^^^ chelsea, a team comprised a individuals who star on world cup squads, doesn't have talent...doesn't compute...it is their off-season and they are touring the united states (aka they are most likely at about 50%)

[Edited on July 22, 2007 at 8:21 PM. Reason : ]

7/22/2007 8:20:26 PM

Quote :

"it was just a friendly"

Exactly...the game wasnt supposed to be exciting, most friendlies arent. chelsea will be using many friendlies before their season to get their players back into shape and game form

^and that

[Edited on July 22, 2007 at 9:10 PM. Reason : forgot to look on next page before post]

[Edited on July 22, 2007 at 9:10 PM. Reason : i]

7/22/2007 9:09:27 PM

Quote :

"but it was an entertaining game"

it wasn't really all that exciting--and that's not an anti-soccer bash

it was pretty offensively lop-sided in chelsea's favor, at least the last 20 minutes i watched. Beckham's 60+ yard kick down the field was LA's most offensive play I saw.

it was entertaining to watch how ridiculous the whole thing was hyped, but it wasn't a very entertaining game

7/22/2007 9:16:12 PM

celtic vs. chi fire airing right now on fsc

7/22/2007 9:18:21 PM

Oh, awesome. The first time your sport has been relevant to most Americans in years and a huge opportunity to gain some popularity in America and they showcase a glorified, uninteresting, poorly played scrimmage.

It's no wonder the MLS is doing so well.

7/22/2007 11:29:04 PM

well you tuned into it right? they did something right to get your attention that much

7/22/2007 11:33:49 PM

if you're going to hate it just for the sake of hating it, then of course you didn't like it.

7/22/2007 11:43:49 PM

Quote :

"well you tuned into it right? they did something right to get your attention that much"

Yep, they got a whole 9 minutes of my time; which, thanks to the quality of product it'll be the last MLS game I ever watch. If this is what they put on a national stage with everyone watching, I can only imagine what normal games must be like.

Look, I'd really like to watch a good soccer game, because I'm pretty desperate for sports to watch at the moment, but if this is really the best they can put on in an attempt to draw in viewers then soccer in America is never going to work.

7/22/2007 11:54:04 PM

just hold off till football, its pretty obvious you will never like soccer

7/22/2007 11:55:56 PM

You know, if you actually read the posts I made rather than just assuming that I hate soccer, it would really do a lot for your ability to rationally reply.

7/23/2007 12:06:46 AM

I can understand what you're saying, you have fine taste in soccer, and only world cup quality will do
well thats fine but for a fan that knows the game well the mls is plenty exciting to watch
its like a racing fan that can watch bush league as much as nascar

7/23/2007 12:51:35 AM

^^if you cant watch chelsea play, even in a friendly, then i dont understand how you can follow any soccer, chelsea is a world class team with almost every player on that team representing their nationality in world cup play

7/23/2007 1:18:04 AM

^ owned.

7/23/2007 1:22:04 AM

I was supposed to post this earlier but had to bolt.

To Stein, on poor play:

Did you see the combination on the called-back goal? That was some absolutely fucking beautiful shit.

On the whole, you're going to see less beautiful play in the World Cup than you will in any given week in the EPL/Serie A because everyone's playing close to the vest and trying to get points.

One thing you have to consider on that same note is that a lot of guys who came into the Chelsea side in the second half are not regulars, and are trying to prove that they belong in the lineup on a regular basis. As a result, they try to play a controlled, directed game, make some nice advances, and not hand the ball over.

7/23/2007 2:15:38 AM

I'll own up to it. I watched the game. I'm not a soccer fan, but I'd like to get into watching the sport. While the game was overall kinda boring, I can see the potential for the sport on a stage like America. Sure not every game is captavating, but neither is baseball, golf, nascar, etc.

No, soccer is never going to appeal to the fan who wants constant high levels of scoring and action. But to say it will never work in America is a bit naive.

7/23/2007 7:36:00 AM

^ great post.

Quote :

"Yep, they got a whole 9 minutes of my time; which, thanks to the quality of product it'll be the last MLS game I ever watch. If this is what they put on a national stage with everyone watching, I can only imagine what normal games must be like. Look, I'd really like to watch a good soccer game, because I'm pretty desperate for sports to watch at the moment, but if this is really the best they can put on in an attempt to draw in viewers then soccer in America is never going to work."

It's not the best they can put on, it never was about showcasing the best of MLS. This is one of the few teams that might not make the playoffs (8 out of 13 make it, so you know they're pretty bad) playing one of the best teams in the world (who is in their preseason training) in a meaningless friendly. Add to the fact that not only are the Galaxy bad, they have an entirely new roster compared to the start of the season. It takes a while to get used to your teammates and develop some kind of cohesion. The game was always about Beckham, not MLS.

7/23/2007 8:26:44 AM

Quote :

"Exactly...the game wasnt supposed to be exciting"

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

7/23/2007 8:39:13 AM

...Said David Beckham before this weekend's action:

"It's great that Chelsea are here. It's great to have great players and a great team with a great manager here."


silly becks

7/23/2007 9:55:30 PM

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/greg_lalas/07/23/mls.stories/index.html

7/24/2007 5:09:02 PM

i sincerely hope that mls doesn't change their rules to make the game appealing to america.

7/24/2007 6:13:56 PM

Quote :

"It's not the best they can put on, it never was about showcasing the best of MLS. This is one of the few teams that might not make the playoffs (8 out of 13 make it, so you know they're pretty bad) playing one of the best teams in the world (who is in their preseason training) in a meaningless friendly. Add to the fact that not only are the Galaxy bad, they have an entirely new roster compared to the start of the season. It takes a while to get used to your teammates and develop some kind of cohesion. The game was always about Beckham, not MLS."

Ok, here's the point: Why not at least try to make it a showcase of some of the MLS's best? The Galaxy might suck, but that doesn't mean the other team has to be a foreign team phoning it in. This could have been a great opportunity to show good soccer to a massive audience and they blew their shot.

The fact of the matter is they could have showcased one highly skilled MLS team that was going full tilt to show just how good someone in league itself could be and they didn't. It's not like it mattered to the populace if they Galaxy got blown out, everyone knew Beckham was injured and they said enough times during the broadcast that the Galaxy sucked.

7/24/2007 6:32:02 PM

Quote :

"Ok, here's the point: Why not at least try to make it a showcase of some of the MLS's best? The Galaxy might suck, but that doesn't mean the other team has to be a foreign team phoning it in. This could have been a great opportunity to show good soccer to a massive audience and they blew their shot. The fact of the matter is they could have showcased one highly skilled MLS team that was going full tilt to show just how good someone in league itself could be and they didn't. It's not like it mattered to the populace if they Galaxy got blown out, everyone knew Beckham was injured and they said enough times during the broadcast that the Galaxy sucked. "

Yes, I understand your point. The counterpoint is ESPN/American media doesn't really understand the level that MLS actually is at. The only thing people can say is "it's not like European leagues." ESPN set the games they're going to broadcast every week before the season. This was a "special presentation" of MLS Primetime not to show US how far MLS has come and how good the quality of play is, it was to show Beckham's first historic, monumental, etc. game in MLS. I'm pretty sure most MLS fans are kind of disappointed by Beckham -- on one hand, they're happy for the coverage MLS is getting, but he's actually overshadowing all the good things that are going on in the league. For example, the MLS All Star game was hyping up Beckham's game in the upcoming weekend instead of hyping up the league's best players (Toja), success stories (Angel, Eddie Johnson), awesome fanbases (Toronto FC), new expansion opportunities, incoming stars (Jay Jay Okocha, Denilson, maybe Juan Sebastian Veron), etc.

The article I posted up there, here's the main excerpt that pretty much echoes that point:

Quote :

"And New England-Houston wasn't just a good soccer match -- it was the best soccer match MLS has to offer. Featuring the two best sides in MLS, leaders of their respective conferences, it's the kind of game the league should be promoting the hell out of, the kind that should be nationally televised. .... Goals, brilliant saves, tough tackles, some controversial refereeing and DeRo's stunning strike -- what more could a soccer fan, or even a generic sports fan, want? "

DeRo's "stunning strike" - about 0:50 into the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rGIhroZHRY


[Edited on July 24, 2007 at 7:59 PM. Reason : goal]

7/24/2007 7:55:08 PM

beckhams career in england is over with, and has been since the world cup. thats why he is in the US. he's got no where else to "play".

its ok though, it looks good on the MLS resume.

7/25/2007 10:51:34 AM

thank goodness they let NE retake that pk

[Edited on July 25, 2007 at 12:56 PM. Reason : ^ fickle real madrid decided they still wanted him by season's end]

7/25/2007 12:55:34 PM

You can wander into any thread on Tdub and Stein is in there trolling.

Amazing.

7/25/2007 2:53:37 PM

There are plenty of teams in the European and Spanish leagues who would have taken Beckham... some at the top of their game as well. He just saw $$$ and Hollywood and a chance to be the #1 focus of attention here just like in Europe.

7/25/2007 2:54:15 PM

beckham is obviously past his prime but he's still better than any player in the mls, thats the sad part

7/25/2007 11:23:20 PM

not really when you consider beckham was runner up as world player of the year 2 different years...and i dont think hes even that far past his prime. most midfielders play well until their mid 30s

7/25/2007 11:25:52 PM

the guy is injured...

played 13 minutes one game and skipped the other game and sat in the press box to watch it (from what i saw on TV).. i thought you had to sit on the side lines

7/26/2007 10:56:00 AM

Over 40K tickets already sold for the Galaxy vs Red Bulls at the Meadowlands.

7/26/2007 11:02:06 AM

When's the next game he's in supposed to be?

7/26/2007 11:05:21 AM

He'll probably play Saturday at the LA Coliseum against Chivas (Mexican team) in the Superliga

7/26/2007 4:38:32 PM

Quote :

"played 13 minutes one game and skipped the other game and sat in the press box to watch it (from what i saw on TV).. i thought you had to sit on the side lines"

There are way too many players on the team to sit them all on the bench, and there's only a certain amount of legally eligible substitutes anyway. Same for hockey.

7/26/2007 8:47:28 PM

BTW, rating for the Chelsea/Galaxy game was 1.01, the highest ever for an MLS game on ESPN.

7/27/2007 2:30:33 AM

Quote :

"There are way too many players on the team to sit them all on the bench, and there's only a certain amount of legally eligible substitutes anyway. Same for hockey."

werd. i figured like in basketball/football, you gotta sit with the team.

7/27/2007 12:13:22 PM

football teams have 50+ guys on the sidelines, how come soccer teams dont do a similar thing

7/27/2007 12:25:11 PM

football teams also field separate offensive/defensive/special teams packages

7/27/2007 2:27:25 PM

^^ Because you're only allowed seven dressed substitutes and only three of those can be used, there's no reason for everyone to be down there.

7/27/2007 3:12:25 PM

any idea how much this guy is getting paid? team salary, endorsements, etc

7/27/2007 3:14:37 PM

Base salary is $10 million a year, but with team-based endorsements, play-based incentives, and merchandise profit sharing, he can max out at $50 million a year.

7/27/2007 3:16:41 PM

6.5 guaranteed, 5.5 base salary

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/04/AR2007050401628.html?tid=informbox

7/27/2007 3:54:42 PM

Quote :

"football teams have 50+ guys on the sidelines, how come soccer teams dont do a similar thing"

baseball players hit the ball with a bat, how come soccer players don't do a similar thing

7/27/2007 6:16:15 PM

haha okay i just find this hilarious.... not necessairly agreeing or disagreeing for the record, just passing it on to stoke the argument

Quote :

" Beckham: Every five years, people predict soccer could "take off" in America. Every five years, it doesn't happen. Why? Because Americans don't want to watch anything less than the best possible athletes. That's why the USFL and Arena Football failed as TV sports, that's why the CBA doesn't have a TV contract, and that's why ESPN2 doesn't show minor league baseball every night. Pro soccer can't become a major American sport when 99.7% of the quality players play overseas. It's a fact. So what's my silver lining? That people keep stupidly perpetuating the "every kid grows up playing soccer -- those are the kids who become adults and who might buy tickets" argument. You know what else I did as a kid? I gave myself a Muslim name. I ate my own boogers. I seethed because Tom never caught Jerry. I checked my closet every night to make sure an evil clown wasn't there. I left my baby teeth under my pillow because a fairy gave me money for them. None of these things has any correlation to my life now. The fact remains: Americans will never care that Beckham is playing soccer in a league of half-decent guys, just like English people wouldn't care if they had a mediocre baseball league and the London team signed A-Rod. "

8/4/2007 10:20:31 AM

nm

[Edited on August 4, 2007 at 11:53 AM. Reason : .]

8/4/2007 11:31:34 AM

^^ they must've missed where college football and basketball are two of the biggest sports in the country.

8/4/2007 1:20:20 PM

^If you thought about it for a second, there are reasons people accommodate the inferior athletics of college sports (historical rivalries, college allegiance, geographic allegiance, pageantry). None of those reasons apply to pro soccer.

So, not only does soccer lack what college offers, it lacks the superior athletics our popular pro sports offer.

8/5/2007 3:11:04 PM

college football is not played by the rest of the world

8/5/2007 3:22:19 PM

college football and basketball still offer the highest level of competition for athletes who are ELIGIBLE to participate.

Plus the alumni distinction makes a huge difference. Not as many people argue as passionately about a pro team they "pull for" the way they'd defend a university they attended.

[Edited on August 5, 2007 at 3:42 PM. Reason : a]

8/5/2007 3:41:54 PM

^^ Right, but the rest of the world loves soccer, and like Americans and college sports, they're willing to accomodate inferior athletics in the name of geographic allegiance and historical rivalries. That's why Shrewsbury Town FC still pulls thousands of fans to every game, even though they play in the fourth tier of English soccer.

8/5/2007 3:43:47 PM

Quote :

"it lacks the superior athletics our popular pro sports offer."

if that ain't some unfounded pretentious bullshit, i don't know what is. next time you post try pulling your head out of your ass first

8/5/2007 3:47:07 PM