How to make soccer more exciting?

[Count Zero]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure all 'American' sports are played in leagues all over Europe, though most of them not professionally (the big exception being Basketball, which is pretty popular). One of my friends used to play American Football in a league when he was younger.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Yeah, I knew that basketball was pretty popular in other countries, and gaining in popularity as well. I even know that places other than Mexico and Japan have baseball leagues! It's just that gridiron football seems to be so universally frowned upon everywhere that I was surprised that anyone else played it.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I think it's making big inroads in recent years, at least NFL football, it has become pretty mainstream actually imo.

 

[Count Zero]

I don't think it's frowned upon much. A lot of people don't care about it, obviously, but the derisive remarks only come out when actual football is attacked. I've never heard them in real life and where that wasn't the case.

 

[iguana_tonante]

NFL football players hit far harder than rugby players do.

True. Because they have padded armours. Take them away, and they will hit just like rugby players (obviously: no one wants to break their ribs or maybe their neck at every impact). It's not a matter of which sport is better: they are just very different beasts.

I don't think it's frowned upon much. A lot of people don't care about it, obviously, but the derisive remarks only come out when actual football is attacked. I've never heard them in real life and where that wasn't the case.

I agree. The only times American football is "frowned" upon is in response to the usual "soccer is boring" comments.

 

[Chaos Descending]

I don't think it's frowned upon much. A lot of people don't care about it, obviously, but the derisive remarks only come out when actual football is attacked. I've never heard them in real life and where that wasn't the case.

I agree. The only times American football is "frowned" upon is in response to the usual "soccer is boring" comments.

I don't think you guys are being honest with yourselves. I've seen plenty of snarky comments from soccer fans about American football that weren't preceded by snarky comments about soccer. I'd say that the pre-emptive derision goes about 50%-50% each way.

 

[Shaytan]

I don't think it's frowned upon much. A lot of people don't care about it, obviously, but the derisive remarks only come out when actual football is attacked. I've never heard them in real life and where that wasn't the case.

I agree. The only times American football is "frowned" upon is in response to the usual "soccer is boring" comments.

I don't think you guys are being honest with yourselves. I've seen plenty of snarky comments from soccer fans about American football that weren't preceded by snarky comments about soccer. I'd say that the pre-emptive derision goes about 50%-50% each way.

It's tempting when we have some Americans to tease

But seriously, in real life, nobody cares. You can't comment something you're never exposed to.

 

[Chaos Descending]

That's how we've been with soccer until recently.

 

[Count Zero]

Mmh, I've only seen these comments in threads related to football. They can also spin out of the everlasting debate whether the sport should be called football or soccer, that's true, so snarky comments might not always be required. And I've never heard them in real life. Sports identified as American usually have a certain aura of coolness attached to them in my country, anyway.

 

[Chaos Descending]

This is what I am used to seeing (for example):

American: I tried watching soccer once, but it tended to be a little boring...
Soccer Fan: SOCCER!??!?! SOCCER?!?!?! It's bloody FOOTBALL you wanker! Not like that girly game you yanks play with your poncey body armor!!!!! BORING??? At least we don't stop play every five seconds for tea and biscuits!!!!
American: Ummmm... Ok...

And variations on that theme.

 

[Count Zero]

Yeah, as I said, the football vs. soccer thing is a starting point, too, but that only applies to English speaking people for the most part because the rest of the world doesn't call it either of these names (though it's usually a variation of football) and isn't invested in the debate.
And to be fair, the initial statement about football being boring isn't usually formulated so politely. When some Americans, who don't seem to have a real grasp of the game, start discussing how an immensely popular sport (which is often a matter of national pride) could be changed to adapt to their needs, it can come off as condescending to others.
I once fell asleep during a Super Bowl game and I obviously don't have any understanding of Football, yet I don't feel compelled to open threads about how it could be improved so that I become interested.

I hope this post is half-way coherent.

 

[Maestro]

Hockey has an offside rule and it works awesome. Either you're over the line before the puck or you're not. There isn't any business of the referee judging "whether you're creating an advantage" or not. It's black and white. There's some grey area in other areas of hockey but I can't remember the last time someone bitched about an offside call.

Soccer works on a lot of the same basic mechanics hockey does. With due consideration to the nuances of the game, I don't see why hockey's offside rule couldn't be adapted to soccer to make it more exciting. The problem with the game isn't that nobody scores. It's that nobody ever looks like they're about to score. I think this would go some ways to fixing it.

You know, I'm not even going to read the rest of the thread. Your response here is too good. Let me just add to it: Put in a fucking blue line, call offsides the same way as hockey, and soccer's problems will all be solved.

 

[Chaos Descending]

When some Americans, who don't seem to have a real grasp of the game, start discussing how an immensely popular sport (which is often a matter of national pride) could be changed to adapt to their needs, it can come off as condescending to others.

Although I understand your point, don't forget that pretty much EVERY code of football was developed by changing "football" to adapt to the primary audience's needs.

Rugby Union and then American/Canadian Football and Rugby League, Australian Rules Football, Gaelic Football, all of these developed because the vanilla version of football wasn't quite good enough for them.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I don't think you guys are being honest with yourselves. I've seen plenty of snarky comments from soccer fans about American football that weren't preceded by snarky comments about soccer. I'd say that the pre-emptive derision goes about 50%-50% each way.

Well, the issue is hardly a fresh one, so every new comment is weighted by all the previous ones.

I'd say that both sides are quite jaded in their snarky way right now and just got to the point the bickering is more important than the issue. Not that I'm complaining.

I will point out, however, that while I rarely see any complaint about American football in threads about the NFL season (they mostly get ignored by people not interested in it), I have seen plenty of them in threads about the World Cup, with people trouncing about yelling "soccer sucks!" to anyone willing to hear. However, since Americans are the majority of people on this board, it could just be a statistical thing.

 

[Count Zero]

There's a difference between creating a new variant of a sport and demanding a sport to change because you (the general you) find it boring while a large amount of people enjoy it.
Besides, there already are a number of variations on association football itself (e.g. futsal, indoor soccer and beach football) that even have official approval, so to speak, so it's not like football fans are averse to variations of the game. But these things, just like the sports you mentioned, co-exist with the standard version of football.
I'm all in favour of people creating new sports but it would be nice if we could just keep our version of football.
I don't know, the demand to be accomodated in one's own sports watching way over hundreds of millions of people who enjoy football as it is just rubs me the wrong way, I guess.
I wouldn't demand American Football to change just so that I don't find it boring anymore. Or any other sport I'm not interested in.

 

[Chaos Descending]

There's a difference between creating a new variant of a sport and demanding a sport to change because you (the general you) find it boring while a large amount of people enjoy it.

I don't see how FIFA style Association Football itself could possibly be changed.

The best anyone could hope for would be that a new "soccer-like" code of football would be created to shore up what Americans see as shortcomings in the current version of Association Football.

So, I guess I agree with the remainder of your post.

I guess my point is that no one has to "change soccer" to fulfill the OPs request.

 

[Starkers]

Hockey has an offside rule and it works awesome. Either you're over the line before the puck or you're not. There isn't any business of the referee judging "whether you're creating an advantage" or not. It's black and white. There's some grey area in other areas of hockey but I can't remember the last time someone bitched about an offside call.

Soccer works on a lot of the same basic mechanics hockey does. With due consideration to the nuances of the game, I don't see why hockey's offside rule couldn't be adapted to soccer to make it more exciting. The problem with the game isn't that nobody scores. It's that nobody ever looks like they're about to score. I think this would go some ways to fixing it.

You know, I'm not even going to read the rest of the thread. Your response here is too good. Let me just add to it: Put in a fucking blue line, call offsides the same way as hockey, and soccer's problems will all be solved.

Sorry I can't see that working in football, and frankly I like the offside rule the way it is, one of the great things about football is that it can be contentious and open to interpretation, that's part of the reason it flows a lot better than other sports. And whilst offsides can prevent goals, the reverse is also true. A defence that tries to play the offside rule a bit too much risks finding themselves standing around like idiots with their hands in the air while the striker runs through clear on goal.

It's amazing how much fun can come from just being able to shout and scream at the ref/linesmen

 

[Deckerd]

You're a bastard, you're a bastard, you're a bastard Refereeeeeee

That sort of thing, you mean? It's what it's all about.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

I had no idea. I was always under the impression that the stereotypical European view of American football was more or less the prevailing one.

Because it's not very popular doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

I still think it is the prevailing one. Most Europeans follow football: their own leagues, the Champions League etc.

 

[Maestro]

Hockey has an offside rule and it works awesome. Either you're over the line before the puck or you're not. There isn't any business of the referee judging "whether you're creating an advantage" or not. It's black and white. There's some grey area in other areas of hockey but I can't remember the last time someone bitched about an offside call.

Soccer works on a lot of the same basic mechanics hockey does. With due consideration to the nuances of the game, I don't see why hockey's offside rule couldn't be adapted to soccer to make it more exciting. The problem with the game isn't that nobody scores. It's that nobody ever looks like they're about to score. I think this would go some ways to fixing it.

You know, I'm not even going to read the rest of the thread. Your response here is too good. Let me just add to it: Put in a fucking blue line, call offsides the same way as hockey, and soccer's problems will all be solved.

Sorry I can't see that working in football, and frankly I like the offside rule the way it is, one of the great things about football is that it can be contentious and open to interpretation, that's part of the reason it flows a lot better than other sports. And whilst offsides can prevent goals, the reverse is also true. A defence that tries to play the offside rule a bit too much risks finding themselves standing around like idiots with their hands in the air while the striker runs through clear on goal.

It's amazing how much fun can come from just being able to shout and scream at the ref/linesmen

If you're ever in the state of Wisconsin during the months of October to March, look me up. I'll take you to see whomever the University of Wisconsin is playing in hockey during your stay. I'll prove to you not only that a fixed offsides zone is superior, but I'll show you some of the greatest (worst?) fans on earth at harassing officials and the visitors.