Steve Rushin - Soccer Nazi

I try to make things simple for you, brother....

 

Can I assume that since there's only two posts on the soccer haters thread that everyone here likes soccer?

No? Oh that's right, that's because everyone feels it's their right to loudly proclaim why the sport sucks, right?

Like what you like and hate what you hate and have a great big helping of STFU.

Thanks. I'm done being pissy now. Off to go juggle some kittens.

 

The sport is fine - what sucks are the people who feel the need to tell us why we need to like soccer. It's same people who flap their arms and tell you to stand up at Yankee stadium. I find both equally annoying.

Call me cynical but I feel that have the people pushing soccer are doing so for the money .

 

You're cynical.

 

I volunteered at the 1994 World Cup and while I admit I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, so many of the people involved seemed like the kind of people who would be involved in Amway.

 

Here's the thing: I'm a soccer fan in the same way I'm a skiing fan. I'll watch it every four years because it's a huge sporting event. And I love sporting events. I've joked before about soccer being a step back in evolution because it won't let you use your hands, but only a blind man couldn't appreciate the skill and grace of these athletes. And the passion is something I can feel, and I'm thousands of miles away.

So Steve, baby, honey, if you're reading this: I'm a boorish American. I'll watch soccer until July 9, and won't again for another four years. But at least I'm not married to the love child of John Elway and a stallion.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The pro-soccer crowd is much more into pushing it's opinion than the anti-soccer crowd is.
No one is under any obligation to be interested in soccer, ballet, cooking shows, fishing, mystery novels, poker, wine, fashion, carpentry or anything else.
And the number of people interested in something is not a compelling argument by which to persuade someone to get interested in it.

 

Wow, me too.

 

Why do so many here say MLS is boring?
Is it the EPL? No. But it's a good league, and it's great for soccer here, and if people who love soccer wanted the league to get better and soccer to get bigger and better here, they'd support it. It's certainly worth a couple hours of your time and a few bucks. I just don't understand.

 

I call complete BS on this.
The pro-soccer crowd here in America is operating with the equivalent of two soup cans tied together with a string. The anti-soccer crowd, by comparison, has cell phones, internet, satellite radio and cable TV. It's not even close.
The loudest voices in American sports media are, in the majority, ardent soccer-haters. (Rome, Mariotti, Lupica, etc.) They are not content to simply ignore it, which would be fine. They must tell you how silly it all is, and boring, and that is not fine.
A sports talk radio station where I live has three local shows. Two of them actively rip on soccer during the appropriate times (World Cup, women's World Cup, etc.) and they ran a promo break the other day that essentially was a big middle finger to those of us who love soccer and the WC, saying, "You won't find that crap on this station."
Buck, you could not be more wrong.
Every time somebody starts up a soccer thread here, not asking for any comment from the haters, you've got somebody like Spinning coming along and saying, 'Great, hope they lose, so it'll get the soccer off my TV." Or someone else saying, "Soccer is boring." Most soccer fans would be happy to drop this argument and let people gradually be converted by the evidence that it's a great game. But the soccer haters just will not shut up.

 

I nominate Buck's statement as the official SportsJournalists.com position on the matter at hand. Can anyone second so that we can get it into the record?

 

I don't think I'm allowed to second your posts, but just in case....Second.

Do we vote now?