2022 World Cup

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thrill
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by thrill »

Yeah nobody cares. Popping in a thread full of people who do like it just to give us the fyi that you tried it in for size & didn’t fit is pointless and just a strange impulse.

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cardinalkarp
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by cardinalkarp »

What I find equally as strange is someone getting bent out of shape because a couple people attempted to watch a soccer game, didn’t get much out of it (and explained why) and shared it w/ the board.

There was a bit of tension at the end of the game due to the pressure Iran was putting on the US, but I think they said Iran had ONE shot on goal in 90 minutes of play. That just doesn’t do it for me, and I’ll admit…I don’t know the first thing about soccer, have never played it, so I’m sure I miss a lot of the nuance of the game.

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Fat_Bulldog
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by Fat_Bulldog »

I'm sorry I chimed in here.

I do plan to go to an MLS game at the new stadium here in St. Louis. I think it will be a fun experience.

I will stay out of this thread for now on.

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mikechamp
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by mikechamp »

cardinalkarp wrote:
December 1 22, 9:33 am
There was a bit of tension at the end of the game due to the pressure Iran was putting on the US, but I think they said Iran had ONE shot on goal in 90 minutes of play. That just doesn’t do it for me, and I’ll admit…I don’t know the first thing about soccer, have never played it, so I’m sure I miss a lot of the nuance of the game.
I can understand how the lack of offense (from any team) can be kind of boring. It might help to think of soccer/football as a chess match, where offensive attempts are limited so as to not leave yourself vulnerable to allowing a goal.

I coach youth soccer, and I often have to tell the parents that us coaches might tell their child that they had a great game, even when they didn't seem to do anything. You get to a certain level (IMO, around 4th-5th grade) where the nuance enters the game, because (if you're doing your job as a coach correctly) you've gotten your team beyond the swarming phase and taught them to adhere to their positional responsibilities. Put another way, if the players didn't do the little, seemingly unnoticeable things, the outcome probably would have been drastically different.

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Transmogrified Tiger
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by Transmogrified Tiger »

Soccer can be a lot like baseball in that games are often a slow burn. The huge field requiring zoomed out camera angles doesn't help with appreciating the skill and speed that's being played either. If you are interested in getting a greater appreciation for it, the way I think is most useful without becoming a soccer obsessive is to think of it as a combination of basketball and football. Like football, when a team has the ball it's a group of 11 players on a large field trying to manipulate defenders to create space and windows to move the ball forward. In soccer the field is so big that this sometimes means moving backwards to create and reach space down the field or on the opposite side. However, unlike football and more like basketball, teams are working on repeatable and fluid patterns more than very specific scripted plays, because possession changes often and you can't line up 11 players perfectly to do super-choreographed moves with regularity. Also like basketball, the most exciting moments come from transition where teams are sprinting into open space.

Also, starting with Saturday there's an extra layer of urgency with the knockout rounds starting. This often makes for more conservative play, but like MLB wild card games it's high tension throughout. If your main sticking point for enjoying the sport is how much scoreboard achievement there is, even the most entertaining soccer game is going to be an uphill battle and it's probably not for you. But if you can appreciate the stakes, the skill, or at a basic level follow how teams are trying to solve the sport's main puzzle(11 people can't cover the whole field, how do we get our guys the ball in space), then it can be fun to follow.

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cardinalkarp
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by cardinalkarp »

Thanks for some of the breakdown fellas. I’ll check out some of these next round games.

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thrill
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by thrill »

Or...and hear me out here, you can watch when you feel like it at your current level of sophistication, continue to chime in as you see fit, receive the responses you get, respond to those responses if you feel like it, and then spend the time it takes to get a feel for the game on doing things you like a lot more than watching soccer. No one cares either way (my original point). Soccer doesn't need evangelists and it doesn't really need converts. I don't like Nascar, so what I typically do is 1) not watch, 2) not comment among those who do.

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BottenFieldofDreams
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by BottenFieldofDreams »

But if there was some very newsy NASCAR thing (like the US playing Iran with a bunch of past baggage and present drama in a huge stake game that hasn’t come along for at least 8 years) I might try to tune in. And I might comment on my ability to engage.

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thrill
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by thrill »

Speaking of Nascar, Cody is a name that sounds like a Nascar driver. Cody Gakpo is the best Dutch player. I'm not sure why, but I'm just not intimidated by anyone named Cody. That's a dogs name. Get yourself a name like Johan or Ruud and you'll have my attention. We're going to put the clamps on that man. I'm predicting an excruciating 0-0, 120 minute tie and the Dutch win in PK's because we have to sub our best penalty takers before they run out of gas. But if it goes to PK, we have Matty Turner, so I'd love our chances. And we'll probably get to see Gio if it goes long enough.

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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by BrntOrngStud »

Huge win for Japan! Beating Spain and Germany is quite an accomplishment.

cardinalskarp, check out US versus Netherlands on Saturday. As thrill said, it could be an excruciating 0-0 game but I also see the possibility of US playing an intense open game since the Dutch will have possession and it could play into the US strength of speed down the wings. It would be great for you and others to join the soccer fan community.

In my experiences in the US, I see two types of soccer fans. There are a few vocal soccer fans in the US that seem to be very insular and don't want others to join in on the fun. They remind me of the person that was a fan of the huge band when they were a garage band. To some soccer fans in the US, you are not supporting some downtrodden sport. You are a fan of the most popular sport on planet Earth.

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