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World Yawn-er, Cup

These theatrics took up a total of 132 minutes of "writhing time". According to the report, there were nine genuine injuries in a total of 302, leaving 293 cases of "simulation".
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From the article linked to previously. That's kind of atrocious.

It goes on to day that teams that win more flop more.
 
solid7 said:
That's a very American perspective. We are the "Retirement League", because skilled players don't want to play in the MLS. It's a very immature league, and quite frankly, just isn't that good. Playing football is about pride, not just money. ;)On top of that, most of the "older" players coming from Europe and South America, are still leagues better than much (dare I say, most) of our homegrown talent.
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I respectfully disagree. This is not my perspective (I just don't find the MLS fun to watch) but it is a EUROPEAN perspective. Cases in point:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/mls-may-be-a-retirement-home-to-some-but-for-derbys-simon-dawkins-it-revived-his-career-9188252.html

http://www.thefootyblog.net/2014/01/20/why-the-mls-a-retirement-home/

Add to the second one David Villa and the eventual Frank Lampard.

Those are European sites and European views. Both came up on a simple search and I have heard it time and time again in interviews, live commentary, and articles. It's not something I want to push but it is very much so stuck in the perspective of Europeans (again not me and not Americans).

As much as I wish playing soccer was about pride and not money as the main motivating factor, that's just simply not true as of the last decade or so. If it were, Ashley Cole wouldn't have joined Chelsea because he almost crashed his car when he heard that Arsenal wouldn't offer him the extra few thousand pounds per week he was demanding.

Chelsea is the best example of this. They are a club with no history (look at Man U, Liverpool, and Arsenal for comparison) and were a terrible team until Abramovich came in and blew the wage structure out of the water to bring in all the talent they have over the last 10 years. Look at PSG now who have invested way more than Financial Fair Play allows for to bring in players like Tiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edison Cavani, etc. They were an average team until oil money came in. And don't even get me started on Manchester City.

Bottom line is, like it or not, in the last decade or so money has become a primary motivator for most. I will say that pride does come in to play for some, but that is a dying breed.

All of this, of course, is at the club level. The National level is a whole different story as pride is paramount to playing. Every player at the World Cup us there for the shirt they are wearing and carrying their respective country on their shoulders. That's one reason these games can be so electric.

Sorry for the long winded reply, but I don't want to let your comment be taken as a majority opinion. If you disagree with me and can provide some real examples, let's start a different thread to discuss as I am happy to do so.

Sorry, I can be VERY passionate about the sport! I have watched all but a handful of EPL games for years as well as the Bundesliga and La Liga and spend more than my fair share of time reading through every soccer related article I can find.

Regarding your question about players being stretchered off and then coming back on like nothing happened, I saw it a handful of times in the EPL and La Liga last season but can't remember who did it... If I find I'll pass along.

Okay, now time for extra time in the Netherlands v Costa Rica game!
 
EliteMcScruffin said:
I respectfully disagree. This is not my perspective (I just don't find the MLS fun to watch) but it is a EUROPEAN perspective. Cases in point:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/mls-may-be-a-retirement-home-to-some-but-for-derbys-simon-dawkins-it-revived-his-career-9188252.html

http://www.thefootyblog.net/2014/01/20/why-the-mls-a-retirement-home/

Add to the second one David Villa and the eventual Frank Lampard.

Those are European sites and European views. Both came up on a simple search and I have heard it time and time again in interviews, live commentary, and articles. It's not something I want to push but it is very much so stuck in the perspective of Europeans (again not me and not Americans).

Also,I don't think the two players referenced
As much as I wish playing soccer was about pride and not money as the main motivating factor, that's just simply not true as of the last decade or so. If it were, Ashley Cole wouldn't have joined Chelsea because he almost crashed his car when he heard that Arsenal wouldn't offer him the extra few thousand pounds per week he was demanding.

Chelsea is the best example of this. They are a club with no history (look at Man U, Liverpool, and Arsenal for comparison) and were a terrible team until Abramovich came in and blew the wage structure out of the water to bring in all the talent they have over the last 10 years. Look at PSG now who have invested way more than Financial Fair Play allows for to bring in players like Tiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edison Cavani, etc. They were an average team until oil money came in. And don't even get me started on Manchester City.

Bottom line is, like it or not, in the last decade or so money has become a primary motivator for most. I will say that pride does come in to play for some, but that is a dying breed.

All of this, of course, is at the club level. The National level is a whole different story as pride is paramount to playing. Every player at the World Cup us there for the shirt they are wearing and carrying their respective country on their shoulders. That's one reason these games can be so electric.

Sorry for the long winded reply, but I don't want to let your comment be taken as a majority opinion. If you disagree with me and can provide some real examples, let's start a different thread to discuss as I am happy to do so.

Sorry, I can be VERY passionate about the sport! I have watched all but a handful of EPL games for years as well as the Bundesliga and La Liga and spend more than my fair share of time reading through every soccer related article I can find.

Regarding your question about players being stretchered off and then coming back on like nothing happened, I saw it a handful of times in the EPL and La Liga last season but can't remember who did it... If I find I'll pass along.

Okay, now time for extra time in the Netherlands v Costa Rica game!
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DUDE!!! I'm talking about the PRIDE involved in NOT playing for an INFERIOR league!!!!

I'm well familiar with that "team with no history", as I follow them since circa 2003. Let's not adopt that snobbish "no history" line here, because that injection of money took the sport to new levels. The teams with "history" don't fare as well these days, and they don't very much like it. Call it jealousy, call it traditionalism, call it whatever you like... But in the US, even money alone isn't likely to be the answer, as there are now Financial Fair Play rules, and it's unlikely to be the savior or advancement of our domestic sport.

Now you just cited those articles that supposedly had a "European" slant to them. Let me just point out that the second article stated that it "didn't care what Europeans have to say", and the first was a reference to a player whose team isn't even in the Premier League, but the Championship. (minor leagues, for an "American" parallel)

By far, the most successful tradesmen in Europe from the US have been goalkeepers. Specifically, Brad Friedl and Tim Howard. That's a sad commentary. Even Jose Altidore and Clint Dempsey ended up on near/relegation teams.
 
Okay, but what about Thierry Henry, Jermaine Defoe, Tim Cahill, David Beckham, Roy Keane, David Villa, et al? One being arguably the best striker of the premier league era. They are playing in, will be playing in, or have been playing in the MLS for years and pride didn't seem to be an issue.

I got what you were talking about with regards to pride and believe me, I know the lower leagues and have a soft spot for Coventry City especially with how the owners have screwed them.

The discussion I was having that you made the American perspective comment about was how we could improve the popularity of soccer in the USA which I feel I had presented my opinion well on. I think you got on a different track from what I was talking about, but it could be me misreading/misinterpreting your posts.

A side effect of it becoming more popular here is that you will have more youth going with soccer as their sport and as a result you will start to see the real talent that we have to offer. I refuse to believe that our country doesn't have the star power within its population to be world beaters based on our ability to excel in so many other sports. These stars just happen to grow up and choose other sports that are more popular because that's what they are surrounded by.

I'm sorry if my posts are coming off as rude as I'm here to have friends to talk about peppers with and not make enemies. I just have a lot of passion in this area and think I have gotten a little to worked up about it today. Gonna go relax a little with a drink and a movie now.

And no more mention of a team's history from me ;)

EDIT: Fixed grammar issue and some phone typoes.
 
EliteMcScruffin said:
Okay, but what about Thierry Henry, Jermaine Defoe, Tim Cahill, David Beckham, Roy Keane, David Villa, et al? One being arguably the best striker of the premier league era. They are playing in, will be playing in, or have been playing in the MLS for years and pride didn't seem to be an issue.
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No, pride wasn't an issue, because they were, and are, all past their prime. Most of them wouldn't/couldn't get a new contract in Europe - or at the very least, not a comparable one. Their best years were past, and they spent those years where pride dictated. But, as I stated earlier, Europe's leftovers still offer considerably more than most of our domestic talent. Some of those players still want to shine on a "big" stage. MLS, while being dreadful, is a rising star. I suspect many of those names will go on to have post-playing careers in MLS.
 
EliteMcScruffin said:
A side effect of it becoming more popular here is that you will have more youth going with soccer as their sport and as a result you will start to see the real talent that we have to offer. I refuse to believe that our country doesn't have the star power within its population to be world beaters based on our ability to excel in so many other sports. These stars just happen to grow up and choose other sports that are more popular because that's what they are surrounded by.
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No doubt, there's nothing "in the water" in Europe and South America. They are just several generations more advanced than us - just like we would be in American football and basketball. Let's not make any mistake about what I'm saying there. But it's going to take another 10-20 years before the sport in America can reach the pinnacle of popularity that it has enjoyed across the pond for the last 100 years.
 
EliteMcScruffin said:
I'm sorry if my posts are coming off as rude as I'm here to have friends to talk about peppers with and not make enemies. I just have a lot of passion in this area and think I have gotten a little to worked up about it today. Gonna go relax a little with a drink and a movie now.
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Don't worry about it. I'm passionate, too, but not to the point of hooliganism. Have a drink, and let it pass, bro. ;)
 
EliteMcScruffin said:
And no more mention of a team's history from me ;)
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That's good to hear, because it would be an injustice, coming from someone who has an obvious interest in seeing the sport advance, here at home. I'd have to call you on that one, everytime. Besides, the people who do something first or the longest, seldom do it the best, in the long run. ;)
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
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Sigh - this is the 1st contest where I've never had a winner and that gives me a sad. :(
 
We have Brazil/Germany on Tuesday 
We have Netherlands/Argentina on Wednesday
 
For the love of God, someone tell me who will score first in each of these matches and be correct! 
:woohoo: 
 
Brazil/Germany - I'm going to pick Per Mertesecker on a corner. First score, Germany wins 2-1
Netherlands/Argentina - Dirk Kuyt scores first for Netherlands in a 1-0 thriller
 
Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
Sigh - this is the 1st contest where I've never had a winner and that gives me a sad. :(
 
We have Brazil/Germany on Tuesday 
We have Netherlands/Argentina on Wednesday
 
For the love of God, someone tell me who will score first in each of these matches and be correct! 
:woohoo:
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Fine! I guess I'll google soccer and try and make a prediction. I would still rather pay double than study soccer for 20 Min.
 
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