It may not be as violent as football but I suggest actually playing the sport before you attempt to use any of those words to describe it. I know damn well any football player who jokingly came to tryout at Salem High (VB) for soccer left with a hell of a lot more respect for anyone who actually played.
The whole flamboyant remark truly shows you have never played the game and are probably not too comfortable with your own sexuality for that matter.
The problem with soccer can be the diving which showed itself in the first game sadly. Thats the only thing I know that really can give it a bad rep.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Haha...oh I just love these sort of comments towards soccer. But what never ceases to amaze me however, is where they come from. Being close with many football players, both at other high level programs and top former hokie ball players, I can tell you that football players very much enjoy and respect the sport of soccer. As Adrian mentioned above, true athletes respect the athleticism and conditioning required to be effective in a sport played on a football sized field with no timeouts and only 3 individual substitutions for (at least) 90 minutes. But of course it's not tough enough for the random sports fan that just wants to complain but never steps out on either football field to run up the middle.
With regards to the diving aspect of the game (if this is what you mean by flamboyant), I think this deserves more perspective. I consider myself a pretty decent basketball fan; and as I watch even from a soccer player's perspective, I find myself scratching my head at what is considered a foul in basketball. Yea, pretty much ANY physical contact. In soccer as long as you make contact with the ball first, you're pretty much allowed to tackle your opponent as hard as you can.
If you've ever had someone running towards you as fast as they can, and then sticking both legs out to try and destroy you, then you've been slide tackled, and it's not fun. When you're a creative player like Ronaldinho, Messi, or Ribery, you're basically soccer's version of a running back. You dribble a lot, and you get tackled like crazy, greatly shortening your career expectancy. Players we love to hate like Arjen Robben have preferred to master the dive as a method of self preservation. I've had coaches instruct guys to take these players out, saying things like "if you don't get the ball, get the man; but dammit don't let him beat you". Such players have to dive sometimes to put pressure on the referee to call actual fouls. Same reason Lebron runs to the refs every time he drives the lane.
With regards to other blatant flops, it happens in every sport; ask Desean Jackson if he likes running through the middle. Listen, everyone is entitled to their opinion; it just demonstrates ignorance by feeling compelled to express one's opinion without having developed knowledge or perspective on the subject. You're better than that bra!
Anyway...I usually don't try to invest too much energy and time into coaching up ignorance, but...today was a good day!
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
This is probably one of the stupidest threads I've seen on this site. It is neither thought provoking nor interesting, it took no effort or thought to create, and yak_butter is simply poking the bear to try to get people who love the sport riled up, defaulting into the lowest common denominator of criticism. I would downvote this topic if I could.
If you're going to start a thread to discuss something you don't like, at least put a little effort in providing rationale.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Good thing we have the NBA finals to fall back on during the dead of off season.
Seriously dude, you're better than to create this thread. We are 1 game into the tournament, and though it didn't highlight the best the game had to offer. There are going to be some great matches in the days to come.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
It truly is impressive the insecurity complex that American football diehard fans feel towards soccer, especially knowing how overwhelmingly popular American football is stateside. Every single time you see soccer mentioned in any capacity, there's always one gridiron meathead who opens his fat mouth saying how much soccer sucks compared to football. Always. Because if the US didn't invent it, it must suck, right? Are you really that insecure about the future of American football that you have to trash soccer every opportunity that you get? (Actually, considering the severe dwindling of kids playing football at an early age due to the realization of how much the game impacts your long-term health for the negative, especially with concussions and knee problems, yeah... you probably should be worried.)
Sometimes I just wish you could downvote a thread.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I think you nailed it with the inferiority complex. Or perhaps it is insecurity - the fear their sacred football will be overwhelmed by futbol. Soccer, like hockey, provides constant action, if not constant scoring. Everyone has their own preferences for sports, but I find more & more evidence that soccer will be a driving force among the sports in the US in the future. Some fearful will moan about that, but they're already behind the curve, so that won't change.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Man, I love Cam, but he really needs to stop doing that crap. In soccer, nothing loses my respect faster than a flopper (I'm looking at you, Fred), and American Football will be no different.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
who downvoted this? it is funny as hell. flopping/embellishment happens in every sport that allows it. soccer is the worst offender because it is a live action game with essentially one official near most of the action on the largest playing surface to cover of any of the major sports. as sports evolve, players are being coached better on how to milk the officials to get critical calls to go their way. i don't like it any more than anyone else, but to pretend it's not getting worse in other sports is being blind to the issue. soccer can't get worse, it's maxed out, but other sports are trying to catch up.
the only way to fix it are more on field officials, off field officials with video monitors and a direct line to the head official on the field, and post game fines/suspensions for flopping and embellishment. until some combination of those things is in place, there is no incentive for players to simply "play through" the action on the field...
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I have to agree with the previous posters. I'm not a huge soccer fan and barely follow the sport at all, but this is a silly thread topic, to put it mildly. If you don't like it, just don't watch it. I'm not sure where the need to go out of your way to bash it comes from. It's a perfectly cromulent sport.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
So the only thing I can really compare this to is my fandom of NASCAR. MANY people do not understand how difficult and intricate it actually is and it really pisses me off when people who clearly have no idea what they're talking about bad mouth the sport. I understand that not everyone likes it, and thats fine. Im not going to try and shove NASCAR down your throat, and if you don't like it, dont watch it. Personally I dont like soccer, so I dont watch it or talk about it and I leave it at that
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
ANY people do not understand how difficult and intricate it actually is and it really pisses me off when people who clearly have no idea what they're talking about bad mouth the sport.
Haha, but that's just it... Nascar isn't a sport. You don't have to be an athlete to play it. Yes, it's INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING, but so is chess, poker, video games, etc. That's my personal beef against NASCAR. I feel the same way about golf.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I had my rebuttal until your last sentence haha. I would definitely put NASCAR in the same tier as professional golf in terms of skill required. But this is where the gray area of what one considers makes something a sport comes into play. If you only consider pure physical exertion, sure golf and NASCAR might not qualify, but I believe anything that requires a ton of skill to compete in a sport
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I don't even follow NASCAR anymore but I feel that people who don't consider NASCAR drivers and their pit crews athletes need to be educated. Name another sport where the participants lose 5-10 pounds in a 3 hour period? Do a little googling and read about the training regimens of Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie Johnson is a triathlete. That level of physical fitness helps him win races. Then consider the Tony Stewarts and Dale Earnhardt Jr types on the track. They don't win as much. It takes strength and endurance to drive a car with the power of the space shuttle and the handling of a garbage truck for ~3 hours.
As for the pit crews, how could anyone do what they do in 14 seconds and not be considered athletic or physically fit? The best teams have weight rooms and required PT for their crews. That sort of thing pays off on race day. These guys aren't beer swilling rednecks like the people who watch the races.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Driving a car 2 inches from 3 other cars at 200 mph requires athleticism on a flat straight track, let alone on a constantly curving track on the razor's edge of control where the amount of gas in you tank messes with the ability of the car to turn properly and 1/2 lb of air pressure in a tire makes a world of difference.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Name another sport where the participants lose 5-10 pounds in a 3 hour period?
I question the validity of this statistic, and assuming it is true, I do not think it is healthy, nor do I think losing weight qualifies you as an athlete. I have a friend who got the flu two years ago, he lost 12 lbs in one day, does that make him an athlete?
Do a little googling and read about the training regimens of Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie Johnson is a triathlete. That level of physical fitness helps him win races. Then consider the Tony Stewarts and Dale Earnhardt Jr types on the track.
Per your suggestion, I did said googling. I'm impressed by their workouts, but I don't think this qualifies NASCAR as a sport. If I'm a triathlete and a poker player, that doesn't make poker a sport.
It takes strength and endurance to drive a car with the power of the space shuttle and the handling of a garbage truck for ~3 hours.
You could have the world's 5 best video gamers competing in a sauna for three hours. It would require tremendous focus, coordination, and endurance. I still wouldn't call it a sport - unless they were playing WII (Sarcastica.. but actually...)
As for the pit crews, how could anyone do what they do in 14 seconds and not be considered athletic or physically fit? The best teams have weight rooms and required PT for their crews.
I see the validity in this statement, and never considered it. I'll give you pit drivers as athletes. They are on their feet, moving, lifting heavy things in a time crunch, etc.
Note, I have respect for the talent of NASCAR drivers, it's something I could never do, but I just don't think NASCAR is a sport. These people are seated for three hours. They're not running, catching, throwing, swinging, pedaling; they're driving a gas/computer powered machine while seated.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Then bobsled dears aren't athletes, they're just taking a ride.
Those guys in the flying squirrel suits- they're just falling.
Parachutist, no way, they're just falling, and slower.
Tightrope guys, they're just taking a very slow walk.
Speedboat racers, nope.
Golfers- just out for a slow walk on a very well manicured lawn.
America's cup sailor skippers, they're just shouting.
Coxwains on crewing boats, they're just along for the ride and counting.
NASCAR drivers, nah, just the stamina to work yer tukuss off keeping control on the teetering edge of oblivion. Does not take any physical effort at all to work 3 pedal simultaneously with 2 feet and steer a hurtling brick at 200 mph. Not enough heat, G forces and movement involved in driving a top level race car. After all there must be enough breeze at 200 mph to keep them cool at Atlanta in summer through a blazing hot firewall, eh?
I bet they take naps.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
And I actually watch NASCAR, and I appreciate that it takes a lot of talent to do so. I'm not sold either way on whether they're athletes, and frankly, I don't really care haha.
My point is simply saying that a NASCAR car has the same power as a Space Shuttle is so beyond egregious that the engineer in me can't ignore it.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Is the engineer in you familiar with hyperbole? That comparison is actually a quote from an interview with Jeff Gordon when he was asked about this same topic.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Probably because he doesn't constantly have a dip in his mouth. That's why you can't trust him. Well, now that he hardly ever wins, NASCAR fans don't hate him so much. Jimmie Johnson took his place.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Oh absolutely, my "correcting opinion" was done in half-jest. To me it wasn't a "oh let's be obnoxious and point out how wrong someone is" so much as a "hey, this is a really cool comparison, let's see how a rocket and a racecar stack up".
Apparently someone got a little upset with my pointing out that racecars aren't as powerful as they want to believe they are, or something like that.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yeah, but does it parallel park itself? Because if it doesn't at least have the rear view vision, that booger is gonna be tough in a Kroger parking lot.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Funny one. Response? Athletes like baseball pitchers & designated hitters, football punters/placekickers, etc. Interesting how bent the definition of 'athlete' gets when dismissive of sports one doesn't appreciate. Not to Donovan McNabb you, but driving at triple digit speeds for hours on end requires athleticism every bit as much as many other sports endeavors. The same applies to hitting a golf ball at an elite level.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I was definitely poking the bear and didn't really put much work into it. I thought there'd be more haters out there and wanted to commiserate.
As for me:
I did play soccer, though not at a high level (up to 10th grade). I was fair to middling and I understand at least a little about the sport. I've lived in both Colombia and Costa Rica and was in Bogota during a recent world cup. In these places soccer is the only sport so one learns by osmosis.
I found the USA/CR qual match in Colorado to be fascinating, primarily because it was played in the snow. The way the Costa Ricans responded was equally fascinating.
I stand by the flamboyant statement. Definition here:
tending to attract attention because of exuberance, confidence, and stylishness.
It wasn't a dog whistle remark or a dig at anyone's sexuality. I'm also quite comfortable with my own sexuality.
To me the word flamboyant describes international soccer. Attracting attention because of exuberance, isn't this what the World Cup is all about? All the fanaticism, popularity, and nationalism more-so than the actual activity on the field? Because when I sit down to try and watch a match, it just doesn't hold my attention. As a spectator, it leaves me unengaged so I'm left to wonder what all the fuss is about.
Thanks for the non ad hominem portions of your responses, the explanation of the dive and its context within the sport was well put. And I'll take the rest as well.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I won't downvote. I gotcha covered. Personally I feel some of the responses to this thread are on the line inappropriate. That being said, you probably could have used a more clever and veiled method of donkey punching a game that over half the planet's pop obsesses about every 4 yrs that isn't the Olympics.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I'm hopping on the downvote train. May your fake internet points never be recouped. I really like watching the USMNT, especially in the World Cup. Without it, we'd only have baseball and OTAs.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
This is eerily reminiscent of an athlete that tweets a highly inflammatory comment, then when public reaction is overwhelmingly negative, waits two days and issues a press release saying he misquoted himself in the tweet. I suppose the important thing is that the thread generated so many responses, if that's what you're into. Rational discussion is always a nice alternative, though.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Meh, I personally understand/sort of agree when people say soccer's boring (although IMHO, its 5 billion times better than baseball). That being said, I understand and respect the athletes who play. The flops are laughable/pathetic, but I love cheering on America for the world cup.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I hated soccer growing up. I still do. It sucks. But hear me out... My roomate for all five years at Tech was a huge soccer guy. He played since he was a kid and played in high school and played club team for the Hokies. I never watched a whole soccer game until I got to Tech, under his influence. Then factor in my main group of friends at school were Ghanaian and Eritrean, I was around soccer a lot.
I tried to lose my "ignorance" and in a way I did. I appreciate the athleticism and some of the strategy that I understand - if it wasn't for my soccer loving friends from college I probably wouldn't be able to say that. However, I can appreciate the athleticism and still be bored by it and find it uninteresting.
I liken it to my feelings on baseball. I may lose some people here but I can't stand baseball either. I think hitting a baseball is the hardest skill to master in all of sports. However, watching it is one of the most boring things I can put myself through. I admire what it takes to be in the MLB, but I'm not interested.
Point being, not liking something doesn't equate to ignorance. Go USA until we lose but I won't watch too much of it. I'd rather watch that gif of the ass grab above for 90 minutes.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yeah, I'll own up to it. I didn't like the shotgun approach of putting multiple comments out there to try and prove a point, especially in a troll thread such as this one. All of those could have gone in one comment and have achieved the same end result. It came across as spam, and I am not a fan of spam. (and before you hit back with "but... you did the same in the Beamer quote thread about attendance"... well, not quite. First of all, there is a 7 image limit per comment, and I maximized that limit with each comment. And secondly, the follow-up list was a reply to someone who had replied to the initial.... thats different than just shotgunning 3 comments in a row with the intent to spam)
There's an edit button, its there for a reason. If you are just adding onto a comment you already made, use it.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Chill out dude. You seem to be taking this a little too seriously. Like I said...I like soccer. If you can't laugh at some ridiculous flops then you need a cold beer.
What point was I trying to prove? That flops are funny?
Sorry you don't like my approach. My intent was NOT to spam.
Kudos to you for policing the board with your posting protocol...Congrats on the 4,571 turkey legs. I guess you think that makes you special. FYI-Your post to me comes off as condescending and arrogant. Might want to think that one over...
"There's an edit button, its there for a reason. If you are just adding onto a comment you already made, use it."
My response to that??
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
So let me get this straight... You spam the board (I don't care what your intentions were, you spammed the board), get downvoted for it, get up on your pedestal and demand an explanation for the downvoting (mind you, explanations are not entitled, so be glad you actually got one) and when you don't like what is being said, your response is to lash out at that person with personal insults, more spam, and a gif that amounts to nothing less than "fuck you"...
That is the kind of behavior that drove people here from TechSideline. We're better than that
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I think this is getting a smidge OT. Why not chill and let him (and others) just have their fun? Apparently (based on the up to downleg ratio) a fair number of folks are enjoying it (myself, admittedly included).
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
No...let ME get this straight. I guess you think you get to decide what is spam and what is not, even though you put 7 gifs in one post. You then call me a spammer? You come across with an arrogant, know-it-all attitude. This is not the first time I have had this perception of you. I was joking around with gifs of soccer flops and you decided it was time to get on YOUR high horse and police the board.
Back off, chill out and stop acting like you are one of the "regulators". I did nothing wrong and you came charging out with an attitude. You come off very defensive when anyone disagrees with you....sorry, thats MY perception.
I have never been to TechSideline, so I wouldn't know.
Maybe you should re-read your own posts and think about how others perceive them before you come out blasting me.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
1. This thread is basically pointless. The author gave no thought to the subject and is probably (successfully) trying to get a rise out of people. If you don't like soccer, that's fine, move on. Not necessary to be so negative towards it.
2. I played soccer for almost 12 years. I don't follow it closely and don't really know any of the players or teams that well. I can watch a game and appreciate what is going on but I don't seek it out. I don't generally take offense when someone trashes the sport. People all over the world bash every sport in some way. I've done my fair share of trashing other sports. I agree with most of the posters here, responding to a thread I think is unwarranted.
That being said, I always thought this was funny: I had some good friends in college who openly bashed soccer. At first, I would take offense, but then I grew to just roll with the punches. Looking back at it now, it ammuses me that my friends would refer to soccer as "Glorified Jogging"
Like it or hate it, find the humor in it.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I love American Football, but the World Cup is the greatest event. It is a TRUE world championship. It takes 2 years to qualify for the thing and then 32 teams actually remain for the tournament. It is a joke that we call domestic champions "World Champions". It isn't a World Series, winning the Super Bowl does not make you world champions, etc.
The world STOPS for this event. Just because some Americans don't understand the significance of the World Cup, does not mean that negative/ignorant comments are needed. Keep them to yourself.
I love soccer, and I admit that some of the diving gets to me. BUT these guys are great athletes and are in INCREDIBLE shape. Lebron would be cramping up 15 mins in and football players would be grabbing oxygen masks.
Watch Van Persie's goal yesterday. Great athleticism.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Endurance is only one factor in athleticism. There are baseball players that I believe are just as athletic as a lot of soccer players (no not 1st basemen, but definitely some outfielders and middle infielders). I fully believe that if it wasn't for the USA's athletes choosing to play football and basketball, we'd be regularly winning the World Cup.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
There is a tremendous about of coordination and skill also. They aren't just marathon runners.
I think having some of the athletes from other sports would definitely help our chances, BUT you can't take a 6'4 250lb tight end and expect him to play well.
I think basketball players would make great goalies. Someone like Michael Vick would be a great forward.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Yea, I'm definitely soloing in on the skill positions in football, scat backs and shorter receivers (<6'4"). Basketball point guards would also tear it up in soccer.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
6'4" is even getting pretty big for a soccer player. Maybe a forward who is only there for headers or a center back, but not anyone who is on the ball with any regularity. That's way too big, their touches would be too long.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Iunno about regularly....ask england how well super athletes have worked out for their national team. Yes athleticism helps but soccer's different in the sense that you have yo be mindful of the game. The reason messi is the best is because he couples his speed with an unrivaled knowledge of the game. He knows runs, plays, tendencies, and just a general instinct for the game. You can't just insert a player and expect him to have that.
Do I believe our mega athletes would help? Sure wed certainly be more competitive but I don't think wed be expecting a world cup every four years. I do think lebron or Calvin Johnson would make an incredible keeper
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Chad Ocho Cinco (or is it Johnson now?) tried out for an MLS team. He got cut, obviously.
I don't think anyone is suggesting that you can drag and drop world class athletes into different sports and expect positive results. However, if the top athletes grow up playing soccer, and develop the same understanding of the game that Messi has, it's hard to argue that we wouldn't be a more competitive team.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
i respectfully disagree with that though, messi has to have some kind of natural talent for reading the game, all of these guys practice unbelievable amounts, and by that logic all the best players should read the game like messi does. but they just dont. messi is on a whole other level from any other player on the planet at reading the game (yes even CR7 although i believe CR7 is much more physically gifted).
that being said I do completely agree we'd be a much more competitive team, perhaps even brazils current level (I personally think the Brazilians have the most physically gifted team in the world and have a few freaks on the team). Sorry if it seemed like i didnt seem that way in the earlier statement
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
i respectfully disagree with that though, messi has to have some kind of natural talent for reading the game, all of these guys practice unbelievable amounts, and by that logic all the best players should read the game like messi does. but they just dont. messi is on a whole other level from any other player on the planet at reading the game
I understand that he sees the game at a different level, but every sport has those players with an outstanding IQ, court vision, whatever you want to call it. The Federers, Peyton Mannings, Steve Nashes, the players who see plays developing before they happen, who think five shots ahead, who pass to the open space knowing their team mate will find a way to the ball/puck.
Every generation seems to have a handful of these players distributed throughout the sports world. I do not suggest that America is guaranteed to create one of these players if soccer grew, but surely the likelihood increases?
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I had this argument the other day. Lebron would not be a good keeper. Honestly, he'd be awkward the entire time on the field at most positions (probably a better version of Peter Crouch who was more awkward than a UVA fan at the spring game). Is he athletic? Absolutely, but athleticism is a combination of size, speed, strength, quickness, etc. It's generally relative to your size, and he's very athletic for his size. But at 6'8" there's no way he could be as quick as say Gianluigi Buffon who is 6'3". On top of that we don't really know what his reaction speed is which is probably the most important part of playing keeper. Lebron would be terrible at stopping anything low since he's so big and it would take a while to get down. This is getting long now, but just my two cents as someone who loved playing keeper for 14 years and still loves studying the keeper in every game I watch.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
The reaction time is the only question mark here. The supposition was that if American athletes focused on soccer rather than basketball, football, baseball and hockey that we'd have more elite soccer players.
Lebron the soccer player never played basketball. He grew up honing his skills as a keeper. Realistically though Lebron would be a forward in soccer, not a defender.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
i don't think being tall prohibits you from having an ideal combination of size, speed, strength and quickness. you use Crouch as an example (in a negative way), but the guy has made a career in the EPL and was the top striker for England just a few years back.
and though he's not 6'7, Zlatan is one of the top strikers on the globe and he is 6'5. nothing awkward about him over the ball.
if you happen to be super athletic, height is an attribute, not a curse.
the point stands, if the best athletes in the US grew up with soccer and not in football and basketball, i think it's hard to argue that we wouldn't be competing for world cups. if you took just a small sample of the best WRs, QBs, DBs, 1's, 2's and 3's from football and basketball in the country and kept them away from those sports and in soccer from youth, we would have dozens of American soccer players at top clubs across Europe and our 23 man for the World Cup would have 23 players who could all start over one another in any given match.
NBC's EPL coverage may help keep even just a few of those kids from giving up soccer for bball or football over the next 5 years, and those kids could end up being the first wave of the best American athletes choosing soccer over other sports. exposing kids to the off the field aspects of the game (the fame and fortune and women), for better or for worse, will convince them there is a future in the game for them.
we also have a lot of former D1 bball players bouncing around Europe and hanging out with the celebrity soccer players. those stories find a way back to their friends, family and neighborhoods. once the message gets out: living in Europe is not that bad and there is a TON of money to be made playing soccer over the, more (super athletic) kids will be willing to stick with it.
just my very long winded $.02...
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
It's very tough for someone that tall to get a good touch on the ball, their touches would be way too long to fit their natural stride. Could he be good? Sure, but I think it would take more work. At keeper I don't see him being that great, it would just take too much time to get down and stop anything low.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
But your last point is very valid to me and is what I've been saying for the last couple years. I'm 21, so my parents generation didn't really care that much about soccer (the US didn't qualify from 1950 to 1990), they all grew up playing baseball, basketball, and football. Our generation all grew up playing soccer at some point and a lot of kids stuck with it, so I think you're gonna start seeing a lot better players coming up through youth system in the next 10 to 15 years for the US. Nothing that would make us a World Cup favorite, but maybe a couple 1 seeds in the WC and a semifinal.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
If you don't like soccer, go watch one of our games in a sports bar. As long as we don't get whooped, I would be shocked if you didn't have a good time. I happen to be in Costa Rica right now and that game was AWESOME.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
All jokes aside I respect every sport. I don't like every sport or think certain sports should be sports (I'm looking at you curling) but, it's not my call.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I actually enjoyed watching Curling during the 2010 Winter Olympics, didn't get to watch it as much the last time around but I think it qualifies as a sport at least as much as golf does.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I've played golf in the past (wouldn't mind taking it up again at some point, but no time for it except for occasionally on Wii Sports) and have never participated in curling, but it looks like it requires strength, balance, and hand eye coordination along the skill and strategy.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
what i don't understand is people's need to point out that they hate soccer (or simply don't like it). there are sports i don't like or understand, but i don't talk about them. i don't poke fun at them. i have friends who consistently take digs at soccer and make it a point to discuss how much they don't like it and why. it just seems odd to me.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
For me sports is sports, they are all better athletes then I will ever be and I enjoy watching the events. Granted I will watch football (American type) before any other but after that when I'm setting around with friends discussing the finer points of whatever we happen to be drinking I try to find a sporting event to put on TV.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
I've seen a team do this play twice successfully in a game. They just added a wrinkle the second time by having the 3rd person shoot it instead of the 4th. Kinda sucks when you get burned by the same thing twice.
Log in or register to post comments about the Virginia Tech Hokies
Comments
It may not be as violent as football but I suggest actually playing the sport before you attempt to use any of those words to describe it. I know damn well any football player who jokingly came to tryout at Salem High (VB) for soccer left with a hell of a lot more respect for anyone who actually played.
The whole flamboyant remark truly shows you have never played the game and are probably not too comfortable with your own sexuality for that matter.
The problem with soccer can be the diving which showed itself in the first game sadly. Thats the only thing I know that really can give it a bad rep.
Salem? ...someone of proximity! ..albeit, I went to Green Run. But hey, a fellow 757er. (way off topic, I know)
Wait, Soccer is being played right now?
Haha...oh I just love these sort of comments towards soccer. But what never ceases to amaze me however, is where they come from. Being close with many football players, both at other high level programs and top former hokie ball players, I can tell you that football players very much enjoy and respect the sport of soccer. As Adrian mentioned above, true athletes respect the athleticism and conditioning required to be effective in a sport played on a football sized field with no timeouts and only 3 individual substitutions for (at least) 90 minutes. But of course it's not tough enough for the random sports fan that just wants to complain but never steps out on either football field to run up the middle.
With regards to the diving aspect of the game (if this is what you mean by flamboyant), I think this deserves more perspective. I consider myself a pretty decent basketball fan; and as I watch even from a soccer player's perspective, I find myself scratching my head at what is considered a foul in basketball. Yea, pretty much ANY physical contact. In soccer as long as you make contact with the ball first, you're pretty much allowed to tackle your opponent as hard as you can.
If you've ever had someone running towards you as fast as they can, and then sticking both legs out to try and destroy you, then you've been slide tackled, and it's not fun. When you're a creative player like Ronaldinho, Messi, or Ribery, you're basically soccer's version of a running back. You dribble a lot, and you get tackled like crazy, greatly shortening your career expectancy. Players we love to hate like Arjen Robben have preferred to master the dive as a method of self preservation. I've had coaches instruct guys to take these players out, saying things like "if you don't get the ball, get the man; but dammit don't let him beat you". Such players have to dive sometimes to put pressure on the referee to call actual fouls. Same reason Lebron runs to the refs every time he drives the lane.
With regards to other blatant flops, it happens in every sport; ask Desean Jackson if he likes running through the middle. Listen, everyone is entitled to their opinion; it just demonstrates ignorance by feeling compelled to express one's opinion without having developed knowledge or perspective on the subject. You're better than that bra!
Anyway...I usually don't try to invest too much energy and time into coaching up ignorance, but...today was a good day!
This is probably one of the stupidest threads I've seen on this site. It is neither thought provoking nor interesting, it took no effort or thought to create, and yak_butter is simply poking the bear to try to get people who love the sport riled up, defaulting into the lowest common denominator of criticism. I would downvote this topic if I could.
If you're going to start a thread to discuss something you don't like, at least put a little effort in providing rationale.
Your right, it's so flamboyant.
And the refs never make a bad call.
Good thing we have the NBA finals to fall back on during the dead of off season.
Seriously dude, you're better than to create this thread. We are 1 game into the tournament, and though it didn't highlight the best the game had to offer. There are going to be some great matches in the days to come.
Wow, I wish there was a way to downvote a thread.
It truly is impressive the insecurity complex that American football diehard fans feel towards soccer, especially knowing how overwhelmingly popular American football is stateside. Every single time you see soccer mentioned in any capacity, there's always one gridiron meathead who opens his fat mouth saying how much soccer sucks compared to football. Always. Because if the US didn't invent it, it must suck, right? Are you really that insecure about the future of American football that you have to trash soccer every opportunity that you get? (Actually, considering the severe dwindling of kids playing football at an early age due to the realization of how much the game impacts your long-term health for the negative, especially with concussions and knee problems, yeah... you probably should be worried.)
Sometimes I just wish you could downvote a thread.
I think you nailed it with the inferiority complex. Or perhaps it is insecurity - the fear their sacred football will be overwhelmed by futbol. Soccer, like hockey, provides constant action, if not constant scoring. Everyone has their own preferences for sports, but I find more & more evidence that soccer will be a driving force among the sports in the US in the future. Some fearful will moan about that, but they're already behind the curve, so that won't change.
Damn, I did mean insecurity complex. Been a week and nobody else pointed out my mistake. Thanks! Leg for you!
I'm glad you know why I hate Soccer more than I know why I hate Soccer.
Oh and secondly
flopping
never
happens
in
American
football
....ever!
Man, I love Cam, but he really needs to stop doing that crap. In soccer, nothing loses my respect faster than a flopper (I'm looking at you, Fred), and American Football will be no different.
Just a quick question for you though, do you honestly think flopping is as bad/prevalent in football as it is in soccer?
who downvoted this? it is funny as hell. flopping/embellishment happens in every sport that allows it. soccer is the worst offender because it is a live action game with essentially one official near most of the action on the largest playing surface to cover of any of the major sports. as sports evolve, players are being coached better on how to milk the officials to get critical calls to go their way. i don't like it any more than anyone else, but to pretend it's not getting worse in other sports is being blind to the issue. soccer can't get worse, it's maxed out, but other sports are trying to catch up.
the only way to fix it are more on field officials, off field officials with video monitors and a direct line to the head official on the field, and post game fines/suspensions for flopping and embellishment. until some combination of those things is in place, there is no incentive for players to simply "play through" the action on the field...
I have to agree with the previous posters. I'm not a huge soccer fan and barely follow the sport at all, but this is a silly thread topic, to put it mildly. If you don't like it, just don't watch it. I'm not sure where the need to go out of your way to bash it comes from. It's a perfectly cromulent sport.
Oh, good, another one of these people...
I find this thread topic to be inferior, flamboyant, and utterly uninteresting
So the only thing I can really compare this to is my fandom of NASCAR. MANY people do not understand how difficult and intricate it actually is and it really pisses me off when people who clearly have no idea what they're talking about bad mouth the sport. I understand that not everyone likes it, and thats fine. Im not going to try and shove NASCAR down your throat, and if you don't like it, dont watch it. Personally I dont like soccer, so I dont watch it or talk about it and I leave it at that
I feel the same way about my fandom of hockey.
People just can't help themselves in criticizing the sport whenever its brought up.
Haha, but that's just it... Nascar isn't a sport. You don't have to be an athlete to play it. Yes, it's INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING, but so is chess, poker, video games, etc. That's my personal beef against NASCAR. I feel the same way about golf.
I had my rebuttal until your last sentence haha. I would definitely put NASCAR in the same tier as professional golf in terms of skill required. But this is where the gray area of what one considers makes something a sport comes into play. If you only consider pure physical exertion, sure golf and NASCAR might not qualify, but I believe anything that requires a ton of skill to compete in a sport
I don't even follow NASCAR anymore but I feel that people who don't consider NASCAR drivers and their pit crews athletes need to be educated. Name another sport where the participants lose 5-10 pounds in a 3 hour period? Do a little googling and read about the training regimens of Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie Johnson is a triathlete. That level of physical fitness helps him win races. Then consider the Tony Stewarts and Dale Earnhardt Jr types on the track. They don't win as much. It takes strength and endurance to drive a car with the power of the space shuttle and the handling of a garbage truck for ~3 hours.
As for the pit crews, how could anyone do what they do in 14 seconds and not be considered athletic or physically fit? The best teams have weight rooms and required PT for their crews. That sort of thing pays off on race day. These guys aren't beer swilling rednecks like the people who watch the races.
Driving a car 2 inches from 3 other cars at 200 mph requires athleticism on a flat straight track, let alone on a constantly curving track on the razor's edge of control where the amount of gas in you tank messes with the ability of the car to turn properly and 1/2 lb of air pressure in a tire makes a world of difference.
Well, I will indulge you...
I question the validity of this statistic, and assuming it is true, I do not think it is healthy, nor do I think losing weight qualifies you as an athlete. I have a friend who got the flu two years ago, he lost 12 lbs in one day, does that make him an athlete?
Per your suggestion, I did said googling. I'm impressed by their workouts, but I don't think this qualifies NASCAR as a sport. If I'm a triathlete and a poker player, that doesn't make poker a sport.
You could have the world's 5 best video gamers competing in a sauna for three hours. It would require tremendous focus, coordination, and endurance. I still wouldn't call it a sport - unless they were playing WII (Sarcastica.. but actually...)
I see the validity in this statement, and never considered it. I'll give you pit drivers as athletes. They are on their feet, moving, lifting heavy things in a time crunch, etc.
Note, I have respect for the talent of NASCAR drivers, it's something I could never do, but I just don't think NASCAR is a sport. These people are seated for three hours. They're not running, catching, throwing, swinging, pedaling; they're driving a gas/computer powered machine while seated.
Then bobsled dears aren't athletes, they're just taking a ride.
Those guys in the flying squirrel suits- they're just falling.
Parachutist, no way, they're just falling, and slower.
Tightrope guys, they're just taking a very slow walk.
Speedboat racers, nope.
Golfers- just out for a slow walk on a very well manicured lawn.
America's cup sailor skippers, they're just shouting.
Coxwains on crewing boats, they're just along for the ride and counting.
NASCAR drivers, nah, just the stamina to work yer tukuss off keeping control on the teetering edge of oblivion. Does not take any physical effort at all to work 3 pedal simultaneously with 2 feet and steer a hurtling brick at 200 mph. Not enough heat, G forces and movement involved in driving a top level race car. After all there must be enough breeze at 200 mph to keep them cool at Atlanta in summer through a blazing hot firewall, eh?
I bet they take naps.
I just want to say...
A NASCAR vehicle has what, ~850 HP at a max of what, 200 mph? (ROUGH ESTIMATES)
The Space Shuttle at that speed has approximately 6,090,440,000 HP.
So... not quite right, there. Although the Space Shuttle wasn't "driven" at launch, it was computer controlled.
Not a max of 200 mph, max average lap of about 200 mph.
BTW, I'm not much of a NASCAR fan but, I really think you guys are missing the boat on thinking they are not athletes.
This stuff is not a Sunday drive on the freeway.
Well I did say it was an estimate, didn't I? :P
And I actually watch NASCAR, and I appreciate that it takes a lot of talent to do so. I'm not sold either way on whether they're athletes, and frankly, I don't really care haha.
My point is simply saying that a NASCAR car has the same power as a Space Shuttle is so beyond egregious that the engineer in me can't ignore it.
Is the engineer in you familiar with hyperbole? That comparison is actually a quote from an interview with Jeff Gordon when he was asked about this same topic.
Yeah, but what does Jeff Gordon know about racing? He's from CALLYFORNYA!
I can't stand the guy but he seems to know a thing or two about winning races. He also enunciates too well.
Probably because he doesn't constantly have a dip in his mouth. That's why you can't trust him. Well, now that he hardly ever wins, NASCAR fans don't hate him so much. Jimmie Johnson took his place.
This reminded me of the "Sunshine is from Califoooorrrrnya" quote in Remember the Titans which reminded me of this:
Loved Tim Wilson. He died recently.
Oh absolutely, my "correcting opinion" was done in half-jest. To me it wasn't a "oh let's be obnoxious and point out how wrong someone is" so much as a "hey, this is a really cool comparison, let's see how a rocket and a racecar stack up".
Apparently someone got a little upset with my pointing out that racecars aren't as powerful as they want to believe they are, or something like that.
Also, RocketHokie, I didn't downvote you. I can handle corrections/opposing opinions.
Yeah, but does it parallel park itself? Because if it doesn't at least have the rear view vision, that booger is gonna be tough in a Kroger parking lot.
Caleb Hurd disagrees.....
Funny one. Response? Athletes like baseball pitchers & designated hitters, football punters/placekickers, etc. Interesting how bent the definition of 'athlete' gets when dismissive of sports one doesn't appreciate. Not to Donovan McNabb you, but driving at triple digit speeds for hours on end requires athleticism every bit as much as many other sports endeavors. The same applies to hitting a golf ball at an elite level.
Sports is sports
Accepting down votes here.
I was definitely poking the bear and didn't really put much work into it. I thought there'd be more haters out there and wanted to commiserate.
As for me:
I did play soccer, though not at a high level (up to 10th grade). I was fair to middling and I understand at least a little about the sport. I've lived in both Colombia and Costa Rica and was in Bogota during a recent world cup. In these places soccer is the only sport so one learns by osmosis.
I found the USA/CR qual match in Colorado to be fascinating, primarily because it was played in the snow. The way the Costa Ricans responded was equally fascinating.
I stand by the flamboyant statement. Definition here:
It wasn't a dog whistle remark or a dig at anyone's sexuality. I'm also quite comfortable with my own sexuality.
To me the word flamboyant describes international soccer. Attracting attention because of exuberance, isn't this what the World Cup is all about? All the fanaticism, popularity, and nationalism more-so than the actual activity on the field? Because when I sit down to try and watch a match, it just doesn't hold my attention. As a spectator, it leaves me unengaged so I'm left to wonder what all the fuss is about.
Thanks for the non ad hominem portions of your responses, the explanation of the dive and its context within the sport was well put. And I'll take the rest as well.
I won't downvote. I gotcha covered. Personally I feel some of the responses to this thread are on the line inappropriate. That being said, you probably could have used a more clever and veiled method of donkey punching a game that over half the planet's pop obsesses about every 4 yrs that isn't the Olympics.
I think they obsess about it more than every 4 years. I just think their obsession makes news in the States every 4 years, at least.
Or, when you hear about some riot breaking out over the loss/win some team had.
Much like the riots and couch burnings after most every NCAA championship and many of the NFL/NBA/MLB championships.
Dammit yak! I hate to admit it, but I have to respect your rebuttal. #WellPlayedSir
I'm hopping on the downvote train. May your fake internet points never be recouped. I really like watching the USMNT, especially in the World Cup. Without it, we'd only have baseball and OTAs.
I wish you would have put this much thought into the forum topic. Upvote.
This is eerily reminiscent of an athlete that tweets a highly inflammatory comment, then when public reaction is overwhelmingly negative, waits two days and issues a press release saying he misquoted himself in the tweet. I suppose the important thing is that the thread generated so many responses, if that's what you're into. Rational discussion is always a nice alternative, though.
Meh, I personally understand/sort of agree when people say soccer's boring (although IMHO, its 5 billion times better than baseball). That being said, I understand and respect the athletes who play. The flops are laughable/pathetic, but I love cheering on America for the world cup.
I pledge allegiance...
Wait, this is a chick...right?
Well, I got that GIF from the internet, and if it's on the internet, it must be real... right?
I couldn't see the rest of it and the eyes can play tricks.
God Bless America...
Like 13 others, I upvoted the gif, while ignoring the text. Actually, I had to go back to see if there was any text.
I hated soccer growing up. I still do. It sucks. But hear me out... My roomate for all five years at Tech was a huge soccer guy. He played since he was a kid and played in high school and played club team for the Hokies. I never watched a whole soccer game until I got to Tech, under his influence. Then factor in my main group of friends at school were Ghanaian and Eritrean, I was around soccer a lot.
I tried to lose my "ignorance" and in a way I did. I appreciate the athleticism and some of the strategy that I understand - if it wasn't for my soccer loving friends from college I probably wouldn't be able to say that. However, I can appreciate the athleticism and still be bored by it and find it uninteresting.
I liken it to my feelings on baseball. I may lose some people here but I can't stand baseball either. I think hitting a baseball is the hardest skill to master in all of sports. However, watching it is one of the most boring things I can put myself through. I admire what it takes to be in the MLB, but I'm not interested.
Point being, not liking something doesn't equate to ignorance. Go USA until we lose but I won't watch too much of it. I'd rather watch that gif of the ass grab above for 90 minutes.
But thats not all...
Do you think the ref is buying this one?
Got a serial downvoter on the loose. Anyone man enough to own up to it and explain why?
Was my post too flamboyant?
BTW...I play in and adult soccer league and enjoy soccer...football comes first however.
Yeah, I'll own up to it. I didn't like the shotgun approach of putting multiple comments out there to try and prove a point, especially in a troll thread such as this one. All of those could have gone in one comment and have achieved the same end result. It came across as spam, and I am not a fan of spam. (and before you hit back with "but... you did the same in the Beamer quote thread about attendance"... well, not quite. First of all, there is a 7 image limit per comment, and I maximized that limit with each comment. And secondly, the follow-up list was a reply to someone who had replied to the initial.... thats different than just shotgunning 3 comments in a row with the intent to spam)
There's an edit button, its there for a reason. If you are just adding onto a comment you already made, use it.
Chill out dude. You seem to be taking this a little too seriously. Like I said...I like soccer. If you can't laugh at some ridiculous flops then you need a cold beer.
What point was I trying to prove? That flops are funny?
Sorry you don't like my approach. My intent was NOT to spam.
Kudos to you for policing the board with your posting protocol...Congrats on the 4,571 turkey legs. I guess you think that makes you special. FYI-Your post to me comes off as condescending and arrogant. Might want to think that one over...
"There's an edit button, its there for a reason. If you are just adding onto a comment you already made, use it."
My response to that??
So let me get this straight... You spam the board (I don't care what your intentions were, you spammed the board), get downvoted for it, get up on your pedestal and demand an explanation for the downvoting (mind you, explanations are not entitled, so be glad you actually got one) and when you don't like what is being said, your response is to lash out at that person with personal insults, more spam, and a gif that amounts to nothing less than "fuck you"...
That is the kind of behavior that drove people here from TechSideline. We're better than that
I think this is getting a smidge OT. Why not chill and let him (and others) just have their fun? Apparently (based on the up to downleg ratio) a fair number of folks are enjoying it (myself, admittedly included).
Personal attacks and spam are not what this site is about.
I haven't observed a thread or comment where someone said they were.
I was unaware of your title as "Forum Topic Regulator"
No...let ME get this straight. I guess you think you get to decide what is spam and what is not, even though you put 7 gifs in one post. You then call me a spammer? You come across with an arrogant, know-it-all attitude. This is not the first time I have had this perception of you. I was joking around with gifs of soccer flops and you decided it was time to get on YOUR high horse and police the board.
Back off, chill out and stop acting like you are one of the "regulators". I did nothing wrong and you came charging out with an attitude. You come off very defensive when anyone disagrees with you....sorry, thats MY perception.
I have never been to TechSideline, so I wouldn't know.
Maybe you should re-read your own posts and think about how others perceive them before you come out blasting me.
Once again, please lay off the personal attacks. That is not what this site is about.
I guess a soccer fan downvoted me out of embarrassment? Not sure...Whoever it is, why don't you man up and explain?
Like I said...I play soccer myself, so these gif's werent posted out of animosity towards soccer...
I'm just gonna leave this here
I am upvoting you before someone down votes you for having a sense of humor.
2 thoughts.
1. This thread is basically pointless. The author gave no thought to the subject and is probably (successfully) trying to get a rise out of people. If you don't like soccer, that's fine, move on. Not necessary to be so negative towards it.
2. I played soccer for almost 12 years. I don't follow it closely and don't really know any of the players or teams that well. I can watch a game and appreciate what is going on but I don't seek it out. I don't generally take offense when someone trashes the sport. People all over the world bash every sport in some way. I've done my fair share of trashing other sports. I agree with most of the posters here, responding to a thread I think is unwarranted.
That being said, I always thought this was funny: I had some good friends in college who openly bashed soccer. At first, I would take offense, but then I grew to just roll with the punches. Looking back at it now, it ammuses me that my friends would refer to soccer as "Glorified Jogging"
Like it or hate it, find the humor in it.
my brother used to call it communist kickball
I've heard that one too...not as funny to me as glorified jogging but whatevs
Humor like vhoke, blue collar & wise
I love American Football, but the World Cup is the greatest event. It is a TRUE world championship. It takes 2 years to qualify for the thing and then 32 teams actually remain for the tournament. It is a joke that we call domestic champions "World Champions". It isn't a World Series, winning the Super Bowl does not make you world champions, etc.
The world STOPS for this event. Just because some Americans don't understand the significance of the World Cup, does not mean that negative/ignorant comments are needed. Keep them to yourself.
I love soccer, and I admit that some of the diving gets to me. BUT these guys are great athletes and are in INCREDIBLE shape. Lebron would be cramping up 15 mins in and football players would be grabbing oxygen masks.
Watch Van Persie's goal yesterday. Great athleticism.
Endurance is only one factor in athleticism. There are baseball players that I believe are just as athletic as a lot of soccer players (no not 1st basemen, but definitely some outfielders and middle infielders). I fully believe that if it wasn't for the USA's athletes choosing to play football and basketball, we'd be regularly winning the World Cup.
There is a tremendous about of coordination and skill also. They aren't just marathon runners.
I think having some of the athletes from other sports would definitely help our chances, BUT you can't take a 6'4 250lb tight end and expect him to play well.
I think basketball players would make great goalies. Someone like Michael Vick would be a great forward.
Yea, I'm definitely soloing in on the skill positions in football, scat backs and shorter receivers (<6'4"). Basketball point guards would also tear it up in soccer.
Steve Nash is a point guard example
6'4" is even getting pretty big for a soccer player. Maybe a forward who is only there for headers or a center back, but not anyone who is on the ball with any regularity. That's way too big, their touches would be too long.
Iunno about regularly....ask england how well super athletes have worked out for their national team. Yes athleticism helps but soccer's different in the sense that you have yo be mindful of the game. The reason messi is the best is because he couples his speed with an unrivaled knowledge of the game. He knows runs, plays, tendencies, and just a general instinct for the game. You can't just insert a player and expect him to have that.
Do I believe our mega athletes would help? Sure wed certainly be more competitive but I don't think wed be expecting a world cup every four years. I do think lebron or Calvin Johnson would make an incredible keeper
The one position we never have problems filling with World Class talent already...
I guess Megatron prolly could've peter crouched it and just stood in front of keepers haha
Chad Ocho Cinco (or is it Johnson now?) tried out for an MLS team. He got cut, obviously.
I don't think anyone is suggesting that you can drag and drop world class athletes into different sports and expect positive results. However, if the top athletes grow up playing soccer, and develop the same understanding of the game that Messi has, it's hard to argue that we wouldn't be a more competitive team.
i respectfully disagree with that though, messi has to have some kind of natural talent for reading the game, all of these guys practice unbelievable amounts, and by that logic all the best players should read the game like messi does. but they just dont. messi is on a whole other level from any other player on the planet at reading the game (yes even CR7 although i believe CR7 is much more physically gifted).
that being said I do completely agree we'd be a much more competitive team, perhaps even brazils current level (I personally think the Brazilians have the most physically gifted team in the world and have a few freaks on the team). Sorry if it seemed like i didnt seem that way in the earlier statement
I understand that he sees the game at a different level, but every sport has those players with an outstanding IQ, court vision, whatever you want to call it. The Federers, Peyton Mannings, Steve Nashes, the players who see plays developing before they happen, who think five shots ahead, who pass to the open space knowing their team mate will find a way to the ball/puck.
Every generation seems to have a handful of these players distributed throughout the sports world. I do not suggest that America is guaranteed to create one of these players if soccer grew, but surely the likelihood increases?
Touch good sir touch
Dunno if you guys are or aren't seeing it but my phones not showing it due to the little French thingy....its supposed to say touche my b
I had this argument the other day. Lebron would not be a good keeper. Honestly, he'd be awkward the entire time on the field at most positions (probably a better version of Peter Crouch who was more awkward than a UVA fan at the spring game). Is he athletic? Absolutely, but athleticism is a combination of size, speed, strength, quickness, etc. It's generally relative to your size, and he's very athletic for his size. But at 6'8" there's no way he could be as quick as say Gianluigi Buffon who is 6'3". On top of that we don't really know what his reaction speed is which is probably the most important part of playing keeper. Lebron would be terrible at stopping anything low since he's so big and it would take a while to get down. This is getting long now, but just my two cents as someone who loved playing keeper for 14 years and still loves studying the keeper in every game I watch.
The reaction time is the only question mark here. The supposition was that if American athletes focused on soccer rather than basketball, football, baseball and hockey that we'd have more elite soccer players.
Lebron the soccer player never played basketball. He grew up honing his skills as a keeper. Realistically though Lebron would be a forward in soccer, not a defender.
Courtois is my answer to that I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) is 6'8 and he's pretty freaking quick.
i don't think being tall prohibits you from having an ideal combination of size, speed, strength and quickness. you use Crouch as an example (in a negative way), but the guy has made a career in the EPL and was the top striker for England just a few years back.
and though he's not 6'7, Zlatan is one of the top strikers on the globe and he is 6'5. nothing awkward about him over the ball.
if you happen to be super athletic, height is an attribute, not a curse.
the point stands, if the best athletes in the US grew up with soccer and not in football and basketball, i think it's hard to argue that we wouldn't be competing for world cups. if you took just a small sample of the best WRs, QBs, DBs, 1's, 2's and 3's from football and basketball in the country and kept them away from those sports and in soccer from youth, we would have dozens of American soccer players at top clubs across Europe and our 23 man for the World Cup would have 23 players who could all start over one another in any given match.
NBC's EPL coverage may help keep even just a few of those kids from giving up soccer for bball or football over the next 5 years, and those kids could end up being the first wave of the best American athletes choosing soccer over other sports. exposing kids to the off the field aspects of the game (the fame and fortune and women), for better or for worse, will convince them there is a future in the game for them.
we also have a lot of former D1 bball players bouncing around Europe and hanging out with the celebrity soccer players. those stories find a way back to their friends, family and neighborhoods. once the message gets out: living in Europe is not that bad and there is a TON of money to be made playing soccer over the, more (super athletic) kids will be willing to stick with it.
just my very long winded $.02...
It's very tough for someone that tall to get a good touch on the ball, their touches would be way too long to fit their natural stride. Could he be good? Sure, but I think it would take more work. At keeper I don't see him being that great, it would just take too much time to get down and stop anything low.
But your last point is very valid to me and is what I've been saying for the last couple years. I'm 21, so my parents generation didn't really care that much about soccer (the US didn't qualify from 1950 to 1990), they all grew up playing baseball, basketball, and football. Our generation all grew up playing soccer at some point and a lot of kids stuck with it, so I think you're gonna start seeing a lot better players coming up through youth system in the next 10 to 15 years for the US. Nothing that would make us a World Cup favorite, but maybe a couple 1 seeds in the WC and a semifinal.
rip on soccer all you want! just please don't celebrate with us when we win #BEATGHANA
If you don't like soccer, go watch one of our games in a sports bar. As long as we don't get whooped, I would be shocked if you didn't have a good time. I happen to be in Costa Rica right now and that game was AWESOME.
Wrestling> Everything else!
All jokes aside I respect every sport. I don't like every sport or think certain sports should be sports (I'm looking at you curling) but, it's not my call.
I actually enjoyed watching Curling during the 2010 Winter Olympics, didn't get to watch it as much the last time around but I think it qualifies as a sport at least as much as golf does.
I think golf is more of a sport than curling because I play golf! ;)
I've played golf in the past (wouldn't mind taking it up again at some point, but no time for it except for occasionally on Wii Sports) and have never participated in curling, but it looks like it requires strength, balance, and hand eye coordination along the skill and strategy.
what i don't understand is people's need to point out that they hate soccer (or simply don't like it). there are sports i don't like or understand, but i don't talk about them. i don't poke fun at them. i have friends who consistently take digs at soccer and make it a point to discuss how much they don't like it and why. it just seems odd to me.
wow.. i read all of this thread and just wow. such sad too much bitching no hokie
For me sports is sports, they are all better athletes then I will ever be and I enjoy watching the events. Granted I will watch football (American type) before any other but after that when I'm setting around with friends discussing the finer points of whatever we happen to be drinking I try to find a sporting event to put on TV.
I've seen a team do this play twice successfully in a game. They just added a wrinkle the second time by having the 3rd person shoot it instead of the 4th. Kinda sucks when you get burned by the same thing twice.
I like soccer as a sport.
I have a problem watching it on TV though. It doesn't hold my attention enough.
Same with tennis.
Because why not?
I'm surprised this hasn't been posted yet:
Who can forget this epic Deuce.
There are some awesome cheers that are way better than most football games. I exclude Lane stadium of course.
As a diehard fan of Lane stadium and football in general, I think a lot of soccer supporters groups would put an American Football crowd to shame.