Minor things that annoy you-sports edition

[texaskdog]

This past weekend demonstrated one thing that bothers me about NFL football.  The winning team gains possession of the ball with well over a minute left to go, and they declare the game over and let the clock run down.  And this happened not once, but twice.

Is it TOO much trouble to require the teams to actually play the full length of the game?

What a hate is basketball and the constant fouling at the end. 

[Bruce]

Disrespecting a sport without bothering to understand how it works always grates me. It's fine if you dislike "foreign sports", but don't bring out the untrue (and sometimes racist) tropes that come along with it.

[texaskdog]

Disrespecting a sport without bothering to understand how it works always grates me. It's fine if you dislike "foreign sports", but don't bring out the untrue (and sometimes racist) tropes that come along with it.

I'm racist because I hate soccer?

[hbelkins]

Disrespecting a sport without bothering to understand how it works always grates me. It's fine if you dislike "foreign sports", but don't bring out the untrue (and sometimes racist) tropes that come along with it.

I'm racist because I hate soccer?

I guess I'm a racist too, because I hate soccer.

I also hate hockey and golf. Those are mostly white people's sports. Trying to figure out what that makes me, a self-loather?

I find watching soccer, hockey, and golf to be incredibly boring.

[SP Cook]

I don't know any "racist"  tropes vis the vast majority of Americans and Canadians who ignore the pointless sport of soccer.  The only "racist"  themes I see in soccer are the openly racial cheers that are common from soccer loving European fans towards non-white players. 

While on the subject of soccer:

- I really object to the idea that soccer is this "world"  sport.  Is it the most popular sport in the world?  Probably.  But the ignorant idea that everybody outside USA/CAN is watching is illiterate on two levels.  First, there are plenty of other places where soccer is not a primary sport.  Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, etc.  But more so, spectator sports are a function of leisure time.  Most of the world has no leisure time.  Most of the world is not concerned about anything more than where their next meal is coming from.

- I also object to the idea that soccer is "beautiful game" , and those of us in the majority that ignore it are somehow simple.  No, it is a children's game, simplistic by definition.  The most simplistic, strategy free, skill free game ever invented.

- I also reject all this "sport of the next generation"  ho-ha.  We are on the 4th generation of this.  Yes, a lot of children play soccer.  They grow up and forget about simplistic children's games.  The same argument would say that Chutes and Ladders would be the sport of the next generation.

[Max Rockatansky]

Personally I find standard soccer boring given the large field and large numbers of players essentially dictates a slow pace with a low score.  Indoor soccer was something that I thought was pretty fun because it was usually on a hockey rink size arena.   The only problem with that is that hockey on the same size arena is still way faster of a game. 

Regarding soccer fandom I think it almost is entirely driven by where a person is from.  Obviously soccer is far more entrenched in places like Europe and Central America than say North America.  A lot of cities like Orlando actually have a huge MLS following which seems to be driven by a large immigrant population from area where soccer was a primary sport.  Conversely something like Baseball doesn't get much play outside of the United States aside from some notable exceptions like Japan.  I would imagine most European soccer fans would find baseball just as boring as a lot of Americans do with soccer. 

With golf I can get behind watching majors or caddying for someone.  Most regular golf tournaments are a drag to watch on TV because they are slow paced, don't have much stakes, and often don't include much of the best golfers.  At least with the majors the stakes are high, every decision in the final two rounds is critical, and the best golfers are there. 

Tennis kind of falls into the same category or niche.  While the sport is fast and very athletic it tends to be dominated by a handful of people for a decade at a time which isn't very exciting.  The etiquette with Tennis is very similar and dull much like golf which I've always found odd for a fast pace sport. 

[texaskdog]

I can't stand soccer.

-The field is too large.  Even if hockey is low scoring, at any time you can score a goal.  When the ball gets in the middle of the field zzzzzz.
-Flopping is ridiculous. 
-A 0-0 game is not exciting
-Now they don't even bother naming teams.  "Austin FC" is not a name.

I liked indoor soccer.  Small fields and no out of bounds and high scoring.
I like rugby.  The guys are tough and it's kind of fun.

Just because a majority of people in a given situation not agree with you does not make them right.

I also don't enjoy baseball and basketball.  Sign stealing? Maybe that'll make it interesting.

[Rothman]

I'm wondering what planet SP Cook lives on.  World literacy rates are quite high while the world poverty rate is at 10% dropping from 36% 30 years ago.

[CtrlAltDel]

I'm wondering what planet SP Cook lives on.  World literacy rates are quite high while the world poverty rate is at 10% dropping from 36% 30 years ago.

A planet where things become true if he says them resolutely enough.

[SP Cook]

I live in the real world.  And I have been to the Third part of it, many times. 

If you really believe that everybody in the world lives the life you do, or anything close to it, come with me some time.

[Beltway]

I live in the real world.  And I have been to the Third part of it, many times. 
If you really believe that everybody in the world lives the life you do, or anything close to it, come with me some time.

About 11% live in "extreme poverty" according what Google expels, as in earning less than $2 per day in USD equivalent.

What about "just plain poverty" where people are too busy subsisting and producing food for themselves to have much leisure time for watching sports?

[thspfc]

I can't stand soccer.

-The field is too large.  Even if hockey is low scoring, at any time you can score a goal.  When the ball gets in the middle of the field zzzzzz.

It's the same size as a football field. And goals often materialize in the space of one second - a bad pass, a steal, a shot that loops past the keeper.

-Flopping is ridiculous. 

If you watch a professional game, you might see one or two. And it also adds a strategic element for players - a good flop is one that the untrained eye won't even notice (and sometimes the referee as well. . .)

-A 0-0 game is not exciting

This is one I've given up on trying to explain. As a player, 0-0s are often the most intense games because it makes every goalscoring oppurtunity that much more critical.

-Now they don't even bother naming teams.  "Austin FC" is not a name.

I guess I agree on this one.

[Bruce]

Soccer is the world's game, like it or not. Even in countries where it is not the most popular, there are still professional leagues and players who move to clubs abroad. There are also matches between clubs in different countries (each continent has its own Champions League and other equivalents) and matches between national teams that bring all sorts of odd pairings together. The World Cup is a festival of the world's nations (though skewed towards Europe because of their dominance) that is hard to match with most other sports (rugby comes close). Soccer is the best non-wartime way for us to learn geography, since you'd never think to care about Trinidad and Tobago unless they were a crucial hurdle in World Cup qualification.

One of the racist tropes used in soccer is that people of certain races tend to flop and dive more, which isn't true. While there is diving in soccer, it is being stamped out with the use of retroactive suspensions and fines, and you won't find regular use in most top leagues, and it doesn't matter where the player is from, if they see a competitive advantage they will risk it.

[thspfc]

Soccer is the world's game, like it or not. Even in countries where it is not the most popular, there are still professional leagues and players who move to clubs abroad. There are also matches between clubs in different countries (each continent has its own Champions League and other equivalents) and matches between national teams that bring all sorts of odd pairings together. The World Cup is a festival of the world's nations (though skewed towards Europe because of their dominance) that is hard to match with most other sports (rugby comes close). Soccer is the best non-wartime way for us to learn geography, since you'd never think to care about Trinidad and Tobago unless they were a crucial hurdle in World Cup qualification.

One of the racist tropes used in soccer is that people of certain races tend to flop and dive more, which isn't true. While there is diving in soccer, it is being stamped out with the use of retroactive suspensions and fines, and you won't find regular use in most top leagues, and it doesn't matter where the player is from, if they see a competitive advantage they will risk it.

Pretty much this. aMeRiCaNs like to whine about how soccer is a "wimpy" sport (I've heard lots of other, less appropriate words), but they refuse to acknowledge that it is the most popular in the world. You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled to mine, but you're not entitled to refuse facts that are simply true.

[thspfc]

- I also object to the idea that soccer is “beautiful game”, and those of us in the majority that ignore it are somehow simple.  No, it is a children’s game, simplistic by definition.  The most simplistic, strategy free, skill free game ever invented.

Oh my goodness.
Major rant incoming.

An estimated 3.572 billion people watched some official broadcast coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. Over half (51.3%) of the global population (aged 4 years and over) were captured.

3.572 billion. 51.3 percent of the population watched the world cup final.

Now, I'll preform some simple math. You may be too small-minded to understand, but I'll make it as easy to comprehend as possible.

100 percent is everyone in the world. 100 percent of the people. If 51.3 percent of the 100 percent watched the world cup final, that means that 48.7 percent did not watch it.

51.3% > 48.7%

MIND BLOWN

It is a children's game, simplistic by definition.

You may be right. But just in case you're not, you should prove yourself. I would tell you to go get a job as the head coach of a professional team, but we'll start with the little kids in the under-9 age group. Now, if the game is so "simplistic by definition", understand what all of the field markings mean. Understand where each player is supposed to be in relation to the ball and the opponent. Understand what they should be doing in order to create space through which to posses. Understand the offside trap, the low line, tiki-taka, the cross, the header, the defensive organization and attacking flow, the handball, how to spread the field, how to exploit the soft spot, how to position your body when receiving the ball, which way to turn on the ball, how to protect the ball, when to pass back, sideways, diagonally, or forward. Understand how long it takes for a defender to close on you when you're 5, 15, 20, 25 yards from goal, and now put that into perspective to figure out when you should shoot and when to hold, reset, and try again. Understand each and every position on the field. Know each of you're teammates tendencies like the back of your hand. Adjust to field and weather conditions - driving rain, blazing sun, or whipping wind. Know when to take one touch and when to take two, three, four, five, six. Learn how to turn on a dime with a defender on your back, and get it to a teammate immediately.

Got it? Cool, you have now earned the right to be a coach for a bunch of eight year olds. If you can learn twice as much information as this, you may progress up to ten year olds!! Yay you!! At this rate, you will be a professional coach in about 186 years of your life, and that's if you devote every second of it to learning about the game.

It is the most competitive, the most free-flowing, the most complex, the most popular sport in the world. So if you don't like it, fine, I don't give two fricks. But you can't come in here and whine about how numbers are lying and how you could just stumble onto any field and look like anything other than completely dumbfounded and garbage. Have fun.

[Alps]

CALM. DOWN. EVERYONE.

[Beltway]

Pretty much this. aMeRiCaNs like to whine about how soccer is a "wimpy" sport (I've heard lots of other, less appropriate words), but they refuse to acknowledge that it is the most popular in the world. You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled to mine, but you're not entitled to refuse facts that are simply true.

Soccer (association football) is actually as injury prone as American football and rugby, according so some sources.

Nothing wimpy about it.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm sure sports fans in Minnesota and Wisconsin hate being combined or thought of as a single entity:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/target-apologizes-for-selling-minnesota-badgers-onesies-wisconsin-color-us-red-230348720.html

[DaBigE]

I'm sure sports fans in Minnesota and Wisconsin hate being combined or thought of as a single entity:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/target-apologizes-for-selling-minnesota-badgers-onesies-wisconsin-color-us-red-230348720.html

I'm still trying to figure out who should be more insulted.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm sure sports fans in Minnesota and Wisconsin hate being combined or thought of as a single entity:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/target-apologizes-for-selling-minnesota-badgers-onesies-wisconsin-color-us-red-230348720.html

I'm still trying to figure out who should be more insulted.

Probably the Minnesota Packers. 

[Alps]

I'm sure sports fans in Minnesota and Wisconsin hate being combined or thought of as a single entity:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/target-apologizes-for-selling-minnesota-badgers-onesies-wisconsin-color-us-red-230348720.html

Two of them were apparently sold and the rest destroyed. Two people are sitting on a gold mine.

[Beltway]

I'm sure sports fans in Minnesota and Wisconsin hate being combined or thought of as a single entity:
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/target-apologizes-for-selling-minnesota-badgers-onesies-wisconsin-color-us-red-230348720.html

I'm still trying to figure out who should be more insulted.

Probably the Minnesota Packers. 

How about the Wisconsin Packers.

Minnesota has the Vikings.

[1995hoo]

I can't stand soccer.

-The field is too large.  Even if hockey is low scoring, at any time you can score a goal.  When the ball gets in the middle of the field zzzzzz.

It's the same size as a football field. And goals often materialize in the space of one second - a bad pass, a steal, a shot that loops past the keeper.

A full-size soccer field has slightly different dimensions from a football field. FIFA rules say a soccer field must be 110—120 yards long (an NFL-sized football field is 120 yards, including the end zones) and 70—80 yards wide (an NFL-sized football field is 53.3 yards wide). One of the complaints some people made when the World Cup was played in the USA in 1994 was that a number of the venues, most notably Giants Stadium, had fields that were too narrow.

-Now they don't even bother naming teams.  "Austin FC" is not a name.

I guess I agree on this one.

I don't understand why some people feel it necessary to include "FC" or "SC" even when it's the only team in that city. For example, if Atlanta will play a Los Angeles team, "Los Angeles FC" distinguishes from the zoos Angeles Galaxy. Makes sense. If Atlanta will play Toronto, you can just say "Atlanta at Toronto." There's no need to say "Atlanta at Toronto FC" because there is no other MLS team in Toronto. (I similarly don't get why some people shorten "Seattle Sounders FC" to "Sounders FC" instead of just the Sounders.)

[texaskdog]

Soccer is the world's game, like it or not. Even in countries where it is not the most popular, there are still professional leagues and players who move to clubs abroad. There are also matches between clubs in different countries (each continent has its own Champions League and other equivalents) and matches between national teams that bring all sorts of odd pairings together. The World Cup is a festival of the world's nations (though skewed towards Europe because of their dominance) that is hard to match with most other sports (rugby comes close). Soccer is the best non-wartime way for us to learn geography, since you'd never think to care about Trinidad and Tobago unless they were a crucial hurdle in World Cup qualification.

One of the racist tropes used in soccer is that people of certain races tend to flop and dive more, which isn't true. While there is diving in soccer, it is being stamped out with the use of retroactive suspensions and fines, and you won't find regular use in most top leagues, and it doesn't matter where the player is from, if they see a competitive advantage they will risk it.

Pretty much this. aMeRiCaNs like to whine about how soccer is a "wimpy" sport (I've heard lots of other, less appropriate words), but they refuse to acknowledge that it is the most popular in the world. You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm entitled to mine, but you're not entitled to refuse facts that are simply true.

Onions are the most popular pizza topping.  I'll still never eat one.

[texaskdog]

I’m sure sports fans in Minnesota and Wisconsin hate being combined or thought of as a single entity:
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/target-apologizes-for-selling-minnesota-badgers-onesies-wisconsin-color-us-red-230348720.html

I'm still trying to figure out who should be more insulted.

Probably the Minnesota Packers. 

How about the Wisconsin Packers.

Minnesota has the Vikings.

Unfortunately