Just to show you how hard it is for Soccer to be THE sport in the US

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MissVelvetDress_75

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[q]Man Utd make low-key arrival for U.S. tour
By Stephen Wood



PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Manchester United have arrived for their pre-season tour of north America -- a trip described as the club's bid to conquer the "final frontier" of soccer.


United, premier league champions for eight of the last 11 seasons, have an estimated 53 million fans worldwide but are anything but a household name in the United States.


The club's board of directors, led by chief executive Peter Kenyon, hope the four-game, 16-day tour will help establish the United 'brand' in the most mouth-watering of markets.


But early signs suggest the behemoth that is Manchester United marketing may have met its match in the notoriously soccer-wary States.


Waiting for the array of multi-million pound talent at Portland airport on Saturday were 12 fans and one American television reporter. :der: :down:


The distinct lack of hysteria -- in contrast to their previous forays into the Far East -- made a mockery of the club's decision to secretly whisk the players direct from the plane to their downtown hotel.


When they do emerge they may notice the current issue of Men's Journal magazine on American newsstands -- bearing the face of erstwhile United midfielder David Beckham on the cover.


NEW AUDIENCE


The magazine introduced Beckham to their readers as "the most famous athlete in the world". Indeed, now the England captain has been transferred to Real Madrid, United will have to work extra hard to captivate a new audience.


On Saturday, the people of Portland were more consumed with a weekend of Highland Scottish Games and, although traffic was stopped in the city centre, it was for a parade of soldiers returning from war in Iraq.


Kenyon, however, has said the tour was never planned around an "individual player" -- Beckham -- and is confident United can make inroads into the American psyche.


He points to the fact that three of the four games, against Celtic in Seattle on Tuesday, against Juventus in New Jersey on July 31 and against Barcelona in Philadelphia on August 3, sold out within two days.


The crowd for their other match, against Club America in Los Angeles on July 27, could also top 60,000.


"The tour was planned on the basis it would sell out but to do it so quickly was a surprise and an indication we had got the planning right," Kenyon said recently.


The inclusion of new signing Tim Howard should turn heads. Howard, the U.S. goalkeeper, moved to United from Major League Soccer side New York/New Jersey MetroStars this month, although he will not join up with the squad until their arrival in New York on July 28.


With other new recruit Eric Djemba-Djemba also absent after being given time to rest following his exertions for Cameroon in the Confederations Cup, the only new face in the 20-man squad to touch down in Portland was Frenchman David Bellion. [/q]

such a contrast huh. :der: oh well poor Man U now they are here they have to see that Beckham is exploding in the presses. :laugh:
 
I wonder how many Americans are aware that your women's team is the best in the world? I'm not criticising....well, I guess I am, lol, but you're a very big sport loving nation and soccer is the biggest sport in the world...If you had even half the enthusiasm Europe does, it would make it an interesting game for sure.
 
Angela Harlem said:
I wonder how many Americans are aware that your women's team is the best in the world? I'm not criticising....well, I guess I am, lol, but you're a very big sport loving nation and soccer is the biggest sport in the world...If you had even half the enthusiasm Europe does, it would make it an interesting game for sure.

The women's game is actually well covered. There has been numerous articles about drawing Sweden in the first game, and how, despite being the defending champions, the World Cup is going to be far more difficult to win this time around.

I really wish I knew more about this tour in advance. I would have loved to see a ManU V. Celtic game....ore even Juventas.

Someday I will get to see a game in Europe (maybe when West Ham moves back up).
 
I'm sorry but to me soccer is so boring compared to NFL football. Running up and down the field in dumb socks, kicking a ball, oh boy. Of course I respect that the world loves it, but it has always been their sport and I just feel that in America once you've seen more exciting and strategic sports first soccer looks dumb and dull. In the US it's mostly for geeky little kids whose mothers drive minivans with soccer ball stickers and they usually outgrow it by age 12. I get so intense over football, but soccer just does not pull any strings for me.
 
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yep, you + 95% of everyone outside the US

American Football has possibilities
if they'd axe the ridiculous outfits +
didn't stop the game every 14 seconds

now that would be a game for real men to play
hooya!
 
U2Kitten said:
Running up and down the field in dumb socks............

They actually wear shoes. Cleated ones. Oh, and shorts and shirts too. Its just that Nike commercial where the guy is running around the field in nothing but socks......the commercial doesn't really reflect what "International" football is all about.
 
Duh I know they wear shoes :madspit: but those socks look so dorky! I remember reading a passage from The Unforgettable Fire by Eamon Dunphy discussing how Bono and Guggi hated soccer as kids and made fun of the socks and the way other kids' legs looked running around in them.

The reason the game stops so frequently is because there is actual THOUGHT and PLANS and STRATEGY involved, not just kickign the ball wherever it happens to go. You have a certain amount of time, and if the clock runs out on you, there's a delay of game penalty. So you have to stop the clock with a timeout or an incomplete pass so you can discuss what you need to do next. Football is like war, you gain ground yard by yard, or are pushed backwards into your own territory. Each play must be planned and that's why there are huddles. Each situation requires a different one. Like, if you need 15 yards for a first down to keep moving, you know you are going to pass. But to who? Which pattern will he run? Who will block? Or do you fake them out with a dummy pass and hand off for a breakaway run? Football is just so much more interesting, but you have to understand what's going on first. I used to think it was boring when I was a kid, until somebody told me the rules and I was like, oooohhh!! I've been hooked every since, and oh the stress and worry and intensity as I live with every play! I also hate it when you hear of women and girlfriends getting fed up with guys watching it and wanting them to go to the park instead or something. What?! And worry about the score? If it's got you, it's got you, and it's a shame not everyone understands that.

NFL football :heart:
 
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Not as much as NFL football. Maybe who to kick to, I guess, kind of like in basketball who to pass to that has the best chance to score. But it's not like the plans and plays in the NFL.

I don't want to have a war here, both sports have their loyal fans. I was just trying to explain why so many Americans care about Football and not soccer.
 
MissVelvetDress_75 said:
see what you say about international football is how i feel about american football.

Me too. The last time I watched any football was last year when I put up with a half-hour of it while waiting for the U.S. Open tennis men's final. I don't know how many times they stopped the clock. This drives me up a wall. Then the team who lost, I can't remember who it was, lost because of some goofy reason. One of their players ran up the field without his helmet or something like that. I thought I was going to scream just waiting for the tennis to come on. I survived the wait. Fine athletes, boring sport (to me).
Your mileage may vary.
 
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I just read Ferguson has been compared to Lombardi!!!!

U2Kitten said:
Duh I know they wear shoes :madspit: but those socks look so dorky!

Dorky......I think Knickers with socks pulled up to your knees (with no functionality) is WAT dorkier than socks up to the knees covering shin pads.

Let's review:

knickers and socks......

a1.jpg


Shorts and socks...................

worthfinal6.jpg
 
Salome said:
yep, you + 95% of everyone outside the US

American Football has possibilities
if they'd axe the ridiculous outfits +
didn't stop the game every 14 seconds

now that would be a game for real men to play
hooya!

rugby :hyper:

ok there are probably more differences but I've always thought rugby (union especially) is the faster paced American football without the ridiculous outfits.
 
Angela Harlem said:
I wonder how many Americans are aware that your women's team is the best in the world? I'm not criticising....well, I guess I am, lol, but you're a very big sport loving nation and soccer is the biggest sport in the world...If you had even half the enthusiasm Europe does, it would make it an interesting game for sure.

From the standpoint of a purely passive consumer of sports, I don't think the US women's soccer team deserves much of the hype it has received recently, mostly because international women's soccer is still not very high-quality. How many teams have any real shot at winning the Women's World Cup this year?
 
Salome said:
yep, you + 95% of everyone outside the US

American Football has possibilities
if they'd axe the ridiculous outfits +
didn't stop the game every 14 seconds

now that would be a game for real men to play
hooya!

I agree about the ugly uniforms, but the frequent stoppages of play are the reason that American football plays are incredibly detailed. Much more intricate than even the most complex set pieces in soccer, I dare say.

If you don't believe me, try watching an American football game from the sideline.
 
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U2Kitten said:
The reason the game stops so frequently is because there is actual THOUGHT and PLANS and STRATEGY involved, not just kickign the ball wherever it happens to go.

And apparently they are too DUMB to execute those in real-time. :tongue: In contrast, there are also thought, plans and strategy in soccer, but here you also have to have the skill to change and execute them in real time. There is (almost) no opportunity to to have some cosy tea-break to watch some commercials and having everything spelled out for you. So soccer is nothing like throwing an object (you cannot call something a ball when it isn't even round) wherever it happens to go. :p

:D

C ya!

Marty
 
So its a bit like chess?
:wink:

I didn't mean to start a huge debate in here over NFL v Soccer/football lol.

I would much rather a free flowing continuous game instead of having seconds of play only for it to stop and start again. I tried watching some once and I was so frustrated after a few minutes I gave up.
 
Popmartijn said:


And apparently they are too DUMB to execute those in real-time. :tongue: In contrast, there are also thought, plans and strategy in soccer, but here you also have to have the skill to change and execute them in real time. There is (almost) no opportunity to to have some cosy tea-break to watch some commercials and having everything spelled out for you. So soccer is nothing like throwing an object (you cannot call something a ball when it isn't even round) wherever it happens to go. :p


Sports like basketball and hockey also operate continuously. In neither of those sports do the scripted plays even come close to the detail and complexity you find in football plays. The same holds for soccer.
 
Angela Harlem said:
So its a bit like chess?
:wink:


Some guy wrote an article to that effect in "Chess Life", the official magazine of the US Chess Federation.
 
Okay....

I have played organized/organised American football, soccer, hockey, baseball and a few other sports. I have coached sports and covered sports for a newspaper. I have read many books on football/soccer as a cultural phenomenon in England, and have been a season ticket holder for an American football team. I have also worked for/with NBA, NHL, minor and major league baseball teams. This means I am an expert on this topic! ;)

Apples to Oranges. American football to International Football to Rugby (union/aussie) - each are very unique, despite having similar aspects. Every sport has "set plays" despite how unorganized/unorganised it might look to the untrained eye.

American football has stops in action where the players are huddle, specific plays are determined (factoring in distance needed to move the ball to the appropriate "marker" for a "first down" or "score/touchdown" against specific defensive set-ups). Timing routes for receivers are determined, blocking patterns are determined, etc. etc. etc. It is quite intensive - and chess-like.

At the same time, in soccer/international football, when a ball changes possesion, it is moved in the opposite direction, sometimes finding an opportunity for a "break" if the defense is not set, or, even slowed down to set up an actual pre-determined play, that, oddly, is JUST as intricate as many of the NFL plays (coming down to specific ball placement at very specified times - much like getting a thrown ball to a receiver, but instead of having the control of your arm, you have to kick it and place it in the same narrow area a perfect pass would have to be dropped into.)

Apples to Oranges.
 
I prefer the NFL uniforms! They are all interesting, and the best thing is the pants will always be tight!! Baggies can never come into style in the NFL, because everything has to be tight fitting or someone can grab it and use it to tackle the guy. Some guys even tape down any wrinkle that sticks out. Tight pants mean better looking butts and legs. I like the shoulder pads too. The best thing about the helmet is, if the guy has a nice body but an ugly head, you don't have to see it;) I always loved the way Joe Montana's little blond curls stuck out from under his helmet in the back. I love the way a quarterback or reciever's eyes look so intense peeking from under the helmet.

Another thing I prefer about football is you can knock the guy over and stop him from running as long as you aren't unnecessarily rough or hit out of bounds or in the head and get a penalty. It's so frustrating seeing someone run, run, and you can't stop them. I have that problem with basketball. I'm thinking GET HIM! TAKE HIM DOWN! Well, in football, you can!
 
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