I wholly enjoyed the Champions League final yesterday however I was disappointed with the result, I tend to root for any English squad in the champions League and it would have been a major upset if Arsenal who built a 1-0 lead after their goally was ejected and they played one man down could have held on.
Here are just a few points about the match that I thought while watching it:
Things That Soccer has that American Sports Do Not
1) Soccer has the greatest flow of any sport. There are no timeouts, there is no play stoppage between innings or the incredibly annoying commercial break between every punt kickoff score in football. No 45 minutes straight. Than a half time, then 45 more minutes straight.
Note: Listening to the radio I heard a person complaining about stoppage time (the extra time they put after the clock hits 45 and 90). Basically if you knew the game this wouldn't bother you. He said things along the lines what if in a football game the clock struck zero and then you just decided that USC should get the ball. Well the clock doesn't stop, so when players get hurt you don't want to penalize the fans or teams time on the clock.
2) This is the biggest Sporting Event in Europe, again other than the World Cup, yet with the exception of the of a little opening song and dance they treat it exactly as it is, a soccer match. There is no difference between the way the game is played or called. There are no longer commercial breaks, there are no commercial breaks. And this is what really appealed to me, half time was the normal halftime length. Not like the Superbowl where every year they run out some washed up old star, or stupid pop stars that you don't care about and you sit there forever waiting for the game to start back up. Nope 15 minutes and they are back on.
Things in Soccer similar to American Sports
1) Soccer has flow, but it still is a highlight driven sport. The stuff they can do is amazing and is very similar to a baseball game, sit there for awhile and you are eventually going to see something that makes you go wow. If you ever get the chance watch World Soccer Report, or something like that, on MSG on the weekends. Its a good watch.
2) Each team even though it has several World Class players usually has a star that the cameras will focus on. Yesterday it was France's Henry and Brazil's Ronaldinho. Both underperformed with Henry missing two to three glorious goal chances.
Things that Americans would have a hard time excepting
1) Red Cards - It's not the ejection portion of the red card, its the playing one man down for the rest of the game part. If you watched yesterday Arsenal's goaltender got a red card in the 20th minute. Meaning for 70+ minutes they played one man down. I understand getting kicked out, happens in every American sport, but that basically dropped it from a 50/50 game to 20/80 in favor of Barcelona. Seems a little steep to me for simply tripping a player.
2) The Flop/Acting - You see it in American sports now, mostly basketball. But its no where near as important a move as it is in soccer. Yesterday, Arsenal's forward blatantly flopped outside the box leading to a free kick and their only goal. Basically, it was incredibly cheap, and seeing people get stuff they don't necessarily deserve annoys Americans. (The Header for the Goal was phenomenal though)
3) Camaraderie - We like to see a little grudge at the end of the game. Sure the trading jerseys is cool for players collections. But we want to see a little more venom a little more anger a little more bitterness when you lose such an important game.
Here are just a few points about the match that I thought while watching it:
Things That Soccer has that American Sports Do Not
1) Soccer has the greatest flow of any sport. There are no timeouts, there is no play stoppage between innings or the incredibly annoying commercial break between every punt kickoff score in football. No 45 minutes straight. Than a half time, then 45 more minutes straight.
Note: Listening to the radio I heard a person complaining about stoppage time (the extra time they put after the clock hits 45 and 90). Basically if you knew the game this wouldn't bother you. He said things along the lines what if in a football game the clock struck zero and then you just decided that USC should get the ball. Well the clock doesn't stop, so when players get hurt you don't want to penalize the fans or teams time on the clock.
2) This is the biggest Sporting Event in Europe, again other than the World Cup, yet with the exception of the of a little opening song and dance they treat it exactly as it is, a soccer match. There is no difference between the way the game is played or called. There are no longer commercial breaks, there are no commercial breaks. And this is what really appealed to me, half time was the normal halftime length. Not like the Superbowl where every year they run out some washed up old star, or stupid pop stars that you don't care about and you sit there forever waiting for the game to start back up. Nope 15 minutes and they are back on.
Things in Soccer similar to American Sports
1) Soccer has flow, but it still is a highlight driven sport. The stuff they can do is amazing and is very similar to a baseball game, sit there for awhile and you are eventually going to see something that makes you go wow. If you ever get the chance watch World Soccer Report, or something like that, on MSG on the weekends. Its a good watch.
2) Each team even though it has several World Class players usually has a star that the cameras will focus on. Yesterday it was France's Henry and Brazil's Ronaldinho. Both underperformed with Henry missing two to three glorious goal chances.
Things that Americans would have a hard time excepting
1) Red Cards - It's not the ejection portion of the red card, its the playing one man down for the rest of the game part. If you watched yesterday Arsenal's goaltender got a red card in the 20th minute. Meaning for 70+ minutes they played one man down. I understand getting kicked out, happens in every American sport, but that basically dropped it from a 50/50 game to 20/80 in favor of Barcelona. Seems a little steep to me for simply tripping a player.
2) The Flop/Acting - You see it in American sports now, mostly basketball. But its no where near as important a move as it is in soccer. Yesterday, Arsenal's forward blatantly flopped outside the box leading to a free kick and their only goal. Basically, it was incredibly cheap, and seeing people get stuff they don't necessarily deserve annoys Americans. (The Header for the Goal was phenomenal though)
3) Camaraderie - We like to see a little grudge at the end of the game. Sure the trading jerseys is cool for players collections. But we want to see a little more venom a little more anger a little more bitterness when you lose such an important game.
Comments
However, and contrary to what you wrote at the end, there are some things that I do like about it, including two of the three things you mentioned. I DO like the trading jerseys at the end. It was a curious sight at first, but I like the show of respect and sportsmanship that it represents and Americans could probably learn a lot from such behavior. And the man-down thing, great. I think ALL sports should have the power play. It would totally change the dynamics and strategies of sports that have become stagnant and predictable over the years.
Anyway, sorry to blog on your blog, I just wanted to put my two cents in;).