Soccer is boring...

Akbar71 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:33 pm

Cloudy: The fact that soccer bores you does not mean that soccer bores everyone. NFL Football bores me, but I'm not telling its millions of fans that their game is boring and their rules should change. It's important to remember, I think, that soccer and American Football (and rugby, Aussie rules and Canadian football) all evolved from the same ancestor. Each game has its positives and each has its own rhythm that might appeal to different people. For me, watching soccer is like watching a symphony, where different themes are introduced and developed, wending their way through the entire piece. NFL Football, on the other hand, feels to me like watching a garage speed punk band perform 15-second commercial ditties for three hours, with two-minute breaks between each. Occasionally interesting, even breathtaking, but I just can't bring myself to watch a whole game all the way through.

With regard to your time-clock suggetions, the game already comes pretty close to meeting your expectations. That is, in the first six games of Euro 2012, there has been an average of 29.666 shots on goal per game, or about one every three minutes. As I am watching the England/France game right now, I am noticing that the ball seldom remains on the "back" side of the field for more than a minute. If you were shorten up your time restrictions or even force time restrictions of any kind you might see even less scoring, as you would prevent the ability of the players to set up real scoring opportunities by forcing them to take potshots when time is about to run out. It would also complicate what are relatively simple rules, which brings me to...

Cloudy & PENGWN: I don't know how much simpler the offside rule could get. I mean, it's really pretty easy to understand. While a "cherry-picker" rule would accomplish the same thing, it sounds unnecessarily complicated and there would be the same enforcement issues as there are with the offside rule. Which brings me to...

The "problems" with soccer are often an integtral part of what makes soccer so enjoyable to fans. The ref's decision is absolute and the ref sometimes makes mistakes. This allows a fan to feel righteous indignation. I don't mean to be sophistic here - I think it's an important part of the experience. "We was robbed..." keeps the fans involved and it keeps people coming back. Hell, I still think Koman Coulabily should be extradited to the U.S. and publicly hanged and I don't even believe in the death penalty. Further, the fact that it is so very difficult to score makes a goal a truly cathartic experience for those who are wrapped up in the game. The expectation that builds while your team sets up a scoring opportunity, the crushing disappointment when that opportunity is denied and the great relief when your side blocks an opponent's chance are what makes the game so exciting and emotional to those of us who enjoy it. Sure there are things that I don't like about the game. If I wrote my true feelings about Italy's team and what I think should be done with those flopping little nancies when they are again and again rewarded for their histrionics, I'd probably land on a terror watch list or two. But even then, I love my loathing. It's all part of the experience.

I get such a high during the World Cup, Gold Cup and (to a lesser extent) the Euro going on now, that it boggles my mind that most of my countrymen don't share that with me. As I feel an affinity with those of you on these boards, I wish that I could share that high with you. I wish that you could watch the sport with fresh eyes, perhaps with someone who enjoys it (that always helps) and capture some of the devastation and joy that I feel. Barring that, I wish you well as you enjoy the sports that I don't care for as much.

But please don't tell me my game needs fixing.

MiniYoda · **Joined:** Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:55 pm **Posts:** 733

Cloudy wrote:

I've watched many college, Olympic, and professional soccer games on TV. I think it's a good sport, but let's face it, IT's BORING...!

There is way too much just kicking the ball around to teammates without any attempt to move the ball down field to take a shot on goal in soccer. Yeah, I understand there is some strategy going on here, but that strategy seldom results in a goal. I think the game needs to be speeded up, before it will ever catch on in the United States. Watching a soccer game reminds me of Dean Smith's "four corners" boredom years ago in college basketball.

I have some suggestions to make the game of soccer much more fun and interesting to watch. All of these suggestions are taken from basketball. (The time limits I am about to suggest are open to reasonable arguments to change.)

1- After a team gets control of the ball on their side of the field, I would give them a 1 minute time limit to advance it past the midfield line. If they fail to do so, the opposing team will be awarded a free kick from the spot the ball was when time ran out.

2- Once a team advances the ball beyond the midfield line, they will be subject to basketballs' rule of over-and-back. If a team in control of the ball moves it back beyond the midfield line after crossing it, the opposing team will be awarded a free kick from the spot of the infraction.

3- Now for my "shot clock" rule. Once the team on offense moves the ball beyond the midfield line I would only allow them 2 minutes to move the ball under control into the penalty area or to take a shot on goal that transverses the penalty area. If they get the ball into the penalty area and lose it to the defending team, the clock would be reset for them, if they recover possession of the ball before it goes back across the midfield line. A violation would turn the ball over to the opposing team for a free kick from the spot the ball was when time ran out. (Yeah, I know the rules I am proposing need some tweaking, but they are a start to making soccer a much faster game than it is today.)

Not only would these new rules speed the game up, and create more scoring, they would also create a lot of new employment for people with stopwatches. :lol:

(Let's see how much trouble this gets me into with soccer aficionados.)

If you/Americans want to speed up a sport, why not start with the two national sports of Baseball and NFL Football. Those are two sports that have so much dead time, someone can fall asleep for 20 minutes and miss little. Soccer is constant movement and more strategy than is obvious to the average American. It's not as fast-paced as hockey, but much better than baseball.

scar · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:57 pm **Posts:** 2218

-BO- wrote:

Cloudy wrote:

It is boring... It's like watching a chess match, with the exception that chess matches have a timer for players to make a move. I actually think that those 7 billion people would enjoy soccer more, if the game was speeded up and there was more scoring. Perhaps a faster game with more scoring would reduce the frustration those 7 billion people feel rooting for their team with nothing happening. Perhaps a reduction in frustration would reduce riots and fights that break out in the crowd at soccer games.

YOU think it's boring, and I could see how those who have no understanding of the sport would think that.

I also enjoy watching chess matches, because I understand a lot of the nuances of the game. Heck, replaying Morphy's multiple sacrifice game from over 100 years ago is chilling.

Nothing wrong with a subjective opinion of something, but don't think billions of people who actually understand the game would approve of change.

BO

Well, I think it is boring also, but then I feel that hockey is too.

I'll never forget when a college buddy from Connecticut made me sit down and watch a hockey game with me "so I would understand what a great game it was". Sat in front of a little black and white and he patiently explained the rules of the game and what was going on.

Offsides was called, and I was incredulous at his explanation. "Blue line ? Seriously... you can't fast break ? No wonder nobody ever scores". He further explained the rules, that that was part of the beauty of the game, and I explained I grew up watching and playing basketball, and we sort of agreed to disagree.

Now Bo, from your comments to Cloudy, it appears you think he may be relatively uninformed about the game. That may be true, but he sure knows a lot more than I do. As a matter of fact, he was brave enough to coach soccer to younguns for a period of years.

And lastly, I googled up the difference between offsides in soccer and hockey so I wouldn't sound like an idiot, and stumbled across quite a few non Americans debating whether different proposals on speeding up the games had merit or not. I read Euro officials discussing the difficulty of the soccer rule vs hockey; an Australian player bemoaning that the game is an absolute joy to play but even he gets bored trying to watch it, and on and on.

So apparently, at least some of those seven billion think it is a legitimate topic of discussion.

MitchWolf · **Posted:** Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:41 pm

cards wrote:

tiefly wrote:

I just asked the manager @ the BWW I'm playing at to put soccer on. It's the start of my vacation and I like the idle time between action.

Indoor soccer? Rather watch an ant farm at work.

What??? Tiefly has a 1000 posts and no badge??? Time to form a hanging
party for Dante.

The Badge is called "Correct Answer", Cards and he is the 8th King Postalot since Scaratings was reactivated.

cards · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:48 am **Posts:** 553

MitchWolf wrote:

cards wrote:

tiefly wrote:

I just asked the manager @ the BWW I'm playing at to put soccer on. It's the start of my vacation and I like the idle time between action.

Indoor soccer? Rather watch an ant farm at work.

What??? Tiefly has a 1000 posts and no badge??? Time to form a hanging
party for Dante.

The Badge is called "Correct Answer", Cards and he is the 8th King Postalot since Scaratings was reactivated.

Any badge lover knows you get a badge for a 1000 whatever. :roll:

There are no kings on this site. Only one evil ruler and his name is Dante.

spotes · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:27 pm **Posts:** 1558

It's always been my opinion that soccer and hockey share the same flaw.
You cannot go from losing to winning in a single play.
Those are the plays that seem to define most truly great "moments" in sports.
While baseball is certainly paced slowly, the drama of bases loaded, down by three with two outs in the ninth has infinitely more appeal than some Italian coming down the field with the ball down by one with one minute of stoppage time left.
The payoff in scenario one is a fantastic triumphant moment.
The payoff in scenario two is "Wheeee! We tied!" :mrgreen:

Americans live for that kind of dramatic crap, which is why I think those two sports share their niche status in the US.

zog741 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 12, 2012 12:44 am

Actually, in my opinion, one of the most dramatic sports moments is when a game-tying goal is scored in a playoff hockey game with only a few seconds left in regulation. It isn't "yay, we tied!" because you know there is going to be another goal in the game; the question is which team will score that goal. And you have no idea when it will be scored (but hopefully not in the fifth overtime.) But the excitement of that game-tying goal will continue until that deciding goal has been scored, whenever that is.

-- RWM

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Akbar71 wrote:

Cloudy: The fact that soccer bores you does not mean that soccer bores everyone. NFL Football bores me, but I'm not telling its millions of fans that their game is boring and their rules should change. It's important to remember, I think, that soccer and American Football (and rugby, Aussie rules and Canadian football) all evolved from the same ancestor. Each game has its positives and each has its own rhythm that might appeal to different people. For me, watching soccer is like watching a symphony, where different themes are introduced and developed, wending their way through the entire piece. NFL Football, on the other hand, feels to me like watching a garage speed punk band perform 15-second commercial ditties for three hours, with two-minute breaks between each. Occasionally interesting, even breathtaking, but I just can't bring myself to watch a whole game all the way through.

With regard to your time-clock suggetions, the game already comes pretty close to meeting your expectations. That is, in the first six games of Euro 2012, there has been an average of 29.666 shots on goal per game, or about one every three minutes. As I am watching the England/France game right now, I am noticing that the ball seldom remains on the "back" side of the field for more than a minute. If you were shorten up your time restrictions or even force time restrictions of any kind you might see even less scoring, as you would prevent the ability of the players to set up real scoring opportunities by forcing them to take potshots when time is about to run out. It would also complicate what are relatively simple rules, which brings me to...

Cloudy & PENGWN: I don't know how much simpler the offside rule could get. I mean, it's really pretty easy to understand. While a "cherry-picker" rule would accomplish the same thing, it sounds unnecessarily complicated and there would be the same enforcement issues as there are with the offside rule. Which brings me to...

The "problems" with soccer are often an integtral part of what makes soccer so enjoyable to fans. The ref's decision is absolute and the ref sometimes makes mistakes. This allows a fan to feel righteous indignation. I don't mean to be sophistic here - I think it's an important part of the experience. "We was robbed..." keeps the fans involved and it keeps people coming back. Hell, I still think Koman Coulabily should be extradited to the U.S. and publicly hanged and I don't even believe in the death penalty. Further, the fact that it is so very difficult to score makes a goal a truly cathartic experience for those who are wrapped up in the game. The expectation that builds while your team sets up a scoring opportunity, the crushing disappointment when that opportunity is denied and the great relief when your side blocks an opponent's chance are what makes the game so exciting and emotional to those of us who enjoy it. Sure there are things that I don't like about the game. If I wrote my true feelings about Italy's team and what I think should be done with those flopping little nancies when they are again and again rewarded for their histrionics, I'd probably land on a terror watch list or two. But even then, I love my loathing. It's all part of the experience.

I get such a high during the World Cup, Gold Cup and (to a lesser extent) the Euro going on now, that it boggles my mind that most of my countrymen don't share that with me. As I feel an affinity with those of you on these boards, I wish that I could share that high with you. I wish that you could watch the sport with fresh eyes, perhaps with someone who enjoys it (that always helps) and capture some of the devastation and joy that I feel. Barring that, I wish you well as you enjoy the sports that I don't care for as much.

But please don't tell me my game needs fixing.

Akbar, I can tell that you really know the game of soccer, and I sure as Hell don't dare to get into a deep debate with you about it. However, I think the game would more acceptable to most American's if it was speeded up with more scoring. You can't tell me that that soccer does not spend an inordinate amount of time passing the ball around, with no attempt to attack the goal. I understand that this is strategy, but it is boring strategy that seldom winds up with a score. Perhaps my time limits won't work, but I still like my over-and-back rule. I also like PENGWN's idea of eliminating the off sides rule. Get rid of it, and the game will really speed up, with much more scoring. What good does the off sides rule do, other than really slowing the game down.

p.s. You think the off sides you is simple. Okay, explain it to everyone in 25 words of less. :lol:

(I love you, man. I hope I haven't pissed you off too much.)

-BO- · **Joined:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:20 pm **Posts:** 2291

I think it would be more acceptable to most Americans if sexy college girls were more interested in fucking trivia players more than double their age. That way there would be more scoring which is obviously what most Americans want regardless of tradition and common sense.

The above statement is just as viable as most in this thread. And I'm all for it! :lol:

BO

Akbar71 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:50 am

Cloudy wrote:

p.s. You think the off sides you is simple. Okay, explain it to everyone in 25 words of less.

When someone passes the ball upfield to you, there must be two opponents between you and the goal line. Nineteen words.

scar · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:57 pm **Posts:** 2218

-BO- wrote:

I think it would be more acceptable to most Americans if sexy college girls were more interested in fucking trivia players more than double their age. That way there would be more scoring which is obviously what most Americans want regardless of tradition and common sense.

The above statement is just as viable as most in this thread. And I'm all for it! :lol:

BO

Bo, I don't know if I could handle any more sexy college girls fucking trivia players more than double their age. You must be quite the virile fella.

I don't know about common sense, but I always thought that WAS tradition.

scar · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:57 pm **Posts:** 2218

Akbar71 wrote:

Cloudy wrote:

p.s. You think the off sides you is simple. Okay, explain it to everyone in 25 words of less.

When someone passes the ball upfield to you, there must be two opponents between you and the goal line. Nineteen words.

Serious question. Why ? Why do you have to wait for defenders to catch up, or why would you need to move backwards to your own goal ?

I really don't know. Is that to encourage individuals to bring the ball upfield on their own ?

scar · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:57 pm **Posts:** 2218

I googled why does the offside rule exist and got :

The offside rule exists to stop goal hanging, where a player stands next to the opposing teams goal keeper in the hope that someone can get the ball to him (probably using a long ball), so he can get it past the goal keeper. Which would make for a very boring game.

So, it would be boring to score...

lewser · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 2:25 pm **Posts:** 1028

scar wrote:

I googled why does the offside rule exist and got :

The offside rule exists to stop goal hanging, where a player stands next to the opposing teams goal keeper in the hope that someone can get the ball to him (probably using a long ball), so he can get it past the goal keeper. Which would make for a very boring game.

So, it would be boring to score...

Yes, it would be boring and here is the simplest explanation. Think basketball (I don't know how much you play, but I am hoping you get the analogy) when someone doesn't come down on the defensive end and just sits at the other end, his team gets the rebound and throws it to him where no one but him is at and he scores. That is called cherry picking and it sucks watching. Now to stop cherry picking you either A) drop a player back to cover him making the game 4 on 4, or B) pass the ball around until he comes back isolating his man to make him open so he can score and 'negate' the advantage of the cherry picking. That is even more boring. So, by having the offside rule it stops crappy scoring, not all scoring is created equal.

Pavel Bure of the Panthers (years ago) would do nothing but sit on the logo waiting for a pass. He was cherry picking just short of being off sides. This, was terrible to watch it was called, "Feeding the kitty."

scar · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:57 pm **Posts:** 2218

lewser wrote:

scar wrote:

I googled why does the offside rule exist and got :

The offside rule exists to stop goal hanging, where a player stands next to the opposing teams goal keeper in the hope that someone can get the ball to him (probably using a long ball), so he can get it past the goal keeper. Which would make for a very boring game.

So, it would be boring to score...

Yes, it would be boring and here is the simplest explanation. Think basketball (I don't know how much you play, but I am hoping you get the analogy) when someone doesn't come down on the defensive end and just sits at the other end, his team gets the rebound and throws it to him where no one but him is at and he scores. That is called cherry picking and it sucks watching. Now to stop cherry picking you either A) drop a player back to cover him making the game 4 on 4, or B) pass the ball around until he comes back isolating his man to make him open so he can score and 'negate' the advantage of the cherry picking. That is even more boring. So, by having the offside rule it stops crappy scoring, not all scoring is created equal.

Pavel Bure of the Panthers (years ago) would do nothing but sit on the logo waiting for a pass. He was cherry picking just short of being off sides. This, was terrible to watch it was called, "Feeding the kitty."

If a player stays at the defensive end, then the other team has a five on four advantage at the other end. So, in basketball there is no need for an offside rule is there ? No one camps at the defensive goal, they all get back on defense (well, except for a few lazy bums, and some really overweight centers who move really slowly).

tiefly · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:54 am **Posts:** 1665

I really don't care about soccer, but I want my fuckin' ATTACKER badge!!!

BTW-Czech Republic scoring early & often.

EDIT: Need to get me a goalie helmet for Triviapalooza...gravity issues, ya know.

liljol · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:41 pm **Posts:** 2497

tiefly wrote:

I really don't care about soccer, but I want my fuckin' ATTACKER badge!!!

Rotsa ruck with that. :roll:

Akbar71 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:56 am

-BO- wrote:

I think it would be more acceptable to most Americans if sexy college girls were more interested in fucking trivia players more than double their age.

BO

That doesn't happen where you play?

scar · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:57 pm **Posts:** 2218

lewser wrote:

scar wrote:

I googled why does the offside rule exist and got :

The offside rule exists to stop goal hanging, where a player stands next to the opposing teams goal keeper in the hope that someone can get the ball to him (probably using a long ball), so he can get it past the goal keeper. Which would make for a very boring game.

So, it would be boring to score...

Yes, it would be boring and here is the simplest explanation. Think basketball (I don't know how much you play, but I am hoping you get the analogy) when someone doesn't come down on the defensive end and just sits at the other end, his team gets the rebound and throws it to him where no one but him is at and he scores. That is called cherry picking and it sucks watching. Now to stop cherry picking you either A) drop a player back to cover him making the game 4 on 4, or B) pass the ball around until he comes back isolating his man to make him open so he can score and 'negate' the advantage of the cherry picking. That is even more boring. So, by having the offside rule it stops crappy scoring, not all scoring is created equal.

Pavel Bure of the Panthers (years ago) would do nothing but sit on the logo waiting for a pass. He was cherry picking just short of being off sides. This, was terrible to watch it was called, "Feeding the kitty."

So, it's like a terrible trivia player sitting around to hear other players answers.

tiefly · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:54 am **Posts:** 1665

cards wrote:

tiefly wrote:

I just asked the manager @ the BWW I'm playing at to put soccer on. It's the start of my vacation and I like the idle time between action.

Indoor soccer? Rather watch an ant farm at work.

What??? Tiefly has a 1000 posts and no badge??? Time to form a hanging
party for Dante.

EGADS!!!

I lost my "ALMOST CORRECT ANSWER" designation.

I hereby relinquish my position of "KING OR QUEEN" (unless it comes with a cape!).

cards · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:48 am **Posts:** 553

tiefly wrote:

cards wrote:

tiefly wrote:

I just asked the manager @ the BWW I'm playing at to put soccer on. It's the start of my vacation and I like the idle time between action.

Indoor soccer? Rather watch an ant farm at work.

What??? Tiefly has a 1000 posts and no badge??? Time to form a hanging
party for Dante.

EGADS!!!

I lost my "ALMOST CORRECT ANSWER" designation.

I hereby relinquish my position of "KING OR QUEEN" (unless it comes with a cape!).

Doesn't matter we are all minions under Dante's evil rule.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=Dvw ... =endscreen

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Soccer should be played more like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPmESnXI7Vw

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

This is the message I got, when I tried to delete the the mysterious, unintentional duplicate post of the post above.

"You cannot delete posts in this forum."

Yes, I am logged in.

I could manually delete the text, and overwrite it, but the post would NOT go away.

Can someone explain this to me...?

Jesse · **Posted:** Thu Jun 14, 2012 2:40 am

Cloudy wrote:

I've watched many college, Olympic, and professional soccer games on TV. I think it's a good sport, but let's face it, IT's BORING...!

There is way too much just kicking the ball around to teammates without any attempt to move the ball down field to take a shot on goal in soccer. Yeah, I understand there is some strategy going on here, but that strategy seldom results in a goal. I think the game needs to be speeded up, before it will ever catch on in the United States. Watching a soccer game reminds me of Dean Smith's "four corners" boredom years ago in college basketball.

I have some suggestions to make the game of soccer much more fun and interesting to watch. All of these suggestions are taken from basketball. (The time limits I am about to suggest are open to reasonable arguments to change.)

1- After a team gets control of the ball on their side of the field, I would give them a 1 minute time limit to advance it past the midfield line. If they fail to do so, the opposing team will be awarded a free kick from the spot the ball was when time ran out.

2- Once a team advances the ball beyond the midfield line, they will be subject to basketballs' rule of over-and-back. If a team in control of the ball moves it back beyond the midfield line after crossing it, the opposing team will be awarded a free kick from the spot of the infraction.

3- Now for my "shot clock" rule. Once the team on offense moves the ball beyond the midfield line I would only allow them 2 minutes to move the ball under control into the penalty area or to take a shot on goal that transverses the penalty area. If they get the ball into the penalty area and lose it to the defending team, the clock would be reset for them, if they recover possession of the ball before it goes back across the midfield line. A violation would turn the ball over to the opposing team for a free kick from the spot the ball was when time ran out. (Yeah, I know the rules I am proposing need some tweaking, but they are a start to making soccer a much faster game than it is today.)

Not only would these new rules speed the game up, and create more scoring, they would also create a lot of new employment for people with stopwatches. :lol:

(Let's see how much trouble this gets me into with soccer aficionados.)

You think SOCCER is Boring??? What about GOLF???? I think George Carlin put it best....Watching a game of golf is like watching flies f***......

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Jesse wrote:

You think SOCCER is Boring??? What about GOLF???? I think George Carlin put it best....Watching a game of golf is like watching flies f***......

JESSE, let's leave golf alone. I would prefer that this thread doesn't go wandering off on the fairways of your mind.

You might want to think about starting your own "Golf" thread. Hell, it would be free.

p.s. It's good to see you posting on the "ScaRatings".

New Scaratings

Soccer is boring...

Who is online