TontoKowalski {l Wrote}:I have had various friends and acquaintances try to get me into soccer the past few years - it felt like years ago, when people in my 8th grade class tried to get me into cigarettes because of how much they thought I would like it (family members died from lung cancer - I despise smoking and always have). I gave soccer more of a chance than I gave smoking in 8th grade (although in truth, perhaps I should have channeled my 8th grade self here). Here are some thoughts:
1. 'Tottenham/Chelsea/Man -U ais my favorite team' - this interests me. How did you choose a favorite team? These are from ancient cities and neighborhoods in another country, what connection do you have to them? My wife's extended family is from a place in Europe that has a passionate soccer following and none of them are really into it... the typical response I get from someone in this country is 'you like the style of play'. More on this in a second, but ...
I enjoy watching soccer matches but I agree that it is hard for an American to easily identify with a team far away for them. I personally like Man United a lot because I know one of the player's cousins (who lives in the U.S.) and some of the colorful personalities on the team like Giggs and Rooney. Also, Ferguson's reign of terror as coach was always amusing to read about... but with some of these players probably on the way out and Ferguson retiring, I have little connection to them at least compared to the cardinals who i root for in MLB. SO, i guess this point i do agree with you on.
as for style of play, the EPL is far more enjoyable as a whole to watch than the italian (or even worse) the spanish league where the guys play like girls i.e. little sissies flopping to the ground with the slightest contact. soccer is meant to be a physical sport and the EPL gets that. also, the EPL is a very balanced league... lot of parity. in la liga, there are two spanish teams who destroy everyone else and in italy, it's roughly the same. it's no fun watching a match when you know the outcome before its going to happen.
TontoKowalski {l Wrote}:2. The introduction of EPL soccer in this country is shameless product placement and marketing. Someone wealthy decided to sell soccer to a large, unsoccer'ed but sports-loving American environment and did so, with apparent success. But it's shameless. Now look, sports is a product, it's been a product for years, great. I recognize this. But sports in this country became a product because so many people loved the game(s). The sports love here existed before the product placement. The product-ifying wearies me. I hate this conference realignment. ESPN is completely unwatchable because they arent even selling sports anymore, they're selling ESPN.
part of the reason that the EPL is the most successful is due to the huge TV contacts in the UK, US, and around the world. it's the reason for the best stadiums, players, competitiveness, and quality of play. i agree that ESPN is dreadful and unwatchable but to compare the EPL to them is sinister. i despise ESPN and all it has to done to ruin athletics. i only watch it for games i want to see but i could never watch the rest of their shit programming. the EPL (and its predecessor) was huge in europe before the TV contracts and people love watch English league football. they always have for as long as the The English League has been around for the simple reason is that it's a great combination of foot skill, athleticism, intelligence, physicallity, etc.
TontoKowalski {l Wrote}:3. There's the EPL. There's a Spanish league, an Italian league, a German league. Other leagues. Then some subset of those plays each other. Periodically, teams are not in the majors anymore and go into the minors? This is a fucking lot of shit to keep track of, especially for a guy who wonders where Wales and Campbell went.
Relegation and promotion are an interesting system. I find it fascinating. I think there are something like ten levels of soccer leagues in england. and every year there is a contest in which every team in those leagues have a chance to become the best team in england (the FA cup). so, you have teams like Man United potentially playing an amateur or semi-pro team. and there are times when those semi-pro teams win. i think that is something that make soccer great. it's such a difficult game even for the best players in the world that if an underdog team plays well enough and smart enough they could just beat a giant. the closest thing we have to this is the ncaa tournament which everyone in the US loves.
as for the rest of the leagues, i cant really comment as I watch only EPL games and champions leagues games. the latter takes the best teams from each league based on the previous season and then they play each other to determine the best team. fwiw, the champ league final is this saturday.
TontoKowalski {l Wrote}:5. In addition to there being a lot of teams, players, leagues, and countries, there are a lot of songs. I don't like to sing. You wouldn't like me to sing near you, either. I can't sing. I can't carry a tune. Why is everyone singing? Why don't you all go join a choir or a boy band? The only song that should really be sung at a sports event is 'Who's your father, referee'. All this singing crap is really too much.
i don't like to sing either but i guess it's not much chanting then what we do at football and baseball games. i guess when you are as drunk watching the game as most people are that attend them it might make sense. i have never attended a EPL game in person so I would not know.
TontoKowalski {l Wrote}:6. This one comes from soccer fans from other countries: 'Football is BORING. A football game only averages 11 minutes of actual play. Soccer they never stop playing!' This, to me, is the most damning criticism of soccer and its fans: if something isn't happening AT ALL TIMES, the entire audience might change the channel to CSPAN or something. This is so outrageously stupid. I like chess. I'm not great at it, but I enjoy it as a hobby, as a quiet, intellectual way to pass the time, as a thing to do with my kids after Sunday dinner or in a blitz match. By the definition above, chess isn't exciting. In fact, chess is THRILLING if you have even a cursory understanding of it and guess what? There's not a lot of shit happening in a chess match. There isn't a lot of movement. Things aren't going up and down the board, really. And yet... it is high strategy and mind-bendingly awesome.
i think every sport has its own unique elements that make it entertaining. i will say that it's nice having the lack of commercials in a soccer match which is a far contrast to the nfl.
TontoKowalski {l Wrote}:7. 'If you like hockey, you'll like soccer. They're really similar.' This is almost the same as above but worth mentioning - anyone who says this knows nothing about hockey. Hockey has a ton of strategy and a lot of movement; soccer has seemingly no strategy and a lot of movement. In hockey, the goaltender can disproportionately affect outcomes. In soccer, this is not the case. In hockey, the personnel changes mean there is a strategy to timing and rotations. Hits and contact factor in. This is another thing I hear from Europeans and the truth is that they don't know anything about hockey if they say this.
there is a ton of movement in soccer and i think that's part of the strategy. i'mm not an expert here so i will let others more informed than me. making sure you are in the right place at the right time. i will say that i know a lot of former hockey guys that are too banged up to play hockey anymore and they pick up soccer quite well as the two are related. as for the goalie not having an impact, i completely disagree. tim howard is a beast. there are so many games the U.S. men's team should have lost because we werent that good but somehow he saved us. brad guzan, his backup, is another guy that's really top notch and he kept his shitty EPL team in a lot of games just because he made ridiculous saves.