OT: How to make soccer more exciting
Televise every B10 soccer match and give away $1,000 to a random viewer every time a goal is scored, but that viewer must be watching (e.g., make it a requirement they call in within 3 min of the goal to win the prize). B10 soccer fans can register at the beginning of each season.
Now we are just haggling over price.
Snipers.
I prefer land mines.
allow "on the fly" substitutions like hockey
Like hockey.
It will open-up the game and help scoring more goals plus will reduce the amount of controversial calls.
You can't get rid of the offsides rule. It guards against cherry picking which is what the game would turn into if they got rid of it.
Eliminating offsides would completely change the game and really open it up. Teams would be forced to defend the whole field, which would create a more spread out game on both sides of the ball. It would also likely result in more scoring, which seems to be the primary American complaint. I'm not saying it's right, but it would be more "exciting" and probably appeal to more Americans.
EDIT: Dude, I'm not advocating it.
maybe we should elimate the offsides rule in american football too.
thats about how much sense this makes...
I don't think that a low score is the biggest problem. The biggest problem is there are so few scoring chances. Not to mention that at least half of those are just putting the ball on goal and praying.
If you put in offensive zones that would open up the game more without allowing the dreaded cherry pickers people often cite as a reason to have the current offsides rule.
Yes, let's take the most popular sport in the world and change it to be more like a sport that only Canadians and midwesterners care about. Brilliant.
It's one of my favorite sports and I don't think changes are particularly necessary. That said, you could modify the offsides rule to be the entire offensive player's body clearly past the defender rather than just a part of the body. This would prevent the cherry picking while opening things up a little and making the offsides trap harder to pull off.
The rule is: hands/arms ahead of second to last defender = onside
Any of head, body, feed ahead of second to last defender = offside
have a lacrosse style rule so that the team can only have so many back on D because theres nothing more buzz-killing in soccer when you see a team on a breakaway for them to be stifled because theyre literally in a 3 on 10 or when a super star goes in to attack and he literally has 4 D on him.
I hate you, Big Redacted.
EDIT - This is (one reason) why: http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/bill-simmons-soccer#comment-543172
I understand that gamesmanship is part of soccer, but the insane amount of diving is pathetic. It's very difficult to appreciate the beauty of the game when a small foul is followed by a player leaping 5 feet in the air as though he was hit by a bus.
How bout they put an embelishment penalty in Soccer. (or enforce the rule I believe is already there) Its more needed in soccer than hockey thats for sure.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS A FOOTBALL BLOG, OP.
We've been over this. THIS ISN'T A FOOTBALL BLOG!!! Plus when a topic is OT, it means it's Off Topic, so...what does that mean? It's not a topic regularly discussed on the blog. Therefore, don't open it and stop complaining!
I hate people who bitch about threads they don't like. Go waste your time doing something else and let those of us who do like talking about soccer talk about it.
I was being sarcastic. Big Redacted is the one that bitches and rips on soccer in all the soccer threads, saying things such as "I thought this was a football blog."
I thought it was ironic that he'd start this thread.
You are over analyzing this way too much.
"You are over analyzing this way too much" is redundant.
Try: "You are over analyzing this," or "You are analyzing this way too much." Either one would be acceptable.
where did you get that avatar? I want to investigate said publication (appears to be a magazine cover)
I wouldn't recommend making a purchase since, after all, it is the Columbus Magazine. My avatar was taken from the cover of last year's sports issue.
It looks like you can find it here if you're interested though:
http://www.amazon.com/Columbus-Magazine-Sports-Issue-2009/dp/B002Y5N5WO…
Fuck. Nevermind then. I was just hoping it was some cool Michigan alum girl who I could hope to randomly run into some day. Dang it. It's probably just some chick from Ohio who won a strip mall modeling contest and her reward was donning a Michigan jersey and appearing on the cover of "Columbus."
....because I'm sure she would immediately fall for you and your charming personality if only she was an alumna?
...but if you can't beat them, join them.
If that article is serious, it is beyond terrible.
If that article is satirical or supposed to be funny, it failed.
Seriously how old is calling Obama unamerican because of his name?
have no idea who PJ O'Rourke is.
No, actually I don't. I'm pretty ok with that. I'm assuming he's some kind of satirist?
And now that I read the first couple paragraphs, I kidna retract the previous comment. I had skipped down a bit and it actually appeared that he was serious about some things when obviously it's not a serious piece.
Whatever. I still think several of the jokes are worn out.
...that he and I ruined your Saturday morning.
Actually, what ruined my morning was having to wake up at 6:15 to take the MTTC test. I was literally falling asleep during it at one point.
This was just 5 minutes of my life I won't get back. I'll live.
Make college soccer more like FIFA soccer
- Trot out two flags with the logos of each school
- Teams come out holding hands of local schoolchildren
- Play fight songs of both teams
- Go.
The thing that's most bothersome is that a normal build-up requires so many properly executed passes in order to get in an area where you can actually score. One slight hiccup and you lose possession. So a big chunk of the game is played in the midfield, where no one can score. That's what makes it boring. Imagine if hockey was played between the blue lines the whole time, it'd be boring, too. I don't know if a shorter field is the answer, because goal kicks can almost reach the opposing penalty area as it is. It's more like there's too many players and not enough open space. There needs to be some room for error with the passing.
It's definitely not the number one sport in your world.
and the fact that it is the most watched event in TV history each world cup (it always breaks the record that the previous wold cup set) I would say you are wrong about that.
Since this topic has been brought back from the dead...is this the dumbest response ever? Maybe.
To me, the biggest downside is flopping. Solution? Play doesn't stop when a player is down, just like in the NBA. Play only stops to tend to the "injured" player when there is a set piece, throw in, or free kick. Thus, it disincentivises flopping, because while you're rolling around on the ground, your team is playing a man down. I think this is far better than the "red card for flopping" stuff, because that's so subjective. This would be an objective rule.
However, the problem often is, when a guy flops, there is a free kick given right there, or a yellow/red. I don't know how you'd deal with that, I guess. But flopping just to flop, where no card or free kick is given, would mean that, theoretically, the flopper wouldn't be rewarded, and a real, hard tackle that warranted a free kick or card would still be punished, because that would be your "stoppage" to deal with the guy who is down.
Just my e-pinion, from someone who just recently started really enjoying soccer.
I agree about the flopping. Soccer is plenty exciting...it's the flopping I don't appreciate. Unfortunately, I don't think it will change unless FIFA and/or domestic leagues start fining, or even suspending players for simulation or embellishment. I've seen a few yellow cards given for diving at this World Cup, but (as we all know) the refs don't always get it right. After the game, I'd like to see some of the more egregious offenders get punished.
And, as far as I know, play does not stop in soccer for an injury (unless that injury is the result of a foul). This may have changed after Marc-Vivien Foe's death, I'm not sure. Anyway, it never really did anything to stop players from diving since, even if the opposition had possession of the ball in an advantageous situation, the sportsman-like thing to do was to kick it out of play so that the injured player (faking or not) could receive treatment.
In my opinion, the problem is the tremendous advantage you can give to your team by flopping. I've seen referees blow really late whistles, and even brandish a card based on a player's theatrics and the reaction of the crowd. By flopping, you can get an opposing player cautioned, or even sent off. Furthermore, if you are at all within striking distance of the goal and are about to lose possession of the ball, why not take a tumble? In a match with few scoring opportunities, a set piece can mean the difference between a win and a loss. This, of course, is why you see so much flopping in the penalty box, but you can even be bailed out of a defensive error by flopping.
Again, I can't think of anything other than fining players after the match has been played. That, and getting better referees. I think this would solve some of the other problems people have (like with offside). Personally, I like the offside rule, and I love nothing more than seeing that gorgeous pass/run that beats the trap. What drives me crazy is when the linesmen get it wrong and I'm left wondering what could have been if the play hadn't been incorrectly whistled offside.
Nice analysis. It's a bummer my hypothetical "simple" answer likely wouldn't change a damn thing.
that Rick Reilly wrote the essentially same piece a few weeks ago and was actually being serious.
I can only assume PJ O'Rourke meant to mock that.
Here's a question - is the dissatisfaction with the pace of the game, particularly the coring, predominantly a US thing, or is that shared equally around the world? I honestly don't know and am curious.
25 cent beers after a goal for the entire stadium. Best attendance boost ever.
For US audiences, this isn't a bad idea at all. That is, until someone goes all Disco Demolition on the place. Then, yeah, maybe not so much.
for the stars. Start changing rules so every foul is called and the art of defense is removed. Officiate in favor of large market clubs. Oh and make sure the biggest stars have their own primetime special when deciding on which club to play for.