Usa Soccer Team

[ComputerColin]

Soccer, or football as it's known outwith the United States is absolutely massive, easily the most popular sport in the world. The Soccer World Cup is on at the moment in Japan and South Korea and I've got some great news for you all.

The United States national soccer team today defeated one of the best European soccer teams, Portugal 3-2.
As the British sports presenter said earlier today, it will be huge news in the US......NOT!

Anyway, much of the soccer world is talking about the performance of the American soccer team today.

Those 11 stars done your country proud today.

[Carl Price]

It didn't go completely unnoticed.

[doctorgonzo]

Originally posted by Carl Price It didn't go completely unnoticed.

True, but it wasn't as big a deal as other sports stories. It is too bad that Americans don't appreciate soccer more. It is truly a wonderful game. Let's see what happens when we take on South Korea!

[mc2phat]

I'll root for the good old USA, but the more folks tell me I should like soccer, the less I will.

[jackjones]

Football is truly the greatest sport in the world. I have just finished watching all of the games today and what a couple of matches it has been. I am also looking forward to the USA-Korea match. Both teams seem to be doing quite well this year.

[vacanthead]

I've taken tomorrow afternoon off work to watch England - Argentina and celebrate afterwards.


Or commiserate, should it come to that..........

[Jenni]

Soccer is, in a word, BORING!!!! It's kinda like baseball, which I love, but I ain't gonna sit in front of the TV and watch the whole game. Might channel surf and catch a few innings here and there, and make sure I see the final score.

[doctorgonzo]

Originally posted by Jenni Soccer is, in a word, BORING!!!! It's kinda like baseball, which I love, but I ain't gonna sit in front of the TV and watch the whole game. Might channel surf and catch a few innings here and there, and make sure I see the final score.

Never understood that. Football is far more popular than soccer here, but while in soccer the action is pretty much constant and non-stop (save for balls going out of bounds), in football they run a play that last five seconds and then take 40 seconds to figure out what to do next. Now, don't get me wrong, I love football as well, but isn't football a tad more boring than soccer?

[SARGE]

Originally posted by doctorgonzo ... Now, don't get me wrong, I love football as well, but isn't football a tad more boring than soccer?

No. Football is strategy and brawn; soccer is just kicking the ball back and forth until someone gets the good kick.

[jackjones]

Yes, you are so right doctorgonzo. I find amarican football so boring in comparison.

[doctorgonzo]

Originally posted by SARGE No. Football is strategy and brawn; soccer is just kicking the ball back and forth until someone gets the good kick.

That is certainly true for kiddie soccer games (and I used to referee them), but there is certainly strategy in soccer as well. Of course, like any sport, if you don't know where to look for it, it isn't evident. Like baseball ("They are just hitting the ball and running around; where's the strategy in that?") or football ("Everybody's in a big heap; what does that accomplish?")

To people who don't know soccer, an offside trap is probably as incomprehensible as a squeeze play.

[jackjones]

I, a European, am not familiar with football(soccer) in the USA. What is your national league called and do you have an equivalent of the champions league?

[Colb]

I played soccer since 1st grade up untill my freshman year in college. Soccer was life. PLayed club soccer year round untill high school season opnened, then after that, back to club. I loved playing soccer, but I hate to watch it on tv!

Now, the World Cup is by far more interesting than MLS is. And I even watched the whole France game(which they lost). But I can see why people who never played soccer, think as SARGE thinks. Just like people like me who never played football often wonder why every other play is run up the middle into everybody. Is that strategy? Football fans would say yes, while others just get puzzled.

Oh well, later.

[Colb]

Oh yea, the American league is call Major League Soccer.(MLS)

And sad to say, I have never watched a game.

[glc]

http://www.mlsnet.com/ (outdoor)

http://www.npsl.com/ (indoor)

[bigpuma]

As was said earlier the US national league is Major League Soccer but sadly it is really just a minor league. Most of the best American Players end up in Europe. Some stay but the league as a whole is not even close to the European leagues. There is something like the Champions league for North and South America but I am not sure what it is called.

BP

[Colonel Sanders]

Football - whole bunch of players in armor suits(AKA: a ton of padding) stand in a line, then run into each while a few people try to run with the ball. 10 seconds, the process is over. One minute later, the coach has finally noticed where he messed up, and tells his players what to do. 10more seconds of action.. and so on until the end of the game.

I would hardly consider football a sport where the playres think, more memorize plays then act them out when the coach tells them to.

No, I don't like football one bit.

Logan

[alan]

If they shortened the field and allowed players to pound on each other soccer might be OK. As I see it they kick the ball around and play keep away. At least in American football you get to punish people who try to out manoever you with brute force.

Soccer may be the most popular sport in the world but hockey and football are still the best!!

[WJWheels]

Well, it's pretty tough to compete for fans, whatwith the NBA championship series and the Stanley Cup finals going on at the same time. The primary problem with soccer in the US is that for the most part, the only ones that get into it in youth, high school, & college are the ones who are not good enough athletes to make the football, basketball, or baseball teams. If the US had its BEST athletes playing soccer, nobody in the world could come close to competing with us.

[StunGunz]

I agree with Wheels. And for all those Euro's who have watched a game of American Football, and were wondering why they keep running into the middle where everyone is, its about strength, Power , and controlling the game. As one old mudslinging Lineman, I can honestly say there was no greater win in any sport I played (soccer,baseball,football,basketball,golf,track&field), than there was when we just rolled over a team all day long! <2 cents>

Enjoy your games, as I always enjoy mine

[SARGE]

In football, if every man on offense does his job, it's touchdown every play. On defense, it's a shutout if every man performs.

[vacanthead]

We haven't even mentioned rugby yet. Now that is a game for real men.

[Statica]

I see no reason to see football to get popular here (Its football .. its played with the foot) .. there is no calculated, purposeful bloodshed, there is very little possibility that you are allowed to give a person a concussion in football. That would make for a very monotonous game. People here have managed to even turn lacrosse into a shin whacking farce .. and not to mention arm-pit ball, Where the entire scoring play is designed around decapitating as many people as possible with refrigerator sized people.

[pmaddock]

Personally, there is nothing better in the world (at least from the sport spectator viewpoint) than participating in a fantasy football league with your buddies. Who knows, maybe they have fantasy soccer leagues around the world.


PM

[Suncoast]

Originally posted by vacanthead We haven't even mentioned rugby yet. Now that is a game for real men.

I had a brother-in-law that played organized rugby. It's an amazing game. I didn't think anyone was capable of drinking that much beer.

[jackjones]

I am really looking forward to seeing Denmark play against France on the 11. June. I don’t know what I am looking forward to most. The free beer at the college bar or the game itself.

[Mr N8]

Like any sport, soccer takes a certain amount of understanding to be able to enjoy what is going on. I used to watch my cousin play all the time, so I REALLY appreciate being able to watch a pro soccer game. I know they are long, but they really are intense. It's kind of like 2 hours of a 95 - 96 basketball game with 15 seconds left. A goal is never a given, as is obvious by the scores you typically see. 0-1 England over Argentina. However, I enjoy hockey more, because it takes the aspects of soccer and throws in some in your face action. That, and they have to do it all on skates.
Being a sports enthusiast, about the only thing I can't sit down and watch is golf. I personally don't care how many of the 25 annual prestigious events Tiger wins or how many jackets he owns.

nate

[Computer Hobbyist]

Hi guys

Before we launch off in to the classic soccer v football fight, let me share that my number 3 son plays semi-pro football (he is a defensive end -- 6'6" 275 pounder) and my daughter is heading off to England this summer to play soccer (she is an offensive minded wing/forward.) I have also had the privilege of showing an American football fan from Liverpool the ropes for the KC Chiefs and I attend a lot of KC Wizards games. I really love basketball (go Jayhawks and Tigers), and I really miss major league baseball (there are only 8 or so major league teams left -- the rest are just farm clubs who play in the same league.)

All that is by way of preface for what I want to say about America's victory over Portugal. Make no mistake the victory over Portugal is of great importance. The USA beat the number 5 team in the world--a team with 6 mature players including the best player in the world. The victory was huge. Americans should be proud.

For all of you folks in the rest of the world, you haven't seen anything yet. America might not win this world cup. It might not advance to the next stage. It might not even win another game. But sometime in the next few World Cups America is going to emerge as the world power in the sport. It will win the world cup and it will win it regularily.

Why would anybody be so bold as to say that? Well, millions of soccer moms have assured that my prediction will come true. The game has really taken off at the youth level. It is quickly displacing baseball. All the great athletes who used to play baseball are smaller than my number 3 son (who is too small to play pro-football.) Many, if not most, of those great athletes are now playing soccer instead of baseball. Those that aren't playing soccer are playing basketball, but there are only so many NBA slots. America is a giant country. It is as large as Europe. America gets to have one team in the World Cup. The only way Europe is going to be able to compete once the current generation of American soccer kids reaches maturity (in about 5 or 6 years) is for Europe to combine into one team. Brazil (itself a giant country) might be able to compete, but they lose a lot of potential players to poverty so the actual pool of talent is much smaller than sheer numbers would dictate. Some day Russia will also emerge. That won't happen until they get their economic house in order.

To my European friends, enjoy this World Cup. It might be the last in which you have any hope of competing. Maybe the world should be working on a World Club Cup to give the nice people in Europe a chance?

CH

[Mr N8]

Hey CH, what team does your son play for? I watch a lot of amatuer football. I live in the home of the Racine Raiders, and catch a good percentage of their home games.

n8

[jackjones]

Computer Hobbyist: “To my European friends, enjoy this World Cup. It might be the last in which you have any hope of competing. Maybe the world should be working on a World Club Cup to give the nice people in Europe a chance?”

What can I say, LOL. I would like to see an American team in the champions league. That said I have to say that the U.S.A has great potential. I believe, it is the country with the most footballplayers(Soccer) in the world so it makes you wonder, why they are not doing better( no offence).