The Soccer Thread (Version 13) — Winter World Cup Edition

I’ve learned to appreciate the sport more, but it is hard to remember many scintillating goalless draws. And I never got that hot and bothered by 1-0 baseball games either, unless I covered one on deadline.

 

It depends. If the teams just pack it in playing for a tie, yes, but I thought that the one that just finished was pretty good. There was a lot of decent action.

The US weathered a storm, had some really nice chances, and held on for an important result. It is going to be over looked in this one, but England really had the opportunity to end it in the last minutes with that corner and the free kick. The US holding was incredibly big.

I learned how to watch the game a long time ago. Part of the pushback with these things is not knowing what you are seeing. If you know what they are at least trying to accomplish with the passing and different runs and stuff like that, you can be entertained throughout even if not a lot is happening.

 

And don't get me started on the talk hosts who lack the understanding of the WC and mock it, while spending three segments on on where some player will land when they are a free agent in eight months. Or whether some guy's hamstring will hold out for the rest of the season.

 

My dad once after I said brought up a game that was a tight, fun one that ended up like 2-2, said something like, how can you spend four hours watching a game where nothing happens and it ended up being a tie? I'm like, dude, it was a little more than 90 minutes, almost always is, and that man watched or listened to every Rockies game, the whole way through, until the day he died. Double whammy, basesball, which I also love, and the Rockies!

To each their own but it is funny the soccer bashing. I mean, if you don't like it or don't understand it, don't watch it, but don't criticize those who do enjoy it.

 

Of course it's garbage. But while they might know their audience - many of whom will disagree with our stance on this - instead of expanding their offerings and possibly the horizons of the audience, just verbally bash and get back to Hot Stove talk or something else.

Dumb. But there's an easy solution: Ignore them.

 

No Colorado Rockies fan is in a position to tell anyone else that nothing happens in another sport. I know that will insult some people ... but so be it ...

 

It was about as good a scoreless draw as I can remember recently. Both had buildup, both had a few close calls ... granted, the referee wasn't going to call much of anything short of gushing blood or Joe Theismann's compound fracture literally lying on the pitch. Fortunately, the sides largely behaved.

 

Tie with Iran gives Iran four points and puts them ahead of us.

 

I knew better than to push the issue with a house full of family. It was Texas-Baylor on TV here.

 

Yeah, but Murrica!

 

I've already been corrected. Heard it the first couple of times upthread. Was deserved. Apologized for the error. Piling on not necessary.

 

Can’t overstate this enough: Once each half begins in soccer there are no commercials.

Do I understand American football better? By far. But I also understand how unbelievably annoying it is to have:

Possible first down/turnover/touchdown, but replay. ADS. Play is confirmed, so PAT. More ADS. Kickoff that isn’t returnable. ADS.

Go on YouTube and watch a full NFL broadcast from the 1970s or 80s. There are breaks for commercials, but they’re shorter and less frequent.