Well they say the best way to promote any sport is to capture the intrigue of the average sports fan. The fan who does not isolate to one sport, and is open to whatever may capture their attention at any given moment in time. Realizing I fit perfectly into this criteria, I thought I would do a write up on my thoughts on the world cup.
First off, the positives. I have seen some flat out amazing plays. From the standpoint of someone who has been semi-athletic in the past, I can really appreciate what some of these goalies are doing out there. That New Zealand goalie was fat out amazing to me today. The amount of space they have to cover is so massive. In hockey a goalie will face many, many more shots, sure, but there is definitely something to appreciate about what these goalies do both athletically and intelectually with some of the snap decisions they are forced to make.
The passion of the fans is contagious. You see them crying in the stands when their team scores. It's pretty impressive. I have always been one to use soccer fans as easy game to mock because the first thing that enters the mind is the stampedes and riots after games that involve people getting hurt and even dying, but when it is under control it is pretty great.
Some of the plays are just cool too. I can't provide you names but in the last Brazil game I watched a guy make a perfectly paced pass about 15 yards past about 6 defenders right to his teammate who scored. I look forward to seeing them play again today.
The tradition. Not much to say, most popular sport in the world and more tradion and nostalgia than any other.
Plenty of negatives too.
The buzzing. I understand it is different and might be seen as kind of cool from that aspect - but let me tell you why this pisses me off. As a full time professional and full time student the only way that I really have time to watch sports is to have it in the background i.e. when I am busy with work or schoolwork, and a very strong indicator of when I should look up and see what is going on is the crowd. This negates that. Yes, the announcers are there - but let's be honest - they talk like they are sitting down for a tea party (which where as I respect the tradition, is a failure to me). Fail.
The control the refs have. Obviously, as a USA fan this was going to come up and don't get me started on how awful that call was (what was the call again? Oh that's right - STILL no one knows) but what I did learn from it is the refs don't have to report what they were calling and they answer to no one.How very '1970's sport' - i.e. AWFUL.
The game has a big upside to it and the passion it brings is extremely contagious, but they have some flaws that are not only fatal to the average sports fan like myself, but that are so totally pathetic and unacceptable it is an embarrassment.
I hope they take some time to try to fix it up and capture the attention of the average fan like myself and truly make it a worldwide sport, though I don't see that happening anytime soon.
First off, the positives. I have seen some flat out amazing plays. From the standpoint of someone who has been semi-athletic in the past, I can really appreciate what some of these goalies are doing out there. That New Zealand goalie was fat out amazing to me today. The amount of space they have to cover is so massive. In hockey a goalie will face many, many more shots, sure, but there is definitely something to appreciate about what these goalies do both athletically and intelectually with some of the snap decisions they are forced to make.
The passion of the fans is contagious. You see them crying in the stands when their team scores. It's pretty impressive. I have always been one to use soccer fans as easy game to mock because the first thing that enters the mind is the stampedes and riots after games that involve people getting hurt and even dying, but when it is under control it is pretty great.
Some of the plays are just cool too. I can't provide you names but in the last Brazil game I watched a guy make a perfectly paced pass about 15 yards past about 6 defenders right to his teammate who scored. I look forward to seeing them play again today.
The tradition. Not much to say, most popular sport in the world and more tradion and nostalgia than any other.
Plenty of negatives too.
The buzzing. I understand it is different and might be seen as kind of cool from that aspect - but let me tell you why this pisses me off. As a full time professional and full time student the only way that I really have time to watch sports is to have it in the background i.e. when I am busy with work or schoolwork, and a very strong indicator of when I should look up and see what is going on is the crowd. This negates that. Yes, the announcers are there - but let's be honest - they talk like they are sitting down for a tea party (which where as I respect the tradition, is a failure to me). Fail.
The control the refs have. Obviously, as a USA fan this was going to come up and don't get me started on how awful that call was (what was the call again? Oh that's right - STILL no one knows) but what I did learn from it is the refs don't have to report what they were calling and they answer to no one.How very '1970's sport' - i.e. AWFUL.
The game has a big upside to it and the passion it brings is extremely contagious, but they have some flaws that are not only fatal to the average sports fan like myself, but that are so totally pathetic and unacceptable it is an embarrassment.
I hope they take some time to try to fix it up and capture the attention of the average fan like myself and truly make it a worldwide sport, though I don't see that happening anytime soon.
