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Love the sport ... WC a great spectacle. If you ever want it to be more than what it is here in this country ....get rid of PK's .. Stop embarrassing the game with fake injuries. Offside is tough as I watch the game more I see how tough it is to change.. Hate the fact it's a refs decision so often on crucial plays. And stop the diving in the penalty kick area...iyou dive you get yellow carded. Period.
PK. What a terrible way to end a hard caught game. Pathetic... That , diving and injury faking and constant interpretive offside calls will always leave this potentially great sport wallowing in the stone ages.
What else do you suggest? You can't let a game play on forever. I think penalties are one of the most exciting things about football.
There's a simple solution for the diving, injury faking and questionable off-side calls: video replay. It's already used in many sports and it won't be long before football adopts it as well. We finally have goal line technology and vanishing spray now, baby steps.
Also, I think a lot of people who don't really watch football are way too quick to assume everything is a dive. You have to keep in mind that players are running at full speed and they hardly wear any protective gear to shield them from physical contact. Even a light tap on the leg can be extremely damaging given the studs underneath football boots. The list of players who have sustained tournament-ending injuries keeps on growing. The amount of fouls committed in this WC is far worse to me than the occasional dive. It's unfortunate that players sometimes have to dive or exaggerate to call attention to a foul but the referee can't see everything.
At the end of the day, football is a human sport and I like to keep it that way, even if that means it's not always "clean". The cheating, the fouls, the diving, the questionable refereeing decisions, the penalties are all part of the drama that makes football such a great spectacle.
Love the sport ... WC a great spectacle. If you ever want it to be more than what it is here in this country ....get rid of PK's .. Stop embarrassing the game with fake injuries. Offside is tough as I watch the game more I see how tough it is to change.. Hate the fact it's a refs decision so often on crucial plays. And stop the diving in the penalty kick area...iyou dive you get yellow carded. Period.
I don't think the world is looking for Americas approval of the sport. They're not going to give in to some rather vague demands by people who barely play the sport.
I do agree the diving has gotten to be totally absurd but then again Americans tend to really overplay the situation. They think every foul, every tumble is a joke anyways cus its not as brutal an injury as an American football game. I hope you know that a lot of those fouls are also serious. When you're running at full speed and some one stick their leg in the way and you get kneed, it doesn't hurt like a hardcore tackle by a bunch of huge football players but it does hurt for a bit and you can bounce back up. This is where I think Americans fail to understand the issue with diving and fouls altogether.
I don't think the world is looking for Americas approval of the sport. They're not going to give in to some rather vague demands by people who barely play the sport.
I do agree the diving has gotten to be totally absurd but then again Americans tend to really overplay the situation. They think every foul, every tumble is a joke anyways cus its not as brutal an injury as an American football game. I hope you know that a lot of those fouls are also serious. When you're running at full speed and some one stick their leg in the way and you get kneed, it doesn't hurt like a hardcore tackle by a bunch of huge football players but it does hurt for a bit and you can bounce back up. This is where I think Americans fail to understand the issue with diving and fouls altogether.
The difference is that football players are not covered in padding from head to toe like American football players are Football injuries can be extremely brutal and career-ending.
I don't think the world is looking for Americas approval of the sport. They're not going to give in to some rather vague demands by people who barely play the sport.
I do agree the diving has gotten to be totally absurd but then again Americans tend to really overplay the situation. They think every foul, every tumble is a joke anyways cus its not as brutal an injury as an American football game. I hope you know that a lot of those fouls are also serious. When you're running at full speed and some one stick their leg in the way and you get kneed, it doesn't hurt like a hardcore tackle by a bunch of huge football players but it does hurt for a bit and you can bounce back up. This is where I think Americans fail to understand the issue with diving and fouls altogether.
I absolutely do know many injuries are real and serious and that is all the more reason to penalize players who dive. The poster before mentioned instant replay. I think each coach should get 2 challenges a game specifically for diving. If a dive is determined you are GONE for the game.
As for Americans respect agree... Not neccessAry the sport has survived without us and will continue to. What's happening is more of us are seeing the game in a more positive light. But 0-0 games decided by whether a goalie can guess the right way just isn't gonna work as a top 4 sport..
I absolutely do know many injuries are real and serious and that is all the more reason to penalize players who dive. The poster before mentioned instant replay. I think each coach should get 2 challenges a game specifically for diving. If a dive is determined you are GONE for the game.
As for Americans respect agree... Not neccessAry the sport has survived without us and will continue to. What's happening is more of us are seeing the game in a more positive light. But 0-0 games decided by whether a goalie can guess the right way just isn't gonna work as a top 4 sport..
Top 4 sport for whom? America? It's already top 4 in the rest of the world so you must be talking about the US.
As a fellow American, let me just say, to heck with what American's want. Why should a sport loved and played the world over change just to shut up the whiny 'it's boring' et all, American crowd? In this case, America can do the changing. We're in the minority when it comes to soccer/football. We can deal or move on and I assure you, the world will shed no tears if we move on.
All that being said, I love soccer the way it is. Yes, diving irritates me (and oh I blame the Germans for the current dive fest) but there are things that drive me nuts in most sports. I'm dang tired of hearing 'oh this is why we can't take soccer seriously here' when every sport America has has it's good and bad quirks too. Lebroning became a verb here in the US recently but I've not seen countless posts about changing the game of basketball to prevent it.
American fence-sitters (in re to soccer) need to suck it up already.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LindavG
It was just one of those games We hit the bar three times and had numerous chances that would've gone in 9 out of 10 times but not today. We had 20 shots of which 15 were on target, compared to 6 and 3 for CR.
Oh it was one of those games, I'll give you that. But I won't lie, I am reevaluating the team as a whole when prior to this match I thought they were a shoe-in for the final. I knew they'd have a tough time with CR's defense but I didn't guess they'd have as tough a time as they did.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LindavG
The difference is that football players are not covered in padding from head to toe like American football players are Football injuries can be extremely brutal and career-ending.
The injuries are already off the chart with all the padding. Without it, there would be no sport Seriously though, for all the padding they have, the number of season ending and career ending injuries is insanely high.
I absolutely do know many injuries are real and serious and that is all the more reason to penalize players who dive. The poster before mentioned instant replay. I think each coach should get 2 challenges a game specifically for diving. If a dive is determined you are GONE for the game.
I think field hockey has it right when it comes to instant replay. Field hockey is another major sport in The Netherlands so there has been a lot of debate about this here. Each team gets one opportunity to request instant replay when they disagree with a referee's decision. If it turns out the referee was wrong, the team gets to keep this chance to request instant replay for another occasion. However, if the referee's decision is correct, the team will have wasted their chance for review. This is to prevent teams from using this option excessively and thereby stopping the game.
Also, a red card just for a dive is way too extreme. The red card should be reserved for very serious fouls. A dive is simply a matter of unsportmanship and it should carry a yellow card at most, when it occurs inside the box and is clearly meant to win a PK. Otherwise, a free kick for the opposing team is sufficient. These are already the rules so nothing has to change, it just needs to be enforced a bit better.
Quote:
As for Americans respect agree... Not neccessAry the sport has survived without us and will continue to. What's happening is more of us are seeing the game in a more positive light. But 0-0 games decided by whether a goalie can guess the right way just isn't gonna work as a top 4 sport..
Penalty kicks aren't just a guessing game. There's a reason teams spend so much time practicing them. We swapped our goalies today because Krul is an expert at stopping PKs. It is an essential part of football just as much as free kicks and corners are.
I think field hockey has it right when it comes to instant replay. Field hockey is another major sport in The Netherlands so there has been a lot of debate about this here. Each team gets one opportunity to request instant replay when they disagree with a referee's decision. If it turns out the referee was wrong, the team gets to keep this chance to request instant replay for another occasion. However, if the referee's decision is correct, the team will have wasted their chance for review. This is to prevent teams from using this option excessively and thereby stopping the game.
Also, a red card just for a dive is way too extreme. The red card should be reserved for very serious fouls. A dive is simply a matter of unsportmanship and it should carry a yellow card at most, when it occurs inside the box and is clearly meant to win a PK. Otherwise, a free kick for the opposing team is sufficient. These are already the rules so nothing has to change, it just needs to be enforced a bit better.
Penalty kicks aren't just a guessing game. There's a reason teams spend so much time practicing them. We swapped our goalies today because Krul is an expert at stopping PKs. It is an essential part of football just as much as free kicks and corners are.
I do like the 1 challenge idea and think that would help. The reason i said red card is this.....if players know they are going to be severely penalized for diving...they will STOP DOING IT. Watching a guy writhe in pain on the ground only to get up and jog away a few seconds later is downright comical. It would have to be a blatant dive for a red card to be handed out and yes probably excessive. A yellow is probably more in line, I agree.
As for PK's we are never gonna agree. I am a big hockey fan and hate the regular season shootout. It is not hockey! Thankfully in the playoffs they continue to play until somebody scores. I guess the only problem in soccer is the game may go on just ...well forever...lets face it. There has to be a better way though.
Top 4 sport for whom? America? It's already top 4 in the rest of the world so you must be talking about the US.
As a fellow American, let me just say, to heck with what American's want. Why should a sport loved and played the world over change just to shut up the whiny 'it's boring' et all, American crowd? In this case, America can do the changing. We're in the minority when it comes to soccer/football. We can deal or move on and I assure you, the world will shed no tears if we move on.
All that being said, I love soccer the way it is. Yes, diving irritates me (and oh I blame the Germans for the current dive fest) but there are things that drive me nuts in most sports. I'm dang tired of hearing 'oh this is why we can't take soccer seriously here' when every sport America has has it's good and bad quirks too. Lebroning became a verb here in the US recently but I've not seen countless posts about changing the game of basketball to prevent it.
American fence-sitters (in re to soccer) need to suck it up already.
.
I am talking about America of course...
You make good points. Like I said ..you are right American fans should not be appeased i do agree. Frankly, I enjoy the fact a team like Costa Rica or the USA against Belgium ... even Chile / Brazil can be mostly outplayed but still have a chance to win. I never said the game was boring..I just think there are ways to make it more interesting.
WC is much like the Olympics...people root as much for the flag as the game itself. Millions and millions watch Olympic Hockey. Yet when its over they don't watch hockey for 4 years. WC is much the same way. As a sports fan i would not miss these final 3 games as its a great spectacle with really interesting storylines. But I am willing to bet that 75 percent of those who were "rabid" USA fans ...disappeared when the USA lost. That is as much a tribute to the amazing spectacle that is the WC as it is to people who really don't like soccer much at all but love to root for the uniform.
Top 4 sport for whom? America? It's already top 4 in the rest of the world so you must be talking about the US.
As a fellow American, let me just say, to heck with what American's want. Why should a sport loved and played the world over change just to shut up the whiny 'it's boring' et all, American crowd? In this case, America can do the changing. We're in the minority when it comes to soccer/football. We can deal or move on and I assure you, the world will shed no tears if we move on.
All that being said, I love soccer the way it is. Yes, diving irritates me (and oh I blame the Germans for the current dive fest) but there are things that drive me nuts in most sports. I'm dang tired of hearing 'oh this is why we can't take soccer seriously here' when every sport America has has it's good and bad quirks too. Lebroning became a verb here in the US recently but I've not seen countless posts about changing the game of basketball to prevent it.
American fence-sitters (in re to soccer) need to suck it up already.
Oh it was one of those games, I'll give you that. But I won't lie, I am reevaluating the team as a whole when prior to this match I thought they were a shoe-in for the final. I knew they'd have a tough time with CR's defense but I didn't guess they'd have as tough a time as they did.
The injuries are already off the chart with all the padding. Without it, there would be no sport Seriously though, for all the padding they have, the number of season ending and career ending injuries is insanely high.
I actually think soccer in the US has improved greatly over the past 10 years. Of course we will have a long way to go before soccer can be seen being among the other sports in the US. A lot of people tuned in to watch the US World Cup games on television. That's very impressive for a country where soccer is only the 5th most popular sport. I could only imagine how good US soccer could be if all of our country's best athletes chose to play soccer instead of other sports Basketball, Baseball, Football, etc. The US team would probably dominant the World Cup like we do in other sports.
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Football injuries can be extremely brutal and career-ending.
We hit the bar three times and had numerous chances that would've gone in 9 out of 10 times but not today. We had 20 shots of which 15 were on target, compared to 6 and 3 for CR.
Seriously though, for all the padding they have, the number of season ending and career ending injuries is insanely high.
