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Upset, Japan Over US in Womens Soccer!
Well played and well deserved Japan... Bravo!!
I root for the USA in most international events but not soccer/football. I've seen the face of suburban football up close and personal. I'm not talking about the footie played by immigrants and kids in sandlots, I'm talking about the vicious, in-bred, internicine world that is amatuer soccer suburban America. "Soccer Mom" is not a derisive term for nothing.
I've heard and seen things that would make your hair stand on end and I don't even have a daughter. The things I've seen were on my way to the baseball diamond with my son. Cursing, fighting, name calling, gossiping threats, why? Because little Tiffany didn't get enough playing time or didn't start in goal or isn't featured on the teams fund raising brochure.
Parents aren't totally to blame though. Soccer after title 9 means scholarships and money and if she's REAL good stardom and fame. It's high stakes now and every frustrated and/or cash strapped middle class parent is praying that little Amber's soccer skills are good enough to spare them the cost of a college education. It makes for truly ugly theatre.
I personally could only watch the U.S. Team in snippets without getting hives. Hope Solo had that endorsement money spent already... Well move over LeBron you got company.
Worf
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I did not get a chance to watch (work on weekends), but from the highlights the women played well. In the bigger view of things, Japan needed more. They have had a very humbling year (Cars issues, Earthquakes) and sometimes you need a little hope.
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Hey Worfster...
In my infinite caring and sensitivity I hereby announce my availablity to nurture Hope Solo through this time of devastation and loss. It could take the better part of a decade.
Let me preface this next part by saying that my idea of athletic competition is different from most folk's so I'm prepared for some puchback, but...soccer is not a sport so I wouldn't be too concerned with the nature of the people involved except for the fact that these children will one day be running the world.
Of course, by that time the U.S. will be a Third World country so maybe it's appropriate.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsticks
Let me preface this next part by saying that my idea of athletic competition is different from most folk's so I'm prepared for some puchback, but...soccer is not a sport...
Huh? So what is your idea of athletic competition / why is soccer (real football - where you use your actual feet, rather than the version of Rugby that Americans play) not a sport?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsticks
...soccer is not a sport so I wouldn't be too concerned with the nature of the people involved except for the fact that these children will one day be running the world.
Of course, by that time the U.S. will be a Third World country so maybe it's appropriate.
Now I know you are just trying to create controversy with that statement or you never played the game. Although paint dries faster than the game is played and I don't always agree with the strategy used in the game, like kicking the ball backwards, it is not an easy game to play. The average halfback runs 7 miles a game.
And unlike the sissies that play baseball, they play in ALL weather conditions without crying or covering the field with plastic.
Real sports are played in all conditions from heat to hail to snow and ice, which are all the conditions I played in for 12 years.
So there....Sticks!
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US's matches against Brazil and Japan were epic battles. I found them entertaining, but I only watch when it matters. I've been suckered by international "friendlies" before. The US men pull all their "stars" (if you can call them that) so they'll have an excuse when they get beat.
Worf, I appreciate your perspective. It's one I hadn't thought of as I'm not exposed to the suburban soccer scene personally, but it sheds light. I thought I heard or read that one of the players said she was tired of being compared to the '99 team. I was wondering if I heard wrong because the tone seemed a little inappropriate - bratty even.
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By my reckoning a sport is differentiated from a passtime by possessing either one of two criteria:
1) You can die by participating
2) Inherent in the successful completion of the competition is expensive equipment
Hence, auto racing though I detest it: a sport; soccer and, indeed, basketball: a passtime...of course there are many other examples but I think it's clear that just because something can be competitive does not necessarily make it a noble endeavor.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsticks
By my reckoning a sport is differentiated from a passtime by possessing either one of two criteria:
1) You can die by participating
2) Inherent in the successful completion of the competition is expensive equipment
Hence, auto racing though I detest it: a sport; soccer and, indeed, basketball: a passtime...of course there are many other examples but I think it's clear that just because something can be competitive does not necessarily make it a noble endeavor.
:skep: OKKKKK then :skep:
Note: You can die by participating in Soccer (though highly unlikely - it does happen). A simple kick in the head with the studs on the bottom of soccer boots would put an end to your life in short order...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajani
:skep: OKKKKK then :skep:
Note: You can die by participating in Soccer (though highly unlikely - it does happen). A simple kick in the head with the studs on the bottom of soccer boots would put an end to your life in short order...
As well as heat related problems and frostbite.
Spikes and shin guards are expensive....and driving around in circles is NOT a sport, it's a boredom.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajani
:skep: OKKKKK then :skep:
Note: You can die by participating in Soccer (though highly unlikely - it does happen). A simple kick in the head with the studs on the bottom of soccer boots would put an end to your life in short order...
Well, my friend, you're engaging in the time-honored tradition of the picking of nits. Of course someone could die under those circumstances but that would be a flagrant violation of the rules.
I could die on the basketball court too if Ben Wallace choked me with his headband but that might be viewed as outside the normal parameters of the game.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsticks
By my reckoning a sport is differentiated from a passtime by possessing either one of two criteria:
1) You can die by participating
2) Inherent in the successful completion of the competition is expensive equipment
Hence, auto racing though I detest it: a sport; soccer and, indeed, basketball: a passtime...of course there are many other examples but I think it's clear that just because something can be competitive does not necessarily make it a noble endeavor.
That's one way to get them to circle the wagons.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsticks
Well, my friend, you're engaging in the time-honored tradition of the picking of nits. Of course someone could die under those circumstances but that would be a flagrant violation of the rules.
I could die on the basketball court too if Ben Wallace choked me with his headband but that might be viewed as outside the normal parameters of the game.
It's not nearly as nitpicking as you might think... If you attempt to head a low ball, while the other guy is attempting to kick it, then such a collision can easily occur... Usually you won't hit the studs (which is why you don't die), but getting kicked in the head is not uncommon... And I actually know of someone who died from a kick in the head during a soccer match (goalkeeper diving for the ball as the forward was taking a shot)... So it's not a ridiculous scenario such as Ben Wallace attempting to murder you with a headband...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajani
So it's not a ridiculous scenario such as Ben Wallace attempting to murder you with a headband...
Clearly you don't hang with Ben Wallace...
I am more than willing to concede that the general public may not be ready to adopt multiple aspects of my world view.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyfi
As well as heat related problems and frostbite.
Sort of. A human could die walking down the street were one morbidly obese or of deficient cardiovascular conditioning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyfi
Spikes and shin guards are expensive....and driving around in circles is NOT a sport, it's a boredom.
Ah, but they are not inherent to the game...spikes and shin guards are contrivances of the merchant class to make money off of a peasant's passtime...but, hey, I'm with ya brotha on the auto racing...I can't stand it but I must be consistent with my own definitions.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsticks
Sort of. A human could die walking down the street were one morbidly obese or of deficient cardiovascular conditioning.
Snarky!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyfi
Snarky!
I knew you reminded me of somebody!!!!!!!
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May I please have some of what you guys are having?:skep:
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This is what happens when you deal with people on crack!
http://<IFRAME height=349 src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Nu8a7E4fhig" frameBorder=0 width=560 allowfullscreen></IFRAME>
lol
Every sport has its own merit of strength, skill and endurance, it may come in the form of physical or mental, but the one aspect is that everyone cannot do it at the highest level. Weather that be in a professional league or international play. And to compare a Soccer Player to a NFL player is like night and day. I watched the World Cup and was wishing the US had some players like Ray Lewis and James Harrison (Top NFL Linebackers) and put them in as defenders and see what would happen. Those guys wouldn't even care where the ball was pass off to, but that one guy would have had his head detached from his body and that would have sent a message to anyone else coming down the field on a break away. Soccer is a game of endurance (looking for the other team to slip up or out of position) Football (NFL) is a game of violence, collisions that occur on purpose and these guys train for that type of activity.
Just as in Golf not many people can drive the ball 300+ yards and putt on a regular bases, so from auto racing to beach volleyball there is a level of speed, strength and knowledge of the game (Tri Fecta) that separate them from us avarage Joes.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsticks
I knew you reminded me of somebody!!!!!!!
hehehe...
Mystery Solved!!!
:biggrin5:
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