As Cowperson said, the world if fixated on soccer because of two reasons, IMO:1) Colonial rule over third world and developing countries instilled a passion for the game, starting decades ago. This is why games like Cricket are huge in India and Pakistan.2) Soccer is easily the easiest sport to pick up and play. This is why so many people from around the Third World and developing countries are in tune with sport - because they can play it and identify with it.It is a shame that North Americans don't give the game more credit, but I think we're slowly starting to see that change, especially in Canada. Toronto FC has been nothing but a public relations success story for the sport, and the addition of the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact to the MLS is really going to do wonders for Canadian soccer. Not to mention that we do have Canadians playing in the world's premier leagues (Juan de Guzman and Owen Hargreaves to name two).
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More MLS in teams in Canada will be great. I love the support that Toronto FC gets and I hope the same thing happens in Vancouver and Montreal.
Much of the passion, for any sport, has to do with having a team to follow. Would I be a huge hockey fan if it weren't for growing up in Calgary following the Flames? Probably not.
These MLS teams give people something to get attached to, and I think it'll help the sport here immensly.
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A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
Back to the topic at hand... Anyone else pick up a free vuvuzella that Jack FM were handing out this morning by A-Channel? My soccer game tonight just got a little more exciting haha.
Whats the difference between a vuvuzela and those plastic horns you can get at the the Saddledome?
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A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
I very much enjoy watching soccer. Having two of your best friends be from England helps in that regard, but it does get a bad rap here in NA. Its a much more hardnosed sport than people give it credit for, especially at the highest levels (EPL, FIFA, Euro, etc..).
Yeah the diving can be a bit of a disgrace, but embellishment happens in every sport, and its actually getting pretty bad in hockey.
My friend pointed something out to me that I never considered before this year, and that is that there is nothing like the World Cup for any other sport. Not even the Olympics is as huge as the WC and that encompasses hundreds of sports. I find something like the WC to be truely inspirational to see how the entire world can come together via one simple game of kicking a ball around.
I also hate it when ever a topic of soccer comes up around here you have the people that come in raving about how much they hate it and pansy it is. I hate baseball, so a simple solution to me not ranting about how terrible it is is to stay avoid threads about baseball. Crazy I know.
As for the picture of the guys flinching in the wall with the purses...id like to see anyone here take a Steven Gerrard free kick to the face and see how it feels. Those guys can launch that thing.
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Last edited by Coach; 06-24-2010 at 08:56 PM.
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion - and if it's that soccer sucks, so be it. The thing that I usually find during discussions with people who dislike soccer is that they are basing their opinion on two things:
the game they played as children in the schoolground at recess,
the diving and play acting on the tv.
If you honestly find the game boring to watch, short of sitting with someone knowledgable and watching some games so they can explain the nuances that make the game great (one on one battles between two players, the vision of a defense splitting through ball onto the foot of a striker running his ass off) then there isn't much I can do to sway you.
If you think it's a pansy sport - the next time you drive by that field at memorial and 19th street pull over and just spend 10 mins watching the guys there. No matter the level you will see first hand how fast these guys are running, crashing into each other, kicking each other's feet, ankles, shins and knees - it's not nearly as soft as you'd think. I played hockey all my life - soccer just as long and I've always felt worse for the wear after a full 90 mins on the pitch.
Just my two cents - though most people have thier minds made up already.
Soccer is boring as hell.
I mean... what's so exciting about a 90 minute game which ends in a 1-0 score?
Not sure why half the world is so crazy about it. Obviously most soccer fans have never seen a hockey game.
The Flames thrived on 1-0 games in '04, and wouldn't have been able to beat Detroit without playing that style of game. I'm no Flames fan, but I have a hard time believing Flames fans had a hard time staying awake during those games.
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion - and if it's that soccer sucks, so be it. The thing that I usually find during discussions with people who dislike soccer is that they are basing their opinion on two things:
the game they played as children in the schoolground at recess,
the diving and play acting on the tv.
If you honestly find the game boring to watch, short of sitting with someone knowledgable and watching some games so they can explain the nuances that make the game great (one on one battles between two players, the vision of a defense splitting through ball onto the foot of a striker running his ass off) then there isn't much I can do to sway you.
If you think it's a pansy sport - the next time you drive by that field at memorial and 19th street pull over and just spend 10 mins watching the guys there. No matter the level you will see first hand how fast these guys are running, crashing into each other, kicking each other's feet, ankles, shins and knees - it's not nearly as soft as you'd think. I played hockey all my life - soccer just as long and I've always felt worse for the wear after a full 90 mins on the pitch.
Just my two cents - though most people have thier minds made up already.
Yep. Same thing with people who don't like hockey. Some always wonder why they have so much trouble controlling the puck. Take them to a Hitmen game in the lower bowl (or Flames, if you're rich and spoiled and I hate you), and see how often the puck actually lays flat on the ice.
As far as soccer, yep. It's a physical sport for sure. Also, consider the gear. Shin pads, cleats. That's it. Now I'm not going to lie and say it's devoid of embellishment and diving, but if someone kicks you with their toes in the back or side of your knee, or right under the shin pad (hard, accurately and deliberately....and it does happen), that's gonna hurt like HELL for a minute, even if it doesn't give you any long term injury. You will hurt the following morning though.
And the question I always ask to one who hates soccer, but enjoys something like baseball (which I find a snooze), and NFL/CFL (which I do enjoy); You're saying nothing happens...but the play is on for the majority of those 90 minutes. In the aforementioned, you're lucky to get 15 minutes out of it. Why do you accept sitting there for the other 2 hours 15 minutes, then accuse soccer of having "nothing going on"?
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The Flames thrived on 1-0 games in '04, and wouldn't have been able to beat Detroit without playing that style of game. I'm no Flames fan, but I have a hard time believing Flames fans had a hard time staying awake during those games.
Yup! That 1-0 overtime win in Game 6 had everything. Edge of your seat stuff.
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Watching the Oilers defend is like watching fire engines frantically rushing to the wrong fire
And the question I always ask to one who hates soccer, but enjoys something like baseball (which I find a snooze), and NFL/CFL (which I do enjoy); You're saying nothing happens...but the play is on for the majority of those 90 minutes. In the aforementioned, you're lucky to get 15 minutes out of it. Why do you accept sitting there for the other 2 hours 15 minutes, then accuse soccer of having "nothing going on"?
They did a study and the actual played time in the NFL is 12 minutes.
So you're watching 3 hours of commercials, halftime, replays and huddles.
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Watching the Oilers defend is like watching fire engines frantically rushing to the wrong fire
