^^some of them were shit yes, but some from people overseas were pretty interesting...and half the quotes AGREED WITH YOU about how great soccer was...while the author was biased, the sources and references were from every possible angle...sorry some of you can't sift through something you don't completely agree with

^i agree 1000% with the first paragraph...and the quote was a troll post...well sort of, since this is the i hate soccer thread

and I think playing basketball at the highest level takes more athleticism than soccer

6/10/2010 6:59:43 PM

Im not sure what the mainstream media's angle is when they report on soccer as I dont really watch any of it and I really dont care. I do like the way ESPN covers it, like an important sporting event. I dont think they try to jam it down the throats of Americans. But they are informative and cover the WC as a whole and not just what we are doing.


I played soccer growing up and till this day I can't watch ANY other level of soccer other than the WC and I will have my eyes glued to it for the next month. To me it follows along the Olympic path. I couldn't give 2 shits about Track and Field or swimming for 3 years. Then BAM I'm hooked for a few weeks. Soccer is NEVER going to be a mainstream sport in the country. It'll NEVER catch or pass:

NFL
College BBall
College Fball
Baseball

Hell it'll probably never be as popular as NHL.


But I'm sick of this I HATE SOCCER BLAH BLAH BLAH, ITS BORING BLAH BLAH BLAH. Just STFU, you sound like a broken record. We get it. Go away. You assholes are probably the same people that nut over watching golf on TV

6/10/2010 7:00:12 PM

Quote :

"But I'm sick of this I HATE SOCCER BLAH BLAH BLAH, ITS BORING BLAH BLAH BLAH. Just STFU, you sound like a broken record. We get it. Go away."

Quote :

"Sports Talk » official i hate soccer thread or whatever"

we're not doing this in the WC thread...chill the fuck out

6/10/2010 7:02:39 PM

That's why I posted it in THIS thread asshole

6/10/2010 7:04:44 PM

those rolly eyes look kind of like the eyes of a large american tv network's exec when someone proposes they sign on for a big money deal to carry MLS games

6/10/2010 7:05:58 PM

i really think fans of soccer should just ignore this thread. honestly.

how much fun would this thread be if people didn't try and defend the sport in here?

6/10/2010 7:06:26 PM

^^ can you blame them?

6/10/2010 7:08:22 PM

If you want to see the epitome of athleticism + skill skip to 2:26 of this video.

6/10/2010 7:09:58 PM

Quote :

"and I think playing basketball at the highest level takes more athleticism than soccer"

how can you possibly say that if you admit that you don't know what to watch at the highest level of soccer? i mean, is your opinion even worth anything, if you understand one sport and not the other? shouldn't you defer that opinion to someone who knows what to look for in both sports? or are you content having an opinion that isn't rooted in objectivity? you gave me a hard time for not reading your article. shouldn't you refrain from lambasting a sport you know nothing about?

6/10/2010 7:10:54 PM

^^Ronaldhino is obviously a great athlete...but I have to question the athleticism of his competition

^I think I've watched enough sports in general to at least have an idea of athleticism, speed, etc. But by your logic, how much do you follow basketball? Are you qualified enough to compare the sports yourself?

I mean you mentioned guys like Lebron and Howard who are great athletes...is someone like Ronaldinho playing against guys with that type of athleticism?

6/10/2010 7:15:32 PM

i've watched the NBA ever since i can remember. i can name the entire starting lineup for the sacramento kings since 1990.


i think i know what i'm looking for.



ronaldinho? not anymore. he plays in italy. it'd be like him playing against the Karl Malone John Stockton Utah Jazz night-in, night-out. and you'll notice that i didn't mention ronaldinho, because he's not the world class player he was 4 years ago.


watch La Liga (or the champions league). in my opinion, it is the highest level of athleticism in soccer. some people get off to the EPL, but thats not my cup of tea.

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 7:19 PM. Reason : ]

6/10/2010 7:16:45 PM

lol, some people are so thick

6/10/2010 7:18:09 PM

are you looking for Duane Causwell and Eric Leckner?

ok serious question...take a guy like Steve Nash...from Canada, grew up playing many sports including soccer...if you recall when Amare was in the dunk contest he assisted him on a dunk by heading a basketball to Amare for an alley oop...he seems like he's a pretty good soccer player...and in basketball offensively, he is great...he has great shooting touch, he is a great passer, and I imagine he has almost as good a skill set with his feet

But while he is a skilled player, he is one of the less athletic players in the entire league...what percentage of soccer players are as athletic as Ronaldino, ie Kobe, versus how many are as athletic as Nash?

6/10/2010 7:18:19 PM

i have watched Duane Causwell airball a dunk.


















TWICE






i've waited hours in line to see Spud Webb, Jim Les....

i have clint mcdaniell's autograph.......

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 7:22 PM. Reason : ]

6/10/2010 7:19:12 PM

Quote :

"Ronaldhino is obviously a great athlete...but I have to question the athleticism of his competition"

Ok, now I know you're just trolling because Ronaldinho isn't in the video at 2:26. At least I know that it's not just that you're a fucking moron.

6/10/2010 7:20:43 PM

I'm sorry that I watched a 5 minute video with 2 and a half minutes of Ronaldiho, but I'm only allowed to comment on Zidane maintaining control of a pass with his neck...thanks for being so openminded

here's an idea: if you don't want me to comment on Ronaldinho's athleticism, don't post a fucking video where half of the video is Ronaldinho (who by the way, IS A BETTER ATHLETE THAN ZIDANE) and then call me out for praising his athleticism!

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 7:23 PM. Reason : jesus christ]

6/10/2010 7:22:05 PM

Quote :

"Zidane maintaining control of a pass with his neck."

Like I said... troll. But at least we know it's not just because you're a fucking moron.

6/10/2010 7:23:42 PM

a: at the 2:26 mark, Zidane does indeed get a pass right where his neck meets his chest, then maintain control after that...so i dont know how thats trolling

b: its funny you call me a troll, when you're posting in a troll thread...you might want to rethink who the moron is

c: once again, ronaldinho is a better athlete than zidane...you posted a video of two great players to emphasize soccer players' atheleticism, and you don't even know which one is more athletic :facepalm:

6/10/2010 7:25:46 PM

whatever troll

you obviously have never spent more than 3 minutes watching Zidane play. The guy was one of the strongest, most graceful athletes in all sports. The only reason he doesn't seem that athletic is because his movements are so fluid.

And ftr, when i think of athleticism, i think of an equal combination strength, speed, agility, stamina, balance

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 7:32 PM. Reason : TT ghost edited]

6/10/2010 7:28:40 PM

it must suck to get pwnt so bad about soccer by somebody like me who doesnt hardly even follow it

but i guess since i watch better sports that feature true athleticism throughout the league, i just know what to watch for when i temporarily downgrade to soccer

6/10/2010 7:29:33 PM

ronaldinho is the best/worst thing to happen for the casual american fan.


american fans are, on average, 4 years behind on their soccer knowledge. ronaldinho has not been a factor in soccer for about 3-4 years now.


if you want athleticism by your standards, treetwista, then look at lionel messi, giovani dos santos, cristiano ronaldo (even though i hate him), diego forlan, most of the spanish front.


if you want brute toughness, look at didier drogba, wayne rooney, samuel eto'o, carlos tevez (when he's not a headcase).


some will agree and disagree with who belongs on which list, but the tough/athletic players are out there.

6/10/2010 7:30:06 PM

^thank you for actually engaging in discussion with me...i know ronaldinho hasn't been in his prime lately, but his skills on that video exhibit what i can indeed appreciate about some soccer players' talents...i just haven't seen enough evidence that leagues or even most clubs as a whole are up to as high a level of talent throughout...kinda of like the NBA 25 years ago when you had maybe 10-20 stud athletes, and a bunch of role players...whereas nowadays half the league can jump out of the gym

i will have to peep some highlights of some of the players you mentioned...another thing that turns me off to soccer though is the extremely wide angles...you don't get to appreciate some of the closeup stuff when its being filmed to show half the field in one shot...which is weird because I can completely enjoy an NFL or college football game from way up in the upper deck

6/10/2010 7:32:38 PM

Drogba is a fucking animal, btw.

^ To see the super athletes in soccer you have to look at Champions League and World Cup and stuff because every country has its own competitive league so there are like 300 teams with players more dispersed throughout as opposed to basketball and football and baseball where there are 30 teams playing very competitively.

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 7:36 PM. Reason : ]

6/10/2010 7:33:27 PM

Quote :

"you obviously have never spent more than 3 minutes watching Zidane play."

bitch i've watched 3 HOURS of zidane ANIMATED GIFS

6/10/2010 7:34:30 PM

Zidane had an awesome header going

6/10/2010 7:35:30 PM

can we all agree this is pretty cool

6/10/2010 7:47:17 PM

I agree, Nash showed tremendous skill in that video.

6/10/2010 7:54:50 PM

lol

6/10/2010 7:55:27 PM

Not that I really give a shit, because I ain't in the serious bizness business, but It's pretty hypocritical to lock a Netherlands World Cup thread, yet an Atlanta Braves thread is fair game. Even if the thread maker was semi-moronic.

SoCCER Is GHeY

6/10/2010 8:02:25 PM

Quote :

"ronaldinho is a better athlete than zidane"

you're just saying that because it's a guy from brazil vs a guy from france

6/10/2010 8:04:40 PM

its actually a little more racist than that, as opposed to some good old fashioned French-bashing

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 8:05 PM. Reason : they should remove the red and blue from their flag lol]

6/10/2010 8:05:24 PM

lol. i, too, like to bash on france

6/10/2010 8:06:39 PM

I think I've said it somewhere on here before but its worth saying again

When you break them down Soccer and Basketball are very similar. Soccer is just like basketball except its on a much bigger field and there is no shot clock. You possess the ball passing or dribbling down the court/field until you can get in position for a high percentage shot. Players make runs or roll off defenders to get in position for a pass to make that shot. Soccer just happens to use feet instead of hands and has a bigger empasis on running (both sprinting and stamina) while basketball has a bigger emphasis on jumping.

take away the shot clock in basketball and you would see much longer drawn out possessions where the ball is moved around in the backcourt probing the defense until a weak spot is found for an easy layup or dunk. Every possession would count more (b/c there would be less of them) and teams would be less willing to shoot contested shots. This is pretty much one of the fundamental ideas of soccer: You move the ball around until your team finds a good opening then you go to goal.

6/10/2010 8:13:34 PM

^I think thats a very good comparsion of the two sports. I also think one of the reasons many people such as myself can't fully engulf ourselves in soccer is the same reason the NCAA and NBA implemented shot clocks: because there wasn't enough scoring.

Although obviously you mention the sizes of the playing surfaces, and if basketball was on a 360' (?) field instead of a 94' court, it would certainly change the offensive (and defensive) mindset of the game.

6/10/2010 8:16:21 PM

I post on a forum that's about 50% brits, I freaking love talking shit about soccer.

[Edited on June 10, 2010 at 8:54 PM. Reason : Well it's more like 40% americans, 30% brits, and the rest from everywhere else]

6/10/2010 8:53:17 PM

I watch soccer hoping that someone will just get pissed off, pick the ball up and a rugby match will break out.

6/10/2010 9:01:40 PM

Quote :

"they should remove the red and blue from their flag lol"

Henry probably wouldn't be cool with that

6/10/2010 9:08:19 PM

No joking, the french naval flag in the 18th century was just a white flag.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ensigns#Historic_ensigns

6/10/2010 9:14:25 PM

Quote :

"diego forlan"

You go on a mini-rant about Ronaldinho being irrelevant and then throw out Forlan as a sterling example of athleticism? Jesus.

6/10/2010 9:29:22 PM

That is a very good comparison. I had never thought of it that way.

6/10/2010 9:29:56 PM

^^uh, i also said that some people would disagree with the list. i was just compiling a quick list off the top of my head for someone who doesn't follow soccer.


and i had a feeling some soccer scholar would come in and try to argue with that list for no real reason. i figured it would either be you, or aimorris. whatever, sub forlan with whoever you have a hard-on for. i'm not interested in in-fighting amongst soccer fans.

6/10/2010 10:31:02 PM

haha I might have said something if this was the "official I love soccer thread"

6/10/2010 10:34:31 PM

^and on that same note, i probably would have been a little more precise with my list if this were the "i love soccer" thread.

6/10/2010 10:35:52 PM

Forlan's not that bad of a choice anyways, he's just old now

6/10/2010 10:38:30 PM

soccer is for pussies. i hope they all get kicked in their dicks.

6/10/2010 11:05:53 PM

BTW -- I just saw Rasheed Wallace roll around on the floor and fake an injury.

6/10/2010 11:27:39 PM

^ he's like 50 years old. probably a legit broken hip

6/10/2010 11:57:00 PM

1-800-273-8255


anybody else about to make the call?

6/11/2010 10:43:19 AM

i hate the offsides rule

that is all

6/11/2010 10:51:47 AM

it's a pretty simple rule

two defenders between you and the goal when the ball is played

only the idiocy of that commentator made it seem like a bad call

6/11/2010 10:53:59 AM