "smaller" countries arent worth anything. And whats wrong with Ghana? Why do you call them bastards? You are singeling out a whole country just because they play "soccer"

EDIT: Atleast in Soccer we use our feets more then in American Football. American Football shouldnt be called that btw, because the ball isnt spherical shaped which is a requirement to be classified as a ball:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball

 

[sinkoman]

"Even countries smaller than states (erhrm, those bastards from Gana) play the game."

"(calling it Football for the sake of stfu you Europeans)"

With those words im just drawing conclusions that you are a very miss informed ignorant everyday American. You speak as if America is the great empire of everything, and that "smaller" countries arent worth anything. And whats wrong with Ghana? Why do you call them bastards? You are singeling out a whole country just because they play "soccer"

EDIT: Atleast in Soccer we use our feets more then in American Football. American Football shouldnt be called that btw, because the ball isnt spherical shaped which is a requirement to be classified as a ball:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball

It's obvious you came here just to flame.

You didn't read ANY of our nice, friendly discussion, did you?

Way to interpret every thing I say.

 

[Ravioli]

Yes i agree, my post was a bit aggressive and i am sorry for that. I just read your main post as a little offensive but im sure it wasnt ment to be that way, sorry.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

I've watched American Football on tv a few times and it seems really stop-start. The guy will throw the ball, but the catcher fumbles it, then they all walk around for 5 minutes before it starts again, then they'll go to some commercials. There aren't any commercials for 45 minutes on our channels when soccer's on. There's also a lot of plays like "Blitz" or whatever, that no newcomers to the sport understand.

Eh that's because of the TV channel. If you actually play football in amateur leagues (IE: Not NFL where you're paid 5 million dollars a year) then you don't stop like that for TV timeouts, obviously.

Great example: High School Football. High intensity, great skills needed to compete.

You can't walk around for 5 minutes or you get penalized for delay of game.

 

[sinkoman]

Eh that's because of the TV channel. If you actually play football in amateur leagues (IE: Not NFL where you're paid 5 million dollars a year) then you don't stop like that for TV timeouts, obviously.

Great example: High School Football. High intensity, great skills needed to compete.

You can't walk around for 5 minutes or you get penalized for delay of game.

LOL, I remember in Elementary, we formed like full blown legues and shit, and all the cliques had thier own teams.

I remember I was a tight end. Was allot of fun playing American Football back then, cause it's more about tactics and fun rather than hits and impressing crowds

But yeah, I HATE proffessional footbal. It has to be the most boring sport in the world.

Watching Highschool footbal can be fun though

 

[Parlez]

Why is Football/Soccer (calling it Football for the sake of stfu you Europeans), erhrm, why is Football like, THE most popular sport in the world?

I don't get it. It's not like it's the oldest sport in the world (wrestling/running), but yet, EVERYBODY plays it.

Even countries smaller than states (erhrm, those bastards from Gana) play the game.

People play it in the streets EVERYWHERE.

Why?

Because it is fun to most people. That is the only reason I play football, not because everyone else is but because it is fun to play for me.

 

[xombine]

Let me guess, you play "lets-dress-up-like-we're-about-to-disarm-a-bomb"?

Let me guess, you play "lets-flaunt-those-creamy-thighs"?

 

[sinkoman]

Let me guess, you play "lets-flaunt-those-creamy-thighs"?

Wrestling?

I wrestle D:

 

[MorganFreeman911]

Springing FTW!

 

[gh0st]

soccer is the shit.

 

[Bull Goose Loony]

Soccer wins because
-fast paced flowing game, very exciting to watch
-minimal equipment required = anyone can play

The only thing i don't like about it is the hollywooding, which seems to be about 1000 times worse in the world cup, eg the portugal vs netherlands game, and the the portugese guy who took a bump in the face in a tackle and went down clutching his eyes and screaming

 

[theotherguy]

Soccer wins because
-fast paced flowing game, very exciting to watch
-minimal equipment required = anyone can play

pff..fast paced? The score is usually like 1-0

I tried watching the world cup, but it was just so boring, they just pass the ball back and forth, miss the goal, run to the other end of the field, pass the ball back and forth, miss the goal, run to the other end of the field, get a penalty, kick the ball, pass it back and forth, and then miss the goal again.

Precisely the same reason I don't really like hockey. but at least there's fighting in hockey

///note: all of the above was satire.

 

[Dalamari]

Football is quite fun to watch, I was watching the FA cup this year and once I got into it, it was just as fun as watching a baseball game

 

[Bad^Hat]

Not really a soccer playing nation. It's the same deal here with rugby though.

As for why soccer is so popular, I'd say mass-appeal (hazard a guess and say the world cup is aired in pretty much every nation on the globe, couldn't say the same for many other sports) coupled with being so easy to pick up and play. All you need is a ball and a space to play it in. Rules are fairly simple and known by many, if not all.

As for why it got so popular in the first place... maybe people just wanna kick stuff

 

[Cole]

I lover soccer. I grew up on it. Very fun game.

I only began watching Soccer with the 2006 FIFA. Very good stuff.