Professional Sports on the Rise and Fall

[PTS]

soccer is a simple game that doesn't possess any of the traits that we tend to love in our sports. no size strength or extreme speed. no hand eye co-ordination at all, no power and explosiveness. it is very low on strategy compared to the big 4 teams sports.

The above statement clearly proves you are extremely ignorant ... or maybe completely stupid. Hopefully for you it's the first.

 

football is an example of the highest level of sports. it requires immense strategy, officiating and complicated rules, specialized positions and important compliments of individual player skills with one another. it also requires more dedication than any other team sport to be played on a high level. pain, injury, suffering, intimidation, speed, explosiveness, power, determination, strategy, teamwork, dedication -- these are the attributes that football and football players live by. the nfl and other levels of football have had subtle but significant changes in rules over the years. the nfl is a great mix of tradition and change.

Man, I take my ignorant and stupid statement back. You are clearly brainwashed. I heard NFL players are close to finding an alternative fuel source, cures for various cancers and a way to have peace in the Middle East. Something only the NFL and American football players can do.

 

Screw every other sport, the NFL is the only one where players actually want to win.

[colin]

The above statement clearly proves you are extremely ignorant ... or maybe completely stupid. Hopefully for you it's the first.

 

 

Man, I take my ignorant and stupid statement back. You are clearly brainwashed. I heard NFL players are close to finding an alternative fuel source, cures for various cancers and a way to have peace in the Middle East. Something only the NFL and American football players can do.

 

Screw every other sport, the NFL is the only one where players actually want to win.

 

i'm sorry ma'am, are you the captainette of your soccer team?

 

can you somehow show that any of the things i said aren't true? do you really think soccer players show strong hand eye coordintation? do you consider them powerful?

[PTS]

i'm sorry ma'am, are you the captainette of your soccer team?

Actually no, but I was captain of my college hockey team if that means anything? But I played soccer too and I realize that it's the hardest sport to play competively.

 

can you somehow show that any of the things i said aren't true? do you really think soccer players show strong hand eye coordintation? do you consider them powerful?

What's you argument for baseball? basketball? Hell, even half of the positions in the NFL. You can single out every sport and say this or that isn't like it is in this sport, but to throw a blanket over soccer and to dismiss it as a sport for pussies is just ignorant.

 

In soccer, like hockey, you don't need good hand-eye coordination, you need good everything coordination. Hands, feet, head, you name it. I'm just going to throw a blanket around football players and say they are all one dimensional. Runnings back run, wide receivers catch, quaterbacks throw and blockers are just fat pieces of turd. That's about as true as your statements on soccer but hell, why not say it to be a "manly" man.

 

As for being powerful, I'd like to see you run past a sweeper or stopper without a ball let alone with one. I'd like to see you shoot a soccer ball over 80 to 90 mph like the pros can.

 

If you really want hand-eye coordination: try being a goatlender who has to stop that fast of shot in a net that's 15x the size of him.

 

Explosive speed? Talk to players like Lionel Messi or USA's Landon Donovan to a lesser extent. Messi will run a 4.4 forty with a ball at his feet and three defenders around him.

 

But I'm just wasting my time here. You clearly never watched soccer so what's the point in arguing with someone as ignorant as you.

[Ramius]

As for being powerful, I'd like to see you run past a sweeper or stopper without a ball let alone with one.

 

No need to. As soon as they look at you funny, just flop on the ground and cry like a B word as if your head has been ripped off.

 

I'd like to see you shoot a soccer ball over 80 to 90 mph like the pros can.

 

A shot that fast doesnt matter when they rarely hit the net, which is the size of an apartment building. It doesnt take skill to randomly kick a ball and hope it goes where you want.

 

If you really want hand-eye coordination: try being a goatlender who has to stop that fast of shot in a net that's 15x the size of him.

 

It takes skill to employ the "pick a direction, dive, and hope" tactic of soccer goalies?

 

 

Face it. Soccer is just a second rate boring-ass sport. Sure i'll watch the World cup, because i can root for the US and because it happens once every 4 years. I dont see how it is exciting to watch 10 guys kick a ball back and forth for 2 minutes to gain 40 yards, only to have a defender blast the ball 60 yards back where it came from. Woohoo! then the other team gets to try move the ball again!

 

Think how bad hockey would suck if there was no whistle for icing, the players couldnt hit the net with their shots, every bit of contact resulted in a candy ass dive and flop with a stretcher coming out onto the ice, the 3rd period didnt stop when the clock hit 0:00, the ref just randomly stopped the game at some random point thereafter, the people lobbed urine bombs every game at the rink, and the refs ran the risk of being shot each time they stepped out on the ice, and you'll understand why most people think soccer sucks.

[eball]

Good stuff, Ramius. Had me laughing out loud.

 

I particularly love penalty kicks in soccer, or as they're commonly known -- give those guys a point.

[colin]

Actually no, but I was captain of my college hockey team if that means anything? But I played soccer too and I realize that it's the hardest sport to play competively.

 

 

What's you argument for baseball? basketball? Hell, even half of the positions in the NFL. You can single out every sport and say this or that isn't like it is in this sport, but to throw a blanket over soccer and to dismiss it as a sport for pussies is just ignorant.

 

In soccer, like hockey, you don't need good hand-eye coordination, you need good everything coordination. Hands, feet, head, you name it. I'm just going to throw a blanket around football players and say they are all one dimensional. Runnings back run, wide receivers catch, quaterbacks throw and blockers are just fat pieces of turd. That's about as true as your statements on soccer but hell, why not say it to be a "manly" man.

 

As for being powerful, I'd like to see you run past a sweeper or stopper without a ball let alone with one. I'd like to see you shoot a soccer ball over 80 to 90 mph like the pros can.

 

If you really want hand-eye coordination: try being a goatlender who has to stop that fast of shot in a net that's 15x the size of him.

 

Explosive speed? Talk to players like Lionel Messi or USA's Landon Donovan to a lesser extent. Messi will run a 4.4 forty with a ball at his feet and three defenders around him.

 

But I'm just wasting my time here. You clearly never watched soccer so what's the point in arguing with someone as ignorant as you.

 

garbage you sensitive nancy.

 

soccer players pretend like they've been sniped every time actual physical contact occurs. they do not take constant hits, they are not tough intimidators, they are scrawny little runners who kick a ball around and almost never in the net as the game does not reward aggressive action.

 

soccer is an endurance sport. soccer players are small. they are fast compared to normal men or slow athletes but slow compared to very very fast athletes like say nfl corner backs (and even some linebackers, how average 50-75 pounds more in weight than a pro soccer player).

 

soccer does not require the very rare athletic traits of true explosiveness, super sturdy physical frames, power and toughness.

 

soccer OBVIOUSLY does not require hand eye coordination. for christ's sake most of the players are forbiden to use their damn hands. goalies just have to stop the ball, that doesn't require much hand eye coordination beyond getting an arm out in time.

 

you are a self deluded sissy for trying to prove how soccer is a power sport by saying i can't kick the kick ball or run past the little shorts wearing soccer man. of course i can't i'm a man not a soccer player.

 

in soccer you might get torched by a great player, and he will run around you and put the kick ball in the laughably enormous net.

 

in football you will be mashed into the ground, have the ball ripped from your limbs, and have to get back up to do it all over again.

 

the corner backs in the nfl possess true rare athletic talent. that kind of speed and agility is MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE with non stop endurance running that your favorite little kick ball euros do every damn day. linemen clearly posses extreme strength and size. you can walk allover a big city and not see a single man with the frame to even begin to play in the nfl as a pro lineman.

 

soccer is a simple little sport. how many pages in a pro team's playbook? THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE REAL PLAYBOOKS! if an nfl player lines up in the wrong spot or makes the wrong read before the snap then horrible things occur. strategy is a huge part of real sports, but not soccer.

 

soccer is great if you want to dance around with a ball at your feet and kick it around a giant field with nearly zero friggen scoring all day. if you think a real man should have the upperbody strength of an aids patient then soccer is manly. if you stand up to pee on occasion and realise fighting through pain in a demanding sport where giant powerhouses get hurt or even crippled is the true pinnacle of team sports then clearly you will pass soccer in favor of football.

 

soccer may be the most popular team sport in the world, but abject poverty and squaller are the most popular financial situation and living conditions in the world as well. you're an american you should aim for better than that.

[PTS]

It doesnt take skill to randomly kick a ball and hope it goes where you want.

Yeah, it's so fracking easy that we lost a Super Bowl because of it.

[stuckincincy]

soccer may be the most popular team sport in the world, but abject poverty and squaller are the most popular financial situation and living conditions in the world as well. you're an american you should aim for better than that.

What...about...Cricket?

[colin]

What...about...Cricket?

 

it's not a sport if it takes more than 1 day or you can be served drinks while playing.

[PTS]

garbage you sensitive nancy.

 

soccer players pretend like they've been sniped every time actual physical contact occurs. they do not take constant hits, they are not tough intimidators, they are scrawny little runners who kick a ball around and almost never in the net as the game does not reward aggressive action.

 

soccer is an endurance sport. soccer players are small. they are fast compared to normal men or slow athletes but slow compared to very very fast athletes like say nfl corner backs (and even some linebackers, how average 50-75 pounds more in weight than a pro soccer player).

 

soccer does not require the very rare athletic traits of true explosiveness, super sturdy physical frames, power and toughness.

 

soccer OBVIOUSLY does not require hand eye coordination. for christ's sake most of the players are forbiden to use their damn hands. goalies just have to stop the ball, that doesn't require much hand eye coordination beyond getting an arm out in time.

 

you are a self deluded sissy for trying to prove how soccer is a power sport by saying i can't kick the kick ball or run past the little shorts wearing soccer man. of course i can't i'm a man not a soccer player.

 

in soccer you might get torched by a great player, and he will run around you and put the kick ball in the laughably enormous net.

 

in football you will be mashed into the ground, have the ball ripped from your limbs, and have to get back up to do it all over again.

 

the corner backs in the nfl possess true rare athletic talent. that kind of speed and agility is MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE with non stop endurance running that your favorite little kick ball euros do every damn day. linemen clearly posses extreme strength and size. you can walk allover a big city and not see a single man with the frame to even begin to play in the nfl as a pro lineman.

 

soccer is a simple little sport. how many pages in a pro team's playbook? THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE REAL PLAYBOOKS! if an nfl player lines up in the wrong spot or makes the wrong read before the snap then horrible things occur. strategy is a huge part of real sports, but not soccer.

 

soccer is great if you want to dance around with a ball at your feet and kick it around a giant field with nearly zero friggen scoring all day. if you think a real man should have the upperbody strength of an aids patient then soccer is manly. if you stand up to pee on occasion and realise fighting through pain in a demanding sport where giant powerhouses get hurt or even crippled is the true pinnacle of team sports then clearly you will pass soccer in favor of football.

 

soccer may be the most popular team sport in the world, but abject poverty and squaller are the most popular financial situation and living conditions in the world as well. you're an american you should aim for better than that.

You my friend are misinformed to say the least and a brainwashed a-hole to boot. Don't bother typing your cliché-recycling hacks. We've all heard them 10x over.

 

But it's people like you that help drive soccer's growth. It must really eat at you when you start seeing soccer get more pub on football networks like ESPN. Hell, I'm actually surprised that I can turn on sportscenter and see soccer highlights on a daily basis now and days. If only hockey got more respect.

 

BTW: Since you started the name calling, you're probably a fat piece of turd that never played sports in his life. Or maybe you played the O-line because they needed a few fat guys at your high school. You're a real man, real man in deed.

[SDS]

garbage you sensitive nancy.

 

snip...

 

soccer may be the most popular team sport in the world, but abject poverty and squaller are the most popular financial situation and living conditions in the world as well. you're an american you should aim for better than that.

 

I've never played soccer beyond the backyard and I have no idea if what you wrote has a lick of truth to it, but that was one helluva rant.

[SDS]

You my friend are stupid and a brainwashed a-hole to boot.

 

But it's people like you that help drive soccer's growth. It must really eat at you when you start seeing soccer get more pub on football networks like ESPN. Hell, I'm actually surprised that I can turn on sportscenter and see soccer highlights on a daily basis now and days. If only hockey got more respect.

 

BTW: Since you started the name calling, you're probably a fat piece of turd that never played sports in his life. Or maybe you played the O-line because they needed a few fat guys at your high school. You're a real man.

 

I think he's just busting your chops now...

[colin]

You my friend are stupid and a brainwashed a-hole to boot.

 

But it's people like you that help drive soccer's growth. It must really eat at you when you start seeing soccer get more pub on football networks like ESPN. Hell, I'm actually surprised that I can turn on sportscenter and see soccer highlights on a daily basis now and days. If only hockey got more respect.

 

BTW: Since you started the name calling, you're probably a fat piece of turd that never played sports in his life. Or maybe you played the O-line because they needed a few fat guys at your high school. You're a real man.

 

you called me ignorant, stupid, and brainwashed and showed you were incapable of refuting any of my points (YOU ACTUALY SAID SOCCER REQUIRES GREAT HAND EYE COORDINATION AND IS A POWER SPORT) before i returned the favor.

 

i think soccer is great, it gives children an outlet to run around and burn energy, and helps keep some kinda butch girls thinner. it's like blocks mixed with hop scotch and diet pills.

 

and why do you want me to be mad about highlights on sports center? i'm happy that you can drive home in your prious and sit cross legged on your peach and birch hemp couch while the kick ball highlights come one. i heard that a small scrawny euro kicked the ball! that must have rocked!

[Cugalabanza]

I like soccer very much. If you don't like it, eat my balls.

[Hardy Pyle]

Yes, soccer doesn't require athletic traits....like say Sam Adams...who needs a rest every 10 seconds.

 

Just because fat guys can't play soccer....don't be a hater.

[Ramius]

Yes, soccer doesn't require athletic traits....like say Sam Adams...who needs a rest every 10 seconds.

 

Just because fat guys can't play soccer....don't be a hater.

 

Watch a 6 yr old pee wee football game and then go watch an NFL game, and notice the difference.

 

Then go watch a bunch of 6 year olds chase a soccer ball all over a pasture for an hour and compare it to a high level soccer match and you'll notice the only difference between 6 year olds playing and 26 year olds playing is the lack of orange slices.

[stuckincincy]

I like soccer very much. If you don't like it, eat my balls.

 

Melon balls?

 

Casaba? Honeydew? Canary? What...?

[KD in CA]

I particularly love penalty kicks in soccer, or as they're commonly known -- give those guys a point.

 

 

Unless of course they manage to miss the apartment-building sized goal from 20 feet away.

[eball]

Watch a 6 yr old pee wee football game and then go watch an NFL game, and notice the difference.

 

Then go watch a bunch of 6 year olds chase a soccer ball all over a pasture for an hour and compare it to a high level soccer match and you'll notice the only difference between 6 year olds playing and 26 year olds playing is the lack of orange slices.

Clearly, Ramius, you're missing the beauty of the game. The athletic prowess required to contort one's body and face into a twisted display of agony -- after suffering an "ouchie" on the shin -- should not be overlooked.

[bills_fan]

I am not a soccer fan by any means, in fact, I deplore the sport.

 

But my best friend is an Arsenal fan and finally got me to go out with him to watch the "match" one Saturday morning at Nevada Smith's in NYC. Let me tell you...that was a fun time. Imagine a bar with about 300 people in it at 7:00AM Saturday morning...6 different games, fan groups chanting and singing really obsence and funny songs at each other...all while getting plastered. Walk out of the bar around noon, bombed, and proceed to try and figure something out to do with your day.

 

If thats what soccer is in Europe, I can understand the attraction. The game is secondary, the drinking and back-and-forth between the fan groups is the fun.

[colin]

The game is secondary

 

exactly.

 

if the game mattered they wouldn't let the ref just make up how long extra time is.

[Cugalabanza]

Melon balls?

 

Casaba? Honeydew? Canary? What...?

Don't be fatuous, cincy. You know damn well what I mean. Casaba of course (in honor of one of my heroes).

[ExiledInIllinois]

Face it. Soccer is just a second rate boring-ass sport. Sure i'll watch the World cup, because i can root for the US and because it happens once every 4 years. I dont see how it is exciting to watch 10 guys kick a ball back and forth for 2 minutes to gain 40 yards, only to have a defender blast the ball 60 yards back where it came from. Woohoo! then the other team gets to try move the ball again!

 

Think how bad hockey would suck if there was no whistle for icing, the players couldnt hit the net with their shots, every bit of contact resulted in a candy ass dive and flop with a stretcher coming out onto the ice, the 3rd period didnt stop when the clock hit 0:00, the ref just randomly stopped the game at some random point thereafter, the people lobbed urine bombs every game at the rink, and the refs ran the risk of being shot each time they stepped out on the ice, and you'll understand why most people think soccer sucks.

 

 

 

Like watching WWI all over again!

[ExiledInIllinois]

you called me ignorant, stupid, and brainwashed and showed you were incapable of refuting any of my points (YOU ACTUALY SAID SOCCER REQUIRES GREAT HAND EYE COORDINATION AND IS A POWER SPORT) before i returned the favor.

 

i think soccer is great, it gives children an outlet to run around and burn energy, and helps keep some kinda butch girls thinner. it's like blocks mixed with hop scotch and diet pills.

 

and why do you want me to be mad about highlights on sports center? i'm happy that you can drive home in your prious and sit cross legged on your peach and birch hemp couch while the kick ball highlights come one. i heard that a small scrawny euro kicked the ball! that must have rocked!

 

You go colin!

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

Now... Aussie rules football and Gaelic football should be more on the rise than soccer!

 

I just don't get traditional soccer... There are other derivatives of better games (like the two mentioned above).

[JPicc2114]

Mixed Martial Arts is by far the fastest growing sport and has overtaken boxing in popularity pretty much.. might as well put boxing on that decline list.

[plenzmd1]

My quick replies

 

1)According to NASCAR and the TV networks, Nascar has peaked and is in decline. The core NASCAR fan is leaving, and NASCAR recognizes this is actively marketing to get them back in the sport. On track attendance, spending at race day, tv ratings have all been in a steady decline for the last three years.

 

2) Hockey is not in decline, it just is not growing in popularity. NHL is recognizing what NASCAR has, and that is you have to keep your core group of fans.

 

3) Soccer to me sucks except for the big world cup games. Having said that, I have been to a Premiership game, and it was an absolute blast. Would go agin in a heartbeat.

[bills_fan]

My quick replies

 

1)According to NASCAR and the TV networks, Nascar has peaked and is in decline. The core NASCAR fan is leaving, and NASCAR recognizes this is actively marketing to get them back in the sport. On track attendance, spending at race day, tv ratings have all been in a steady decline for the last three years.

 

2) Hockey is not in decline, it just is not growing in popularity. NHL is recognizing what NASCAR has, and that is you have to keep your core group of fans.

 

3) Soccer to me sucks except for the big world cup games. Having said that, I have been to a Premiership game, and it was an absolute blast. Would go agin in a heartbeat.

 

 

But NASCAR is making the same mistake as hockey...abandoning its core markets and taking races away from core tracks to give to markets that don't really care. Hockey took away the Jets and Nordiques. While the Avalanche have been a success, the Coyotes have struggled mightily. Nascar is doing the same thing, taking races away from die hards in VA and NC to stage races in Las Vegas and California that noone really cares about.

[plenzmd1]

But NASCAR is making the same mistake as hockey...abandoning its core markets and taking races away from core tracks to give to markets that don't really care. Hockey took away the Jets and Nordiques. While the Avalanche have been a success, the Coyotes have struggled mightily. Nascar is doing the same thing, taking races away from die hards in VA and NC to stage races in Las Vegas and California that noone really cares about.

 

Yep, and I guess that is waht I trying to say. the NHL came to the realiztion and NASCAR has now too, that if you lose core fans for the appeal of the casual fan, it is not a sustainable model. There are just to many entertainment options available now that to get a casual fan to turn into a core fan that spends money year round and watchers more then the occasional game is very hard to do. NASCAR has realized that "fans" like me read who won the last week, maybe watch the last 15 minutes of Daytona, and spend ZERO dollars in hats, jerseys etc.

 

Noe contrast that with the real growth spurt in the NFL prolly 1970-1990, when most of us grew to love the game. Monday Night you would get a casual fan turning in, as your pther option was TWO shows. No Tivo, No DVDs, no IPODs, no Internet. If you big ass was in a chair in front of a TV on MOnday, 33% chance you had on MNF.

[eball]

But NASCAR is making the same mistake as hockey...abandoning its core markets and taking races away from core tracks to give to markets that don't really care. Hockey took away the Jets and Nordiques. While the Avalanche have been a success, the Coyotes have struggled mightily. Nascar is doing the same thing, taking races away from die hards in VA and NC to stage races in Las Vegas and California that noone really cares about.

Let's keep this on point, okay? We're having a blast making fun of soccer.

[colin]

mma is really the fastest growing. the ufc is very smart in what it is doing. they give props to fighters outside of their company while promoting their own brand, and they provide free and ppv matchups.

 

the nhl has just about ruined hockey for me. they are a terrible organization and have made no positive steps at all.

 

the nfl just pwns. i honestly think it is the one league that in no way wants to let the product get diluted at all. they want the traditional markets to stay strong for as long as possible. would any other league push revenue sharing and CBAs while LA didn't have a team?

[billygoats]

Well every league in the states has some sort of CBA, that is just a bargaining agreement between capital and labor. Since all the pro leagues have unionized CBAs have become part of the sports landscape. So all the leagues in the US "push" CBAs. Secondly, their is a good chance that the league will be uncapped in 09 which could potentially lead to the end of the cap era and the end of a competitive league. The Craft's and Jones' are going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg, because of their exceptional greed. In five to ten years there is a good chance that the NFL will be similar to baseball with 5-6 good teams and the remainder will all be farm teams. This will be Paul Tagliabue's legacy, by forcing a horrible CBA on the owners they are now willing to opt out and possibly put the competitive integrity of the league in the balance. Also, LA doesn't have a team because they couldn't support one in the days when fan attendance actually mattered. Now that TV revenue has become so important as well as luxury seating, don't be surprised to see a team there sometime in the future.

 

The next three to five years will show whether the NFL really is any better the other major leagues in maintaining a competitive product, but I have a feeling some of the traditional markets are going to be losing teams to both LA and Toronto. If I were you I would stop drinking the NFL coolaid, because I have a feeling the league we all love today will be drastically different in the very near future. All that said the NFL has the best product right now because of the cap and if the owners are all on board with that idea and can convince the players of that, then this league may be able to remain competitive in the long term. However, I am not holding my breath, I will enjoy the next few years of good football and hope that they aren't the last.