FIFA = BBBBoring

[james t kirk]

Soccer is the most popular & most played sport in the world, for a reason.

yeah, cause it doesn't cost fuck all for kids to play it.

Seriously, Hockey - costs thousands in equipment, arenas, league fees, travelling.

Soccer = 1 ball (probably not yours) and a pair of shorts. You don't even need shoes.

There's a lot of abject poverty in the world and soccer (to its credit) is a sport that anyone and everyone can play.

 

[james t kirk]

i agree, it would be fun tho, watching the soccer players for those 2 second on skates

I would pay good money to see that.

 

[james t kirk]

Hard to take this serious when you see crap like this time and time again.

 

[Don Draper]

Soccer players would last about 2 seconds on skates.

And....?

Hockey players would last about 2 seconds on a Rubgy pitch. If that.

A horse is not a tiger which is not a shark.

 

[Don Draper]

[size=+2]Hard to take this serious when you see crap like this time and time again.[/size]

 

[james t kirk]

And....?

Hockey players would last about 2 seconds on a Rubgy pitch. If that.

Nope.

I think hockey players would lose in a game of rugby against a pro rugby team, but they would go the distance. Hockey players aren't pussies like soccer players.

 

[johnnyjohn17]

wow, another 0-0 game today, what an exciting game that must have been

 

[scouser1]

would the hillbilly crowd please go back to their trailers, Stompin Tom, malt liquour and mayonnaise sandwiches please!!! We live in the 500 channel universe now, if you dont like a sport or an event you simply change the channel. Your opinions are that the beautiful game is boring and slow, and go Leafs go are a blimp on the world map. Take the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup finals multiply it by 20 and you still arent even close to the numbers that watch this event in the world. Of course I wouldnt expect any of you to understand this since your world doesnt extend beyond your strip mall and your beer store.

 

[Don Draper]

[size=+2]Pure Gospel, Sir.

would the hillbilly crowd please go back to their trailers, Stompin Tom, malt liquour and mayonnaise sandwiches please!!! We live in the 500 channel universe now, if you dont like a sport or an event you simply change the channel. Your opinions are that the beautiful game is boring and slow, and go Leafs go are a blimp on the world map. Take the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup finals multiply it by 20 and you still arent even close to the numbers that watch this event in the world. Of course I wouldnt expect any of you to understand this since your world doesnt extend beyond your strip mall and your beer store.

Well Said![/size]

 

[johnnyjohn17]

Speaking of the Leafs, new sweaters revealed yesterday, and Dion Phanuef named Captain.

The only reason that the world cup is so big, and watched by many, is that its the only sport in that country, they dont have Hockey, baseball, and foot ball to watch, they have soccer, and in most cases its the only thing to cheer about in thier countries.

 

[scouser1]

Speaking of the Leafs, new sweaters revealed yesterday, and Dion Phanuef named Captain.

The only reason that the world cup is so big, and watched by many, is that its the only sport in that country, they dont have Hockey, baseball, and foot ball to watch, they have soccer, and in most cases its the only thing to cheer about in thier countries.

yeah great the guy who was voted as the most overrated player in the league by his peers got to be the captain of the team that laughs all the way to the bank by its owners, awesome news!!!!

now to deal with that other lunatic argument of no other sports in those countries. What do you think other sports are illegal in Brazil, Netherlands, Britain and parts of Africa? show me the laws that the Dutch parliament passed saying you can only watch Ajax or Feyenoord under penalty of death

No the reason is its so popular is that its a very simple game (offside rule the exception) to understand, all you need is an open space and any round object. Also its the most egalitarian of sports what shade of the rainbow you are or what you worship doesnt matter, most importantly you dont need to be a 6'4, 240lbs Kingston boy to play the game. One of the best players on the planet is a guy who is barely 5'7, Lionel Messi. So you Jim Bobs better go back to the Timmies and come up with better arguments against what is universally loved.

 

[Don Draper]

The only reason that the world cup is so big, and watched by many, is that its the only sport in that country, they dont have Hockey, baseball, and foot ball to watch, they have soccer, and in most cases its the only thing to cheer about in thier countries.

That is a truly lamentable, small-minded, provincial statement.

 

[pencilneckgeek2]

Your opinions are that the beautiful game is boring and slow, and go Leafs go are a blimp on the world map.

Like Snoopy1 ?

Or the Goodyear blimp ?

 

[johnnyjohn17]

You said it best.

"No the reason is its so popular is that its a very simple game (offside rule the exception) to understand, all you need is an open space and any round object."

its a simple game, for simple people who dont have much.

 

[Insidious Von]

Speaking of the Leafs, new sweaters revealed yesterday, and Dion Phanuef named Captain.

The only reason that the world cup is so big, and watched by many, is that its the only sport in that country, they dont have Hockey, baseball, and foot ball to watch, they have soccer, and in most cases its the only thing to cheer about in thier countries.

Buddy I suggest that you forgo intelligent discourse to those capable of it, go back to watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Some of these, so-called, paleolithic countries of which you speak of do not have the runaway obesity problems prevalent in North America. Citizens of these so-called backwards countries are more fit than probably you will ever be.

As for the Leafs, enjoy the 12% raise in ticket prices you'll be hit with. And, if they trade Kaberle, opposing forwards will turn Captain Phaneuf into KFC.

 

[MIRAGE]

FIFA = BBBoring

Last time I looked at some FIFA stats on Sunday night, here’s my summary
- goofy goals
- goofy goalkeepers
- Almost 40% of matches resulted in ties. What ever happened to OT or at least shoot-outs?
- 1 match had no scoring at all (Uruguay v. France)
- players routinely making miraculous recoveries from faked “near-fatal” injuries
- dives that would certainly be penalized in hockey
- delay-of-game tactics galore
- time clock that runs even when the ball is not in play

Now that’s what I call BORING. And these are supposed to be the best-of-the-best in the world playing at the highest level. Can’t wait for the NHL to start again this autumn and we can watch a real sport again.

Sorry dude, gonna have to disagree with this one. I am a lover all sports. And like i have said in a different thread, travel extensively abroad to many sporting events. I have been to the stanley cup playoffs, NBA playoffs, world series and a superbowl game. I have had the pleasure of going to 2 world cups. And you wanna know what ? You can throw all of your North American sports in a basket, then muliply them by 10 and you still wont even come close to the atmosphere of being in a stadium with 100,00 maniacs cheering for their country, like you do for a world cup game. try visiting a country in Europe or South America during a world cup game. The whole freeking country shuts down. And yes, soccer players are some of the best conditioned athletes in the world, hands down.

God Bless....................Andy

 

[Big Michael]

"Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine."
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

You said it best.

"No the reason is its so popular is that its a very simple game (offside rule the exception) to understand, all you need is an open space and any round object."

its a simple game, for simple people who dont have much.

Sure it's simple on the surface but the intracacies of the game are astounding. If you can't or don't want to understand the complexities of the game, no one cares.

I try stay away from these useless threads but I have a question. Why are North Americans so quick and happy to bash soccer? There are a lot of great sports and I enjoy most that are played at a high level. If I don't like a sport I move on. Just wondering why most can't do that. As for the World Cup it always starts slow, right now we are simply seeing "foreplay" aspect of the tournament. Every team taking a tactical approach and simply ensuring they don't lose the first game. Tieing the first doesn't kill any team but losing the first may.

As for the scoring, I found the 0-0 Portugal Ivory Coast game to be fascinating, if you didn't no on cares.

 

[mur11]

I can definitely acknowledge the skill of the sport, and though I've never been to a professional/World Cup soccer game I can see how the atomsphere would be incredible, but good lord, the sport itself is unbelievably boring. Worse than the NHL when it was suffering through its neutral-zone trap phrase. All they seem to do is cycle-dive-cycle-miss wide right-rinse-repeat. I mean I've never seen so many people get so excited about a 0-0 tie. And sure, I can vaguely see the strategy of the game, but it's no more strategic than a perfectly exceuted pick-and-roll in basketball, or a hit-and-run in baseball.
And you can say all you want about goons in hockey, and its a valid point, but there's an incredible amount of 'goonery' in soccer as well. Zidane's head-butt anyone?
Every year, I make it a mission to watch one soccer game, to see if my opinion changes, and every year I feel completely validated. 99% of the time, it's easy to avoid, but now there's so many morons running around Toronto chanting their team's slogan when in actuality they probably couldn't name more than two people on the team, or they've never watched a non-World Cup match ever. And I'm sorry, but just because you're a white Canadian who, like at least 60% of the population is vaguely descended from Great Britain, doesn't mean England is 'your' team. And we've all played soccer on a co-ed team when we were six, that doesn't make you at all knowlegable about soccer or mean that soccer is 'your' sport. Actually I find my six-year old cousin's soccer games vastly more entertaining than the pro games.
God it'll be nice when the World Cup is over

 

[johnnyjohn17]

and those stupid little flags on everyones cars, except for Canada flags, and Leafs flags. the rest should be banned, you wanna fly another countries colours, then go fly it there not here.

 

[GotGusto]

Sorry dude, gonna have to disagree with this one. I am a lover all sports. And like i have said in a different thread, travel extensively abroad to many sporting events. I have been to the stanley cup playoffs, NBA playoffs, world series and a superbowl game. I have had the pleasure of going to 2 world cups. And you wanna know what ? You can throw all of your North American sports in a basket, then muliply them by 10 and you still wont even come close to the atmosphere of being in a stadium with 100,00 maniacs cheering for their country, like you do for a world cup game. try visiting a country in Europe or South America during a world cup game. The whole freeking country shuts down. And yes, soccer players are some of the best conditioned athletes in the world, hands down.

God Bless....................Andy

You're comparing apples and oranges. The World Cup is like the Olympics. It happens every 4 years and it's countries competing against each other. In hockey, NBA, and American Football, it's teams primarily within America and some in Canada competing.

Boston vs the Lakers tonight in game 6. This could end the series, and the Celtics/Lakers rivalry that has lasted decades continues. Bird, Magic, so many greats. You want to watch intensity, watch that. The series has been brilliant thus far.