Minor things that annoy you-sports edition

[texaskdog]

Why the interest in 'fútbol' among the very young?
- Simplicity - the rulebook is a very thin pamphlet and very easy to understand.  That utter simplicity also allows the players to develop and hone unique individual skills.
- Everyone on the field has multitudes of opportunities to meaningfully handle the ball.  You don't have that with baseball or American football.
- The constant running and constant action is a great way to blow off energy and develop fitness habits that they can carry on later in life.

-- Very easy to set up sandlot and other ad hoc formats to play impromptu games in empty lots, large yards, fields, streets, indoor rooms, etc.

Granted American football lends itself to that as well, and subsets like 2 or 3 guys playing "go out for a pass," "kick a field goal," etc.

A distinct advantage of soccer related to the bolded statement above is that it's easier to play soccer in a confined space than it is to play American football.

all you need is a ball and people.  Football is more complicated, though we did just play with our friends a lot

[Beltway]

-- Very easy to set up sandlot and other ad hoc formats to play impromptu games in empty lots, large yards, fields, streets, indoor rooms, etc.
Granted American football lends itself to that as well, and subsets like 2 or 3 guys playing "go out for a pass," "kick a field goal," etc.

A distinct advantage of soccer related to the bolded statement above is that it's easier to play soccer in a confined space than it is to play American football.

all you need is a ball and people.  Football is more complicated, though we did just play with our friends a lot

They say that you can even play a mini-soccer game in a living room.

[formulanone]

-- Very easy to set up sandlot and other ad hoc formats to play impromptu games in empty lots, large yards, fields, streets, indoor rooms, etc.
Granted American football lends itself to that as well, and subsets like 2 or 3 guys playing "go out for a pass," "kick a field goal," etc.

A distinct advantage of soccer related to the bolded statement above is that it's easier to play soccer in a confined space than it is to play American football.

all you need is a ball and people.  Football is more complicated, though we did just play with our friends a lot

They say that you can even play a mini-soccer game in a living room.

...I guess it's slightly less destructive than living room baseball and a rodeo in the foyer.

[Beltway]

-- Very easy to set up sandlot and other ad hoc formats to play impromptu games in empty lots, large yards, fields, streets, indoor rooms, etc.
Granted American football lends itself to that as well, and subsets like 2 or 3 guys playing "go out for a pass," "kick a field goal," etc.

A distinct advantage of soccer related to the bolded statement above is that it's easier to play soccer in a confined space than it is to play American football.

all you need is a ball and people.  Football is more complicated, though we did just play with our friends a lot

They say that you can even play a mini-soccer game in a living room.

...I guess it's slightly less destructive than living room baseball and a rodeo in the foyer.

Not necessarily.  You can play golf in the house if you use a soft enough ball.

[kphoger]

When I was a little kid, my dad used to play "football" with me in the living room.  He stayed on his knees, and a teddy bear was the football.

[Bruce]

Some of the best soccer players in the world developed their skills in impromptu environments. Futsal/street soccer/indoor soccer are all great for teaching ball handling and individual skill that goes on top of teamplay. It's also a factor in why the U.S. is lagging behind in soccer development: youth players spend way too much time on the field in structured games/practice instead of playing in small-court style pick-up games.

MARTA in Atlanta now has a few mini soccer fields at its stations thanks to Atlanta United's partnership, and those are a template that could be expanded.

[Big John]

MARTA in Atlanta now has a few mini soccer fields at its stations thanks to Atlanta United's partnership, and those are a template that could be expanded.

Coincidence that Marta was a top Women's soccer player from Brazil?

[texaskdog]

-- Very easy to set up sandlot and other ad hoc formats to play impromptu games in empty lots, large yards, fields, streets, indoor rooms, etc.
Granted American football lends itself to that as well, and subsets like 2 or 3 guys playing "go out for a pass," "kick a field goal," etc.

A distinct advantage of soccer related to the bolded statement above is that it's easier to play soccer in a confined space than it is to play American football.

all you need is a ball and people.  Football is more complicated, though we did just play with our friends a lot

They say that you can even play a mini-soccer game in a living room.

mom always said don't play ball in the house!

[roadman]

-- Very easy to set up sandlot and other ad hoc formats to play impromptu games in empty lots, large yards, fields, streets, indoor rooms, etc.
Granted American football lends itself to that as well, and subsets like 2 or 3 guys playing "go out for a pass," "kick a field goal," etc.

A distinct advantage of soccer related to the bolded statement above is that it's easier to play soccer in a confined space than it is to play American football.

all you need is a ball and people.  Football is more complicated, though we did just play with our friends a lot

They say that you can even play a mini-soccer game in a living room.

mom always said don't play ball in the house!

American football is a simple game.  It's the myriad of needless rules that make it complicated.

[dvferyance]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

[Big John]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

They kept the name when they moved from New Orleans.  Another mismatch is the LA Lakers keeping their name when they moved from Minneapolis.

[kurumi]

About the Jazz keeping their name:

From https://www.deseret.com/2008/10/29/20282844/utah-jazz-team-name-still-draws-snide-remarks:

They held a contest, and nobody won.

A lot of people thought the name "Jazz" ought to go when the NBA team moved from New Orleans to a less-musical Utah in 1979.

"I think there were people who thought the name wasn't appropriate," concedes Sam Battistone, the team's main owner at the time.

But nobody came up with anything better. "The names that came in, nothing seemed to fit," Battistone said. "I think probably more people in New Orleans were concerned about it than people in Utah."

...

He also said that when the Jazz got NBA approval to move to Utah in June 1979, "We didn't have time to change the name" before the season started.

[Rothman]

Heh.

Utah Beehives.

(Of course, the fact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Sunday class for 12-13 year old girls was called this for decades might have caused even more snickers).

[mgk920]

Heh.

Utah Beehives.

(Of course, the fact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Sunday class for 12-13 year old girls was called this for decades might have caused even more snickers).

The 'Utah Bees' would have been good.

I agree, the Lakers, Jazz and Grizzlies should have all left their names behind when they moved, like the Whalers, Supersonics and many others have.

Mike

[formulanone]

It would be nice to even have a chance to be annoyed by most of these things now...

[hbelkins]

Heh.

Utah Beehives.

(Of course, the fact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Sunday class for 12-13 year old girls was called this for decades might have caused even more snickers).

The 'Utah Bees' would have been good.

How about "Utah Buzz?"

[Rothman]

Heh.

Utah Beehives.

(Of course, the fact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Sunday class for 12-13 year old girls was called this for decades might have caused even more snickers).

The 'Utah Bees' would have been good.

How about "Utah Buzz?"

I thought there was a minor league team in SLC that tried one of these names out.

[Bruce]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

Real Salt Lake is so much worse.

[US 89]

Heh.

Utah Beehives.

(Of course, the fact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Sunday class for 12-13 year old girls was called this for decades might have caused even more snickers).

The 'Utah Bees' would have been good.

How about "Utah Buzz?"

I thought there was a minor league team in SLC that tried one of these names out.

Our AAA minor league baseball team was the Salt Lake Buzz for a while...until Georgia Tech sued them for trademark infringement. They then changed their name to the Stingers for a while before settling on the Bees.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

Real Salt Lake is so much worse.

At least it's not the Fake Salt Lake, nobody likes Fake Salt Lake. 

[texaskdog]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

Real Salt Lake is so much worse.

At least it’s not the Fake Salt Lake, nobody likes Fake Salt Lake. 

Real, United, FC. You know soccer could be fun if they tried.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

Real Salt Lake is so much worse.

At least it's not the Fake Salt Lake, nobody likes Fake Salt Lake. 

Real, United, FC. You know soccer could be fun if they tried.

But aren't we the uneducated heathen Americans that doesn't understand such as eloquent low scoring sport?

[mgk920]

The Utah Jazz that is about the worst name in all sports.

Real Salt Lake is so much worse.

At least it's not the Fake Salt Lake, nobody likes Fake Salt Lake. 

Real, United, FC. You know soccer could be fun if they tried.

But aren't we the uneducated heathen Americans that doesn't understand such as eloquent low scoring sport?

Like baseball?

(*DUCKS* and *RUNS*!!!     )

BTW, 'Real' in that case is a Spanish word that means 'Royal' (adjective).

Mike

[Bruce]

There's a vocal and annoying portion of the soccer fandom that are self-hating Americans and thus turn their backs on American-style names (which I prefer). Some of the classic NASL names (Sounders, Timbers, Whitecaps, Earthquakes) hold up well after 40 years of use, while the modern Uniteds just don't feel right (except D.C.)

[Beltway]

But aren't we the uneducated heathen Americans that doesn't understand such as eloquent low scoring sport?

Like baseball?
(*DUCKS* and *RUNS*!!!     )

In the MLB season the average number of runs scored in an average game is about 8.3 runs per game.

The average number of goals per soccer match is 2.6 (median 2). This leads to certain low scores (where a score is a high-low pair) being quite common. The score of 1-0 is the most common outcome.