SI shows that some of the writers have no brain cells (1 Viewer)

[Chris_Morris]

I know that SI likes to dumb down sports for Joe 6-pack, but their latest list: 10 ways to spice up futbol in the US just shows how ignorant they are, and how ignorant they want their readers to be.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soc.../spicy_futbol/




Rather then trying to get people to understand a sport, they try to trash it. Maybe if FIFA would throw some money their way, they would change.




Chris

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I thought it was hilarious.


That said, I'd actually enjoy watching that game, minus the contact. What makes football suck so much is the fact that plays last about 10 seconds until the tackle or the drop and then another few minutes until the next 10 second span.

 

[Chris_Morris]

What I don't get is that alot of Americans, my father-in-law included, will sit there for hours watching a baseball game, whose action can be reduced to ~20mins but give them a sport where there is near constant action (hockey, soccer, rugby, etc.) they will groan. A 3 hour 1-0 baseball game is more interesting than a 1-0 90min soccer game? :rolleyes


Chris

 

[Jay H]

I love watching futbol/soccer games, but it is also true that watching 2 good teams is alot more fun than watching 2 mediocre teams because what I really enjoy in watching soccer is the passing, the intricasies of a players awareness and attack vrs counterattack. Watching a bunch of guys randomly passing the ball back and forth is dull but a well oiled team that seem to know where every other teammate is to me, very exciting.

Jay

 

[Holadem]

I love watching futbol/soccer games, but it is also true that watching 2 good teams is alot more fun than watching 2 mediocre teams

Is this different from any other sport?

--
H

 

[Jay H]

Well, some sports can be entertaining if the two teams are matched evenly, even if they aren't the best. Like a boxing match, sometimes a great match can be had without having to be between the big shots. Sometimes a baseball game could be interesting if the two teams are evenly matched. But in my opinion, soccer is an art, your team either has a good mesh and understanding of the sport or you don't. And when a team doesn't, it isn't pretty. Perhaps it is harder to have a team that plays well than in other sports which may be part of the problem with soccer in America? Who knows...

Jay

 

[Yee-Ming]

Ninety minutes is too damn long. The NFL has a good thing going with four 15-minute quarters; take a cue from football on this side of the pond.

I thought this was the most, well, hypocritical, comment in the article. Football matches (i.e. real football played with feet) last in total something like 2-2.5 hours, including pre-match comments, half-time, and maybe post-match comments and highlights. A American football game (played with hands) lasts something like 4 hours -- and yes, I have watched live broadcasts of the Superbowl so I do know something about this, and although Superbowl is more spectacle than sporting event, even other games last 3 hours plus, before considering pre/post-match coverage, just the game alone from starting whistle to final whistle is that long.

Face it, when it comes to sports, Americans have to do it their own way. The rest of the world loves football, you have your own version; the rest of the world watches Formula One, you've gotta have your own Indycar/NASCAR/CART.

 

[Joel Mack]

Uh oh...

 

[Clinton McClure]

Yes, it is.

 

[Ricardo C]

Yes, it is.

Ah, yes. Nothing like the excitement of seeing out-of-shape 40 year olds standing around spitting and scratching their balls.

When you can't tell the "athletes" from the audience, you know it's a baseball game

I kid because I love. Or something.

 

[Scott L]

I'm not a huge fan of baseball but just because the img tag makes it so easy..



I dunno man but I think this guy could kick all our asses. I'd call him an athlete.

*insert big fat picture of John Kruk next post*

 

[Chris_Morris]

I don't dispute that most baseball players are athletes, it's the game that's boring. 30 minutes of something happening, packed into 3 hours is not my cup of tea.
Or put most of your famous ball players on a pitch, make them run for a near constant 90 minutes, and most will not make it


What really gets me though is that people (alot of ones I know) will say that soccer is boring (not enough scoring) and they don't want to watch people running up and down a field.

Yet these same people will watch guys drive in a circle for 3 1/2 hours every Sunday


Chris

 

[Charles J P]

You cannot include pregame and postgame as part of the game time of football, and to include halftime is still sketchy as it would be like including the intermission in the running time of a movie. The reason most americans dont like futbol is because we have never played competitavly and when we see people running back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and almost a goal, and back and forth and back and forth etc. we dont have any appreciation for the ball control.

 

[Tommy Ceez]

Dude it was a freaking joke!
Exactly how many fat 40 year old are there in MLB. Are you thinking about your company picnic softball game?

 

[Paul McElligott]

I, too, think the article was more of a knock on American audiences than a serious suggestion.

And I, for one, like watching a bunch of rednecks drive in circles for 3.5 hours.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

I always felt this summed up international soccer quite nicely:

The Continental Soccer Association is coming to Springfield! It's all here--fast-kicking, low scoring, and ties? You bet! You'll see all your favorite soccer stars. Like Ariaga! Ariaga II! Bariaga! Aruglia! And Pizzoza!

Seriously, this article is a joke. It pokes as much fun at American sports fans as it does at soccer.

 

[Jason Seaver]

What I don't get is that alot of Americans, my father-in-law included, will sit there for hours watching a baseball game, whose action can be reduced to ~20mins but give them a sport where there is near constant action (hockey, soccer, rugby, etc.) they will groan.

With basketball being the strange exception.

I think a good part of it is that spectator sports in the US are social activities. You can take a date to a baseball game and talk, for instance. Or you can have the game on while visiting with the family. A game of soccer, on the other hand, demands all of your attention. That may make it a better game, aesthetically, but it means there are fewer casual fans.

The stop-and-go pacing of baseball and American football also made them natural fits for commercial television, while it's tough for American stations to find a way to collect advertising for MLS/WUSA/World Cup games. And that's huge - it means that the Revolution (Boston's team) winds up on a UHF or cable-access station with low-end production values as opposed to what the Red Sox get on NESN.

Of course, basketball is big in the US, but it also gives instant gratification - there's constant action, but it's also pretty much guaranteed to pay off. Soccer and hockey can be exhausting just to watch, and end in a 0-0 tie.

 

[Chris_Morris]

While many will see it as a joke, the J6P of the world (a big portion, but not the only audience of SI) will see it as serious, and rather than be educated, will have their insane personalities justified.

As reference, look at some of the letters in issues from last year after there were World Cup photos on the cover.
People were actually writing in and cancelling subscriptions because SI dared to have a soccer player on the cover. :rolleyes


Chris

 

[JamieD]

This thread is a joke.

I kid because I love. Or something.

If that something is to piss people off, good job.

Different strokes for different folks. No need to fight or insult over it.

 

[BrianB]

While many will see it as a joke, the J6P of the world (a big portion, but not the only audience of SI) will see it as serious, and rather than be educated, will have their insane personalities justified.

Don't you mean the J6P of North America, considering football is the mainstream pretty much everywhere else in the world?