Baseball vs. Soccer

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by ricoFlame

playing a sport and watching it are very different. of course one can acknowledge the physical demand of a sport, but that doesn't make it more or less boring for said person to watch. the fact is that some people need non-stop action, pain, aggression, and/or shiny objects to keep them entertained.

I can understand if someone just doesn't find it interesting, fair enough... Baseball and Basketball enthralls some people, and puts others to sleep. I just take exception to people thinking these guys are pussies. Diving is pretty much a universal concept in sports, and its always due to inadequate regulation on and off the field of play.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

I can understand if someone just doesn't find it interesting, fair enough... Baseball and Basketball enthralls some people, and puts others to sleep. I just take exception to people thinking these guys are pussies. Diving is pretty much a universal concept in sports, and its always due to inadequate regulation on and off the field of play.

Baseball is the one team sport where a player can't dive to gain an advantage because there are no fouls called. So there's no pointing trying to con the ref. If you get hit by a pitch and scream in pain and fall down holding your face when the ball hit you in the ass... the result doesn't change. It's first base only. The only cheating in baseball is the catcher moving his glove around to bring balls into the strike zone. But umps don't even fall for that anymore.



In soccer, faking injury can lead to penalty shots, yellow cards and red cards, all can change the entire game.

In hockey, it can cause power plays. 2 or 5 minutes.

In basketball, flopping can lead to offensive fouls to important players who may foul out.

and on and on..

[VANFLAMESFAN]

This is not even a conversation for me, soccer in a in heartbeat. Baseball is the epitome of a cure to insomnia.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

I can understand if someone just doesn't find it interesting, fair enough... Baseball and Basketball enthralls some people, and puts others to sleep. I just take exception to people thinking these guys are pussies. Diving is pretty much a universal concept in sports, and its always due to inadequate regulation on and off the field of play.

On behalf of everyone in football:

Diving is not universal. It's pretty much for pussies.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

On behalf of everyone in football:

Diving is not universal. It's pretty much for pussies.

I guess hockey is for pussies then since pretty much every player in the NHL has taken a dive more than once.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

I guess hockey is for pussies then since pretty much every player in the NHL has taken a dive more than once.

Well I referenced football. You said pretty much all sports has diving. Football doesn't. But yea, I have less respect for hockey players now that they dive so much.

But it's not an absolute, more of a gradual continum. Soccer players spend all day flopping around like fish so soccer players rule the kingdom there.

Like I've said before it seems the entire game is about faking fouls and injuries, it's hard to repect the players as athletes when it seems that the object of the game, ie the way to get the only goal in the game during any given game is to flop in the crease, giving your team a penalty kick.

BTW can that dot be any closer to the net? It's like a for sure goal every time.

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

You very clearly have never played competitive soccer at any level... especially when saying guys essentially playing on concrete with no padding for 90 mins are pussies compared to guys who play in 30-40 lbs of padding and get breaks every minute or so. Soccer takes a massive toll on the body, most of those high speed collisions and tackles would take any "red blooded male" out for a good while, and if you don't believe me, ask a doctor or physiotherapist. (Of course, there are a lot of divers and that is shameful, but tell me with a straight face that it never happens in hockey.. to me there's nothing more shameful than a guy wearing a visor collapsing to the ice grabbing his face when a stick grazes them, or fails to connect at all).

No, I haven't played competitive soccer. Why would I invest years of practice, honing my skills for something that I don't like?

And don't try to compare the "toughness" of hockey and american football players to soccer players. That's an absolute laugh. You are not going to get much support for that idea on this side of the Atlantic.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aaemZ_wkMNA

http://youtube.com/watch?v=m3qpE8WZM...related&search=

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jxvNxsJzyxI

Can you watch that as a soccer fan and not weep inside? You know what, it's not even the diving so much as the guy laying on the feild for 5 minutes after the brushing of elbows, rolling around like Clint Malarchuk after he took a skate to the throat. Embarassing. And worse yet, acceptable and encouraged in the soccer "football" community.

That crap happens countless times in every single game. Did you see the Chile vs Argentina game in the Semi's of the U-20's? You gonna defend that and tell me those guys are as "tough" as the Canadian World Juniors? I'd love see those guys have to go up against (just guys from recent WJC's) Dion Phaneuf, Shae Weber, Jack Johnson, Eric Johnson, etc. Yeah, I guess hockey players are pussies compared to those hardened Argentinians, my bad.

[Jagger]

Originally Posted by RyZ

That crap happens countless times in every single game.

Actually, no it doesn't. You don't see soccer players having a girly fight every game. That was just plain ridiculous. You also do not see the extent of diving as demonstated in the Italy-France WC game. Diving is a problem for sure, and I would never defend it, but your blanket statement is just plain ignorant.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Jagger

Actually, no it doesn't. You don't see soccer players having a girly fight every game. That was just plain ridiculous. You also do not see the extent of diving as demonstated in the Italy-France WC game. Diving is a problem for sure, and I would never defend it, but your blanket statement is just plain ignorant.

All depends on the ref. When you get refs at World Cup level that don't take that kind of nonsense you will not see players dive as seen in your Italy-France example.

At the U-20, the refs were inexperienced and egotistic so they were easily conned and called EVERYTHING. The U-20 is an irrelevant tournament on the soccer calendar and FIFA treats it as such with the worst officials.

[Shawnski]

From my perspective, yes, soccer is the polar opposite of entertainment.

In baseball, each and every pitch has tactical deltas that must be addressed. The pitcher vs batter wars can be monumental. Worthy of a couple extra seconds of anticipation.

Definitely a thinking man's sport. It may be slower in gameplay between plays, but when they happen, it is lightning quick. And although it is a team game, individual play is vital. Only team sport I can think of to say "you screwed up!!!" by giving them an error.

In my perspective, soccer has gained world wide appreciation due to grass roots acceptance as it is a very inexpensive sport to play. Hockey, for example is on the extreme other end, being one of the most expensive sports to play... and where has that led in public acceptance?

And for anyone that has indicated that getting hit in soccer is so painful it results in "some" of the diving... please. Taking metal spikes in the shins when someone is trying to break up a double play at second will tell you otherwise. Or getting a line drive in the teeth as a pitcher. Been THERE way too many times myself. My front teeth are bondo on bondo....

I have been to Kicker games here ages ago as well as Cannon games in the same timeframe. To me there was no comparison then, and after watching the latest editions on TV in recent years, there is no comparison now.

Just googling that Kickers team, their last two year's records were 6-6-13 and 8-3-15. 14-9-28 record combined. 55% of games resulted in ties. Yikes. You paying for that? Ball games have a winner.

As I am still involved via slopitch... and a pitcher at that, I love the sport. It will probably kill me though. Damn near didn't deflect the line drive that was headed for my teeth Sunday night.

Baseball games are way more enjoyable to me.

[mrdeeds]

I prefer soccer myself, but I like baseball as well. Baseball as a specator sport is very leisurely to say the least and is more a collection of individual plays than anything.

There is more athleticism in soccer, but the game as evolved to the point where the talent is watered down and systems (especially defense) tend to dominate. Individual creativity a la Ronaldinho and Ronaldo for the most part is few and far between. When the game is played at it's highest level, detrimental things such as diving seems to be rampant.

Yes, there is excessive diving in soccer and this really needs to be clamped down upon if the game is to every take hold in North America. The WC as well as the FIFA U-20 WC was embarrassing more often than not.

[Delthefunky]

1a) Hockey
1aa) Soccer
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.
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76) Baseball