David Beckham On His Way To Usa

[track2004]

KRP-
I understand why you think soccer is lame, but its a fun, cheap, interesting game in the rest of the world. I mean all you need is a ball, an open space and some kind of goal (we used sides of buildings back in the day) which makes it really marketable for any and every country. No need for expensive pads or equipment or even a really distinct playing area. Most other countries have been soccer fanatics their whole lives and they don't have many other professional sports like the US.

It's a quality game, just not one that meshes well with what Americans want out of their sports. There aren't any 'plays', or fights, or fouls, and they don't score often.

I played soccer for 6 years and I enjoy watching a game because I know what is going on, but most Americans don't have that much experience with the game. I doubt it will catch on because we already have our year full of sporting events. Life moves from Football to Basketball to Baseball and around and around, so I don't know where soccer will find a market expect for MAYBE with people who played when they were young, like me, but even then, the Eurpoean teams are better.

[Tony]

the one thing that does stink is teams seem to be more and more conservative.. most of the teams in the World Cup played a 5-4-1 formation. It used to be not uncommon for a team to play with at least 3 forwards.. sometimes 4 or 5!

But.. in some ways.. the low scores are what keeps a soccer game interesting.. It's the one sport that you can least likely say after 3/4 of the game ( Well, we know who is going to win)..Even when a team is down 2-0 after 85 minutes.. I have seen my favorite team down by that much and win the game 3-2! you just don't know what will happen next!.. you might think one team has momentum.. but then the other team comes up with a goal.. the dominant team gets a red card.. the referee makes a bad decision somewhere that changes the complexion.. such as the mentioned red card.. a penalty kick.. there is lots of drama in soccer games!

I so much hope these big transfers that could come to MLS will bring back the Big Crowds the New York Cosmos did in the 1970's when they had Pele and Franz Beckenbauer. (well they had some guy named Georgio Chinaglia too.. but he lead to the demise of the whole thing when he became GM. )

Edited January 14, 2007 by Era Might

[misereremi]

The money he'll be getting in the US is scandalous, but I hope that with Becks moving there, there will be more appreciation for the most beautiful game that is FOOTBALL.

[Era Might]

[quote name='Tony' post='1163536' date='Jan 13 2007, 10:20 AM']it's all about how it's marketing.. the NASL deteriorated because of bad marketing.[/quote]
I think it's more than that. The four major sports in this country have a long tradition. We argue about statistics from the 70s, teams from the 20s, events from the 80s. Fathers and grandfathers remember this or that moment. Soccer isn't part of our collective consciousness as a nation. Nobody thinks back to the '65 Galaxy team that went undefeated (it didn't exist), but everyone looks back to the '72 Dolphins team that did. Hockey has fallen on hard times, but even hockey was a major sport at one time in this country, with a long history. The most soccer can hope to achieve in America, I think, is success on a niche level; something like Nascar.

[Noel's angel]

[quote name='King's Rook's Pawn' post='1163652' date='Jan 13 2007, 06:55 PM']
Soccer/football is a boring game. I'm sorry, it really is, especially professional soccer/football. How it became so popular around the world is a total mystery to me. Kicking a ball around a field in nets??? Big whoop! There are so many more interesting, exciting, nuanced sports out there, even hockey, which is somewhat similar to soccer. But what about baseball? Now, there is a sport of complexity, strategy, and atmosphere. Soccer? Even the soccer ball itself is boring: black-and-white pattern of geometric shapes? What's that about? Sounds like the national sport of the New World Order to me. That would, at least, explain it's popularity. Okay, I'm joking about that last one. But seriously, Europeans, the fact that your most beloved sport involves guys in short shorts kicking a ball to each other in an embarrasment to the first degree. If your going to have a sport so ridiculously, idiotically popular that people are trampled to death over can't you come up with something more imaginative than that?

You guys should go back to cricket, jousting, discus-throwing and bocce ball; the most boring match in any one those sports is twice as interesting as the most exciting soccer game in history. Actually, all of Europe might as well just turn back the clock to at least 1913 and start over, becuase it's been all downhill since then (no offense). And soccer's ludicrous popularity is indicative of it. What's next: tiddly-wink hooligans?
[/quote]

Oh my goodness, I can't believe what you just wrote. You obviously haven't watched much European football. Let's look back to the Champions League Final between Liverpool and AC Milan. 3-0 down in the first half, Liverpool make an amazing comeback to win on penalties. You cannot say that was a boring match. As for skill, ever watched Christiano Ronaldo or Ronaldhino??
As for the short shorts-baseball players wear silly tight trousers which are way more embarassing than a pair of shorts.

Edited January 14, 2007 by Noel's angel

[Tony]

the 2006 FA Cup Final wasn't too bad either

[Noel's angel]

Agreed. I don't think you could say that was a boring game lol.

[King's Rook's Pawn]

[quote name='Noel's angel' post='1164422' date='Jan 14 2007, 03:43 PM']
Oh my goodness, I can't believe what you just wrote. You obviously haven't watched much European football. Let's look back to the Champions League Final between Liverpool and AC Milan. 3-0 down in the first half, Liverpool make an amazing comeback to win on penalties.[/quote]
Is simply beating long odds really all that exciting, in and of itself? I could play a one-armed bandit for that. Where's the strategy in football? Where's the complexity? Where's the beef???

[quote]As for the short shorts-baseball players wear silly tight trousers[/quote]
True. Baseball players need to go back to wearing knickerbockers and colored socks.

[Socrates]

A $50 mill/yr "metrosexual" like Beckham will do little to increase the appeal of soccer to red-blooded American sports fans.

[Tony]

[quote name='King's Rook's Pawn' post='1164637' date='Jan 14 2007, 07:32 PM']
Is simply beating long odds really all that exciting, in and of itself? I could play a one-armed bandit for that. Where's the strategy in football? Where's the complexity? Where's the beef???
True. Baseball players need to go back to wearing knickerbockers and colored socks.
[/quote]

Formations.(4-4-2? 3-4-3? What will work best against that particular opponent and what formation is your team comfortable playing?Man Marking (are you going to send 2 guys to attack a known goal scorer the whole game and leave another man unmarked?, containing the ball or attacking, when/how you are going to use your mere 3 substitutions? how well are you able to deal with losing a man due to an injury or red card? are you going to have a player play more conservative to prevent getting his 2nd yellow card when he already has one? (2 yellows= a red) Free kicks (are you going to shoot direct, try to bend it around the wall, or try to find an open teammate and have him shoot right away? depending on who you think will take the free kick, how many men do you want in your wall to block the shot? are you able to send in a long ball to a team mate in hope that he is not offside?

Edited January 15, 2007 by Tony

[Noel's angel]

[quote name='King's Rook's Pawn' post='1164637' date='Jan 15 2007, 12:32 AM']
Is simply beating long odds really all that exciting, in and of itself? I could play a one-armed bandit for that. Where's the strategy in football? Where's the complexity? Where's the beef???
True. Baseball players need to go back to wearing knickerbockers and colored socks.
[/quote]

You cannot possibly say that football has no strategy. That's ridiculous. It's all about skill and strategy. I wonder if you have actually ever seena football match.

[Tony]

the rules are simple but the game play surely isn't

[Noel's angel]

Tony, you rock.

[Tony]

gee, thanks

[-I---Love]

For those who have attempted to put down football, please be aware that you simply demonstrate your lack of experience w/ the game.

I would hope that when you speak about the faith you display a bit more knowledge and tact. I would also hope that you only speak about things that you know. When one is ignorant on a subject, one should not discuss it, but listen.

Football has united countries, and continents. Football is an art that has saved ppls hopes and dreams. It is a way of life for many ppl and is an integral part of many cultures.

Football is not a new American sport and does not stop. It functions differently and those 90 minutes don't keep pausing. When you sit down to watch a game, you can't risk getting up for 1 minute, because the game doesn't stop.

There is a way of speaking in football without words, and a way of displaying ones own personality by the style a person creates.

I don't know enough about football, but it is obvious from the love it endures around the world, that it isn't a worthless sport that has no fashion.