http://www.msnbc.com/news/787245.asp Here is a poll at MSNBC ask which will us watch more of during the Baseball strike. Soccer is at 6% and needs some votes. It is half way down on the left side.
The article predicts NASCAR (I call it NAS-CRASH) will benefit the most from the bball strike. They only give a small paragraph to Soccer and give Frank DeFord the last word on soccer. I think we should show them what a some organized soccer fans can do. Soccer. After the excitement of the World Cup, it’s make-or-break time for the MLS when it comes to capitalizing on momentum and becoming a big-time, major entity. The guess here is that it ain’t gonna happen until the USA is an established entity in World Cup Competition. The MLS looks more stable and viable than its predecessors, but as far as attracting baseball types, Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated provide the final word on the youth-to-adult soccer transition: “It’s like mumblety peg. You play it as a kid and then you move on.”
What's "mumblety peg"? Whatever it is, I'll bet kids haven't played it since the 1940's. That's an unintentionally revealing quote from DeFord. It's sort of like asking a Perry Como fan if he'd prefer rock and roll or hip hop if Perry's records weren't available anymore. Ok, I just couldn't get over this mumblety peg thing, so here's what you can get by running a quick search on google: www.inquiry.net/outdoor/summer/games/mumbly_peg.htm Very Mayberry. DeFord needs to retire with a nice Norman Rockwell collection.
When exactly did DeFord perfect the game of mumblety peg? That summer when the parents first took the hroseless carriage out to the Arizona Territory to visit the relatives? HOw frickin' old is this man?? Mumblety Peg?
I voted for soccer, of course, but I can't really honestly say I'll watch more of anything if baseball strikes. That would imply that I watched any baseball to begin with.
I hope all of you bashing NASCAR will shut the hell up next time somone bashes soccer. Hypocrites. Sachin
do you pipe up when people on BS call baseball or american football bad names? it's not like we said it's an incredibly boring sport for women, played by people picked last on the playground, never to catch on in america because people like to play it when they're kids but no one likes to watch it. we just had a little fun with its name. we could make baseless criticisms of NASCAR forever and it wouldn't make a dent in its popularity. ignorant soccer bashing, however, in the form of a bad article or a good one that goes unpublished, does affect the sport. take it easy. this is a soccer board. is a bias really that surprising?
soccer now at 8%.... I personally believe that soccer will benefit from a baseball strike. Both are family oriented sports, while nascar is really a male dominated sport which is geographically centered in the South. If no baseball at the start of 2003 then the MLS will really benefit. What the MLS really needs to do is to finish its season before October. The season should realisticly end in August like the WUSA.
The poll asked which sport people would watch. Since when is driving a car in a circle a sport? That would disqualify NASCAR from this poll. Hell, the way I drive to work when I'm late, I could be considered an athlete.
Prove it. I'm not sure it does anything but get a bunch of people riled up who are looking to get riled up.
how about the only thing it can do is hurt the sport. it certainly isn't what the sport needs--media that is going to keep it in the papers. consistent coverage increases credibility and makes it possible for people to follow the sport, even if it is just reading an occasional article, without seeking it out in the internet or in specialized publications. note that i said "makes it possible." I'm not saying they're going to convert in droves, but having serious articles about soccer is a lot better than only having the standard twice-yearly bashing column full of falsehoods and hyperbole. as one of those who gets riled up, I think we are defensive for obvious reasons, not because we want to be.
Actually, I do call it when people do that. It's one of the best ways to get entertained on this board. Sorry, but you can't bash another sport and not expect to get bashed in return. And there is a lot of bash about soccer. Starting with whiny fans. Sachin
Really? How many NASCAR races have you attended? And where? I've been to races from Atlanta to Watkins Glen, NH. And if you actually look at the facts, the majority of NASCAR fans are adult males with children. There are a fair number of women at NASCAR races, in about the same proportion I've seen at MLS matches. But don't let the facts get in the way of your rant. Sachin
who's expecting not to get bashed? not me. we get bashed all the time, therefore, by your logic, we can bash the mainstream sports. overall, outside of these boards, soccer is the sport that gets the most bashed, so why can't we bash in return? Did we start it? does it matter? I think it would be idiotic to represent soccer fans as haters of other sports, not only because it would be counterproductive but also because it wouldn't be true. the only people who read this stuff on BS are other soccer fans. there is a HUGE difference between me calling NASCAR "ASSCAR" here and a vitriolic soccer bashing article being printed in a publication with readership in the millions. sorry, but i don't think your noble non-violence ideal applies to bad jokes among people who generally don't take them seriously. Call me a hypocrite when I'm writing articles bashing NASCAR in the Post. which i won't be doing, as i have no reason to bash NASCAR. you just don't have to have a reason to make a joke. and you're epitomizing the whiny fan at the moment, and with a lot less reason to than a soccer fan. the #13 sticker on the truck that just drove by isn't for Clint Mathis.
No question that Nascar has spread its popularity around the country and is more popular than soccer in the USA, but still the hardcore base of its fans are rednecks in the south..... Just kidding.
We should feel lucky to have soccer on this poll at all. I mean, I don't watch golf, but I think the growth of golf as a spectator sport would merit its inclusion here. However, if Frank DeFord had "the last word" on anything related to soccer, we'd be in big trouble. Fortunately, he only thinks he does.
Im starting to sincerely believe that the best thing for soccer in this country would be the death of baseball. Lets hope to God they strike.