The Other Football

I’m not old but getting up there; 50, started playing soccer when I was in 2nd grade. Played through middle school, along w football. High school was football n rugby. Rugby in college n Marine Corps. Each sport has their attractions n turn offs; can’t watch NFL anymore because the kneeling crap!
As far as teams…..Bayern!!!! Players……..Messi is better than Ranoldo but Zlatan is the best!!!!
 
mdhunter said:
I am saying there is a reason why it’s the worlds most popular sport.
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The reason it's the world's most popular sport is because no matter how poor the kids or the 3rd world country they live in they can always find a ball of some kind and an empty space of dirt to kick it around on.
Tea is the most popular hot drink around the world bit I'm not gonna start drinking that crap either. :whistle:
 
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mdhunter said:
It’s unbelievable how many young soccer fans there are out there. I am not saying baseball or football will disappear. I am saying there is a reason why it’s the worlds most popular sport. I personally have grown to love the timeliness of the games and lack of commercials. The game flow is so much better than most sports.

The different league levels, different tournaments, and most of all relegation makes the Premier League fascinating. No more “tanking or rebuilding.” The bottom four out of twenty get sent to the minor leagues and the best four in the minors move up. Absolutely brilliant!
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Fully agree. By far the most popular sport everywhere but the USA, however that is changing and rapidly so as more and more people catch on to the beauty and intensity of the game in the USA. It really is a world unifying sport.
Agree with the relegation comment, it's the norm in all the big leagues like the Prem, Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue One, etc. I think they should have relegation in the MLS too, but I do realize the league is too young yet. I also like how the top teams from all the Euro leagues get to compete in the Champions League; so there is a real carrot at the top and a real stick at the bottom, with big money to gain and lose in both directions for teams.
Someone else also commented about the kneeling thing in US football and it's also turned me off. It's totally disgusting, it sickens me, and it's reason enough for me not to watch it, same goes for the NBA...
 
I have played about every sport in organized fashion (baseball, basketball, track, cross country, football, hockey, volleyball, soccer and boxing). All of them have their own merits and difficulty. I played forward in soccer until a couple injuries limited my speed so I transitioned over to keeper and played until I was in my 40s. Flopping is the one thing in ALL soccer that I detest. If the officials would be judicious about issuing yellows liberally for it that would go a long way.

As for teams I go like this:
College- my alma mater has always had a great program and I love watching my Hoosiers in Cream and Crimson.

Professional Teams- Bayern and Spurs. This year has been hard for me to keep loyal to Spurs with the BS super league attempt and the high probability of Kane leaving. Bayern never seems to disappoint me.

National team- This is going to stir the pot a little but I have always been (and will always been) a supporter of Die Mannshaft due partly to my overwhelmingly German heritage and partly to the way the team has always be run. All the way back to Voller and Rummenigge. As for the US national teams......uuggh. The men's team is a perpetual vision of spoiled, underachieving children who have all the resources in the world and produce nothing. I would love to root for them but I am WAY past getting my heart broken. The women's team? Not ever again in my life time will I spent a minute watching them. Arrogant, overcompensated, fake SJ warriors who let their team be run for a political agenda. Are they skilled? Yes. Are they incredibly ungrateful and disrespectful to the nation they are supposed to represent? You bet

M2CW
 
I played soccer, football, basketball, and track in high school, and spent a season playing WR in the British American Football League in England. I still watch probably way too much of all the sports but soccer is probably my favorite and what I follow closest. I follow Everton in the EPL, and am watching as much as I can of the Euros.

If any of these paint slurpin naysayers ever attended a soccer game in another country, they would quickly change their tune. While some American sports teams move cities, and struggle with lackluster attendance, there is nothing that compares to a packed stadium of fans standing and singing for an hour and a half, for a club that has been in that town for sometimes over 100 years. I also lived in Panama for a couple years and have traveled in Central America a good bit, and have been at multiple games where the fans are separated from the field and each other by barbed wire and military police with automatic weapons. America simply cannot compete with that level of fan intensity.
 
I played fullback and center back in high school. It was not a cakewalk. Nobody didn’t puke from conditioning. Made it to state my senior year (lost). Learned to love the game.
Messed around with track in the US and rowed crew for Queens at Oxford briefly (exchange).
Did some coaching sessions with a former pro soccer guy and the godlike level he was at vs us mortals was astonishing.
I do agree, the flopping happens and it’s annoying ...
I enjoy a lot of teams and players but all time fave has to be Messi. Perhaps because I had a late growth spurt and identify with short spunky players, and the sheer beauty of the city of Barcelona tugs at my heart.
I love American football but occasionally struggle enjoying it knowing the studies of CTE. People killing themselves for our entertainment ... a slower burn than the Colosseum but still real. I think about it when I grab Sitka or Kuiu from the closet.
Sorry for a serious thought. Back to regularly scheduled gifs and memes...cue Buzz Killington.
 
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Cheesehead said:
Sitting here watching France vs Germany and knowing that World Cup 2022 madness will be started up before long...

Any soccer fans out there? What’s your team?

Might stake the claim for general World Cup trash talk here...or might just be me and the crickets, lol
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Yes, yes completely glued to it. I'm backing Portugal this time (not only for Ronaldo, but Bruno as well. And they have a kickass squad - Dias, Jota, Bernardo, Renato, Moutinho). I'd be disappointed if they don't qualify with this present squad - much stronger than 2016. Italy has been excellent so far. The last 16 is going to be crazy. Denmark's game was phenomenal yesterday.
I hope Ukraine qualifies. The teams that have qualified so far - Italy, Wales, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, and England.
 
Cheesehead said:
Sitting here watching France vs Germany and knowing that World Cup 2022 madness will be started up before long...

Any soccer fans out there? What’s your team?

Might stake the claim for general World Cup trash talk here...or might just be me and the crickets, lol
Click to expand...
Btw, which team are you supporting?
 
rangespec3 said:
Yes, yes completely glued to it. I'm backing Portugal this time (not only for Ronaldo, but Bruno as well. And they have a kickass squad - Dias, Jota, Bernardo, Renato, Moutinho). I'd be disappointed if they don't qualify with this present squad - much stronger than 2016. Italy has been excellent so far. The last 16 is going to be crazy. Denmark's game was phenomenal yesterday.
I hope Ukraine qualifies. The teams that have qualified so far - Italy, Wales, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, and England.
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Portugal looks good this year, and of course France does as well...
Of the qualifiers so far, I’d love the Netherlands to go all the way — in prior cups, Arjen Robben and van Persie were always favorites to watch!

I have some catching up to do as I missed the Danish game...been blessed to do a lot of travel with work and that is one of my favorite countries to visit by far (esp if you like nice gorgeous well educated people and open faced sandwiches)
 
I gotta say that Belgium is looking good but with de bruyne and hazard injured I'm not sure. France is usually a good bet but I'm really looking forward the the England Germany game.
 
MeatyWapiti said:
I gotta say that Belgium is looking good but with de bruyne and hazard injured I'm not sure. France is usually a good bet but I'm really looking forward the the England Germany game.
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Thorgan is compensating well for his sibling. And Lukaku, yes, he's been a beast this year. Belgium faces Italy in the quarters; should be a cracker of a contest.
 
Cheesehead said:
Portugal looks good this year, and of course France does as well...
Of the qualifiers so far, I’d love the Netherlands to go all the way — in prior cups, Arjen Robben and van Persie were always favorites to watch!

I have some catching up to do as I missed the Danish game...been blessed to do a lot of travel with work and that is one of my favorite countries to visit by far (esp if you like nice gorgeous well educated people and open faced sandwiches)
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Sadly, Belgium knocks Portugal out. Jota has been terrible for Portugal this season. He's looked like a liability throughout. Can't believe Santos started with him in all 4 games.
 
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