[forsberg21]

I know this is going to cause alot of hate, but if this thing is the greatest sporting competition in the world, then bring on Armageddon. The reason the world cup sucks is because every freakin game is a damn pitcher's duel. Now, I like tense 0-0 baseball games and 3-3 defensive football struggles as much as the next guy. But those things are rare - you have to be really, really good to play those kinds of games at the professional level, particularly in championship and playoff competition. Sure, Roy Halladay and CC Sabathia might have a great duel tonight. But in this stupid World Cup it's like Ryan Rowland-Smith vs Chris Tillman and they're pitching shutouts like they're Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan. EVERY DAMN GAME!!! In any other sport (baseball, football, hockey, golf, etc.) if you don't show up with your A game you're going to get your ass kicked. In this World Cup BS 30% of your team could be off and it would still be 0-0 after 45 frikkin minutes. Teams can even play a man short and still have a decent shot at winning. EVERYBODY has a decent shot at winning. There is virtually no difference between the great teams and the mediocre teams. North Korea is stone age country for God's sake and they almost beat Brazil, which is supposed to be one of the best teams in the world. That's all.

This post simply wrong and this is why:

You are equating scoring in soccer with scoring in other major sports. Scoring doesn't and should not define how entertaining a sport is. Otherwise, basketball would by far the most exciting sport in the world, when it obviously isn't.

In soccer, teams can easily go through a dozen scoring chances and not score a goal, but they do get close, and that's what makes the game exciting. They play 90 minutes for a reason, and one of them is that it may take a long time before all of those scoring chances get converted into a goal. This is why a team like North Korea can keep a game close (on the scoreboard at least while being dominated) against a superpower like Brazil. Everyone watching that game today will tell you that, judging by the pace of play, there was no way that North Korea was going to win that game, and that it was only a matter of time before Brazil was going to score.

When a player is sent off in soccer, the team still has 9 others playing against 10. It's not like hockey, where a powerplay significantly changes the control of play. Teams in soccer will change their strategy, usually by shelling themselves in, so it's not very noticeable.

If you need the constant stimulation of first downs or a 2 point basket, then you will never have the patience to appreciate soccer. That's the nature of the game and that's why it's the most popular sport in the world, because each goal is a buildup of foiled scoring chances and suspense.

I don't understand how you can say that North Korea almost beat Brazil, anyone watching that game would completely disagree with you. That game could have been played 20 times and Brazil most likely would win all 20. Brazil dominated that game. Just because they didn't win 5-0 doesn't mean that it was a "close" game. When you watch soccer, you get a feel for which team is the dominant one, just like you do with other sports. Just because the scoreboard says 0-0, doesn't necessarily mean the game is close.