The kids play soccer. They watch soccer. They eat, drink, sleep, breathe, and emanate soccer.
I have thus been dragged reluctantly into the world of soccer fandom when the kids play, when I happen to be around when they watch (which is a lot), and whenever any big tournaments, olympics, cups, etc are on.
I don’t like to watch, but I used to play. I took the Vinnie Jones approach as much as a scrawny, short high school kid could. I worked because the refs rarely noticed me, and most guys learned it was safe to wait til I tried to pass our score, as my aim was terrible.
I’m somewhere between “whenever I can” and “when my team is on”. My team? The Portland Timbers. There is nothing like going to a game. Here’s a video about our mascot.
I support Newcastle United and the Columbus Crew. Currently the fan base in Columbus is trying to stop the team from moving to Austin TX. For more info, go to SaveTheCrew.com. SaveTheCrew
@producepimp I’m really curious what affect if any FC Cincinnati’s admission to the League will have on the Crew staying in Columbus. If they, an original MLS team with the first purpose-built MLS stadium, do leave, that would say a lot about MLS as an operation.
@producepimp fellow Magpie fan here. Bucket list sporting event is a Tyneside Derby at St. James’ Park. Love watching the Yank Yedlin thriving in Geordie land.
@denboy I went for the 1st time to St. James last year. Saw Newcastle defeat Southampton 3-0. Also saw Newcastle U-23 beat Sunderland U-23 at the Stadium of Light. About the closest I’ll get to a Tyne-Wear derby.
Generally I’m a sports fan. All kinds of sports. Like to watch the excellence of great athletes.
But why is this game so popular when 99% of the time the humans involved can’t even use their most coordinated extremities - their hands!
And the flopping in the modern game makes me gag.
/giphy soccer flopping
@compunaut most sports are basically just a collection of weird ways to make simple things harder. Soccer = no hands. Hockey = use this stick, and do it on ice. Football = get past that 300lb mountain that can run stupid fast. Rugby = same as football, but no pads. Baseball = hit the ball, but it’s going to be traveling straight at you at 90mph. Basketball = okay so there’s not really anything super hard about basketball, you have to dribble the ball, but they never call traveling so don’t worry about it…
As for flopping, it’s generally not acceptable. Adding a flourish when you are fouled is just gamesmanship, you want to make sure the ref saw it. However excessive theatrics and “simulation” (faking it altogether) are widely hated by soccer fans just like everyone else, and should be, and often are, subject to discipline.
@compunaut@Oneroundrobb Never thought of it that way. Maybe what makes basketball interesting is not the difficulty but the speed? Winners in high school games (or Cincinnati vs UConn) can regularly finish under 50 points, but pro games rarely end under 90.
@cpierce@Oneroundrobb I’m old
Tho it was just before my time, my dad & older cousins told me stories about how basketball was really boring too back before they instituted the shot clock
@Dweezle@phendrick It doesn’t have to be boring, tho it often is. But neither is ‘pointless’ - certain actions have to be accomplished in order to win the game.
@phendrick I’d much rather watch golf or bowling, tbh. I’ve never seen Phil Mickelson flop on the ground and scream in fake agony because somebody got a little too close to him. (I don’t actually watch golf either, or anything on TV anymore)
I chose “never”. On the other hand, I own a half dozen really nice officially licensed fútbol shirts, because a local retailer was clearancing them out for pennies on the dollar.
Look, what I’m trying to say is there’s a reason I shop here.
I chose “Never”, but that’s not 100% true, I did enjoy watching the US in the (last) World Cup and 2016 Olympics at the local bar. But maybe I enjoyed spending time with friends and enthusiastic fans and drinking alcohol?
I think it was on the small TV in the lunchroom? Not sure. I only played soccer in middle school and I remember getting the ball kicked into my face and a lot of running back and forth. I can’t say that was what I saw on the TV so maybe it was a different sport.
Though no question the participants in a soccer match are incredible athletes, I just can’t get into the game. Too much running around…not enough action for me. I do remember when they tried MISL “Indoor Soccer” when I was growing up, but don’t remember if I liked the game. As I recall, it was soccer in a hockey arena. I guess…big dumb American needs “real” football to keep my brain satisfied.
Only watch when walking in the park up the block. When the ball is in play, they don’t watch where they are running and I don’t want to be knocked down! This applies to any game. When the ball…puck…Frisbee…or anything else is in play. Doesn’t matter if it is grade school kids or adults, you have to watch out! This also applies to little kids on bikes or motorized stuff. Really young kids don’t understand the concept of watching where you are going. Never did. Never will. As of 2 years ago we have a “no bike riding” sign up there. Some old person got run into by a kid, called the town and got the sign. NOBODY stopped riding! Even the cops don’t care. Every kid who grew up in the area learned to ride up there! Those original kids are old now. Sorry old folks, you have to watch out!
My ma is Croatian (born in Argentina 3 days after my fam arrived there)… that alone means I’m required to love soccer… and Croatia kick this much butt? Let’s just say the phone calls from happy crying parental units have been long and frequent.
I’ve had season tickets to NYCFC since they started playing in 2015 and have been to all but three home matches. (Yes, the stadium sucks… I’m very much looking forward to having a soccer specific stadium tho I’m not holding my breath waiting.) I watch other soccer matches, eg. much of the World Cup, NY Red Bulls, European leagues, but don’t really follow any other teams except for the US National Teams (both men and women).
I like soccer because it is fairly simple and beautiful to watch. It doesn’t have long periods of inactivity. Most matches are over in a little more than two hours. There is no bullshit waiting around for TV commercials to end or and the last two minutes of a game rarely takes more than 5-6 minutes and never takes an hour or more. The worst part of soccer is the diving, and I don’t like it.
I watch baseball, hockey and American football on occasion, but only with other people; soccer is the only thing I’ll watch by myself.
I spent way to heck too much time shoveling snow off of soccer fields for kid (first rec then traveling) soccer and/or sweltering in 100+ degrees and 99% humidity in full sun and/or sitting in the sleet…(depending on where we lived - northern ID, OK, MS - to ever want to see a soccer game ever, ever again. Ever. Same goes for softball for the same reasons. At least basketball was indoors but again traveling was a PITA.
I’ve seen soccer matches on some of the TVs at the gym, if that counts.
It doesn’t.
When the nieces and nephews played. When they were younger. When it was an appropriate game/sport for their age. Before they outgrew it.
For the expert feigning of injuries.
Soccer? I never touched her!
I saw a soccer ball once, maybe twice. Second time might’ve been a volleyball. They’re different right? Used in different sport ball amusements?
/image truncated icosahedron
The kids play soccer. They watch soccer. They eat, drink, sleep, breathe, and emanate soccer.
I have thus been dragged reluctantly into the world of soccer fandom when the kids play, when I happen to be around when they watch (which is a lot), and whenever any big tournaments, olympics, cups, etc are on.
I fear there is no cure for this.
I don’t like to watch, but I used to play. I took the Vinnie Jones approach as much as a scrawny, short high school kid could. I worked because the refs rarely noticed me, and most guys learned it was safe to wait til I tried to pass our score, as my aim was terrible.
When I am in Europe and I can’t watch Football or Baseball, or understand anything on other channels.
I’m somewhere between “whenever I can” and “when my team is on”. My team? The Portland Timbers. There is nothing like going to a game. Here’s a video about our mascot.
/youtube Timber Joey America’s Best Mascot
I should also mention our awesome women’s professional soccer team the Portland Thorns. Also awesome games to go to.
/youtube Passion in Portland The Rose City Riveters
I support Newcastle United and the Columbus Crew. Currently the fan base in Columbus is trying to stop the team from moving to Austin TX. For more info, go to SaveTheCrew.com.
SaveTheCrew
@producepimp PTFC here, totally support you guys keeping your team.
@producepimp I’m really curious what affect if any FC Cincinnati’s admission to the League will have on the Crew staying in Columbus. If they, an original MLS team with the first purpose-built MLS stadium, do leave, that would say a lot about MLS as an operation.
@producepimp fellow Magpie fan here. Bucket list sporting event is a Tyneside Derby at St. James’ Park. Love watching the Yank Yedlin thriving in Geordie land.
@denboy I went for the 1st time to St. James last year. Saw Newcastle defeat Southampton 3-0. Also saw Newcastle U-23 beat Sunderland U-23 at the Stadium of Light. About the closest I’ll get to a Tyne-Wear derby.
@producepimp nice. Was the atmosphere as legendary as I’ve heard.
@denboy I was in the Gallowgate end. Atmosphere was electric. Night out on the Toon after a Win was fantastic!
Generally I’m a sports fan. All kinds of sports. Like to watch the excellence of great athletes.
But why is this game so popular when 99% of the time the humans involved can’t even use their most coordinated extremities - their hands!
And the flopping in the modern game makes me gag.
/giphy soccer flopping
@compunaut most sports are basically just a collection of weird ways to make simple things harder. Soccer = no hands. Hockey = use this stick, and do it on ice. Football = get past that 300lb mountain that can run stupid fast. Rugby = same as football, but no pads. Baseball = hit the ball, but it’s going to be traveling straight at you at 90mph. Basketball = okay so there’s not really anything super hard about basketball, you have to dribble the ball, but they never call traveling so don’t worry about it…
As for flopping, it’s generally not acceptable. Adding a flourish when you are fouled is just gamesmanship, you want to make sure the ref saw it. However excessive theatrics and “simulation” (faking it altogether) are widely hated by soccer fans just like everyone else, and should be, and often are, subject to discipline.
@Oneroundrobb
Not nearly often enough, and almost never on star players.
@compunaut @Oneroundrobb Never thought of it that way. Maybe what makes basketball interesting is not the difficulty but the speed? Winners in high school games (or Cincinnati vs UConn) can regularly finish under 50 points, but pro games rarely end under 90.
@cpierce @Oneroundrobb I’m old
Tho it was just before my time, my dad & older cousins told me stories about how basketball was really boring too back before they instituted the shot clock
@compunaut My favorite team… “helped” in the creation of the shot clock https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/university-of-cincinnati/2015/03/20/uc-was-also-big-underdog-to-uk-in-famous-24-11-game/25082549/
My partner plays soccer.
I still don’t watch soccer.
I don’t mind what it does to his body.
Soccer is the most boring and pointless of all sports; I can’t stand it. It’s even worse than baseball.
@Dweezle
Curling must be your go-to sport for excitement, eh?
[That is, when neither bowling nor golf are on the TV.]
@Dweezle @phendrick It doesn’t have to be boring, tho it often is. But neither is ‘pointless’ - certain actions have to be accomplished in order to win the game.
@Dweezle Yup. It’s about equal with watching paint dry.
@phendrick I’d much rather watch golf or bowling, tbh. I’ve never seen Phil Mickelson flop on the ground and scream in fake agony because somebody got a little too close to him. (I don’t actually watch golf either, or anything on TV anymore)
I chose “never”. On the other hand, I own a half dozen really nice officially licensed fútbol shirts, because a local retailer was clearancing them out for pennies on the dollar.
Look, what I’m trying to say is there’s a reason I shop here.
I chose “Never”, but that’s not 100% true, I did enjoy watching the US in the (last) World Cup and 2016 Olympics at the local bar. But maybe I enjoyed spending time with friends and enthusiastic fans and drinking alcohol?
I think it was on the small TV in the lunchroom? Not sure. I only played soccer in middle school and I remember getting the ball kicked into my face and a lot of running back and forth. I can’t say that was what I saw on the TV so maybe it was a different sport.
Though no question the participants in a soccer match are incredible athletes, I just can’t get into the game. Too much running around…not enough action for me. I do remember when they tried MISL “Indoor Soccer” when I was growing up, but don’t remember if I liked the game. As I recall, it was soccer in a hockey arena. I guess…big dumb American needs “real” football to keep my brain satisfied.
I don’t watch soccer (and I was born outside the US). My favorite sport is nonconformity.
Ever notice how on the highlight clips of soccer games on the sports news they only show the goals, so the poor goalies look like ineffective losers?
Only watch when walking in the park up the block. When the ball is in play, they don’t watch where they are running and I don’t want to be knocked down! This applies to any game. When the ball…puck…Frisbee…or anything else is in play. Doesn’t matter if it is grade school kids or adults, you have to watch out! This also applies to little kids on bikes or motorized stuff. Really young kids don’t understand the concept of watching where you are going. Never did. Never will. As of 2 years ago we have a “no bike riding” sign up there. Some old person got run into by a kid, called the town and got the sign. NOBODY stopped riding! Even the cops don’t care. Every kid who grew up in the area learned to ride up there! Those original kids are old now. Sorry old folks, you have to watch out!
My ma is Croatian (born in Argentina 3 days after my fam arrived there)… that alone means I’m required to love soccer… and Croatia kick this much butt? Let’s just say the phone calls from happy crying parental units have been long and frequent.
I’ve had season tickets to NYCFC since they started playing in 2015 and have been to all but three home matches. (Yes, the stadium sucks… I’m very much looking forward to having a soccer specific stadium tho I’m not holding my breath waiting.) I watch other soccer matches, eg. much of the World Cup, NY Red Bulls, European leagues, but don’t really follow any other teams except for the US National Teams (both men and women).
I like soccer because it is fairly simple and beautiful to watch. It doesn’t have long periods of inactivity. Most matches are over in a little more than two hours. There is no bullshit waiting around for TV commercials to end or and the last two minutes of a game rarely takes more than 5-6 minutes and never takes an hour or more. The worst part of soccer is the diving, and I don’t like it.
I watch baseball, hockey and American football on occasion, but only with other people; soccer is the only thing I’ll watch by myself.
I spent way to heck too much time shoveling snow off of soccer fields for kid (first rec then traveling) soccer and/or sweltering in 100+ degrees and 99% humidity in full sun and/or sitting in the sleet…(depending on where we lived - northern ID, OK, MS - to ever want to see a soccer game ever, ever again. Ever. Same goes for softball for the same reasons. At least basketball was indoors but again traveling was a PITA.