Soccer Question Options

[Hoodstock]

Ed and Dangum,

I do not follow soccer at all but I've noticed that Ed has had a soccer player in his signature for a while and Dangum has had one forever as an icon.

I was seriously wondering who they were and why you chose them? I honestly have no clue about who they are.

This post has been edited by Hoodstock: May 19 2009, 7:27 am

[Pokey]

Oh God ... Soccer.. one sport I've wanted to get into and I just can't. I couldn't believe how fanatical they were about it in the UK, I thought "wow they all love it so much this has GOT to be good", so I got taken to a Liverpool v Man U match at Old Trafford which seemed to be like their equivelent of maybe the Anzac Day match for the AFL and true the crowd were very entertaining, very impressive with the sing alongs and such .. but god damnit NOTHING happend in the match. These pansys pranced up and down the field avoiding each other for 90mins.
I understand the skill involved controlling the ball, I can't even run in a straight line with the thing, so it's not for a lack of understanding.
I really tried ... are there any like "classic matches" I should try to get ahold of and watch that is supposed to "make" the game for non believers? You know how like if someone asked me about AFL I'd point them towards maybe the 1989 Grand Final or the 2001 Essendon v North "comeback" game as games that champion the sport.

[+Ed+]

I hardly know a person who has never heard the surname Baggio, really.

[Pokey]

Guess Hoodie and I make 2 now! He certainly has a big cup, he'll feel foolish when he tries to drink from it and it splashes him in the face.

[+Ed+]

Damn, Eamon, I was talking about Dan's avatar

[+Ed+]

Awright, just for the record. The lad in my signature is the cap of my football club, which I have been following since I was a child, Zenit from St Petersburg, Russia. We were the champions of USSR only once, back in 1984, but now we are proud to be the Champions of Russia 07, the Winners of last year's UEFA cup (see my siggie once again) and the winners of the UEFA Supercup, when we took over Manchester United.

Funny enough, the club I support is pretty much popular in Europe, as Dic Advocaat is the coach of it and btw this year a true European (ok, passed days) star, Fernando Meira is playing the def.

Any more questions? Never thought soccer could be of any interest on an American board really.

[Pokey]

Damn, Eamon, I was talking about Dan's avatar

Aren't they the same person? Isn't every soccer player the same person?

I don't understand soccer, it confuses me, no body understands what an offside rule is either, the people that try to explain it I'm sure are just making it up on the spot.

Soccer is taking off here, we have an A-Leauge competition now, so really I should be getting behind the good old Melbourne Victory but I couldn't even tell you who their captain is. But I'm glad to see it taking off here though, I'd prefer it any day as the number 3 team sport of this country (behind Aussie Rules and Cricket), really, anything other than Rugby, god damn now that is a bad sport. The difference is I just can't get into Soccer, but Rugby just flat out sucks.

[Merica]

The player in Dan's avatar is Roberto Baggio, I believe.

[+Ed+]

For sure not Dino.

Have you read the third post in this thread?))

This post has been edited by +Ed+: May 19 2009, 1:29 pm

[Saviour]

First of all soccer is a very physical sport which requires great stamina and skill to play at a high level.

That being said I think most of the U.S. posters can attest to this:

In the U.S. soccer is not viewed as a major sport at all. It's not really even on the radar. I always assumed it's because it seems like an international sport where contries compete against each other. Popular U.S. sports involve competition within the country (with a few Canadian exceptions).

It's primarily played by elementary school kids. Since there is barely any interest, coverage, or following in professional play most kids turn their attention to other sports quickly.

The only time people really pay any attention to soccer here is during the Olympics. That doesn't mean much though because people would almost watch anything just because it's an Olympic sport.

This is not an insult, just to inform:

In the U.S. it's not cool to play soccer. For example players in high school are often referred to as "Foot Fairies" and are questioned why they don't play other sports (unless they are female). I don't know if that phrase is heard at all in Europe. It's really viewed as a girls game once you reach high school.

This post has been edited by Saviour: May 19 2009, 1:49 pm

[+Ed+]

In the U.S. it's not cool to play soccer.

That being said you can judge the country really, with football being No1 sport all over the Earth EXCEPT for the US.

Funny, isn't it?

I play football every week, not taking the weather conditions and my injuries of the past into any consideration. I absolutely love every second of it. And I miss the school day s when I had time and strength to play several hours each day

[Deku]

My team ^^

I follow the game with a passion.

[Hoodstock]

Thanks for the background on your guy. Glad you finally got another championship.

I wish soccer had more appeal here. I absolutely have no idea how all these leagues and clubs are organized. Is there one professional league that plays every year in Europe that dominates or are there a bunch throughout the continent? I've always been lost on that?

That being said you can judge the country really, with football being No1 sport all over the Earth EXCEPT for the US.

Not exactly true. For example, baseball is the #1 sport in Japan. If you went country by country it would be the dominate favorite, but not everywhere.

I'm also sorry that Football (the American version) hasn't caught on in Europe. You are seriously missing out. As far as I'm concerned between the NFL and NHL you have all of the sport you need!

[dangum]

I wish soccer had more appeal here. I absolutely have no idea how all these leagues and clubs are organized. Is there one professional league that plays every year in Europe that dominates or are there a bunch throughout the continent? I've always been lost on that?

Each country in Europe has it's own professional league. For example in England they have the "English Premier League (EPL)", Italy has "Serie A", Spain has "La Liga", Germany has "Bundesleiga". These teams play teams within their own country on a weekly basis. For example the EPL has 38 rounds.

There are multiple divisions in each country and teams from lower divisions can be promoted to a higher division if they reach the top of their league and can also get relegated to a lower league if they are down the bottom. In the EPL, the bottom 4 clubs are relegated to the next division below each season.

The best teams in each first division competition in Europe also play in the "European Champions League". These teams are the best of the best and you have teams like Manchester United, Liverpool (from England) playing teams from Spain (Real Madrid, Barcelona), Italy (AC-Milan, Juventus), Germany, Russia etc. This competition runs in parallel with the regular domestic league matches so teams travel internationally mid-week.

If you get a chance, I'd recommend watching the Final of the European Champions League next week. Manchester United (England) are playing Barcelona (Spain). Finals aren't usually the most attractive games to watch (there's too much on the line), but when you've got Christiano Ronaldo (Man U) and Lionel Messi (Barcelona) on the same pitch you're bound to have some great attacking play.

[+Ed+]

My team ^^

I follow the game with a passion.

Keep it up. You must also know Arshavin for now, right? I consider him the god of nowadays. And the cup in my sig was won thanks to him for sure. I am proud to be from the same city as Andrei.

Not exactly true. For example, baseball is the #1 sport in Japan. If you went country by country it would be the dominate favorite, but not everywhere.

Baseball is a nice sport. But how would you personally know that if I went country by country, it would be not that popular everywhere? It is the easiest sport to play. You sometimes don't even need a ball.

This post has been edited by +Ed+: May 20 2009, 2:44 am