Hey all, I didn't get a chance to report since I was busy all week but I wanted to let everyone know what my thoughts and feelings were toward the game. I'm currently a new soccer fan. I've always followed the olympic women's soccer events every 4 years and was 13 years old when I saw the USNT win 99(that's when I started becoming a fan of Brandi, Mia, Julie, etc.) But I never followed the women's league(early 2000s?) because I had no idea they were going on when I was growing up. Anyway, therefore I'm new to the rules and general customs in soccer games. This year is an exciting year for me since I've been a 100% supporter of new team LA SOL. I went to my first soccer game when Beckham started playing for Galaxy I believe 2008 or something and even though I had a crush on him and took pictures of him(something that's totally non-soccer fan-like) I grew bored of watching Galaxy, and realized that I didn't find them as interesting to watch compared to the women's US team for some odd reason. I know that the women are not as strong or quick as the men but something about the women's game drew me more into them. Forward to Buck Shaw, this was my first away LA SOL event for me. I was excited to see their away jerseys, and excited to proudly show off my "marta poster" and LA SOL shirt. I was excited to see FC Gold Pride old school players like Brandi give Marta a run for her money. Anyway, I noticed people on other threads were saying that the cheering and audience participation wasn't great... and maybe I haven't been to many games besides the SOL games but I thought the fans were even more exciting than the SOL fans at HDC. There were like guys in Brazilian colors that were pounding on the drums the whole time and some freakish dude with hair cut like soccer ball running around getting people to yell and scream "FC Gold Pride" or "BEAT LA!" The game itself was the most exciting I've seen for LA SOL, they really were aggressive at trying to score and they actually had control of the ball. Han Duan finally made a goal and I was so happy for her! I don't understand certain things like why people were booing when the penalty kick took place. I didn't get a good look at what happened but many players were opposed to the foul. Also the thing with Marta and Wilson. From my point of view I was completely confused why Marta seemed to suddenly start charging at Wilson coming off field and Wilson falling down and getting hurt. I love Marta and I'm a fan, however I do notice that she's very aggressive player and I know the sport isn't exactly safe, I'm kinda wondering why Marta would do such a thing at 89:00 minutes. Anyway, I know this post sounds nieve since I really don't know much about the game at all, I just wanted to express my feelings about the game. Also is it just me or does LA SOL tend to have trouble keeping possession of the ball or do they know something I dont know? Even though LA SOL usually either wins or ties, they never can keep possession of the ball in my opinion. Sometimes they do... then again I dont know much about the game and I have no idea if that's just something they don't worry about too much or it's indeed a problem. Also I noticed that Marta always gets called offside... I don't undersand offside that well, and I've read it up on wikipedia and I think I might get it but I might need to watch more games to understand it better.
I think it's really cool that you're getting into soccer and that you're a Sol fan. Don't worry you'll figure out the offsides thing.....it's a little confusing at first. Glad you're here. You going to the game tomorrow v. Athletica? should be a good one.
Welcome to the LA Sol forum in particular and Big Soccer in general. I think that the reason some people change from watching the men's game to the women's game because the field seems bigger because the players aren't as big and fast. Who wants to watch the ball go over 3/4 of the way down the field when a keeper kicks it? Don't worry about being confused a bit about some of the rules. Just look into the Referee forum a few times and you will see that there is room for all sorts of 'interpretation.' In fact, here is one of the many threads about offsides. I can remember going up to San Jose for a game between the San Diego Spirit and Bay Area CyberRays back in 2001 to see Joy Fawcett's first full game back after giving birth to her third daughter. There were drummers then and the same guy with the hair cut into a soccer ball pattern was there. I'm glad that you enjoyed your experience.
Marta would do that kind of thing at 89 minutes because she's a PLAYER. She doesn't stop she has high expectations and she has been voted the BEST player in the world for 3 consecutive years. This league is getting a taste of why and at the end of the day, everyone will be better for it.