[Jtrizzy]

I like how's there a rivalry about who has the bigger rivalry.

I've always just given the edge to the crazy soccer fans. I definitely don't condone the violence though. The SF Giants are my favorite baseball team, and that incident with the Dodgers fans was incredibly sad.

[Tashbrooke]

I've heard that Americans are the only ones in soccer that don't dive. Is that true?

i remember seeing a few dives in the world cup from the team, please dont tell me your trying to make out they're more macho or something, because they're not...

if you have no idea what im talking about then sowwy :P

[RELAYER]

I've seen some exciting soccer matches and I've seen some HORRIBLE ones.
Sometimes it seems like the players will get tired and just power-kick the ball all the way across the field to the other team back and forth and not even try to make a play, I hate that.

[whatsinaname]

But yeah, if you watch the MLS... you won't be seeing that. I should know, I support Toronto FC :'( So shit.

I drove up from Michigan to watch the Toronto FC - Madrid friendly a couple of years ago. I quite liked the stadium and your home support was great.


Also, How to get USA to watch football.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJn5XxWg9U

[ElectricBlue187]

I don't agree with the College Football cheering for their rivals nonsense. As a Carolina fan I would cheer for a team comprised of Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussien, Stalin, Mao, Castro, the 9/11 bombers and Hitler before ever rooting for Clemson and I imagine most serious rivals in college football feel the same way

[Jtrizzy]

I've always thought that Soccer would be more exciting if the off sides rules were changed or relaxed in some way. or if the field wasn't so large. I think there are more similarities than some realize as far as how boring a game is. A lot of that has to do with scoring. I don't want to watch a 1-0 soccer or hockey game, just like I don't want to see a football game end 6-3.

[Hieberrr]

I drove up from Michigan to watch the Toronto FC - Madrid friendly a couple of years ago. I quite liked the stadium and your home support was great. Also, How to get USA to watch football. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJn5XxWg9U

Holy shit :loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

I see this shit all the time in the MLS. Fucking side-line interviews with the coach/manager during the damn game. Sponsorship bullshit and the like... arhggggh.

I've always said that Soccer would be more exciting if the off sides rules were changed or relaxed in some way. or if the field wasn't so large. I think there are more similarities than some realize as far as how boring a game is. A lot of that has to do with scoring. I don't want to watch a 1-0 soccer or hockey game, just like I don't want to see a football game end 6-3.

Taking the offside rule away is a bad idea, because you'll have nothing but cherry pickers.

[Tashbrooke]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJn5XxWg9U

[AShep]

You know, it might not even take us 10 years. Lets see...

Billy Slater would probably be the greatest cornerback of all time
Sonny Bill Williams is Tony Gonzalez reincarnate
There are 100 punters in the AFL who would walk on to any NFL team
Manu Vatuavei in the backfield? 1500 yards in his sleep
Izzy Folau, Buddy Franklin and Travis Cloke will go up top and get it all day, errday
Anthony Watmough and Sonny Bill will fuck your receivers up
Our goalkickers actually have to kick from angles greater than 10°
Coaching and QB could be a problem but get Wayne Bennett, Dan Carter and Jarryd Hayne in a room together and they'll figure shit out.

[FootballFan]

I drove up from Michigan to watch the Toronto FC - Madrid friendly a couple of years ago. I quite liked the stadium and your home support was great. Also, How to get USA to watch football. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJn5XxWg9U

OMG. That is the funniest video I have seen in ages. It's so accurate :lol.

[cutmeamango]

I've heard that Americans are the only ones in soccer that don't dive. Is that true?

OH MY.

---

And what an excellent video.

[FootballFan]

I've always thought that Soccer would be more exciting if the off sides rules were changed or relaxed in some way. or if the field wasn't so large. I think there are more similarities than some realize as far as how boring a game is. A lot of that has to do with scoring. I don't want to watch a 1-0 soccer or hockey game, just like I don't want to see a football game end 6-3.

As a person who has watched football all his life... the offside rule is one of the most important and best rules in football. It acts as another defender and it is beautiful to see teams beat the offside line. eg. here - Iniesta has to make a good run and Messi has to pass it right before Iniesta goes offside, Messis pass has to be accurate enough not to be intercepted and soft enough that it doesn't get to the keeper first.

Now imagine that without the offside rule.. Iniesta would be standing right next to the goal already and there would be 3 defenders in the box and Messi wouldnt need to time the pass or anything, just make sure it gets to Iniesta. The whole game would be messed up.

edit
Also, I have seen 0-0 games that have been far more exciting in football than some that end 2-2 or 7-0. (like Valencia vs Madrid this season)

[Always-honest]

You do realize that soccer does not have as much appeal to Americans because they consider it incredibly boring. It's a bunch of running around that usually accomplishes nothing, and an actual goal is a rare occurance. Yawn. It's real easy to belittle a sport that doesn't appeal to you.

yeah, but i'm interested in a lot of sports (even played good old american baseball for a couple of years). So i was also interested in why there was a hype for Football. That hype, at least for me, was completely unjustified when i learned more about it. Though again, i do think the tactical aspect is interesting.

It's not like all europeans and all non americans think soccer is the greatest sport there is.
A lot of people think it's boring as hell, just like you. And i can understand why people think it's boring. For the most part, i agree (untill i see Barcelona playing on the top of their game and i think it's about as exciting as it can get)

Naturally, when you play a sport yourself, and you know the ins and outs (like baseball, it must be boring as fuck for people who know nothing about it), it gets a whole lot more interesting. A lot of sports have become more interesting to me as i got to know more about them. Football just wasn't one of them. The most interesting postition i can imagine in a football team is being a coach, not a player.

Also, How to get USA to watch football. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJn5XxWg9U

haha, funny stuff.


Anyway, this is football as it's supposed to be played:
This maybe:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm2hg...feature=relmfu

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

You know, it might not even take us 10 years. Lets see... Billy Slater would probably be the greatest cornerback of all time Sonny Bill Williams is Tony Gonzalez reincarnate There are 100 punters in the AFL who would walk on to any NFL team Manu Vatuavei in the backfield? 1500 yards in his sleep Izzy Folau, Buddy Franklin and Travis Cloke will go up top and get it all day, errday Anthony Watmough and Sonny Bill will fuck your receivers up Our goalkickers actually have to kick from angles greater than 10° Coaching and QB could be a problem but get Wayne Bennett, Dan Carter and Jarryd Hayne in a room together and they'll figure shit out.

Falou, Inglis, Slater would probably excel at whatever sport they played. Clone Dave Taylor to do all the heavy work.

We'd be able to make a decent team but the way these guys got good at the sports they play now is from playing it all their life.

American Football = Football for men

lol

One way to compare the NFL and Rugby is by looking at average career lengths. Football is about 4 years because of how physical it is. Is anyone aware of how long an average Rugby player plays professionally?

Just shows them as being disposable with plenty of other people who can do their job.

[Jtrizzy]

I wouldn't try to argue removing off sides completely, that's for sure. I just wish there was a way to manufacture more offense into the game. This is the Simpson's video that I meant to post earlier:

http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/si...Zsf03GZpqLs1Bw

[Hieberrr]

I wouldn't try to argue removing off sides completely, that's for sure. I just wish there was a way to manufacture more offense into the game. This is the Simpson's video that I meant to post earlier: http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/si...Zsf03GZpqLs1Bw

There's tons of offence in the game if you sit down and watch a full match. It's not the same offence that is scoring, but it's the offence that leads to chances to score. I'd argue it's quite similar to American football, but with more of a flow.

I challenge you to sit down and watch a Euro 2012 match. A full one.

[Kusagari]

I don't agree with the College Football cheering for their rivals nonsense. As a Carolina fan I would cheer for a team comprised of Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussien, Stalin, Mao, Castro, the 9/11 bombers and Hitler before ever rooting for Clemson and I imagine most serious rivals in college football feel the same way

It seems to mainly be a SEC phenomena. I don't really think the other conferences do it.

[Bulbo Urethral Baggins]

Why can't europeans understand the complexity of American football? It's impossible to even try to explain a simple thing like the forward pass.

[JCX]

It seems to mainly be a SEC phenomena. I don't really think the other conferences do it.

I feel like the S-E-C is somewhat ironic at this point. Also, because we don't have a play-off (yet), having your conference perceived as strong is important. I root for all Big Ten teams, excluding Michigan, during bowl season, but only because those wins help MSU look better when we play them the following season

[Dapperk]

I've always thought that Soccer would be more exciting if the off sides rules were changed or relaxed in some way. or if the field wasn't so large. I think there are more similarities than some realize as far as how boring a game is. A lot of that has to do with scoring. I don't want to watch a 1-0 soccer or hockey game, just like I don't want to see a football game end 6-3.

I don't think that low scores bothers people as much as a low number of perceived scoring chances. A lot of the play in a soccer match takes place in the midfield. Thing is some of the nicest play you'll see on a soccer pitch also takes place in the center area.

As for the offsides rule, it may be possible to tweak in some way, but can never be removed entirely. It would kill the game.

I always thought that changing the substitution rule would be more key to a faster moving game. How many soccer matches end in extra time with guys half jogging it because the teams out of subs and everyone's fatigued. Either allow more subs or even allow players to sub back in after a rest. Then again I'm sure the purists would have a hard time accepting that much of a change.

[seanoff]

Why can't europeans understand the complexity of American football? It's impossible to even try to explain a simple thing like the forward pass.

maybe they just aren't interested. there's some spectacular stuff in the NFL but the game happens between the ads. there's about 12mins of actual action over 4 hrs. it's not a lot for people used to watching the ball always in play.

[RELAYER]

Why can't europeans understand the complexity of American football? It's impossible to even try to explain a simple thing like the forward pass.

I've heard that the forward pass is technically impossible according to the known laws of physics.
Crazy stuff def

[seanoff]

I don't think that low scores bothers people as much as a low number of perceived scoring chances. A lot of the play in a soccer match takes place in the midfield. Thing is some of the nicest play you'll see on a soccer pitch also takes place in the center area. As for the offsides rule, it may be possible to tweak in some way, but can never be removed entirely. It would kill the game. I always thought that changing the substitution rule would be more key to a faster moving game. How many soccer matches end in extra time with guys half jogging it because the teams out of subs and everyone's fatigued. Either allow more subs or even allow players to sub back in after a rest. Then again I'm sure the purists would have a hard time accepting that much of a change.

fatigue leads to a more open game. the defense cannot re-group quickly or press as hard so the game opens up.

fatigue is part of the game, the ability to operate thru that fatigue help makes the game what it is.

[rar]

A lot of that has to do with scoring. I don't want to watch a 1-0 soccer or hockey game, just like I don't want to see a football game end 6-3.

i don't understand this sentiment. why should scoring happen so often? why should it be easy? why is a passage of play any less interesting to watch just because no one is awarded points for it? personally i think that the difficulty of scoring goals make each one more meaningful and certain moments more special. it makes the game more tense and exciting as you watch your team come close as you sit hoping that they break through or try and hold off the other team. to me in a lot of american sports you see so much scoring all the time that nothing seems impressive anymore, like you've seen it all, and so i see people turning to statistics and records to impress themselves

[IceCold]

Some of you guys who don't like football should look into beach football or futsal.

[Regulus Tera]

Ofcourse they are the best at it. They invented it

So why does England suck so much at association football?

[Pathetic Basement Virgin]

Y'all do know that the 111 million is just for the US right?

lol at the same weak ass arguments that come up in every thread about football. Get a new playbook.

[IceCold]

Y'all do know that the 111 million is just for the US right? lol at the same weak ass arguments that come up in every thread about football. Get a new playbook.

The amount of people who watch the Superbowl outside of North America doesn't exceed 5 million.

[Kusagari]

The amount of people who watch the Superbowl outside of North America doesn't exceed 5 million.

I was about to say that sounds absurd because of Canada, but then realized you said North America.

You think more would watch it though since European countries do have leagues, and the NFL is trying to make inroads into the UK.

[Regulus Tera]

The NFL is actually quite popular in Mexico, although obviously not at the level of football or boxing.

[IceCold]

I was about to say that sounds absurd because of Canada, but then realized you said North America. You think more would watch it though since European countries do have leagues, and the NFL is trying to make inroads into the UK.

I think more Canadians watch the Super Bowl than the Grey Cup. Usually the viewership for the Super Bowl in Canada is around 7-8 million.

[abuC]

Nobody that big runs a 4.4 40. Even Lebron James wasn't that big. 280lbs is either going too fat or wasted muscle.

Dwight Freeney is close, he's 270lbs and ran a 4.48, also had a 40" vert.


Mario Williams at 6"6 295lbs ran a 4.7 and a 40" vertical.

[Pollux]

Dwight Freeney is close, he's 270lbs and ran a 4.48, also had a 40" vert. Mario Williams at 6"6 295lbs ran a 4.7 and a 40" vertical.

Dwight and Mario are some big dudes.

[Kusagari]

I think more Canadians watch the Super Bowl than the Grey Cup. Usually the viewership for the Super Bowl in Canada is around 7-8 million.

Yeah I checked and 8.1 million watched it this year in Canada, with over 15 million just tuning in at some point.