ESPN is a joke

[jakeroot]

The Cascadia trio (Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps, Portland Timbers) have great names that reference the local environment (Sounders for the Puget Sound, Whitecaps for the nearby mountains as well as the surrounding water, Timbers for the logging industry).

Great names, and great logos too (IMO). Seems like Cascadia has soccer down.

          

One thing that might help is if MLS and its fans weren't so bent on aping the affectations of other countries.

Also popular is Europeans announcing the games. Seattle's matches have been announced by British people since at least 2010.

To be fair, MLS has really only taken off in the last 10 years. I don't think "uniform" or "field" were well cemented enough to stick anyways (though, I will happily admit, "fútbol" is ridiculous).

[texaskdog]

I do think its funny how soccer players fall and act hurt but so do kickers/punters (the most fragile of all athletes).  I seriously doubt any American has a hangup over who invented it.  Americans have little patience...less and less every year.  You have to watch something several times to become a fan and not that many americans have the patience to get into the psychology of a 0-0 game.  I would say if soccer averaged maybe 10 goals a game the "masses" would like it. 

And yes I may rip on soccer but I used to go to Minnesota Thunder games regularly in the 90s.  I accepted it and attended but I got bored with it.

[Bruce]

I do think its funny how soccer players fall and act hurt but so do kickers/punters (the most fragile of all athletes).  I seriously doubt any American has a hangup over who invented it.  Americans have little patience...less and less every year.  You have to watch something several times to become a fan and not that many americans have the patience to get into the psychology of a 0-0 game.  I would say if soccer averaged maybe 10 goals a game the "masses" would like it. 

The "masses" already love soccer. It's just the American masses that haven't adopted it.

Yes, soccer players dive a lot (especially those from Latin America, whose leagues are more lenient on this kind of behavior on average...especially in the Champions League). MLS introduced a Disciplinary Committee that retroactively suspends players for offenses by using replays and a board of referees and it's helped cut down on diving and other unsporting behavior.

[thenetwork]

One reason why I don't like Futbol is because you never know exactly when a game will end, because of their confusing timing rules.

In Basketball, Football & Hockey, there is a clock which tells you exactly how much time is left in the quarter/period.  If the game ends in a tie after regulation, each sport has it's rules to determine how an overtime period(s) can decide a game.  In Baseball, you know it takes 3 outs to potentially end a game in the 9th (or extra innings). 

In Futbol, the clock counts up and when it hits a certain mark, then it's up to the referees to determine when the game will end.  I think it's because the clock never stops for a time out or penalty, and the "refs" add that time to the base time at the end.  Unless you are a great timekeeper at home or in the stands, you are left in the dark when the game gets called in what seems to be in the middle of a game -- whether it is a close game or not.

[Brandon]

I do think its funny how soccer players fall and act hurt but so do kickers/punters (the most fragile of all athletes).  I seriously doubt any American has a hangup over who invented it.  Americans have little patience...less and less every year.  You have to watch something several times to become a fan and not that many americans have the patience to get into the psychology of a 0-0 game.  I would say if soccer averaged maybe 10 goals a game the "masses" would like it. 

The "masses" already love soccer. It's just the American masses that haven't adopted it.

European masses and some South American masses love soccer.  The masses in many parts of Asia, Oceania, and North America have not adopted it.  It never ceases to amaze me how Europeans seem to think that whatever they are or love, the whole world should be as well.

[DTComposer]

It never ceases to amaze me how Europeans Americans seem to think that whatever they are or love, the whole world should be as well.

FTFY.

[Brandon]

It never ceases to amaze me how Europeans Americans seem to think that whatever they are or love, the whole world should be as well.

FTFY.

Speak for yourself, Californian.

[jakeroot]

It never ceases to amaze me how Europeans Americans seem to think that whatever they are or love, the whole world should be as well.

FTFY.

Speak for yourself, Californian.

I don't think either is particularly true. A substantial amount of both populations would rather live in each other's continent.

To expand, a lot of other countries watch American television (much more so than the opposite) and have been losing, to a very small degree, a portion of their own cultural identity. Canada and the UK are the best examples. Both are losing their accents and spelling traditions (again, to a small degree) due to the large cultural influence by the States. Measurable? Absolutely not. Just something I've noticed.

[DTComposer]

It never ceases to amaze me how Europeans Americans seem to think that whatever they are or love, the whole world should be as well.

FTFY.

Speak for yourself, Californian.

Nice. For the record, I personally find plenty to love about California (alongside things to criticize), but there's a dozen other places in this country I could easily live, and I don't judge nor worry about where any other person chooses to live.

For what it's worth, my commentary - mainly tongue in cheek, mind you - was based on what seems to be a resurgence of the concept of "American Exceptionalism."

[dfwmapper]

Actually, ask a hockey fan what they don't like about soccer, and it's not the score.  It's large field size that causes what appears to be slow play, and the lack of checking.  My personal thoughts on how to improve soccer:

1. Allow checking.
2. Penalties should be served by the player in a box to the side.
3. Shrink the field size.
4. Modify the offsides so that the ball must cross a "blue line" before the players, but players can be ahead of the ball after that.
5. Cut the number of players to five plus the goaltender.
6. Move the net away from the edge of the playing field a la hockey or lacrosse.
7. Add boards.

Now that would be interesting soccer.

A lot of what you described already exists as arena soccer.

[slorydn1]

I played organized soccer as a kid, and enjoyed it.

I have tried many times to watch it on TV, especially during the world cup and for some reason, I just couldn't get it into it. I'm not going to just blame it on the lack of scoring either. I have found that over the years I have also lost my love for basketball, too-and they have plenty of scoring. Hockey can have a decent amount of scoring  too but I was never really into it. I'm not sure what it is about those sports that makes them hard to watch on TV and really get into them like I have for other sports. My brother surmises that I just really don't enjoy the constant back and forth up and down the pitch/court/rink type of game with no reset between plays. Maybe he's right, I don't know

Baseball was my first love but after we lost a World Series because millionaires didn't think they were getting paid enough of money to play the sport that I would have paid for the opportunity to play I left baseball for good. I couldn't even tell you who the stars of today are and where they play.

Football (NFL or NCAA)  was always one of my favorites to watch on TV but with all the 15 yard personal foul penalties now-a-days for breathing on a receiver or even thinking about looking in the general direction of a goldenboy QB has made it alot less enjoyable-though I still do watch!

Auto racing of all types has pretty much been my favorite to watch since about 2000, and even all the BS gimmicks the different series are coming up with to decide the champion hasn't been able to dim the fire, at least not yet.

[english si]

Canada and the UK are the best examples. Both are losing their accents and spelling traditions (again, to a small degree) due to the large cultural influence by the States.

We're more losing dialect than accents and spelling. It's the words we use, not how we communicate them that is more noticeably Americanising.

[jakeroot]

Canada and the UK are the best examples. Both are losing their accents and spelling traditions (again, to a small degree) due to the large cultural influence by the States.

We're more losing dialect than accents and spelling. It's the words we use, not how we communicate them that is more noticeably Americanising.

True. More accurately, dialect in the UK, spelling and grammar in Canada. Canada's accent is quickly disappearing, and at least in my experience, young Canadians seem prefer the American spellings.

On the other hand, older Canadians are very strict about their grammar, and even go so far as to use "s" instead of "z". For example, here's a screenshot of a CBC newscast I was watching not too long ago:

[english si]

even go so far as to use "s" instead of "z".

Well, why wouldn't you? I used to think the 'z' was the British and the 's' the American, because the 's' makes sense, like removing the 'u' from colour, dropping the 'ugh' in doughnut, having 'f' in sulphur, etc. It was very confuzing to know how to spell stuff!

[texaskdog]

I played organized soccer as a kid, and enjoyed it.

I have tried many times to watch it on TV, especially during the world cup and for some reason, I just couldn't get it into it. I'm not going to just blame it on the lack of scoring either. I have found that over the years I have also lost my love for basketball, too-and they have plenty of scoring. Hockey can have a decent amount of scoring  too but I was never really into it. I'm not sure what it is about those sports that makes them hard to watch on TV and really get into them like I have for other sports. My brother surmises that I just really don't enjoy the constant back and forth up and down the pitch/court/rink type of game with no reset between plays. Maybe he's right, I don't know

Baseball was my first love but after we lost a World Series because millionaires didn't think they were getting paid enough of money to play the sport that I would have paid for the opportunity to play I left baseball for good. I couldn't even tell you who the stars of today are and where they play.

Football (NFL or NCAA)  was always one of my favorites to watch on TV but with all the 15 yard personal foul penalties now-a-days for breathing on a receiver or even thinking about looking in the general direction of a goldenboy QB has made it alot less enjoyable-though I still do watch!

Auto racing of all types has pretty much been my favorite to watch since about 2000, and even all the BS gimmicks the different series are coming up with to decide the champion hasn't been able to dim the fire, at least not yet.

Football has way too many penalties.  let...them...play

[jeffandnicole]

Football has way too many penalties.  let...them...play

While that's generally true, in nearly all cases when a flag is thrown against the fan's team, it's "Let them play".  When a flag is not thrown against the other team, it's "The refs are blind. How could they not see that penalty"?

[texaskdog]

I can't stand watching football with those people.  I'm not saying ignore penalties but there are way too many of them. 

[jakeroot]

even go so far as to use "s" instead of "z".

Well, why wouldn't you? I used to think the 'z' was the British and the 's' the American, because the 's' makes sense, like removing the 'u' from colour, dropping the 'ugh' in doughnut, having 'f' in sulphur, etc. It was very confuzing to know how to spell stuff!

I'm sure as hell not defending the way Americans spell things, which I'm sure is only because of our strong desire to be different from our forefathers (which, while understandable at the time, is now beginning to look doltish).

FWIW, Canada uses "zed", not 's' for most words (organizer, realize, etc), hence the reason I screencapped the newscast.

[Brandon]

even go so far as to use "s" instead of "z".

Well, why wouldn't you? I used to think the 'z' was the British and the 's' the American, because the 's' makes sense, like removing the 'u' from colour, dropping the 'ugh' in doughnut, having 'f' in sulphur, etc. It was very confuzing to know how to spell stuff!

I'm sure as hell not defending the way Americans spell things, which I'm sure is only because of our strong desire to be different from our forefathers (which, while understandable at the time, is now beginning to look doltish).

FWIW, Canada uses "zed", not 's' for most words (organizer, realize, etc), hence the reason I screencapped the newscast.

It goes back a long way.  Some of it was simplification, some of it was two competing spellings, and one won out in one area, while the other did in another.