World Cup 2010

[T 2 THA C]

I can not believe its already kicked off. Here is a nice take from Houstonians on the World Cup!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid51421175001?bctid=90952626001

Tomorrow come out to World Cup viewing party for USA vs England @ Discovery Green @ 12:30 PM

World Cup viewing parties @ Discovery Green

[AtticaFlinch]

I'll watch this with as much fervor as I'd had for the Winter Olympics.

[T 2 THA C]

I'll watch this with as much fervor as I'd had for the Winter Olympics.

Well that makes one of US!!!

Businesses strive to meet surging demand

"The game keeps growing in our country,” U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley said. “There are more and more people who follow MLS teams, more and more kids playing all over the place. The game has tremendous roots; it has diversity.

[AtticaFlinch]

Well that makes one of US!!!

Businesses strive to meet surging demand

I'm not saying there aren't plenty of people in the US who don't love the sport. I'm just saying I don't get it.

[20thStDad]

I'm not saying there aren't plenty of people in the US who don't love the sport. I'm just saying I don't get it.

It's definitely an inferior sport to the major ones here, due to its simplicity and lack of anything happening most of the time. But, I like to get into international competitions, so I'm going to be tuned in, especially while the US is still in it. Otherwise, I will pull for annoying countries to lose, such as England (I work with brits most of the time) and Mexico (if they get too far, this city will go just a little bit nuts). And of course, pulling against France because it's so easy.

[AtticaFlinch]

Every time I've watched soccer, it seems the ball movement has no purpose whatsoever. No one seems particularly interested in scoring, nor executing plays, nor doing much really beyond running to the ball and then kicking it out of bounds. Now, I do realize this is not the case, and I also realize if my brain wasn't attuned to American football, basketball and baseball, they would look equally as haphazard and purposeless. I guess I just can't appreciate a game if I don't understand the rules of it or any form of strategy. And, I think at 32, my brain isn't interested in learning rules and strategies for any new games. It's unfortunate, because I bet it's fun.

[20thStDad]

Nah, it really is checkers vs chess. There just isn't much to soccer. So when a goal gets scored every other game, it's a huge deal.

Starts off with 2 draws, that'll get american viewers interested.

[Subdude]

It's good fun. At work we have a pool going where 32 of us drew teams. I drew England , my boss got North Korea . I'll definitely be watching England v US tonight.

[RedScare]

It's definitely an inferior sport to the major ones here, due to its simplicity and lack of anything happening most of the time.

I always find it interesting when football fans criticize soccer. Your criticisms actually apply to the major American sports more than they would soccer. For instance, soccer's basic premise is identical to ice hockey (and lacrosse), only played with your feet on grass, instead of sticks. It is largely the same as basketball, as well. The set plays are very similar in all of those sports, with lots of give and go's, picks and blocks in an effort to free up a player for a shot on goal.

Now, let's talk about "lack of anything happening most of the time". Soccer matches are 90 minutes long. Play continues for the entire 90 minutes. Extra time is added at the ends of each half for stoppage time (injuries, etc.). And, American football, your so-called 'superior' sport? 11 minutes of actual play. Think about that. 11 MINUTES!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406.html

17 minutes is spent showing replays in an average game. One hour is spent on commercials. "As many as 75 minutes, or about 60% of the total air time, excluding commercials, is spent on shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps", according the the Wall Street Journal study. There's more...

In the four broadcasts The Journal studied, injured players got six more seconds of camera time than celebrating players. While the network announcers showed up on screen for just 30 seconds, shots of the head coaches and referees took up about 7% of the average show.

Football—at least the American version—is the rare sport where it's common for the clock to run for long periods of time while nothing is happening. After a routine play is whistled dead, the clock will continue to run, even as the players are peeling themselves off the turf and limping back to their huddles. The team on offense has a maximum of 40 seconds after one play ends to snap the ball again. A regulation NFL game consists of four quarters of 15 minutes each, but because the typical play only lasts about four seconds, the ratio of inaction to action is approximately 10 to 1. (At the end of a game, if one team has a lead and wants to prevent the other team from scoring again, standing around and letting the clock run down becomes a bona fide strategy).

Baseball is even worse. Only 3 of the 10 players or more on the field even do anything most of the time. Only when a ball is put in play do the other players get involved. Further, 74% of the time, the batter is unable to put the ball in play, meaning only 26% of the time is there any action. And, that is only the result of the at bat! Pitchers throw an average of about 120 pitches each per game. Each team averages 9 hits. So, 92.5% of the play involves a pitcher throwing the ball and the catcher catching it, with the occasional foul out of play. Only 7.5% of the pitches are put into play. Now, THAT's simplicity and lack of anything happening most of the time!

Better that you simply admit that you do not understand the game and have no interest in learning than try to criticize it. You only end up making it worse.

[Subdude]

I don't get it. It never fails - every time a topic hits on soccer, someone pipes up to announce that they don't like or understand the game. Fine, that's their privilege. Don't watch it then.

It's like soccer is supposed to somehow justify itself to skeptics. There are people who don't like baseball, but they don't use the Astros topics as a forum to criticize the game itself.

I had made the remark as an aside in a post about traffic management, but to RedScare's point, compared to soccer and rugby American sports are very stop-and-go in nature, so that very little action is stretched out over hours, in large part to accommodate television commercials. I've sat through countless baseball games in my life, but I have to admit they shouldn't take three hours.

[20thStDad]

I always find it interesting when football fans criticize soccer. Your criticisms actually apply to the major American sports more than they would soccer. For instance, soccer's basic premise is identical to ice hockey (and lacrosse), only played with your feet on grass, instead of sticks. It is largely the same as basketball, as well. The set plays are very similar in all of those sports, with lots of give and go's, picks and blocks in an effort to free up a player for a shot on goal.

Now, let's talk about "lack of anything happening most of the time". Soccer matches are 90 minutes long. Play continues for the entire 90 minutes. Extra time is added at the ends of each half for stoppage time (injuries, etc.). And, American football, your so-called 'superior' sport? 11 minutes of actual play. Think about that. 11 MINUTES!

http://online.wsj.co...2055561406.html

17 minutes is spent showing replays in an average game. One hour is spent on commercials. "As many as 75 minutes, or about 60% of the total air time, excluding commercials, is spent on shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps", according the the Wall Street Journal study. There's more...

Baseball is even worse. Only 3 of the 10 players or more on the field even do anything most of the time. Only when a ball is put in play do the other players get involved. Further, 74% of the time, the batter is unable to put the ball in play, meaning only 26% of the time is there any action. And, that is only the result of the at bat! Pitchers throw an average of about 120 pitches each per game. Each team averages 9 hits. So, 92.5% of the play involves a pitcher throwing the ball and the catcher catching it, with the occasional foul out of play. Only 7.5% of the pitches are put into play. Now, THAT's simplicity and lack of anything happening most of the time!

Better that you simply admit that you do not understand the game and have no interest in learning than try to criticize it. You only end up making it worse.

You didn't make any decent points there. I never said soccer games were too long, I said nothing happens. It's equally slow paced as baseball, but with baseball every pitch and play is a documentable occurrence. Hockey is 10 times as fast and way more exciting to watch. American football has action on every play. Soccer has action maybe 10 times per game, most misses or even don't end in shots. You really lost all credibility when you tried to say baseball was simpler. Baseball has more rules and odd situations than any other sport.

I like watching soccer. It might be on par with baseball and cricket for casually watching while drinking. You can get by not really paying attention most of the time. But don't even attempt to say soccer isn't simple or lower on "things actually happening" than other sports.

[20thStDad]

I don't get it. It never fails - every time a topic hits on soccer, someone pipes up to announce that they don't like or understand the game. Fine, that's their privilege. Don't watch it then.

It's like soccer is supposed to somehow justify itself to skeptics. There are people who don't like baseball, but they don't use the Astros topics as a forum to criticize the game itself.

I had made the remark as an aside in a post about traffic management, but to RedScare's point, compared to soccer and rugby American sports are very stop-and-go in nature, so that very little action is stretched out over hours, in large part to accommodate television commercials. I've sat through countless baseball games in my life, but I have to admit they shouldn't take three hours.

The only action in soccer are shots on goal, and each match maybe has 15 of those. Passes and clears, pointless. Nothing happening most of the time.

Like I said, I like soccer. But it's checkers, not chess. Don't make it out to be something magical that it isn't.

[RedScare]

My only response is...11 minutes. Try again.

[20thStDad]

My only response is...11 minutes. Try again.

All that does is help to prove my point. 20 times as much happens in 11 minutes of American football than does in 90+ minutes of soccer. Thanks for the help!

[ricco67]

All that does is help to prove my point. 20 times as much happens in 11 minutes of American football than does in 90+ minutes of soccer. Thanks for the help!

If you consider the fact that it can take 45 real time minutes for that 11 minutes of game time to be played.

[Subdude]

Goal for England at 3:48.

[20thStDad]

Ouch. I guess maybe this isn't our year, they made that look easy.

[Subdude]

Despite my money being on England I wouldn't worry for the US yet. A World Cup cliche is that America always does better than expected.

[20thStDad]

Despite my money being on England I wouldn't worry for the US yet. A World Cup cliche is that America always does better than expected.

We can come back from 1 goal down, but we almost just gave up #2. Seems easier for them to get free behind us, our defense is not as good as our attack.

I think the announcers just said we scored more goals than any team during qualifying. That's promising.

Edit: the vuvuzelas are now officially annoying

[Subdude]

We can come back from 1 goal down, but we almost just gave up #2. Seems easier for them to get free behind us, our defense is not as good as our attack.

I think the announcers just said we scored more goals than any team during qualifying. That's promising.

Edit: the vuvuzelas are now officially annoying

Is that what they're called? In the pregame the announcer was trying to blow one and it came out spit.

GOAL US 39:50!

The US has actually been playing pretty well. If you watch it is pretty evenly matched.

Jeez, can you believe the English keeper on that?

[20thStDad]

Is that what they're called? In the pregame the announcer was trying to blow one and it came out spit.

GOAL US 39:50!

The US has actually been playing pretty well. If you watch it is pretty evenly matched.

There's no way their goalie should have let that in..but GOOD FOR USA!!! HA. That guy sucks. Our goalies are pretty damn good, all 3 play in the english premier league normally.

I still think England is getting behind us too easily. We've had to make awesome stops or have them just miss.

[Subdude]

There's no way their goalie should have let that in..but GOOD FOR USA!!! HA. That guy sucks. Our goalies are pretty damn good, all 3 play in the english premier league normally.

I still think England is getting behind us too easily. We've had to make awesome stops or have them just miss.

I think England was too self confident going into this. Everyone just took it for granted they would walk away with it.

[Subdude]

The match to watch tomorrow will be Germany v Australia.

[Subdude]

You can't watch a match like this and tell me soccer's not exciting.

[editor]

I find soccer as exciting as baseball. To me, both are excuses to go out and soak up the atmosphere more than watch the match. I went to a UEFA Cup match in Amsterdam in the 90's. That's about the extent of my professional soccer exposure.

That said, has anyone noticed that the World Cup seems like it's HUGE business this year? At first I thought it was just because of my recent change in geography. Sounders FC (the Seattle MLS team) is MASSIVELY popular out here. I'm really surprised. Easily more popular than the Mariners. I thought it was just a local phenomenon, but then I saw that CNN and Microsoft both have World Cup tie-ins with Foursquare, and that there are viewing parties in stadia across the country.

Am I imagining things, or is this really big this year? And if it is... why now?

[lockmat]

I don't usually watch soccer but I enjoyed it today. Like a lot of people, it's just so anticlimactic when it ends in a tie. What's the point of even playing?

Also, was anyone else surprised to hear that the British national anthem has the same music as My Country Tis of Thee? Weird, I did not know that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Country,_'Tis_of_Thee

[20thStDad]

I find soccer as exciting as baseball. To me, both are excuses to go out and soak up the atmosphere more than watch the match. I went to a UEFA Cup match in Amsterdam in the 90's. That's about the extent of my professional soccer exposure.

That said, has anyone noticed that the World Cup seems like it's HUGE business this year? At first I thought it was just because of my recent change in geography. Sounders FC (the Seattle MLS team) is MASSIVELY popular out here. I'm really surprised. Easily more popular than the Mariners. I thought it was just a local phenomenon, but then I saw that CNN and Microsoft both have World Cup tie-ins with Foursquare, and that there are viewing parties in stadia across the country.

Am I imagining things, or is this really big this year? And if it is... why now?

I'm feeling that too. I mean it was big 4 years ago, but doesn't seem the same. Maybe it's all the new mobile technology, maybe it's because people expect us to do well. Also, it's been 4 more years for all those kids who play soccer to get older and into it. So many kids play now, it's the new default sport. Probably because it's so easy to understand and all you need is 1 ball and a field. And because today's retard parents ("everybody is a winner!!!") get what they want from all the ties.

I don't usually watch soccer but I enjoyed it today. Like a lot of people, it's just so anticlimactic when it ends in a tie. What's the point of even playing?

Also, was anyone else surprised to hear that the British national anthem has the same music as My Country Tis of Thee? Weird, I did not know that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Country,_'Tis_of_Thee

I hate ties. But as rare as scoring is, you have to deal with them. Unless they shrink the field or start playing with two balls, it's going to end in a draw half the time.

I also noticed the british anthem tune, that was odd. For some reason I thought I heard God Save the Queen before and don't remember it sounding that way. Maybe I was wasted.

[Ross]

I don't usually watch soccer but I enjoyed it today. Like a lot of people, it's just so anticlimactic when it ends in a tie. What's the point of even playing?

Also, was anyone else surprised to hear that the British national anthem has the same music as My Country Tis of Thee? Weird, I did not know that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Country,_'Tis_of_Thee

Other way around. The English antional anthem has been around since the 1740's, while the US versions words were written in 1831. It's not a great national anthem - Parry's Jerusalem (words by Blake), and Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance are much better.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Country,_%27Tis_of_Thee

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

England was the obvious better team, but seemed a little flat. Teh US made a bunch of mistakes, did a poor job marking opposing players, and generally got lucky to end with a draw. Having said that, I'm hopeful that Algeria and Slovenia will fall to the US, and the team will make it through to the next round.

[Subdude]

I don't usually watch soccer but I enjoyed it today. Like a lot of people, it's just so anticlimactic when it ends in a tie. What's the point of even playing?

Think of the game in the context of the overall series. Scoring isn't just based on wins. They still get a point for a tie.

[Subdude]

England was the obvious better team, but seemed a little flat. Teh US made a bunch of mistakes, did a poor job marking opposing players, and generally got lucky to end with a draw. Having said that, I'm hopeful that Algeria and Slovenia will fall to the US, and the team will make it through to the next round.

The commentary I was watching was exactly the other way around, that England was way off their game. I thought it was fairly evenly matched.

You almost have to feel sorry for the goalkeeper who allowed the American goal. He's already being made out as a sort of English Bill Buckner - doomed to be remembered for that one massive flub; pointed and laughed at by children on the street until he is forced to change his name and move to Arizona or somewhere like that.