I've become a soccer (football) fan

Not so long ago I was one of those Americans who didn't understand why the world was so crazy about soccer. I've posted here a couple of times in the past to that effect.

About two months ago I bought a 50-inch tv and starting casually watching the soccer channel, instead of basketball and NFL. The tipping points were one college basketball game that took 22 minutes to finish the last 53 seconds on the clock, and the neverending video of someone's family filling the time in between plays on some meaningless late-season NFL game.

More important, though, was applying my hockey background to soccer, and starting to see the beauty in the set-ups to the strikes, and finally understanding that - although the score was 2-0 - it would have been 5-4 except for some exquisite tackles and near-misses.

There are so many virtues about the game that it's hard to describe, but right now I'm taken by the FA Cup run of Chasetown, and how that's next to impossible in anything else (except perhaps March Madness).

Welcome to the world of true football, Mr. Checks! Be forewarned - U.S. mutant sports (NFL & NBA) will soon become anathema to you...

Originally Posted by romafan

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Welcome to the world of true football, Mr. Checks!

Be forewarned - U.S. mutant sports (NFL & NBA) will soon become anathema to you...

How true this is. You will not be able to watch without being disgusted at the pure commercialism. Soccer is one of the few pure sports left.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Soccer is one of the few pure sports left.

I'm a huge soccer fan; I started playing when I was 4. To say that soccer is pure, though, is ridiculous when every club team wears a sponsor's logo on their chest.

Originally Posted by James Bond

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I'm a huge soccer fan; I started playing when I was 4. To say that soccer is pure, though, is ridiculous when every club team wears a sponsor's logo on their chest.

I didn't mean pure in the sense that there is no commercialism at all. I meant it more in the sense that they don't stop the game every 2 1/2 minutes to make millions of dollars on commercials.

yes, the jerseys all have endorsements, and the sidelines are walled with endorsements and signs, but I still think it is a huge improvement over other mainly American sports.

Originally Posted by romafan

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Welcome to the world of true football, Mr. Checks!

Be forewarned - U.S. mutant sports (NFL & NBA) will soon become anathema to you...
Humbug. I grew up watching nothing but soccer and still follow the international scene + the big 3 European domestic leagues, but at present I much prefer the NFL and the MLB, both as spectacle and topic of discussion. Soccer is more accessible and probably more fun to play, I'll concede. But that is clearly beyond the point here.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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How true this is. You will not be able to watch without being disgusted at the pure commercialism. Soccer is one of the few pure sports left.
LMAO. Say that to club managers who buy/sell, and in many cases, flip players for real money. Akin to eBay goods, except in millions pound sterling.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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I meant it more in the sense that they don't stop the game every 2 1/2 minutes to make millions of dollars on commercials.

Who needs that when you can make games only viewable via PayPerView? Or alternatively, just get massive real estate for free from state government, then sell them off to erase debts, like Real Madrid does every so often

Yes, soccer is wonderful. 2 hours of exciting near misses. Hooligans. Ape sounds made by the fans and banana's thrown on the field at black players. Players killed when they make a mistake. Incredibly drunk fans at the games. More f*cking sponsorship logos than NASCAR. I'll stick with baseball and college basketball, thank you.

Originally Posted by whacked

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Who needs that when you can make games only viewable via PayPerView? Or alternatively, just get massive real estate for free from state government, then sell them off to erase debts, like Real Madrid does every so often

I didn't know that. How does Real Madrid get massive real estate for free?

Originally Posted by edmorel

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Yes, soccer is wonderful. 2 hours of exciting near misses. Hooligans. Ape sounds made by the fans and banana's thrown on the field at black players. Players killed when they make a mistake. Incredibly drunk fans at the games. More f*cking sponsorship logos than NASCAR. I'll stick with baseball and college basketball, thank you.

Ed - You've distilled the essence of the game down to a shellnut!

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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I didn't know that. How does Real Madrid get massive real estate for free?

They sell property to the city of Madrid who then leases it back to them for peanuts.

Originally Posted by romafan

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Ed - You've distilled the essence of the game down to a shellnut!

It's what I do

The NFL is so off-topic and wrapped up in the spectacle ("Are U ready for some footballllllll!!!!!) that the sport gets lost in the mix.

In the NBA, a game is never won, so there's no need to watch the first 45 minutes, which are just preface.

The best analogy with soccer is hockey, which I grew up with and love (in part because it's not been fully subjected to the Hollywood treatment; indeed, it resists it and imposes the essential greatness of the game).

Baseball is a pasttime. I can only watch if it's Thirsty Thursday or my team is in the pennant race.

College basketball for me, particularly when it's March Madness and NOT one of the top 20 schools, is what sports should be about.

Originally Posted by edmorel

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College basketball for me, particularly when it's March Madness and NOT one of the top 20 schools, is what sports should be about.

That's a good point. There isn't a whole lot better or more interesting than watching a mid-major crack the sweet 16/elite 8, or even further. Particularly Butler (only an hour from me)