Got three soccer-loving kids so yes watching every game. That being said, soccer has problems. The NFL, NBA, NHL and even MLB (albeit begrudgingly) have changed their rules to improve the product. Soccer won't and the product is just ridiculous. Yes, deciding games and world titles on penalty kicks is exciting but it is also completely lame. If the NBA Finals game 7 was tied after 1 overtime, sure it would be exciting if they decided it on half-court heaves, or free throws, or 3-pointers. But it would also be indisputably lame. Imagine the Super Bowl being decided by a field goal contest. Exciting? You betcha. Lame? Totally. Only 3 subs in soccer? The concept leads to a lot of lollygagging and walking around. The NHL subs on the fly, and the guys go all-out for 40-second shifts. Imagine how much harder soccer players would run if they could constantly sub on the fly. Huge goal box? The goalie can pick up balls waaaay too far from the goal. The NHL fixed that with the goalie trapezoid. I love the cooling spray the medics apply when some dumas is writhing in agony after flopping. Someone should telll the NBA and NFL about this wonder product, cause they sure as heck never use it. my kids all play and love soccer, but they still roll their eyes and talk about how performative the sport is. They all agee: 1) Do not grab your shin when "injured". You are wearing pads so it is not believable. 2)Do not grab your angle, because then your coach might think you are actually injured. 3) Grab the area above your ankle but below your shin. Good compromise area. Then act like you require amputation. 4) Once the act gets stale, jump right up and keep playing for another hour without so much as a limp. The diving and acting is just annoying. The rules suck. The 0-0 draws are just stupid. The 1-1 draws are no better. The one good thing FIFA is doing is mandating 90 minutes of actual play, which is producing lots of stoppage and hence more actual soccer. Still, I watch. USA! USA! USA! And go Demark!
There are now 5 subs in football, uh, ''soccer''. New rule. I've been a passionate football fan since the age of 7. Over 50 years of being addicted to big games near and far. I'm a Melbourne City FC member (A-League) and I've been a Nottingham Forest (English Premier League) fan for 40 years. Used to live in Nottingham in my long years of living overseas from New Zealand (still do, lived in Aussie for 15yrs now). Flew back home to NZ for the World Cup elimination qualifier Peru v NZ in Wellington in 2017. Sadly we lost over two legs, thanks in part to the assistance of the Peruvian air force who flew a ''training drill'' over the NZ team hotel at 5am on the day of the second leg in Lima. True story! This year we lost to Costa Rica in Qatar in August in the final-place Oceania-North/Central America eliminator, 1-0 in a very close game. And that same Costa Rican side were thumped 7-0 by Spain in their first game this week. Maybe it's lucky NZ did not qualify.... I hate how the miserable, money-grabbing emirate of Qatar is hosting the event (bribery and scandal and construction-site deaths on a shocking scale) but I love the tournament. My son is in Dohar right now and is attending several matches. The next World Cup is in the USA/Canada in 4 years and I will be there for sure. I think MLS is going great guns and that's superb for the game. Can't wait for the England-USA clash tomorrow. When i was a boy, the USA was a bit of a joke in terms of the national team's ability. Not any more! Good luck you guys. I'm probably rooting for the Socceroos (Australia) seeing as NZ is not involved, with a minor secondary interest in England. My tip is Brazil v England in the final
Doubt team USA will make much noise. Socceroos could get it done ya never know. yeah, the whole Qatar thing is ridiculous. We've been planning on a family trip to Women's World Cup in Australia / New Zealand next summer for 3 years, but scheduling conflicts make it impossible. Bummer.
Soccer??... ya, not so much... Regardless of how much this WOKE generation wants to force it down our throats.. American Football bad, Soccer good... Brainwashing of an entire generation.. "Sure Sonny, you leave your concrete condo in the inner city, commute via light rail or your electric car to the venue, then consume your goatcheese and Herbal smoothy while watching grown men run back and forth with no particular purpose... you might get lucky, someone might score, or two guys might accidentally run into each other, causing at least a little excitement... on the other hand, I will be here in my own home, on the sofa, consuming pork rinds and beer watching a re-run of a 40 year old super bowl, which will be much more exciting.." In the words of Charlie Harper... "if soccer is the worlds most popular sport, they don't need us to watch it". I find it right up there with watching paint dry.. although with the paint, you have the possibility of a fly landing in it, causing some level of amusement. Coming off an exciting slate of NFL games on thanksgiving, I suppose I could fix a turkey sandwich for myself and turn it on, to help stimulate my afternoon nap.. Might have to, since there is no golf or NASCAR on this time of year... The promos on FOX offend my intelligence, knowing full well that soccer is the most boring thing to watch on TV. The only game that can end in a 0-0 draw, and everyone still says "what a great game"... ya, sure, right.... There, my .02c on the subject.. Sorry all you soccer fans, I needed to vent after having these promos shoved down my throat while watching real football games.. Whew.. I feel better.. JW
How is liking socceer "Woke"? Is everything new "Woke" now? FOX is the network showing the World Cup.I mean, are you seriously trying to argue that FOX is being "Woke" and promoting soccer as part of their leftist agenda? Do you realize how silly that sounds? Who is saying "American football bad"? Certainly not Fox -- they carry the NFL. I haven't seen ANY editorials saying it either. Still the NFL may face a dimming future. Youth participation is dropping due to parent's injury fears. I'm not sure I see it affecting future popularity, though experts do worry that reduced participation may affect future levels of play. Hence the NFL's ad campaigns targeted at youth football. Yes, soccer is unwatchable to me, and I love American football, but you know what else sucks? Baseball. Dead heat with soccer in unwatchability. Baseball is circling the drain -- and we get ads for it non-stop. Soccer was HUGE in the US back in the late 70's, then faded away abruptly, and has slowly but surely been gaining popularity for the last 20 years. it has passed critical mass in popularity and now justifies national coverage, and the World Cup does too. it is being covered because coverage generates a profit, end of story. One of my best friends has FC Miami tickets -- wants me to go. I do my best to avoid it. Me? Miami Dolphins season ticket holder since 1984.
watching bread dough rise, however does lead to the reward of yummy fresh bread. So it should probably outrank soccer...
The Helicopter parents who comprise the majority of those who will not allow their children to participate in youth football, are cut right out of the same cloth as the those who espouse the WOKE ideology. You know them.. the folks who decided that we should stop keeping score...That's the connection. Not trying to be political, just laying out the facts here. Not everyone certainly.. but if it walks like a duck... That silly ideology is just the latest fad.. because when it comes right down to it, most of us are proud to live in this country, and don't consider the history of our nation to be filled with crimes against humanity. Our predecessors weren't perfect, that's for sure, but they also lived in a different time than we do, and even those who were against slavery for instance, knew that accepting it to some extent was required at the time, to sustain the nation. Good won out eventually, as it always does when good men step forward, and one by one, we extinguished the injustices of slavery, segregation, and have made huge inroads into the issues of bigotry and prejudice that have always existed in this society. We are still not perfect, but get better with every generation. But we get no credit for that.. instead, the WOKE movement demonizes our society, in an effort to change it.. their ultimate goal is wh0lesale societal change, so to achieve that, they feel that they must portray the past of our nation as entirely evil. To do that, they demonize every individual from the past, focusing on our leaders.. and down come the confederate solders statues, the rebel flag is banished, and names are changed on public schools, parks, and other things. We need to learn from history, not attempt to erase it. --------------------- Serious injuries in youth football do happen, but they are rare. Much rarer than footballs opponents will admit. Statistically I would say that the drive to the game is much more dangerous than the actual participation in said game.. Concusions are more common, but unless you get them repeatedly, they were not considered a serious injury, until the anti football crowd went looking for the boogie man. Safety equipment tech, especially helmet technology has come a long way since I played in a youth league in the 70's and early 80's. Yes, today's kids are bigger and stronger than ever, but the equipment is vastly superior, as well as the understanding of how injuries happen, and proper tackling techniques are taught these days. This mitigates the risk in my opinion. ------------------------ Fox is a business, just like every other network.. and they know that Soccer historically has low ratings in the US.. in the 70's Soccer was hot here, I went to a few Minnesota Kicks games myself.. till we figured out it was horribly boring. Then it just dried up and blew away, with the bell bottom jeans... That was a natural fad back then, soccer was groovy man... today, kids are forced into it.. want to play football?...your not allowed. but you can play soccer... and just like every other authoritarian dictate, the libertarian in me is offended. And of course, actually playing the game is much more fun that watching it, this is true of many sports. ----------------------------------- Anyone who says that baseball is boring, has never sat thru the 9th inning of the seventh game of the world series, in a zero zero tie, hanging on every pitch.. because unlike soccer, that game will be played until a winner is decided. no Ties in baseball.. Baseball is in fact best described as a refined, pastoral game.. most of the time not edge of your seat exciting, but it certainly can be. It's as popular as ever, at both amateur and professionals levels. ------------- Good to hear that your secretly dreading having to sit thru these games.. otherwise we might have to ask you for your MAN card back.. Doing it just for the kids?.. as long as participation in the game was their choice, and not mandated by you, then a tip of the cap to you for supporting your family. On the other hand, if they were prevented from playing other sports by you or the misses, then you deserve every minute of torture you have to sit thru. peace out JW
2 of my kids tried softball and hated it. Partly because of all the standing around, partly because it is damn hot in the summer down here. All three played soccer, one is playing club basketball and volleyball, one is playing club ultimate, one is doing drama, playing hoops, and weightlifting, and might try javelin. Major sport leagues attendance (i.e. not counting pandemic): MLB -- down 6% sine 2019. peaked in 2007. NFL -- up 1%, set record in 2021-2022. NBA -- hard to say -- steady to up. NHL -- hard to say. MLS -- holding steady since 2015. Baseball has problems.
Soccer has some of the most talented and in shape athletes in the world and it's technical aspect is lost on people not in the know .to each is own
Like I said..needed to vent. Just personal opinion on the topic.. but I honestly don't know any guy my age in this country, who enjoys watching soccer on TV. I understand it's all the rage everywhere else in the world.. I simply chalk that up to having limited choices.. No baseball, no hockey, no football.. you gotta get excited about something. You enjoyed reading it Joe.. admit it.. even if you think I am full of it.. JW
Odds of my kids dying or suffering life-changing injuries in any of the sports they played (other than from pre-existing conditions): practically zero. Odds in football: a darn sight higher.
That baseball stat is misleading.. https://www.baseballamerica.com/sto...pped-significantly-from-pre-pandemic-numbers/ Major League Baseball drew 64,556,678 fans in announced attendance in 2022. The average MLB game drew 26,843 fans this year. Both numbers are significant increases on 2021, but last season saw teams face capacity restrictions and slow sales because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This is the first year since 2019 where teams were free to sell a 162-game schedule to stadium capacity. The season was delayed by a lockout that also wiped away much of spring training." I would add... With families choosing between buying gas, or food due to 40 plus year highs in inflation, luxury purchases like baseball tickets have taken it on the chin. Lots of games, so missing one is no real big deal, and when disposable income is reduced, one would expect to see this. Gas prices peaked right in the heart of baseball season. So, if you read none of it, then you admit that your uniformed, and simply expressing a pre-existing opinion. That's nice, here's a quarter, call someone who cares.. JW
Granted... but still just slightly over half as likely as getting into an accident on the way to the game. For every 1000 miles you drive, your chances of getting into a car accident are 1 in 366. The average driver will file an insurance claim for an auto collision once every 17.9 years. This means the average person experiences three to four auto collisions in their lifetime. Can't live your life worried about the what if. JW
