Here's a little article I wrote about soccer in America, for those who are interested. http://www.geocities.com/weiser_bud/Musings/soccer.htm
Hmm, don't know where you get "sycophantic" when I'm merely stating opinion (embellished though it is).
Re: Re: Silly Article In a way he is correct and I agree with him. I love the NFL just as much as I do MLS, or any soccer game for that matter. But in this day and age, the games do get broken up a bit by the stops and starts. I stomach hockey, but barely. MLB was my first love, but three hour games (not three and a half) have turned me off. That and the fact baseball is boring to watch on TV - and I like the sport. The NBA has lost me, probably for good. When I can shoot free-throws better than your average professional, then something is wrong. NCAA basketball is a little better and I'll probably watch "March Madness" most every year. Golf is bowling in disguise. Some things I don't agree with from AvidSinger's "Article"... Which club was your favorite at MLS Cup VII? I didn't know Tottenham were playing? TV has added to the time it takes for most U.S. sports to be televised. IIRC, only one minute is allowed between innings in a baseball - though it could be eight or so warm-up tosses for the pitcher. Now there are two minutes between innings, which equates to another 15-20 minutes to the game. The same applies to the NFL, NBA, and NHL with T.V. time-outs for commercials. Of course I don't mind these commercials. Without them, ESPN wouldn't generate the revenue to broadcast the games. Of course you could have public television, such as the BBC, broadcast games. But then you would still have to pay for it through higher taxes or donations. This is what you do now with the commercials anyway. If companies didn't advertise, retail prices would be lower - in theory. Why does a game have to end in a draw? I thought games of all sorts - including gin rummy - were played to determine a winner! To embellish a bit - if you want to live in the U.S. and bitch about U.S. sports, you should at least respect them some before doing so. You rag on MLS about O.T., yet don't even have a favorite MLS club listed. What gives?
There really aren't any points in it that haven't been discussed at length here 100 times before. However, as a life-long soccer player and golfer I want to add, that the two are similar in the eye of the average sports fan in more than a few ways. The way you go off on golf sounds errily similar to the way Jim Rome goes off on soccer. Both games can be watched by the average observer and enjoyed, but does that same average observer appreicate the game? Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no. Intimate knowledge of each game is required to really appreciate what is going on. And in the American sporting landscape, people would rather just turn on the TV and see action than have to use their brain in a manner to break the game down. We Americans want everything now with no work involved. It doesn't work that way. I had a plastic golf club in my hand when I was two, and a soccer ball at my feet when I was 4. Almost 20 years later both of these sports are my loves and I have an in depth knowledge of each. Now sitting and watching golf is never the highlight of my weekend, but it is a welcome break from the chores of a Sunday. With knowledge of the games comes a greater level of enjoyment. Being a soccer fan today is like being a golf fan before Tiger hit the mainstage. (Who will be our Tiger?)
I'm a season ticket holder for the Revolution, and I was there cheering loudly for them at the last MLS Cup, but my favorite team is still the Spurs, and I hope soon I can travel to the UK and see a match or two of them. Yes, I do consider myself a Revs fan, but since the profile asks for "favorite team" and not "favorite teams" I opted to list only my most favorite. At any rate... I readily admit I embellish in my writing style quite a bit, but the core message I'm getting across is still the same. The commercials you correctly state as the reason many games take longer is, IMO, precisely the problem. Watching a game on TV nowadays is painful, because it seems there's more commercial time than game time. And the reason they need more commercials is because players are bitching that making millions of dollars a year isn't enough, even though the league minimums for almost all major sports is far above the average salary in the US. As far as games being played to determine a winner, I'd have to disagree. Games are played to determine a result, not necessarily a winner. Seasons are played to determine a winner, but individual games (during the regular season) are played to determine how points are to be awarded to the individual teams. Should a team who needs overtime to win be given the same number of points as a team who won during regular time?
I dunno. Before Tiger came along, most people knew the names Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and so on, and golf frequently graced the covers of sports magazines.
Yea, the average fan always knows the best names in the sport, but how many people knew the names of guys who weren't the best in golf? Before Tiger the average American knew little about golf other than a few names, and that The Masters was held at Augusta National. But how many of those same people could tell you where Gary Player hails from, or how Jim Fyruk's (sp?) swing mechanics work (golf fans know what I mean), or what holes make up Amen Corner. The same goes with soccer. Maybe the average American can tell you who who knocked the US out of the Cup, or tell you what sport Cobi Jones plays, but other than some general facts, they know little. Golf has come a tremendous way since I was a kid, mostly due to Tiger. But back in the 80s and early 90s, the average golf fan was an upper class, country club member (this is a generalization, but using it to make a point), now you have inner city kids playing a game they never heard of before Tiger. Tiger gave them a reason to pay attention to the sport. Knowledge is needed to really appreciate and love soccer and golf, among other sports. I can see that you most likely know little about golf because you don't appreciate it (and there is nothing wrong with that). But understand that the average American doesn't want to put the effort into understanding a sport like soccer because they would rather watch a linebacker take the head off of a quarterback, there is little involved in that situation that needs evaluation. Physical combat has always interested man because it is primal. With things primal comes little in the way of thinking, hence the average American loves football.