People speakin ill of futbol

[Champ Kind1391714823]

apparently some people still tend to consider soccer a wussy sport even though it happens to be the Worlds, The WORLDS leading sport. Now i dont mean world as in world series which is a single country, i mean the world as in planet Earth in all her big fat gloriousness.    So does anyone have anything they'd like to say to people who happen to look down upon our God given sport?

[The Ingredient]

Let me first say I am not a soccer fan. I didn't grow up playing it and just don't care for it. My opinion probably stems from hearing people say when I was growing up how it was a "white sport." It always seemed like the kids I knew who played were looking for something they could say they were successful in because they couldn't play football, basketball or baseball. I still wonder if the same kids and parents would care about soccer if their kid had to play behind the most athletic kids in the school. I know some would, yall probably would since you're on a soccer forum all the time. That's really my beef with soccer. It isn't the sport so much as the reason why many people play it. 

[bullets13]

[quote name="Veronica Corningstone" post="746893" timestamp="1264007656"]
[quote author=The Ingredient link=topic=64999.msg746802#msg746802 date=1264002612]
Let me first say I am not a soccer fan. I didn't grow up playing it and just don't care for it. My opinion probably stems from hearing people say when I was growing up how it was a "white sport." It always seemed like the kids I knew who played were looking for something they could say they were successful in because they couldn't play football, basketball or baseball. I still wonder if the same kids and parents would care about soccer if their kid had to play behind the most athletic kids in the school. I know some would, yall probably would since you're on a soccer forum all the time. That's really my beef with soccer. It isn't the sport so much as the reason why many people play it. 

[/quote]

I really do not see how you can say that about soccer. I understand you are not a fan but your reason was so dumb. For one the whole white sport stereotype is ridiculous. Soccer is one of the most diverse sports. From Hawaiian professionals on the Houston team to Argentina players playing in the spanish league. It is true that there seems to be an abundance of hispanics and whites playing soccer in our area, but overall the world most favored sport is soccer. It is also the most televised of the history of any sports. Although athletic abilities are a great importance, one of the best things about soccer is the fact that it relies heavily on skill as much as it does athletic ability. I have witnessed some of the smallest weakest players carve all over a well built and athletically gifted player because of their dedication and practice. Most people get frustrated with soccer because they cannot play it. Other reasons include narrow mindedness and, like most of my family members, the fact that it is confusing if you do not know how the game works.
[/quote]

i agree with all of this.  well said.  atheleticness helps, but it's not enough.  you can take a pure athlete and he will excel at football or basketball.  on the soccer field he'll be made to look silly. 

[The Ingredient]

Whoa now. Go back and read it again without your emotions getting in the way. That's [b]MY[/b] reason why [b]I [/b] never got into soccer. Trying to give you some insight on the way many people view your sport.
Obviously this view is probably more common in the U.S. than other places around the world. Most of our(the U.S.) best and most skilled athletes don't play soccer. I magine if Reggie Bush, Adrien Peterson, Barry Sanders, Walter Peyton, Alan Iverson, Lebron James,Ozzie Smith(as goalie) ect... all grew up and/or kept playing soccer. Granted their are some great athletes playing soccer but IMO they are not the top teir athletes in the U.S.
Plus it's played in schools at the worst time of the year weather wise. Why???
Again, just some of the reasons why soccer isn't seen by many as what you want it to be. 

[bullets13]

we've had this debate before... 

[Bon_Mot]

[quote name="The Ingredient" post="746974" timestamp="1264015505"]
Plus it's played in schools at the worst time of the year weather wise. Why???
[/quote]

It's only played in the winter in the south.  Mainly because soccer became a high school sport so much later than the other sports.  For instance, in Texas, UIL didn't recognize soccer until the mid-80's.  They then had to figure out a time during the school year to put it.  There was abso-friggin-lutely no way they were going to put it in the fall so that football might have to compete for athletes.  And they didn't want to start it too late.  So they wedged it between basketball and baseball.  Up north and out west, it's played in the fall for the most part - where (except for Cali) football isn't necessarily king.

[The Ingredient]

Were did I diss soccer??? I merely stated why [b]I [/b] don't care for the game. I thought that was sorta the topic of the thread. Man, yall really should read what I wrote a little more carefully.

I never said soccer players aren't athletes.  [b]Read what I wrote carefully[/b] about those athletes. Had they grown up playing soccer I believe US soccer would be world class. But they chose, and continue to choose, to play mainly American sports.

Look at Lumberton's success in soccer recently. Numbers were down, so Coach Luttrull convinces some of the kids who were playing football to play soccer(ex:Bell,Granato,Murrill,Schexnider,Sparks,Brackin) and since they were athletic and coachable they are able to help Lumberton win how many district championships??? And I'm not saying because you play football you are a better athlete. I'm saying MOST of the better athletes play football, or basketball, or baseball at most schools in this area, and around our country. BTW Im not trying to diss your sport here, merely stating how it is.  

Ron, Lebron plays a TEAM sport where as Tiger plays an individual sport. If basketball was 1 on 1, Lebron would dominate all but a handful of NBA players much like Tiger has. And please don't try to tell me NASCAR is a sport...I guess poker is a sport since it's on ESPN too...Don't confuse compitition with sports.

I also never called soccer  "white sport". That is what some of the people I knew who played at the time refered to it as though. But I'd dare say in the [b]US[/b], it is actually an overwhelming  "white sport". What exactly do you think a "Soccer Mom" is when people are talking politics? I promise they aren't refering to the Latino vote.
Anyway. Please read all this carefully before getting upset. I'm done with this. I'll still look on here to see the scores from the local schools. If yall play, good luck to yall.

[Guest Newbie]

excellent points The Ingredient. 

[Champ Kind1391714823]

All i know is that instead of trying to look tough the soccer teams have really put all unecessary factors aside and really become close. There's just something about the sport in itself that really can get into people and make them feel like a family and really reeeaallllyyy get into the game. if anyone has any trouble understanding the feeling go to a MLS game and watch the field disappear beneath the confetti, watch the stand erupt al the 39 foot flage shoot up and fans practically lose their voice off of a single goal.  In my opinion and its just my opinion Soccer, futbol, Football however you'd like to call it is one if not the greatest of all sports. if anyone is annoyed by my opinion then they can always yell at me as well as the majority of planet Earth.

[The Ingredient]

Dang it. I know I said I was done(which I am with the soccer topic), but I can't let yall grow up with these crazy ideas about sports. NASCAR??? I guess i can feel athletic as I drive home from work,especially if I get in some traffic or I'm late...Darts!!!???!!! What??? Anything played by drunk people in a bar is not a sport!!!! If it is then craps is too cause you gotta toss dem bones with just the right amount of wrist action or you'll end up with them snake-eyes...What next? Washers? Horeshoes? Pecan Toss? Cup stacking? Ping Pong? Next thing you know soccer will be considered a sport!! JK! I might not spell good or use that great of English, but I've got sarcasm down! Again good luck to yall!

[westend1]

Most of us over 40 crowd never played soccer, so we don't understand the game.  it just looks like a bunch of kids kicking a ball around.  Same with hockey.  If you don't play a game, ever, it's not easy to like.  One other thing.  In football, when a collision happens, the players try to get up and act like they are not hurt.  In soccer, if you touch the other guy, he rolls around like he is in agony.  For me, a non soccer fan, it's a bit of a turnoff.    JMHO     

[The Ingredient]

Ping-Pong!!! When you find yourself in a hole,stop digging. The IOC recognizes chess and bridge as a sport. They may not be in the olympics, but shooting skeet and archery are. Are they really a sport? Fun,yes. Sport,no.
 

[Bon_Mot]

[quote name="westend1" post="747384" timestamp="1264090538"]
One other thing.  In football, when a collision happens, the players try to get up and act like they are not hurt.  In soccer, if you touch the other guy, he rolls around like he is in agony.  For me, a non soccer fan, it's a bit of a turnoff.    JMHO     
[/quote]

I know you don't watch soccer, but I wanted to clarify a little.  Diving and flopping isn't prevalent in all of soccer.  It's typically worse in nations around the equator.  I'm painting with a broad brush here, but in England or Germany, diving is considered reprehensible, and many times a diver will get shown what a "real foul" is later on.  But in many Latino countries, it's considered a part of the game.

[bullets13]

[quote name="westend1" post="747384" timestamp="1264090538"]
Most of us over 40 crowd never played soccer, so we don't understand the game.  it just looks like a bunch of kids kicking a ball around.  Same with hockey.  If you don't play a game, ever, it's not easy to like.   One other thing.  In football, when a collision happens, the players try to get up and act like they are not hurt.  In soccer, if you touch the other guy, he rolls around like he is in agony.  For me, a non soccer fan, it's a bit of a turnoff.    JMHO     
[/quote]
you make a good point. and a lot more of the "under-40" crowd knows soccer these days.  soccer moms are raising soccer children.  i don't think it will ever catch up with the big three in the US, but i can definitely see soccer overtaking hockey and golf in popularity in the next couple of decades.

[reccosdog]

Soccer is a great game, especially if you understand it. I never had the chance to play, but I have coached youth soccer and watched for years. All of my kids played and I have enjoyed watching them. It definitely helps if you really understand the game.

[oodooo]

[quote name="bullets13" post="747460" timestamp="1264097232"]
[quote author=westend1 link=topic=64999.msg747384#msg747384 date=1264090538]
Most of us over 40 crowd never played soccer, so we don't understand the game.  it just looks like a bunch of kids kicking a ball around.  Same with hockey.  If you don't play a game, ever, it's not easy to like.  One other thing.  In football, when a collision happens, the players try to get up and act like they are not hurt.  In soccer, if you touch the other guy, he rolls around like he is in agony.  For me, a non soccer fan, it's a bit of a turnoff.    JMHO     
[/quote]
you make a good point. and a lot more of the "under-40" crowd knows soccer these days.  soccer moms are raising soccer children.  i don't think it will ever catch up with the big three in the US, but i can definitely see soccer overtaking hockey and golf in popularity in the next couple of decades.
[/quote]

Tiger Woods pretty much prevented soccer from taking over for a good couple of years with his latest escapades.

But yeah I'd say soccer will definitely gain momentum soon enough to overtake the other sports in less than two decades, I could see two decades making it the the big four in the U.S.. I would consider soccer an unstoppable force, and the U.S. an almost immovable object.

[watash]

Wait a minute, try watching a basketball game, one of the Big 3, and not seeing a player flop trying to draw an offensive foul; or in football, a wide receiver who misses a clsoely contested pass jump up and act as if he was interfered. Watch Peyton or Brady, complain about a defensive lineman who may have gotten into their legs, something perfectly legal just three years ago. Like soccer, acting is much more prevelant at the pro level where they are all looking for an edge and trying to get a referee's call which can make a difference. IMHO WE1
Yes, a predominately white and hispanic sport on this side of the world but I don't see many of either race playing for teams from the African continent teams inclduing Ghana and the Ivory Coast who will compete for the world cup.
I don't watch hockey either because I don't know the sport. I have learned to appreciate soccer by watching my kids play. Each generation will have more who played the game and it will incraese in popularity. Can't say it will ever be a Big 4 in the USA but it is unchallenged that the interest is growing and will continue to.

[westend1]

[quote name="Brian  Fantana" post="747836" timestamp="1264169945"]
[quote author=watash link=topic=64999.msg747752#msg747752 date=1264131954]
Wait a minute, try watching a basketball game, one of the Big 3, and not seeing a player flop trying to draw an offensive foul; or in football, a wide receiver who misses a clsoely contested pass jump up and act as if he was interfered. Watch Peyton or Brady, complain about a defensive lineman who may have gotten into their legs, something perfectly legal just three years ago. Like soccer, acting is much more prevelant at the pro level where they are all looking for an edge and trying to get a referee's call which can make a difference. IMHO WE1
Yes, a predominately white and hispanic sport on this side of the world but I don't see many of either race playing for teams from the African continent teams inclduing Ghana and the Ivory Coast who will compete for the world cup.
I don't watch hockey either because I don't know the sport. I have learned to appreciate soccer by watching my kids play. Each generation will have more who played the game and it will incraese in popularity. Can't say it will ever be a Big 4 in the USA but it is unchallenged that the interest is growing and will continue to.
[/quote]\
very well said soccer is not the only sport that players try to fake being hurt in order to get a call from the official
[/quote]

Fake being fouled, or fake being hurt?  Peyton might complain about hits, wide receivers might complain about interference,  basketball players might flop to get a charge, but they don't roll around like they are injured, with huge grimaces of pain on their faces.  I see a difference.  And, as i said, for a less than casual soccer fan, it's a turn off.  I speak for no one but me. 

[sharkfutbol]

I coach the game. Love the game more than any other.  And I find it very very annoying myself when they do flop around on the field and act like they are giving birth until the referee makes the call.  Then a miracle occurs and they are cured.  That and that miracle spray the Mexico National team carries. They spray it on a muscle, cramp, injury of any sort and they are amazingly cured.  I need a bottle of that......The fouls and the flops are not yet frequent in the youth game and not as frequent in youth and college games.  However I believe that haters of soccer will find anything they can to hate the sport, and use whatever to make to give it a bad rap.  Look at sports features.  Only shows riots where fans lose control, fight and throw things onto the field.  Same thing happens in baseball,  basketball (locally) and other sports in the USA, but not all these things get pointed out. Instead of showing great goals or great plays and good positive things from the game.  Because the fact is, the majority of people over 40 understand nothing about the game of soccer unless they have had a kid playing.  So its a turnoff.  I hated hockey until I went and watched in person and the people around me explained.  Now its great fun to watch.  Its a never ending battle of likes and dislikes.  The fact is...  anything that you like is the best........ never ending argument.  I happen to like soccer... College football... and anything else on college level.  senior night tonight at Kelly .  Game against Lumberton starts at 630.  See you then.

[tvc184]

[quote name="Champ  Kind" post="747284" timestamp="1264083852"]
All i know is that instead of trying to look tough the soccer teams have really put all unecessary factors aside and really become close. There's just something about the sport in itself that really can get into people and make them feel like a family and really reeeaallllyyy get into the game. if anyone has any trouble understanding the feeling go to a MLS game and watch the field disappear beneath the confetti, watch the stand erupt al the 39 foot flage shoot up and fans practically lose their voice off of a single goal.  In my opinion and its just my opinion Soccer, futbol, Football however you'd like to call it is one if not the greatest of all sports. if anyone is annoyed by my opinion then they can always yell at me as well as the majority of planet Earth.
[/quote]

People lose their voice off of a single goal because the sport is so boring that the single goal might mean the game. A single run in the first inning of a baseball game is important but not likely the game winner. The same for the first bucket in a game of basketball and so on.

If people like it, great. Nothing wrong with the sport. It is probably more exciting to watch that PBA bowling. It is the most popular sport worldwide simply out of convenience. It takes a ball and any field to play on. Not a whole lot of equipment is needed like many other sports.

Soccer in effect, is no different than basketball, hockey, polo, lacrosse, etc. The object is to put the ball/puck into the other person's goal. Soccer is just about the only version of the same game that only requires a single ball and nothing more.

CAVEAT: I am sure the game is far from boring for its fans. To them, watching a ball go back and forth like a ping pong ball for a period without a score is exciting. I suppose every time the ball starts heading toward the other goal there is some apprehension involved. For everyone else, it appears as boring as watching grass grow. To each his own.

[VidorSpider58]

[quote name="Baxter Burgundy" post="747221" timestamp="1264049215"]
[quote author=The Ingredient link=topic=64999.msg746974#msg746974 date=1264015505]
Whoa now. Go back and read it again without your emotions getting in the way. That's [b]MY[/b] reason why [b]I [/b] never got into soccer. Trying to give you some insight on the way many people view your sport.
Obviously this view is probably more common in the U.S. than other places around the world. Most of our(the U.S.) best and most skilled athletes don't play soccer. I magine if Reggie Bush, Adrien Peterson, Barry Sanders, Walter Peyton, Alan Iverson, Lebron James,Ozzie Smith(as goalie) ect... all grew up and/or kept playing soccer. Granted their are some great athletes playing soccer but IMO they are not the top teir athletes in the U.S.
Plus it's played in schools at the worst time of the year weather wise. Why???
Again, just some of the reasons why soccer isn't seen by many as what you want it to be. 
[/quote]

i think you have no idea of what you're speaking about.
in soccer they don't stop play every 6 seconds,
they aren't covered head to toe in pads,
and they play more than one game a week (like in American football)
they run more than 100 ft (basketball)
i mean, you just can't diss soccer saying that it doesn't require athleticism to play.
ALSO i have no clue where you got the term "white sport"
more people of Hispanic or African descent play REAL FOOTBALL
(or as they say here in the u.s., "soccer")
that's just what i think, sir

[/quote]Baxter is right, I've played football for the past 8 years, but I started playing soccer this year and its not what I thought. It can be a physical sport really physical.

[elhector1]

[quote name="sharkfutbol" post="747910" timestamp="1264176954"]
I coach the game. Love the game more than any other.  And I find it very very annoying myself when they do flop around on the field and act like they are giving birth until the referee makes the call.  Then a miracle occurs and they are cured.  That and that miracle spray the Mexico National team carries. They spray it on a muscle, cramp, injury of any sort and they are amazingly cured.  I need a bottle of that......The fouls and the flops are not yet frequent in the youth game and not as frequent in youth and college games.  However I believe that haters of soccer will find anything they can to hate the sport, and use whatever to make to give it a bad rap.  Look at sports features.  Only shows riots where fans lose control, fight and throw things onto the field.  Same thing happens in baseball,  basketball (locally) and other sports in the USA, but not all these things get pointed out. Instead of showing great goals or great plays and good positive things from the game.  Because the fact is, the majority of people over 40 understand nothing about the game of soccer unless they have had a kid playing.  So its a turnoff.  I hated hockey until I went and watched in person and the people around me explained.  Now its great fun to watch.  Its a never ending battle of likes and dislikes.  The fact is...  anything that you like is the best........ never ending argument.   I happen to like soccer... College football... and anything else on college level.  senior night tonight at Kelly .  Game against Lumberton starts at 630.  See you then.
[/quote]

You have heard about it...tequila!  After they spray it, they drink it...

[elhector1]

Looking at the posts on here, we have the soccer (futbol) faction, and the "American sports" faction.  I think one of the problems is that initially, soccer was taught here in the US in a "be nice" way, where everybody wins.  True soccer is anything but that.  I see too many "white" kids lean back and kick a ball, with their center of balance leaning back.  They play against teams with Mexicans (of which I are one), who learned to play the game in a rougher, truer fashion.  It is only lately that the "white" kids are becoming more aggressive, and playing better soccer.  Don't get me wrong, it's not illegal soccer, it's purer soccer, soccer where the player runs through the kick and continues on with the play.   

[watash]

Last comment(probably). Agree that appreciation is related to knowledge of a game. I do need to point out that no hitters in baseball are celebrated and considered classics even if it is 1-0. I'm sure if the world governing bodies of soccer wanted to increase scoring they could reduce field size, as baseball has done, widen the goals sort of like lowering the pitching mound, or make longer shots a 2 pt goal like a 3 pointer in basketball. Apparently, their is a large world out there which appreciates a golden goal or the tension of a shootout. Finally, although I am not a hockey fan, like many sports fans i enjoyed the USA semifinal over Russia at Lake Placid. Not a very high scoring affair but generally considered one of the country's finest sports moments. All depends on your perspective.

[Bon_Mot]

[quote name="tvc184" post="748153" timestamp="1264206972"]
People lose their voice off of a single goal because the sport is so boring that the single goal might mean the game. A single run in the first inning of a baseball game is important but not likely the game winner. The same for the first bucket in a game of basketball and so on. 
[/quote]

You do realize that when a football game ends with a score of 21 to 14 that the teams didn't score 21 times and 14 times respectively, right?  They scored 3 times and 2 times (along with extra points).  Which almost sounds like a typical score from a soccer game...