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Mesi a top 10 most popular athlete in US, soccer #2 popularity in US


John Adams

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Soccer = Snoozeville in this house

 

 

I don't get "the beautiful game" 0-0 games do not intrigue me.

As stated 0-0 games are rare. That said baseball regularly (especially NL games) are regularly the same amount of scoring as soccer but nobody cares. If you are interested in giving soccer a chance you really need to go out and watch it with a group of people who are interested and informative. There are so many games within the games going on. If you picked a team to root for soccer is incredibly exciting. It is a back and forth, up and down, free flowing game. Watching just to watch any sport is generally boring if you don't care about the teams.

 

Try to play it. See how incredibly difficult the things they are doing actually are. It may give you a better respect for the game and what is going on.

 

Soccer is near and dear to me. I grew up playing, played in college, coached for a short while, and now ref for the high schools. It is a game that is VERY physical and physically demanding. Depending on your position it is not unheard of to run 6+ miles in one game. November 15th there is a US men's team game on. Watch it with a rooting interest and see how you feel afterwards.

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I watched the Totti clip... No offense, it is like watching a kicker kick field goals. Yeah, they are scores and what not... "Bending it like Beckham"... Sure it takes skills, but, I really didn't find it amazing. Again, like watching a kicker score FG's from 30 yards out. The net is so damn big and the field too.

 

To each their own I guess.

Edited by ExiledInIllinois
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Soccer is near and dear to me. I grew up playing, played in college, coached for a short while, and now ref for the high schools. It is a game that is VERY physical and physically demanding. Depending on your position it is not unheard of to run 6+ miles in one game. November 15th there is a US men's team game on. Watch it with a rooting interest and see how you feel afterwards.

 

November 15 is a big soccer day. The U.S. vs. Scotland friendly is not crucial for either side, but should be entertaining. But that's also the day a lot of the WC qualifying "playoffs" start. Lots of nations of the fringe have to play head to head two game (home and away) contests for the final spots. And Nov. 15 is the day for the first legs of these playoffs...

 

Mexico vs. New Zealand

Sweden vs. Portugal

France vs. Ukraine

Greece vs. Romania

Iceland vs. Croatia

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Baby Joe Mesi is top 10 most popular?

 

This is exactly what I thought.

 

Soccer - the fastest growing sport for 30 years in a row.

 

As stated 0-0 games are rare. That said baseball regularly (especially NL games) are regularly the same amount of scoring as soccer but nobody cares.

 

November 15th there is a US men's team game on. Watch it with a rooting interest and see how you feel afterwards.

 

There is no way that baseball scores are about the same as soccer scores. Last night was 8-1. Would that ever happen at top level soccer?

 

I will have a rooting interest - I'll be rooting for Scotland!

 

(I actually attended a college soccer game yesterday to watch my niece play. Even with a rooting interest, it was not very exciting - you can make a million nice moves, etc. and still be 100 feet away from the net)

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This is exactly what I thought.

 

Soccer - the fastest growing sport for 30 years in a row.

 

 

 

There is no way that baseball scores are about the same as soccer scores. Last night was 8-1. Would that ever happen at top level soccer?

 

I will have a rooting interest - I'll be rooting for Scotland!

 

(I actually attended a college soccer game yesterday to watch my niece play. Even with a rooting interest, it was not very exciting - you can make a million nice moves, etc. and still be 100 feet away from the net)

 

I think they made the point about AL & NL. Lasts nights game was in an AL park (DH). True, I do agree w/what you are saying... Baseball, even in an NL park is better scoring.

Edited by ExiledInIllinois
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This is exactly what I thought.

 

Soccer - the fastest growing sport for 30 years in a row.

 

I love soccer. The Bills remain my #1 sports obsession, but soccer is what I enjoy watching the most.

 

However, I cringe every time I hear another story about how fast soccer is growing in this country. I cringe because I know it sounds desperate and cheesy. It makes soccer sound self-conscious and too eager for attention. Like how someone from Rochester (me included) gets excited whenever their city gets mentioned on a national stage. I think it mostly does a disservice to the game as it further fuels anti-soccer sentiment.

Edited by Cugalabanza
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I love soccer. The Bills remain my #1 sports obsession, but soccer is what I enjoy watching the most.

 

However, I cringe every time I hear another story about how fast soccer is growing in this country. I cringe because I know it sounds desperate and cheesy. It makes soccer sound self-conscious and too eager for attention. Like how someone from Rochester (me included) gets excited whenever their city gets mentioned on a national stage. I think it mostly does a disservice to the game as it further fuels anti-soccer sentiment.

 

Good point and who cares. I speak for me and for me only. Soccer could become the most popular sport in my household and I wouldn't care. I still wouldn't like it. Hell I didn't even watch the Super Bowl this past year. :o

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I love soccer. The Bills remain my #1 sports obsession, but soccer is what I enjoy watching the most.

 

However, I cringe every time I hear another story about how fast soccer is growing in this country. I cringe because I know it sounds desperate and cheesy. It makes soccer sound self-conscious and too eager for attention. Like how someone from Rochester (me included) gets excited whenever their city gets mentioned on a national stage. I think it mostly does a disservice to the game as it further fuels anti-soccer sentiment.

 

It creates false expectations, too...instead of focusing on the steady gains the sport has made over the last 15 years in particular, they focus on these projections and start up with delusions of grandeur. I think it's awesome that the 12-24 demographic is taking notice of the game...but some of these reports lose perspective.

 

And I agree...I can't remember the last time I saw a 0-0 match....especially watching the Americans.

 

Good point and who cares. I speak for me and for me only. Soccer could become the most popular sport in my household and I wouldn't care. I still wouldn't like it. Hell I didn't even watch the Super Bowl this past year. :o

 

What were you doing while the super bowl was on?

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I usually find the superbowl an anticlimax. If you aren't rooting for one of the teams, all the hype and commerical bs that surrounds it can be pretty nauseating. The conference championship games--that's the last true week of football. The superbowl is more event than football.

 

(Of course, if the Bills are in it, you can take all that crap I just said and throw it out the window.)

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There is no way that baseball scores are about the same as soccer scores. Last night was 8-1. Would that ever happen at top level soccer?

 

I think they made the point about AL & NL. Lasts nights game was in an AL park (DH). True, I do agree w/what you are saying... Baseball, even in an NL park is better scoring.

After doing some quick googling it appears that I was wrong. Baseball averages about 8 runs per game. Soccer at the highest levels averages about 3. It is much more like Hockey in regards to the scoring level.

 

However the ALCS averaged about 6 runs per game and the NLCS averaged about 5 runs per game (before the game 6 blow out skewed the stats to 6 runs a game). It isn't a huge difference IMO but seems to be the #1 complaint against the game.

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I usually find the superbowl an anticlimax. If you aren't rooting for one of the teams, all the hype and commerical bs that surrounds it can be pretty nauseating. The conference championship games--that's the last true week of football. The superbowl is more event than football.

 

(Of course, if the Bills are in it, you can take all that crap I just said and throw it out the window.)

 

The best part the past few years is I was doing assorted chili dogs for just the two of us and for some reason decided against it.

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I watched the Totti clip... No offense, it is like watching a kicker kick field goals. Yeah, they are scores and what not... "Bending it like Beckham"... Sure it takes skills, but, I really didn't find it amazing. Again, like watching a kicker score FG's from 30 yards out. The net is so damn big and the field too.

 

To each their own I guess.

You've already stated your opinion so this may fall on deaf ears but I think you are severely underestimating how good goalies are in soccer. Check out this video. With one step the keeper can cover the entire net in any direction. When striking from outside the box it is incredibly difficult to get it by them. That is why many of the goals are from very close range, making "bend it like" goals very impressive.

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You've already stated your opinion so this may fall on deaf ears but I think you are severely underestimating how good goalies are in soccer. Check out this video. With one step the keeper can cover the entire net in any direction. When striking from outside the box it is incredibly difficult to get it by them. That is why many of the goals are from very close range, making "bend it like" goals very impressive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymgMNLPw1yY

 

Come on man how good does a soccer goalie really need to be when 75% of the 6 shots on goal in a typical match miss the mark by 20 yards. :D

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Come on man how good does a soccer goalie really need to be when 75% of the 6 shots on goal in a typical match miss the mark by 20 yards. :D

 

That's funny you say that, cause that IS one of the things that annoys the hell out of me...I played the game for many years so I have an appreciation for how much skill is required even at an intermediate level, but sometimes it amazes me how a pro can completely fuggup a shot and go launching the damn thing a mile above the goal.

 

 

And just cause I always love an excuse to post it...here's one of my favorite goals ever from the WC back in 2006:

 

This is NOT easy to do!

 

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That's funny you say that, cause that IS one of the things that annoys the hell out of me...I played the game for many years so I have an appreciation for how much skill is required even at an intermediate level, but sometimes it amazes me how a pro can completely fuggup a shot and go launching the damn thing a mile above the goal.

 

 

Ok so I've always wondered that myself. I obviously don't watch a lot of soccer but I do see that a lot and scratch my head. I know it's not easy to do but some of these shots aren't even close.

 

Oh and BTW it's not pro soccer players only. I regularly yell at an NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL player while watching on TV. "WTF dude you are the top 10/20/30 etc performers of your craft in the world and you can't <hit a wide open receiver>?"

Edited by Chef Jim
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