American and Belgium are ready to kick-off. Go USA!!!
Why do people who hate soccer seem to feel compelled to tell everyone else about it?
Do they think anyone enjoys listening to them?
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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Do they think anyone enjoys listening to them?
Misses the point. They like to listen to themselves.
I hate football haters.
Well specifically because I come here a lot for politics since its a political blog but I have to wade through a bunch of stuff on something I hate. I mostly ignore it but sometimes you talk about it so much I just have to blow off some steam.
to your head, forcing you to read it! </snark>
The structure of the blog means its hard not glance at them as I scroll past, especially since there are so many world cup entries.
Sorry. Unpersuasive.
Believe me, if I could manage to ignore all the WC talk on this site I would. As it stands, your disapproval fills me with indifference.
Not as much indifference as your indifference fills me with. Guaranteed.
And that’s why you felt the need to respond?
you’re displaying there! I know I’m convinced! </snark>
Yes, it is quite strong. Perhaps you can’t cope?
you’re kinda fun to tweak. You just keep coming back for more!
My face ain’t bothered 🙂
The mentality of these haters is the same as those who felt compelled to change french fries to freedom fries.
You know…….ignorant people.
I Believe That We Will Win!
Just need to keep our defense stout and come up with a good plan for second half without Fabian Johnson with Cameron working with yellow card. And stop conceding so many goddamn corner kicks.
Watching on univision – wish they had subtitles. USA looks a little disorganized – is it just me?
It’s not just you – we’re fortunate to be 0-0 at HT.
Didn’t appreciate soccer until I had the chance to watch a game with some friends who play the game. Then I got it. What had seemed like watching grass growing suddenly became very exciting. If someone dribbled the ball up, excitement built. If a guy got off a shot on goal, a huge wave of excitement flooded the room. If someone scored, there was pandemonium. Now I get it. Now that it’s been patterned for me, I enjoy watching the game, even on my own.
So, ignorance? Sure. But that’s a prejudicial way of looking at what is essentially lack of exposure. When people hang anti-soccer vitriol on top of a lack of appreciation, now we’re getting into jingoistic territory and I think it’s fair to call that ignorance.
See, it offends me when people suggest that if I somehow don’t like this sport I must be ignorant, or parochial.
that’s not really the suggestion. His point is that you can enjoy the game more if you understand the strategy and tactics you are witnessing. I’d add, that understanding the physical demands of the game really helps you understand how matches are won and lost and who is in phenomenal shape or totally dedicated and who is not.
I think it is, without much doubt, the most physically demanding sport.
Having played both at (relatively) higher levels, I’d say hockey is more demanding. Then again I was a goalkeeper for soccer so…
But after like 10-20 goal kicks your leg is really, really tired.
I don’t know how they make it to 120′. I felt like falling over if I had to take 20+ GK.
Sorry, but skating in shifts is completely different from running for 90 minutes (or 120) in Brazilian heat.
The most fit athletes in the world were dropping like flies, pulling hamstrings, and basically finishing completely spent.
You only see that in hockey when there are multiple overtimes.
I’m from MN so I’d also say hockey is more demanding though I find hockey rather dull myself. I am not saying soccer does not also require tremendous fitness.
But look, down thread TarHeel basically called people who hate soccer (so me) a nativist if not a republican. Hyperbole? Sure we do it all the time. But similar sentiment is everywhere online when discussing the WC so is it any wonder to want to hit back? As it stands I had international students explain the game enough that I get the rough basics and I find it not a bit more interesting.
Now I’ve said it before but I LOVE baseball. I’d call it the greatest sport ever invented. It is perfect the way mathematical proofs can be perfect. But many many people find it utterly stultifying. The pause between pitches I find tense and strategic they find dull.
So I do get that people can like soccer but its perfectly possible to dislike soccer on the merits.
I love baseball, too, but I love it for its intricacies that are completely lost on the casual fan or viewer.
Same thing is true in soccer. You’re sitting there wondering why they seem to just be kicking the ball around without making any effort to move towards the goal, not realizing that they’re resting and making the other team run more, and that they are waiting for people to get into the correct shape so they can attack without being vulnerable to a counter attack.
Why are they passing it back to the goalie?
Because they’d gotten into a vulnerable position where a dangerous pass was the only alternative.
Then you begin to cherish the player who doesn’t take the safe route and surprise with a really creative and risky move or pass.
You begin to notice the players who sprint 60 yards in the 108th minute to break up the opponents’ streaking attack.
You can’t really begin to enjoy soccer until you’ve been watching it intently for quite a while. But watching it with real fans can speed up the process.
it is also helpful if you have played. Control is easy to talk about, but so difficult to perform at speed, while being pushed by some jerk.
Another little detail that you only appreciate when you have played. When a professional stops the ball, it usually doesn’t stop. Rather, he will tap it to one side or the other. That way, the opponent cannot know exactly where it will be. A lower skilled player might just stop the ball, and there it will be, able to be picked off.
How is your statement any different than saying I will like it if I understand it? Once again my dislike of the sport gets me labeled as ignorant and it might as well be illegitimate.
Imo the most physically demanding sport is probably rugby. Coincidentally it must be one of the less rewarding sports for spectators. If you’ve never played the game or had it explained to you by someone who has, it would be hard to guess how much brutal ground-pounding effort is being poured out during moments when it looks like nobody’s doing much of anything.
On top of that, there are almost no circumstances under which play stops, like downs, timeouts, etc. My old friend explained to me that basically the only time you get to stop is briefly while someone’s being carried off the field with an injury.
I’ve noticed that the folks who hate soccer are also the folks who hate the metric system and talk about Freedom Fries.
U-S-A. U-S-A. U-S-A. OK, gentlemen, use zee leetle gray cells and beat these Belgians.
I’ve been waiting for 48 years for football to catch on in the US.
Only thing out of Belgium I’ve liked lately is that flash mob thing in the train station where the crowd suddenly started dancing to Do-Re-Mi.
Isn’t Belgium the headqtrs of the austerian EU ?
Down 0-1. The USA shd have had that goal at the end of regulation, but the striker lollygagged it.
Good match so far, both teams working hard but with more perspiration than inspiration. Belgium deserve their lead, but I wouldn’t put it past the USA to equalize!
Given soccer is a world game dominated by Europe and Latin America, clearly it can’t be any good from a Republican perspective!
Oh, this game brings me back– to the 90s, when the US couldn’t play at all, but we always had an excellent keeper.
Our allegedly best player (Michael Bradley) might be the worst player in the tournament.
Is he our best player? He’s fucking awful. I’ve said to pull him since after the first game.
In fact, I thought he made the team in 2010 due to his father.
I thought he was a good player in 2010 and before, but man did he stink the joint out this year.
otoh, he did make the perfect-feed assist that set up the only u.s. goal! Not that that’s worth anything!
Yeah, that’s worth something. Not enough to make his tournament play better than awful, though.
Well fought. As the writer at the Guardian says, the US team is mostly just ordinary players who held it together as long as they could for the good of the collective. But no one watching this could have any doubt who the better team was.
The next round will be interesting – or maybe not. Both Belgium and Argentina have waited until late in the game to score goals. I may tune in around the 80th minute (joke).
And the USA could have had an equalizer! Become a great game now. Green – a Bayern Munich reserve team player has already made a big difference!
Was thinking Klinnsmann should have brought in Green earlier, certainly after the first goal. Yeah, he’s unseasoned but has deep talent and thus a wild card possibility. Oh well.
The better team won. Not enough consistent attacking power for the US until very late, while Belgium was a threat to score throughout.
I can’t be bothered to hate soccer. That would take too much energy. And I do hope soccer replaces football, simply because I prefer the leaner, less covered look of the players. But please, be understanding with those of us who have zero interest in sportsball, yet are constantly inundated with talk of it. We try to be patient, but it’s feels like listening to your kid go on an on about his favorite video game. At some point, you just want to scream and run away. Normally, I try to politely ignore it, but you asked.
Coincidentally, that’s how most Americans feel about politics.
Too true. If we could get Democrats to be half as passionate about the party as they are about their favorite team, we would rule forever. Maybe if we put the politicians in bright uniforms, gave them sticks and a ball, and let them go at it. Yeah, that would help.
It seems to me much easier to see how plays are developing than in the old days. Not that I know much.
I detest soccer and I haven’t said a word about it.
Nice false generalization, Boo.
I presume that people who hate soccer talk about hating soccer for the exact same reason that people who love soccer talk about it. Because they have opinions and want to share them, like most people do about things they’re passionate about. It’s basic human social dynamics.
Tim Howard with an amazing left foot.
De Dutch football/soccer experts analyzing the game agreed this was the most fascinating 0-0 match ever at 90′. Team USA played with a big heart and I believe they were near the top of their game with bright spots for the future. Just like the Mexican fans said after the defeat to Oranje, Mexico too WON! The game of soccer has won for the excitement of the matches, beautiful play/goals and the supporters.
Only negative for me in this knock-out stage, the referees were not up to the challenge of tough tackles, way too lenient. I watched the tackles and elbows during France vs. Nigeria, more than one red card should have been handed out.
Nigeria’s midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi may be out of action for upwards of two months, following reports of a fractured tibia and fibula. The injury was the aftermath of a tackle from Blaise Matuidi during France’s 2- 0 win over Nigeria.
○ Klinsmann ‘proud’ despite USA exit
For team Belgium, the difference was made by two young players Kevin de Bruyne and substitute Romelu Lukaku (91′).
PS I do appreciate the interest and posts of all those bloggers who hate soccer.
Same for every sport during peak season. When the Superbowl approaches, football haters loudly hate on football. When it’s the World Series, non-baseball afficionados speculate audibly and often on what the fuss could possibly be about. Likewise for the NBA Finals, Wimbledon, and all college team sports.
This year’s anti-soccer backlash is distinctive in that the By-Jingo crowd seems to have latched onto the game as another vehicle to spout their homogeneous venom, but those fucks are constantly trying to ruin anything embraced by others in a spirit of global camaraderie.
That said, I seem to notice the most hate from non-spectators during the Winter Olympics.
Speaking as someone who now supports rugby rather than soccer – partly because Ireland have some decent indigenous teams (unlike in soccer), partly because you don’t get the level of simulation and play acting you get in soccer, and partly because a lot of soccer games can be very boring – I have to say I have been very surprised by the quality of play and entertainment in this world cup – some dodgy referring notwithstanding…
The attraction of soccer is its simplicity – all you need is a ball and some improvised goal posts, whereas most sports require expensive facilities an equipment. But you also have to be able to identify with some team and get emotionally involved to really enjoy the experience, and this is where soccer with its rampant commercialism has lost me.
will it work out for the Dutch.
Brilliant Orange stuff–We’re not going to do beautiful losing, we’re going to do ugly winning–which is a reaction to ’74…They came very close, within a few millimeters.
Excellent article going back in history to the seventies. In 1974 the World Cup was played in Germany and a brilliant team of Brazil was the favorite. Speaking of thuggish behavior, the Brazilian team played the best Oranje team ever in Gelsenkirchen. Once the Brazilians realized they were outplayed by Oranje [high possession rate and playing the off-side defense], they started kicking at any and all limbs of the speeding Dutch players. A bruising match starts after 30 min. of play … all seems forgotten as history erases from memory much of what really happened.
That’s the only Oranje match I ever witnessed in the stadium, a fantastic experience in a sea of orange.
The author doesn’t speak of the 1978 final lost in extra time to host Argentina with Dictator Videla in the stands. An experience coming close to the Berlin Olympics with Hitler. In the 1978 finals, a shot from Rensenbrink hit the post in the last minute of normal play. That shot missed a goal by millimeters and would have given the Oranje their World Cup. Everyone agreed, team Oranje would not have survived a win on Videla’s home soil, Oranje would just have vanished.
○ Video highlights: Brazil vs. Holland – World Cup 1974 or Full match
○ Henry Kissinger can’t remember, Jorge Videla and football’s longest unsolved riddle Peru’s 6-0 loss
Some of those Brazilian fouls were unbelievable. And to think all but the last got no worse than yellow cards.
The Eternal Cult of Zidane.