Subject: Beckham

Let me rephrase;

the principle of voicing ones opinion isnt bad. Going about voicing your opinion by just bashing other peoples opinions/interests is not the way to go about doing so
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Its ignorant to just shout out a claim that one sport is better than another, because its just a personal preference.

That's exactly what it is, a personal preference. My opinion. Freedom of expression. But to call my personal preference ignorant is just plain HYPOCRISY, IMO.

i rephrased ^

It's a shame you couldn't rephrase in another post instead of wiping out all you said originally. Guess you didn't want that to be 'on the record," huh? :(

Not sure what thats supposed to mean, or why you seem to be acting defensive. my original post i just wanted to make a statement and just happened to click reply on a box you wrote, i wasnt attacking you if thats what you think.

then on the second post i clarified a statement i didnt make clear enough because you interpreted what i said in a way i didnt mean

do you still disagree with what i clarified about? on topics of pure personal preference, say what you (not YOU, but anyone) like about someting, dont make fun of something someone else may enjoy because it leads to pointless bickering

im out, peace man
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Pointless bickering = US Congress

To call anyone's personal preference ignorant is what I was talking about. Irregardless of it's a personal preference or not, to call it ignorant is just the same as making fun of someone else's preference, IMO. Hence the use of the term hypocrisy.

It's all good as they say on the street. :)

pfftt, kicking the ball into a net is awesome:)

I basically like all sports.
I like basketball, and softball, and soccer, never really got into football.

the most entertaining to watch for me is wrestling. =p

I'm european (italian) and lived in the states for 10 years now: I grew up with soccer as the only sport you ever practice and try in italy for most cases. As islander said is probably true that soccer is so famous around the world because it is easy to set up than BAsket or football. When i was a kid i tried basketball after my soccer failure only because there was a new basketball field near my home (italy). So i believe the difference is on popularity (hope the word is right): in USA when you are kid you go to soccer practice because your parents may wants you to do so, then you go to highschool\college and i guess that Football\basketball (do they have college baseball????) become more important because is all that people around are talking about and if you are a good athlete you go where the people wants to see you and definitely you know that you can make more money in the USA pro sports than soccer. Women soccer is more popular than basketball i guess, that's why USA women are good in soccer.
In europe\South America Soccer is the first choice for popularity, and the school organization of italy (that's what i know) it is not sport oriented like it is here in the USA. If you want to play soccer you don't play for a school, but you do it for a private team that normally has a first team that play a regular league, then different teams based on age (u21, u19, u16, u14 and so on). Every village\town\city has normally his own team and sometimes even more than one.

So probably the difference between those 2 world stand on culture too, and the way kids grow up and of course the sport environment.

my 2 cents

^_^

babyblue:

Whats so interesting about guys trying to hit a little ball with a stick?

For one, it's more difficult.

For two, it's a more physical, violent game.

Thirdly, there's a lot more action involved...and it can happen instantaneously. Whereas in soccer you can take naps in between legitimate shots on goal.


The only thing soccer players may have on other sports is endurance of athletes. Otherwise, professional level soccer players are nothing compared to professional athletes in other sports, like hockey and American football.

a bunch of guys grabbing each other's legs and crotches while wearin gay singlets?

Well, you are a girl. never mind :)

Growing up as a kid you see football on every Sunday and Monday night as that's what dad watches. I'd see Bulls games a couple of days a week, and hear the Cubs playing on the radio all summer. Even got to go to Wrigley once or twice each summer.

I never saw a soccer match on TV, or knew of any soccer players other than hearing that Pele was the best. It was just some strange game other countries played where there was almost no scoring and matches seemed to end in ties a lot. Imagine that, a tie!

Is it hard to figure out which games I played growing up and in high school?

Soccer needs to advance into two areas to get into the USA mainstream. It needs to make it into ESPN. Sure the World Cup and Olympics are on there, but Soccer federation, or whatever it is, needs to get results from all of the MLS matches covered. And they have to get soccer matches into mainstream betting. If they could accomplish those two things then dads all across the country will care about the outcome of soccer matches, and kids will grow up seeing soccer on TV, and having a favorite team.

IMO, this is where the Beckham signing comes into play.

MLS had already singed a TV deal with ESPN (and Fox Soccer Channel) that will pay the league to broadcast their matches this past summer. This is a marked changed from what was happening before as MLS was buying time on ESPN and was at the mercy of ESPN with regards to the times matches were broadcast.

Now that Beckham is signed, this makes ESPN's job a bit easier. They will not have to work as hard to promote the matches to help ensure a return on their investment. This will also ensure more prime-time air-times, as they will be broadcast regularly on Thursday evening as compared to competing with other sports for airtime on Saturdays and Sundays previously without a set regular time slot.

Only time will tell if this will increase interest in the sport and specifically MLS, but compared to just 2-3 years ago, the outlook is much brighter for the sport and league.

I think the outlook on the sport was growing until the last WC. It wasnt just us losing and not qualifying...it was the world display of poor sportsmanship/p***y diving by virtually every soccer player.

Soccer is almost as much acting as the WWE, and it ruins the integrity of the actual sport.

There is one thing that 'football' and 'American football' have in common though - awful officiating thatunfairly influences a third of the games they are invovled in.
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I wish this forum had an ignore function, because IMO, with your stated biases against the sport of soccer, it's really hard to take anything you say about the sport seriously.

If you don't think diving and faking aren't a part of your beloved Hockey, then you just you are turning a blind eye to it. It's human nature to try and get an edge no matter how it is acquired. Cheating (diving and faking penalties) being the most common way in sport.

But what islander1 is saying, is that diving and acting like a little bitch when you get tackled is so apparent in soccer (which it is)... very rarely do players just suck it up, get up and continue the fight, they usually roll around first holding their ankle or calf as if someone just shot them.
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