NEEJ Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Oh great, Sam Patterface is commentating. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Not sure if posted before, but christ :dowiespin . 'Murica strikes again http://time.com/2864483/world-cup-2014-soccer-brazil-america/ The "Beautiful Game" can expand its reach beyond fringe support in the United States — but it'll need to change the rules first As the FIFA World Cup begins in Brazil, pundits are already dusting off their explanations on why Americans don’t care for soccer. But only the most daring will offer proposals to change the game to make it more appealing to the American public. First, the problem. Far and away the most common reason cited for the sport’s unpopularity in the United States is that you can spend 90 minutes watching and never see a goal. “Americans love to see scoring,” says Stephen Clark, a news anchor at WXYZ news in Detroit, who wrote a post on the subject ahead of the last World Cup in South Africa. “In soccer it’s too usual to see a game end at 1-0.” Football — the one with the helmets and pads — may not always have a lot of scoring, but at least each touchdown delivers six points and an opportunity for a couple more. And then, between them, there’s the relentless to-and-fro across the field. “It’s almost military,” says Clark. “We like to march down the field and get rewarded for every victory. You’re rewarded every ten yards. It’s like conquering territory.” Compare that to soccer, where it’s not unusual to see a team reset the play by kicking the ball back towards their own goal. The play never stops, but nobody gains lasting advantage. “When do you go the bathroom?” says Clark. “When do you get a beer?” More crucially, he points out: When does the broadcaster get a commercial break? The problem isn’t just infrequent scoring, says Michael Mandelbaum, director of the American Foreign Policy program at John Hopkins University and author of The Meaning of Sports: Why Americans Watch Baseball, Football, and Basketball and What They See If They Do. It’s the frequency with which games end in a “draw” — or a tie, in American parlance. Ties are impossible in baseball and basketball, he points out, and “as rare as eclipses” in American football. And when they do happen they aren’t settled by something as capricious and peripheral to the game as penalty kick shoot-outs. “This seems absurd to Americans, like deciding the Super Bowl through a field goal kicking contest,” he says. Mandelbaum also offers a proposal to make the game more popular in the United States. He’d alter the rules to favor the offense, eliminating the offside rule, which forbids players from passing to teammates standing behind enemy lines. Alternatively, he’d use the number of corner kicks awarded to each team as a way to break ties, a method that would reward aggressive play. “For this to happen in the US, however, the rest of the world would have to do the same, which it won’t,” he says. The close-mindedness of the sport’s establishment shouldn’t stand in the way of a good idea. And so, in that spirit, here’s a modest proposal: soccer should take its cue from boxing and install three field-side judges to secretly score every 15-minute interval. Goals would be like knock-outs. Points would only come into play in the case of a tie. The scorecards would put greater importance on each moment of the game (Sorry Clark, still no bathroom breaks). Teams would be motivated to play spectacularly or risk losing on points. Squads that felt they had slipped behind would be doubly pressed to get that last minute goal. Best of all, the change would bring an entirely new aspect to the game, one not unfamiliar to fans of boxing (or for that matter figure stating): judges. After all, it’s one thing to argue about a referee’s call on a set of objective, verifiable rules. Think of all the fun that can be had arguing about the secret decisions of the judges. We're dumb assholes, but you fell for it. It has the phrase "Modest proposal" in it, ffs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRD Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Where's Vela? Had his run-ins with the national team so not in the WC squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto2005 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Oh great, Sam Patterface is commentating. He's terrible, mundane cunt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
54 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Eto looks like he's just ate an entire cake. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHoob Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Oh great, Sam Patterface is commentating. + Clarke Carlisle, the dream team Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketsbaia Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I love ITV's scoreboard. Looks absolutely lush. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Eto'o Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leffe186 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Mexico apparently have 98% of the support in the stands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jtm_92 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Cameroon surely must have a better goalkeeper than itandje, I still remember him being useless for liverpool. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEEJ Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Oh great, Sam Patterface is commentating. He's terrible, mundane c***. Who on earth is co-commentating? He's came out with some ridiculous statements and we're only a minute in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Where's Vela? Had his run-ins with the national team so not in the WC squad. Wow ... that's ridiculous. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto2005 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Oh great, Sam Patterface is commentating. He's terrible, mundane c***. Who on earth is co-commentating? He's came out with some ridiculous statements and we're only a minute in. Clark Carlisle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Carlisle is obsessed with size and strength. Future Pardew. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEEJ Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Oh great, Sam Patterface is commentating. + Clarke Carlisle, the dream team Ah shite. The mute button might be getting a going over. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leffe186 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Wouldn't mind this weather in the England matches, although it would destroy that pitch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Where's Vela? Had his run-ins with the national team so not in the WC squad. Wow ... that's ridiculous. iirc, he's a smug asshole that thinks he's better than Mexico? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Wouldn't mind this weather in the England matches, although it would destroy that pitch. Nah they got the waterproof stuff. Paid extra because of the occasion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 That guy doesn't look like a goal keeper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 What a great commentary paring. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEEJ Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Cameroon's keeper missed training because he got lost changing his money over? What? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHoob Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 The atmosphere is at least a billion times better than the fucking bzzzzzzzzzztttttzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzztttttt of the last WC already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leffe186 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Each team so far has had at least one Spurs or ex-Spurs player #BoringMilner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 98 percent Mexican seems low. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leffe186 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 That guy doesn't look like a goal keeper. Textbook African World Cup team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts