Let see so far we have three ties (0-0, 0-0. and 1-1) and three 1-0 games out of 8 played so far. Other than Germany’s 4-0 pummeling of Australia how mind numbingly dull is it to watch a game where for 90 minutes NOTHING HAPPENS!
gahrie
Some people think watching a 0-0 baseball game in the bottom of the ninth, and the pitcher has a perfect game going to be boring. (C’mon..3 hours and nothing has happened!)
It all depends on your relative knowledge or ignorance of the game being discussed.
David K.
“It all depends on your relative knowledge or ignorance of the game being discussed.”
Sorry but that’s a complete cop out of an argument and one I hear far too often from soccer fans. Boredom is not a factor of ignorance. That’s ONE possible contributing factor, but I am quite familiar with the mechanics, rules, etc of soccer. That familiarity is a contributing factor to why I dislike it and find it dull.
Joe Mama
LOL @ gahrie … I’ve tried explaining the excitement of a no-hitter to non-baseball fans, and it’s pointless. Some people get, some don’t (and some just don’t want to).
David K.
I’d also argue a no hitter is exciting because it’s rare and a sign of extreme accomplishment by a team. A zero zero or one one tie in soccer is the norm. In the 2006 world cup the average number of goals scored per game was 2. Not 2 per team, just TWO.
Mind you I find basketball boring on the opposite end because short of an amazing shot the scoring is often and dull.
Joe Mama
Wait, you mean a sport can be exciting even without scoring?
A scoreless game is not the norm in soccer, in the WC or otherwise. If you’re problem is just that there are ties, that problem goes away once the Group Stage ends.
The bottom line is that the rest of the world outside the U.S. finds soccer — the only truly world sport — to be incredibly exciting and watches/listens to the month-long party that is the WC in much greater numbers than the Olympics. This leaves only two possibilities: (1) the entire world is captivated by a boring game in which “nothing happens,” or (2) there is something indeed happening, only it is not appreciated by the game’s critics in the U.S.
The answer, obviously, is (2). Hundreds of millions around the globe aren’t wrong. It takes a familiarity with the game beyond just knowing the “mechanics, rules, etc.” to appreciate soccer. It’s a game of nuance, of ebb and flow. There’s a method to what looks like players just wandering around on the pitch. Once you understand the complexities of the offensive buildup, counterattack, overlapping runs, the game is as enjoyable as any other team sport.
As for soccer’s lackluster support in this country, there is simply no tradition for it the way there is for, say, baseball or football (although that is changing slowly over time IMO as more kids who played soccer grow up and have kids who play soccer, etc.), and the sports calendar is simply too crowded.
David K.
Or maybe I just find soccer mind numbingly boring because, wait for it, I find it boring. I don’t care what the rest of the world thinks, they can find it thrilling, but *I* find it boring. We aren’t talking about an objective fact here.Every person on the planet but one could love something but that doesn’t mean that one person couldn’t find it boring.
I am very familiar with soccer, I p,ayes it for a number of years growing up and watched my brother play when he was in high school. I’ve seen matches on TV during previous world cups and in between. It bores me. I’d rather watch hockey, or golf, or curling, or take a nap. Face it, sometimes people just find things not to their liking. No need to analyze it more than that.
Joe Mama
Certainly no one doubts that sometimes people just find things not to their liking, or that you find soccer boring simply because, wait for it, you find it boring. That isn’t the question. I simply think it’s worthwhile sometimes to scrutinize the facts on which such opinions are based.
dcl
Well, I’ll just add, that as I’ve gotten older I find American Football to be increasingly boring. It’s a reasonably complex sport on the micro level, but for most of the time absolutely nothing is happening, literally. At least with soccer the game is constantly unfolding. It’s also relatively simple. Individual plays can be complex, but on the macro level it is an incredibly simple game. And a simple game to coach as well.
But to each their own. To most people cycling, and the grand tours seem very boring indeed. Cycling is a ridiculously complex sport, but the only part most people would find truly exiting is the last KM of a bunch sprint. Literally a minute or so of an event that lasts 5+ hours in some cases. So I certainly wouldn’t knock anyone for liking or not liking a particular sport.
For my part I think Soccer is reasonably interesting, but don’t really spend a lot of time watching it.
kcatnd
College football is still my favorite sport – far more exciting and unpredictable than most sports, but still grounded in strategy, talent and willpower.
I’ve found soccer increasingly more interesting as cable adds more channels dedicated to it and I learn more about the game. Also, it’s probably hard for a lot of Americans to get into it since it’s rare for them to have any kind of stake in a team’s success, unless you spent a year abroad in that team’s city or something. MLS doesn’t have that kind of draw yet, obviously.
RT @darthvader: Do or do not, there is no tie. #worldcup
Let see so far we have three ties (0-0, 0-0. and 1-1) and three 1-0 games out of 8 played so far. Other than Germany’s 4-0 pummeling of Australia how mind numbingly dull is it to watch a game where for 90 minutes NOTHING HAPPENS!
Some people think watching a 0-0 baseball game in the bottom of the ninth, and the pitcher has a perfect game going to be boring. (C’mon..3 hours and nothing has happened!)
It all depends on your relative knowledge or ignorance of the game being discussed.
“It all depends on your relative knowledge or ignorance of the game being discussed.”
Sorry but that’s a complete cop out of an argument and one I hear far too often from soccer fans. Boredom is not a factor of ignorance. That’s ONE possible contributing factor, but I am quite familiar with the mechanics, rules, etc of soccer. That familiarity is a contributing factor to why I dislike it and find it dull.
LOL @ gahrie … I’ve tried explaining the excitement of a no-hitter to non-baseball fans, and it’s pointless. Some people get, some don’t (and some just don’t want to).
I’d also argue a no hitter is exciting because it’s rare and a sign of extreme accomplishment by a team. A zero zero or one one tie in soccer is the norm. In the 2006 world cup the average number of goals scored per game was 2. Not 2 per team, just TWO.
Mind you I find basketball boring on the opposite end because short of an amazing shot the scoring is often and dull.
Wait, you mean a sport can be exciting even without scoring?
A scoreless game is not the norm in soccer, in the WC or otherwise. If you’re problem is just that there are ties, that problem goes away once the Group Stage ends.
The bottom line is that the rest of the world outside the U.S. finds soccer — the only truly world sport — to be incredibly exciting and watches/listens to the month-long party that is the WC in much greater numbers than the Olympics. This leaves only two possibilities: (1) the entire world is captivated by a boring game in which “nothing happens,” or (2) there is something indeed happening, only it is not appreciated by the game’s critics in the U.S.
The answer, obviously, is (2). Hundreds of millions around the globe aren’t wrong. It takes a familiarity with the game beyond just knowing the “mechanics, rules, etc.” to appreciate soccer. It’s a game of nuance, of ebb and flow. There’s a method to what looks like players just wandering around on the pitch. Once you understand the complexities of the offensive buildup, counterattack, overlapping runs, the game is as enjoyable as any other team sport.
As for soccer’s lackluster support in this country, there is simply no tradition for it the way there is for, say, baseball or football (although that is changing slowly over time IMO as more kids who played soccer grow up and have kids who play soccer, etc.), and the sports calendar is simply too crowded.
Or maybe I just find soccer mind numbingly boring because, wait for it, I find it boring. I don’t care what the rest of the world thinks, they can find it thrilling, but *I* find it boring. We aren’t talking about an objective fact here.Every person on the planet but one could love something but that doesn’t mean that one person couldn’t find it boring.
I am very familiar with soccer, I p,ayes it for a number of years growing up and watched my brother play when he was in high school. I’ve seen matches on TV during previous world cups and in between. It bores me. I’d rather watch hockey, or golf, or curling, or take a nap. Face it, sometimes people just find things not to their liking. No need to analyze it more than that.
Certainly no one doubts that sometimes people just find things not to their liking, or that you find soccer boring simply because, wait for it, you find it boring. That isn’t the question. I simply think it’s worthwhile sometimes to scrutinize the facts on which such opinions are based.
Well, I’ll just add, that as I’ve gotten older I find American Football to be increasingly boring. It’s a reasonably complex sport on the micro level, but for most of the time absolutely nothing is happening, literally. At least with soccer the game is constantly unfolding. It’s also relatively simple. Individual plays can be complex, but on the macro level it is an incredibly simple game. And a simple game to coach as well.
But to each their own. To most people cycling, and the grand tours seem very boring indeed. Cycling is a ridiculously complex sport, but the only part most people would find truly exiting is the last KM of a bunch sprint. Literally a minute or so of an event that lasts 5+ hours in some cases. So I certainly wouldn’t knock anyone for liking or not liking a particular sport.
For my part I think Soccer is reasonably interesting, but don’t really spend a lot of time watching it.
College football is still my favorite sport – far more exciting and unpredictable than most sports, but still grounded in strategy, talent and willpower.
I’ve found soccer increasingly more interesting as cable adds more channels dedicated to it and I learn more about the game. Also, it’s probably hard for a lot of Americans to get into it since it’s rare for them to have any kind of stake in a team’s success, unless you spent a year abroad in that team’s city or something. MLS doesn’t have that kind of draw yet, obviously.