soccer... and sand....

[Captain Beard]

Love that movie.

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

to be honest most football games are boring as shit ... but there is an occasional thrilling one ...

 

[saboona]

i still can't believe we dont have any football fanatics here, i watch football games every saturday and sunday. watch the champions league every tuesday and wednesday. i'm gonna support Inter tonight, and i hope el Matrix comes back from injury soon.

but i gotta say dead_winter is really funny at criticizing football, still dont believe he lives in italy. i'd give anything to attend a football game in their fuckin huge stadiums... the atmosphere man uncomparable.
and well said el_stormo, many people who hate it have no idea what its about

 

[Dead Winter]

I've been to see Udine play a Greek team in their stadium. The game was like watching grass grow, but the most fun part of it was watching all the fans lose their fucking minds, haha!!! That IS one thing that I like about soccer: seeing all the 70-80 year old men AND women start swearing and giving all the referees the finger.

 

[El Stormo]

Another thing against Italian football: it's about the most defensive style of footballing since Cameroon pitched their tents in front of their goal.

 

[XP]

football is one of the greatest sports ever.
Sure there are lots of long bouts of no goals. Sure there are players who dive to try to get an advantage. But past that the game is really great.

The starting and stopping thing in American Football is not a way to make strategy. It's a way for fat 300 plus pound guys to get a break. If you were in a war you can't just stop and make a plan, you decide these things on the go like in football. There are stoppages in football for free kicks and throw-ins, you can quickly set up a plan of attack or defensive strategy here. You just don't need to stop every 10 seconds.

There are obviously some players who try to dive to get calls, but I defy most people to run at near full speed and let me clip their legs. If you don't go down, you won't be in great control to keep the ball. Tough to call a foul when a player stays up and looks like he could keep advantage, so going down might be the only way to keep the ball on your teams feet.

 

[Shpongled]

hell yeah, soccer in sand is lots of fun, and very tiring. That is how some latin american teams practice, in the sand, and that is why they are (or maybe were) miles ahead of everyone in soccer.


I like regular soccer better, more fun to play, cause there is no sand going in between your toes which feels really uncomfortable to kick with

Glad to see I'm not the only heterosexual left in this thread haha

High five!

People that play soccer aren't the pussies. They run around full speed for 90 minutes straight while the real pussies sit on their couches and get fat making fun of them.

p.s. I played soccer until I was about 20, so I'm biased haha. And I'd never call it "soccer" in Europe, that's means for a beatdown, right?

 

[Karmic]

it's a shame the football Dead Winter was exposed to was the italian kind.

 

[Dead Winter]

football is one of the greatest sports ever.
Sure there are lots of long bouts of no goals. Sure there are players who dive to try to get an advantage. But past that the game is really great.

The starting and stopping thing in American Football is not a way to make strategy. It's a way for fat 300 plus pound guys to get a break. If you were in a war you can't just stop and make a plan, you decide these things on the go like in football. There are stoppages in football for free kicks and throw-ins, you can quickly set up a plan of attack or defensive strategy here. You just don't need to stop every 10 seconds.

There are obviously some players who try to dive to get calls, but I defy most people to run at near full speed and let me clip their legs. If you don't go down, you won't be in great control to keep the ball. Tough to call a foul when a player stays up and looks like he could keep advantage, so going down might be the only way to keep the ball on your teams feet.

Having played both, there is not only much more pain involved in American football, but it's much more taxing on the body than soccer. Soccer is better for cardio and endurance, yes, but most of the people just walk around on the field if the ball isn't near them anyway.

Being hit so hard you feel the nerve endings in your teeth vibrate is something soccer players will never know...because they'd probably die.

Those 300 pound linemen aren't taking a break, trust me. After battling another 300 pound opponent who literally wants to break your bones, a small 10-15 second pause between plays to call another play isn't that much of a respite. All they're doing is huddling up together so the quarterback can call the next play, which they've memorized. He calls it quickly and they run up to the line of scrimmage and snap the ball and all hell breaks loose. How many soccer players are playing with sprained ankles, broken toes, broken ribs, even broken hands sometimes? I don't see the whole stopping and starting problem. How many times do these faggy soccer players beg and plead for minutes, only for the even faggier official to yellow card him. Wtf? I don't understand that whole "American football is easy because they're always stopping" line. How taxing on the body is it to kick around a 3 pound soccer ball using only your feet and not supposed to even nudge the other players? How difficult is that? It's just endurance, that's all. It's 22 marathon runners kicking a ball around on a field. Golf is more exciting. Seriously. At least there's suspense.

Saying that soccer players are better athletes because the game is more about endurance is like saying that marathon runners are better athletes than power lifters. They're two completely different things. I just think soccer is boring and simplistic, that's all. I'm not one of these American football meat heads or anything; I've played both and American football is just more exciting. The people who say soccer is infinitely superior to football have never played American football, or are too scared to. I spent many months playing soccer at school for a solid hour during P.E., and after school I went to football practice. One last thing:

Soccer is a gentleman's sport played by hooligans, and Rugby is a hooligan's sport played by gentlemen. If you want to see the most dynamic game around, go watch a rugby match. Oh, but they take little pauses too, so that must exclude them from being real athletes as well.

 

[Dead Winter]

Another thing against Italian football: it's about the most defensive style of footballing since Cameroon pitched their tents in front of their goal.

Yeah, it's very defensive, but Italian footballers do shit that many others can't. They dance with the ball and make it a part of their body.

The English, while much more entertaining to watch, look like they have bricks for feet. Except Beckham. Fuck him anyway, .

 

[Mephistophiliac]

I have to say that Dead Winter wins this thread.

I'm also going to venture and say that to whoever said hockey is basically the same rules and type of game as soccer, not at all. The only similarities is that there is a goalie to defend the net and a puck in the net equals one point. Beyond that hockey is way more physical and taxing and all around different rules-wise. Hockey and American football are definitely some of the more taxing sports around. Soccer, er ummm, football does not compare.

 

[Lord Foul]

Possibly those sports are more taxing because the participants wear extremely heavy protective gear?

 

[saboona]

how the fuck would a soccer player play with a sprained ankles, broken toes, broken ribs, even broken hands.
and how on earth would you say soccer is simplistic. is there something the whold world is missing.

other than that, i never tried playing american football before. i never even watched a whole 5 minutes of a game, so i wouldnt critcize it since i know nothing about it.

 

[El Stormo]

Yeah, it's very defensive, but Italian footballers do shit that many others can't. They dance with the ball and make it a part of their body.

Oh yes, technically, Italian footballers are very competent - it's just that strategically, they keep relying on the catenaccio-strategy they've been depending on for ages.

Also, the chauvinism in this thread is astounding. Most of you are just bashing football because it's a European sport (that most of you haven't even played or watched). Lame.

Possibly those sports are more taxing because the participants wear extremely heavy protective gear?

Most likely yes. Because people who say football players are pussies have clearly never seen how much protective gear American football-players and hockey-players wear to keep them from breaking a nail.

 

[Mephistophiliac]

I do believe getting tackled and forcibly taken to the ground with or without gear on and being checked into the boards with or without gear on is more physically demanding that much of soccer and a lot more commonplace than a tackle in soccer. And I have to say it, there is no rolling around and whining when someone nudges you in football and hockey. Also, another great thing about hockey: you're allowed to take out your frustrations on an opposing player and only have to sit out for five minutes instead of being thrown out the game.

 

[El Stormo]

Also, another great thing about hockey: you're allowed to take out your frustrations on an opposing player and only have to sit out for five minutes instead of being thrown out the game.

Great! Minimal sanction for unsportsmanlike conduct!

Anyway, this is turning into a ridiculous "my dad can beat up your dad" argument, and I refuse to occupy myself with this, but seriously guys, some of you might want to question your own objectivity.

 

[Mephistophiliac]

Well, let's face it, if some guy is dogging you the whole game (which is very likely and easy to do in hockey) you're going to get pretty pissed off after a while. I doubt these guys are going to sit down after the game and apologize so it's a good way to vent. The referees do break it up after a few seconds and send the guys to the penalty boxes.

But as for that "my dad can beat up your dad" thing, the hockey fights are really just some extra entertainment for the fans and adds some excitement to the game (at least the fighting is bound to the players and not the fans ). It isn't about who's tougher in each sport, it's the fact that obviously exaggerating an injury as a point of strategy is ridiculous. If I were a referee I would end up ignoring the players who frequently cry wolf like that.

 

[Shpongled]

Difference is, American football and hockey players are playing a contact sport. Soccer is a non-contact sport. Soccer players don't train to take big hits and smash into people all the time. That's not the point of their game, so it's clearly obvious that they're going to get hurt easier than someone with a bunch of protective gear on that's bigger and stronger and totally ready to get slammed to the ground. I guess that in itself could be considered "pussy" for some of you in this thread, but I don't think you should be saying things like that unless you've played an entire competitive soccer game yourself. It's not as easy and physically inactive as it looks.

 

[Shpongled]

It isn't about who's tougher in each sport, it's the fact that obviously exaggerating an injury as a point of strategy is ridiculous. If I were a referee I would end up ignoring the players who frequently cry wolf like that.

See now that makes sense, even though you can't really tell when/if someone's faking something. But yeah, faking injuries in any sport is totally lame.

 

[Mephistophiliac]

Yeah, you're definitely right in that soccer isn't a contact sport. I can admit I did overlook that. The reason defended football and hockey was because there were some comparisons made that I disagreed with. But I should have realized your point there before all that. Really I just personally find soccer boring to watch/play by comparison.

you can't really tell when/if someone's faking something

That's true, but I've seen some plays where the guy very obviously fell down and was laying there trying to draw a penalty. Just the fact that that enters the strategic aspect of the game is terrible. Talk about schoolyard tactics