Why are you watching?

Awwwww, polo has a follower. Jesus, how dumb do you have to be to follow that guy around and back up everything he says?

Blow me, both of you. Or better yet, go back to blowing each other and spare the rest of us from dealing with your shit.


For the record, again: I wasn't taking a shot at soccer, wasn't trying to simplify the damn sport. I was merely pointing out the problems I've had after a few days of legitimately trying to watch and enjoy this game during another WC. Thought I made that rather clear.

 

You know, Junkie, I think you're right. I know the names of the good players and I can spot them when they're playing, but I honestly can't see why they're so great. They don't stick out on the field.

I think it's that and the lack of scoring. Maybe I'd like it more if I actually forced myself to spend more time watching it or went to a decent game sometime.

 

Americans like to watch scoring. Why do you suppose we have such a burgeoning porn industry?

 

But what you're pointing out is "I only see a bunch of guys running around a field." And what I'm pointing out is, you can say that for anything that you don't understand.

There's as much intricacy to soccer as there is to baseball, as there is to football, as there is to hockey, as there is to friggin' cricket, for that matter. But like any sport, you have to train yourself how to watch it. It's just with soccer, most of us in the States don't grow up immersed in its culture and pick it up naturally. It's like learning a new language -- a helluva lot easier to train yourself "naturally" when you're a kid than it is to re-train your mind consciously as an adult.

And this isn't a shot at you, but you can't really pick up the game again once every four years and expect to get it. You gotta stick with it for a while.

 

It is similar in size to a football field. Sometimes entire quarters of football go by without scoring and a whole lot of punting.

Well this is easy to explain. A game has two 45-minutes halves. There will be no clock stoppage during the game. However, should play stop for an extended period of time due to injury or goal scoring, time will be added to the end of the half.

This is why the clock runs up. The first half will end as the clock reaches 45. Then you will see another clock appear and that will count up. This is your "extra time". The extra time is to make up for that Italian you saw lying on the ground claiming that his leg was broken.

Then the end of the game comes at the 90 minute mark. But, again, there is extra time. So when you see a box score and it says, John Smith Goal 90+2. This means that the 90-minute mark expired and John Smith scored in the second minute of extra time.

 

The only real plays drawn up involve corner kicks and dead balls. There are some overlapping runs that are written in, but much of the game is played upon the skill of the team. This is why you don't see Bruce Arena bouncing up and waving his hands like an NBA coach telling his point guard which play to run.

The crossing of the ball, or as you put it wildly shot somewhere in front of goal, is done with the intent of creating a dangerous chance. Anytime the ball is in the penalty box and in front of goal, your team has a chance because anything can happen. The defender could swing and miss. The goalie could bobble the ball. But what you are trying to do is cause the other team to make a good play that will prevent you from scoring.

As to the offsides rule, I'll try to explain it. You have an invisible line, if you know hockey think of it as a moving blue line. When the ball is passed to you, you need be positioned so that you are closer to your own goal than two players on the other team. (Yes, two players. One is 99.9999% of the time the goalie, the other is a defender.) Once the ball is passed and moving in the air or on the ground, you can move into a position that would be considered offsides in order to receive the ball.

Those corner kick goals involve skill and placement of the ball. If Landon Donovan kicks the ball to the far corner, where he knows in advance that Gooch is waiting, there will be a good chance he will get a chance to head the ball in the direction of the goal.

Now, the "luck" comes in when the ball comes a little short or a little long compared to where they wanted it. This requires the players to battle for the best position to play the ball.

 

Thanks for that, Crass. Helpful. Seriously.

Few things.

My problem with the field length, I think, stems from me comparing soccer to hockey. There aren't many goals scored in hockey, yet I enjoy those games because there's so much action around the nets. So, I think when I said "lack of scoring," I actually meant "lack of opportunities to score." That's what's missing. There's all this stuff happening in the middle of the field with no real chance to score. And all of that stuff makes it terribly uninteresting to me.

The clock thing: So, when this time is lost, is there a second clock somewhere that tells you how much extra time you'll have at the end? Surely, everyone isn't just guessing about the extra time up until the point it pops up on the clock, right?

Offsides: I'll be damned, I was right. Ha. Small victory for me.

Corner kicks: Obviously, kicking that ball right where they want to is skillfull. But I was more talking about the actual goal scoring. Just seems awfully lucky most of the time. But that's a problem way down the list for me. Actually, scratch this one off. Doesn't belong. If they're scoring, I don't give a damn how it's happening.

Anyway, appreciate the response. As I said, my post here wasn't a bait for a fight and I wasn't trying to degrade the sport or poke fun at anyone. Just stating my problems and nothing more. I'll try catching some of the later games in this and maybe the better teams will change my mind.

 

I always hated to cover soccer.
But after a year a half here, I am sold on it.
This is passion.

 

Not a problem.

Well, in order to get the chance near the goal you need the build-up. Yes, sometimes there are passes backwards, but they are to the open man who could swing the ball and switch sides on the field and then try and push forward again. You can sometimes get a different look of the defense and also present a different attack.

There is an official time-keeper, but the referee can add or subtract as much or as little as he likes. As the 45th or 90th minute is expiring, someone on the sideline holds up a big sign that says the amount of extra time. The commentators generally repeat it and show a graphic that blocks half the screen so that you can't see the play.

Well done!

Sometimes it is. That is often the case in a scrum-like situation. However, there are lots of times where the individual taking the corner kick places it in the exact spot for someone to score.

 

A great way to watch soccer (and I view which I wish that they would put on TV) is from high in the stands. You get to see the strategy and the chess match. I have only been really following soccer for about 5 years, and I would rather watch an EPL match than an NFL game.