US World Cup

[The Artful Dodger]

Anyhow, thoughts on the US-Ghana game and I'm lazy to type something... So, here's what I said on the Darkside:

Tough loss for the US. Honestly, when they came out well in the second half and Donovan scored the equalizing penalty, I was sure they would beat Ghana by then. To me, the US looked tired in the first half. They were giving up their share of space, allowing Ghana more time on the ball, and there was no spacing in the midfield to hold on to the ball. Bob Bradley made an inept decision to start Ricardo Clark for Maurice Edu. Clark hadn't played in the games against Slovenia and Algeria, yet Bradley insisted on starting him. What do you know, he gives the ball away and eventually, he picks up a yellow for his frustration. What's worse is, DeMerit backs off Kevin Prince Boateng to get a clean shot but truth be told, Tim Howard should have done better to keep out KPB's effort.

I don't think the American central defense was broken down well in their first three games, but today, they were exploited. Not often enough methinks, but they were beaten on the two Ghana goals on the break. It's a good thing Ghana are clueless in the final third of the pitch. Otherwise, this match would have been put to bed long ago.

I'm probably one of Jozy Altidore's harshest critics, but his first touches were atrocious. He's got good pace, as well as the strength, but he lacks technique and composure in the box. Altidore needs to find a way to play in a league which stresses those technical attributes, like Spain or even Germany. Otherwise, Altidore is truly the Americans' answer to England's Emile Heskey. In fact, Altidore reminds me a lot of Heskey. Not a good thing.

[Cowboys 4 life]

Send me a reminder when the cup starts again. Very slow game with little scoring. I just lose interest. And without the US in it I can care less who wins.

[The Artful Dodger]

Send me a reminder when the cup starts again. Very slow game with little scoring. I just lose interest. And without the US in it I can care less who wins.

Personally, I think the NFL is a slow, boring game with needless timeouts and commercial breaks that insult my intelligence. I like college football better because there's better atmosphere but I think stopping the clock on first downs is unnecessary and painful.

Seriously, if touchdowns were only 1 point each and there were no field goals/extra points, would you watch? To me, if the game didn't have such generous scoring, most would pay attention to how slow football is. Score it like baseball and see what people think then.

To me, soccer is what it's commonly called, "the beautiful game". It's a game of individual skill, about having power, pace, dribbling skill, and technique. It's also an improvisational game, which isn't reliant on calling timeouts per se. It's a simple game to follow, but there are lots of nuances to pick at as well. Most folks who don't follow soccer won't appreciate it for what it is and I don't think the World Cup is a great advertisement for it. The best games are played on the club level, not for country, because players are used to a system and playing with a certain group of lads for 9-10 months a season. Sometimes, the games are slow, sure, but some are just scintillating when the game is allowed to flow as end-to-end attacking matches.

[Cowboys 4 life]

Send me a reminder when the cup starts again. Very slow game with little scoring. I just lose interest. And without the US in it I can care less who wins.

Personally, I think the NFL is a slow, boring game with needless timeouts and commercial breaks that insult my intelligence. I like college football better because there's better atmosphere but I think stopping the clock on first downs is unnecessary and painful.

Seriously, if touchdowns were only 1 point each and there were no field goals/extra points, would you watch? To me, if the game didn't have such generous scoring, most would pay attention to how slow football is. Score it like baseball and see what people think then.

To me, soccer is what it's commonly called, "the beautiful game". It's a game of individual skill, about having power, pace, dribbling skill, and technique. It's also an improvisational game, which isn't reliant on calling timeouts per se. It's a simple game to follow, but there are lots of nuances to pick at as well. Most folks who don't follow soccer won't appreciate it for what it is and I don't think the World Cup is a great advertisement for it. The best games are played on the club level, not for country, because players are used to a system and playing with a certain group of lads for 9-10 months a season. Sometimes, the games are slow, sure, but some are just scintillating when the game is allowed to flow as end-to-end attacking matches.

If that were the case they would still probably score more than in Soccer.

You don't have to give me a lesson about soccer. I whooped arse at it as a kid. Here was my bio: absolutely sick individual skill, tons of power, pace is unparalleled, dribbling skill is off the charts, and technique is so good it would make Pele crap his panties. All the flopping, injury faking, and cards being handed out get old.

Look to each his own. Soccer was cool for me as a kid and in High School but here in the US we just don't care too much about it. I can't even remember seeing it on TV to be honest.

[aaawall91]

No one would care about flopping if the freaking time-keeping made sense!

If there were stoppage of clock at each whistle or whatever than flopping at the end of the game just to waste time wouldn't happen (to such a degree) and therefore not as impacting on the game IMO.

I watched way more Cup than I expected, I know US is behind the curve, for whatever reason, but I was disappointed in their play, especially today.

Put me in the book of let me know when the next world cup is around.


Oh, and hockey is the best sport.

- Point system like soccer with very similar field setup
- Fastest game in the world without motorized vechicles
- Aggression and fighting like football
- Finese like basketball and soccer and QBs and pitchers
- and a History to go along with it.

Plus, the US doesn't have excuses for losing in that sport.

[WaCougMBS]

Man, this is another bullshit night in suck city for me as a developing U.S. soccer fan, but live and learn, right?

[The Artful Dodger]

If that were the case they would still probably score more than in Soccer.

You haven't watched enough soccer, IMO. In the club game, you'll see more 3-2, 4-2, 4-3 scorelines than in the World Cup. Problem about international competitions like the WC is, teams tend to be more conservative and don't want to play to lose. All I'm saying is, if NFL games were like, 28-21 or 28-24, and you took away the extra points and every TD only scored as one point, then you'd have something like a 3-2, 4-3 game. The low vs. high scoring argument against soccer just doesn't cut it, in my book.

You don't have to give me a lesson about soccer. I whooped arse at it as a kid. Here was my bio: absolutely sick individual skill, tons of power, pace is unparalleled, dribbling skill is off the charts, and technique is so good it would make Pele crap his panties. All the flopping, injury faking, and cards being handed out get old.

Likewise, I think American society's general dislike of soccer is old. I don't really care if folks Stateside don't care about the game. It's obviously great if folks here come to understand the game, maybe even learn to like it. What I don't get is why folks here belittle the game and the people that like it, just off some competition they see every 4 years, but aren't likely to follow in between those every 4 years.

[Cowboys 4 life]

You haven't watched enough soccer, IMO. In the club game, you'll see more 3-2, 4-2, 4-3 scorelines than in the World Cup. Problem about international competitions like the WC is, teams tend to be more conservative and don't want to play to lose. All I'm saying is, if NFL games were like, 28-21 or 28-24, and you took away the extra points and every TD only scored as one point, then you'd have something like a 3-2, 4-3 game. The low vs. high scoring argument against soccer just doesn't cut it, in my book.

Likewise, I think American society's general dislike of soccer is old. I don't really care if folks Stateside don't care about the game. It's obviously great if folks here come to understand the game, maybe even learn to like it. What I don't get is why folks here belittle the game and the people that like it, just off some competition they see every 4 years, but aren't likely to follow in between those every 4 years.

That isn't just an opinion its a fact. I have never once watched a club game. Actually let me correct that. I once went to see an indoor LA team play as a kid but I have never watched it on TV. When I see it on TV I skip right over it like an old Golden Girls episode.

I'm not trying to belittle you or the game. It is a tough game. Its just the guys I played with in High School were tougher than what I see in the WC. No flopping or faking injuries. Just hard grinding from both sides without the stoppage. You have seen it before when a guy peeps up at the ref to see if he got the call with the replaying showing absolutely nothing. Its that mentality that belittles the game not me. Those guys need to step into a UFC ring and see what a real injury is.

To each his own like I said. I'm cool with you liking soccer. I just don't like it myself.

[The Artful Dodger]

You haven't watched enough soccer, IMO. In the club game, you'll see more 3-2, 4-2, 4-3 scorelines than in the World Cup. Problem about international competitions like the WC is, teams tend to be more conservative and don't want to play to lose. All I'm saying is, if NFL games were like, 28-21 or 28-24, and you took away the extra points and every TD only scored as one point, then you'd have something like a 3-2, 4-3 game. The low vs. high scoring argument against soccer just doesn't cut it, in my book.

Likewise, I think American society's general dislike of soccer is old. I don't really care if folks Stateside don't care about the game. It's obviously great if folks here come to understand the game, maybe even learn to like it. What I don't get is why folks here belittle the game and the people that like it, just off some competition they see every 4 years, but aren't likely to follow in between those every 4 years.

That isn't just an opinion its a fact. I have never once watched a club game. Actually let me correct that. I once went to see an indoor LA team play as a kid but I have never watched it on TV. When I see it on TV I skip right over it like an old Golden Girls episode.

I'm not trying to belittle you or the game. It is a tough game. Its just the guys I played with in High School were tougher than what I see in the WC. No flopping or faking injuries. Just hard grinding from both sides without the stoppage. You have seen it before when a guy peeps up at the ref to see if he got the call with the replaying showing absolutely nothing. Its that mentality that belittles the game not me. Those guys need to step into a UFC ring and see what a real injury is.

To each his own like I said. I'm cool with you liking soccer. I just don't like it myself.

Well, unfortunately, those quirks are something that soccer fans have to deal with. Most of us don't like it but as I said some posts ago, we'll either have to put up with primadonnas or a time where players suffered serious injuries on severe challenges (which weren't even carded back in the day), which also decreases the quality of play. The latter is worse, IMO. There are referees that don't put up with diving shenanigans and there are a number of players who aren't up to such antics of faking injuries. So, for me, this is a fairly minor thing. I know I berate players for being repeat divers myself and most soccer fans do.

...and violence doesn't make a sport great. This is why UFC/MMA can stand as its own sport and soccer can be its own sport, where it's praised for other positive things.

Also, what I said, was about belittling the game, wasn't on you per se. It was more or less an indictment against the unfair general opinion of the game Stateside.