World Cup - "soccer is boring and stupid" thread

[Borek]

I don't want to derail the discussion in the WC threads, but after reading these two pages:

http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2014-06-25.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28065500

I think it deserves its own thread.

Bunch of thoughts:

While I agree soccer can be boring (and sadly often is), after watching a baseball game (or two) on TV I think it is much more boring.

I can understand those preferring fast games, with high scores - basketball, handball. I do. Doesn't make me ridicule soccer (unless it is a Polish team playing, but that's another thing).

If Ann Coulter were to post her text at PF she would get banned for intended misinformation (which is our politically correct name for an utter lie).

 

[micromass]

If I could I would ban you for this:

soccer

 

[Curious3141]

If Ann Coulter were to post her text at PF she would get banned for intended misinformation (which is our politically correct name for an utter lie).

I would hope that if Ann Coulter posts *anything* (that's typical of her output) on PF, she'd be immediately banned as a flamebaiting troll.

 

[1MileCrash]

Ann Coulter has achieved troll level: Ann Coulter.

And yes, baseball is extremely boring to watch.

 

[Nick O]

I sentence Coulter to a year of physics in US Customary units.

 

[mcknia07]

Sports in general are boring to watch...

 

[Nick O]

Sports in general are boring to watch...

I'd agree, but I wouldn't be doing the engineering stereotype any favors. So, no official comment.

 

[lisab]

I sentence Coulter to a year of physics in US Customary units.

Sports in general are boring to watch...

I'd agree, but I wouldn't be doing the engineering stereotype any favors. So, no official comment.

I get the feeling PFers don't spend much time zoning out in front of the TV watching sports!

 

[mcknia07]

I'd agree, but I wouldn't be doing the engineering stereotype any favors. So, no official comment.

Who cares, lol. We are all nerds here

 

[Nick O]

I sentence Coulter to a year of physics in US Customary units.

After thinking about this for a while, I've decided to start describing electric power in horsepower. My lights are 0.08 horsepower.

 

[Astronuc]

I prefer playing to spectating.

On Saturday, I rode my bicycle about 25 miles (~40 km) on mostly hilly terrain except for the road along a canyon facing a headwind.

My goal is to achieve the speed limit on most streets/roads in town, even with a moderate grade.

 

[cjl]

If I could I would ban you for this:

Why? It's a perfectly legitimate name for the sport, and less ambiguous than "football".

 

[micromass]

Why? It's a perfectly legitimate name for the sport, and less ambiguous than "football".

The name football is not ambiguous for about 7 billion people. It only is for americans.

 

[ModusPwnd]

And in your opinion that makes it ban worthy? Many of the posters on this site are american, I would think a little cultural sensitivity and awareness should be in order.Like the posters above, I think sports of all kinds are dreadfully boring to watch (not just soccer). I can understand the appeal it has to others a little bit... But like Astronuc I would rather go on a bike ride around some canyons. That sounds awesome.

 

[micromass]

And in your opinion that makes it ban worthy? Many of the posters on this site are american, I would think a little cultural sensitivity and awareness should be in order.

It was clearly a joke... Relax. I am not going to ban anybody for saying soccer.
You shouldn't take everything so seriously

 

[ModusPwnd]

It was clearly a joke... Relax. I am not going to ban anybody for saying soccer.

I would hope not. Especially considering that you made a thread on "Futbol" while the PF rules clearly state that English is the only language to be used. (Don't worry, I won't report it. ;)

 

[WannabeNewton]

Many of the posters on this site are american, I would think a little cultural sensitivity and awareness should be in order.

So we're down to cultural insensitivity for implying "soccer" is a poor term? Jesus christ is everything culturally insensitive nowadays?

 

[Nick O]

(Referring to a now-removed comment in an earlier post.)

When I say "football" here in Oklahoma, no one thinks of this game. We have to specify that we are taking about "soccer". How is that term useless when it is the only unambiguous name for the sport in some places?

 

[micromass]

I don't think many people on this thread grasp the concept of a joke...

 

[Nick O]

I got your post. I don't think calling it "useless terminology, period" was a joke, though.

But, that seems to have been edited out of the post in question.

 

[Evo]

I know micro, so I know he was joking. He teases me about it. I guess you can't make jokes about something as serious as sports.

 

[micromass]

I got your post. I don't think calling it "useless terminology, period" was a joke, though.

But, that seems to have been edited out of the post in question.

Well, I mean, it is a useless terminology. There is a perfectly good terminology for it: football. American football isn't even played with the feet. The term makes no sense.

But of course, I get that soccer is the only way of denoting football in the US and that it is never going to change. I am realistic enough to see that. But I have the right to complain about useless terminology, just as I can complain about stuff like using the word kidnapping when they abduct an adult person.

 

[Nick O]

I know micro, so I know he was joking. He teases me about it. I guess you can't make jokes about something as serious as sports.

I don't care for sports, but I'm passionate about language :p

 

[D H]

But I have the right to complain about useless terminology, just as I can complain about stuff like using the word kidnapping when they abduct an adult person.

This could make for an interesting thread, much more interesting than whether soccer is boring and stupid.

American football,
Kidnapping an adult,
Multi-valued function,
Dirac delta function,
Metric tensor (in general relativity),
Cartesian tensor,
Dwarf planet,

and

Red herring.And that's what this latest sidetrack of this thread is, a red herring.

 

[AlephZero]

I guess you can't make jokes about something as serious as sports.

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Shankly

 

[WWGD]

Watching sports on TV is boring; if you want excitement, tune-in for chess games on the radio.

 

[Evo]

Watching sports on TV is boring; if you want excitement, tune-in for chess games on the radio.

Lol!

 

[Nick O]

Lol!

Looking for the joke... is there some puerile pun I'm missing?

Yeah, I invite all of my friends for radio chess. It gets lonely.

 

[Matterwave]

I prefer the Chinese term for American Football: 橄榄球...literally: Olive ball.

 

[Evo]

Yeah, I invite all of my friends for radio chess. It gets lonely.

Golf radio. 15 minutes of silence, then "smack"...round of applause, repeat.

 

[Borek]

Why can't we use a name that is unambiguous - piłka nożna.

 

[cjl]

The name football is not ambiguous for about 7 billion people. It only is for americans.

Soccer is unambiguous for 100% of the world's population though, since to my knowledge, there isn't any other game called "soccer" in the world. It also originates in Britain, if I remember right, since it started as an abbreviation for "association football", to distinguish it from "rugby football", which at the time was abbreviated to "rugger". Now, of course, the latter is usually just called "rugby", but still, the term "soccer" is hardly an American invention.

(Oh, and since "American football" originated from "rugby football", it makes sense that it kept the "football" term. Nothing surprising about it when you learn the origins)

 

[micromass]

 

[micromass]

And then I'm not even talking about this:

http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/map%20metric%20jpg

 

[AnTiFreeze3]

It's Myanmar (not Burma), now, you uncultured heathen from the underworld. This is what socialist propaganda does to an otherwise well-mannered person. What a shame.

 

[AnTiFreeze3]

Pending my own moderation: picture will be back soon

Here we be:

 

[TumblingDice]

And then I'm not even talking about this: (map of countries using metric system)

Oh my! I would have never noticed the connection without your help. The people who wear shorts and call the game football are from the same places as the sissies who can't calculate without using their fingers and powers of 10!

RL&D!

Disclaimer: The comments above do not reflect the views of PF, their pets, or any fictional characters - living or otherwise. All comments are intended purely for entertainment purposes and to potentially inspire further exchange of humor and wit.

 

[AlephZero]

Nobody seems to have mentioned the obvious reason why the USA doesn't "get" soccer. Play doesn't stop every few seconds for the next TV advertising break.

 

[gfd43tg]

Well our games aren't structured such like soccer where you play for 45 minutes straight. In baseball, every inning is the perfect opportunity for advertising.

 

[davenn]

Micromass...

you can add New Zealand and Australia to the list that term it soccer

I have grown up in those 2 countries that is it was said "I'm going to the footy tonight " Soccer is definitely not on the mind

Its Rugby Union, Rugby League, or Aussie Rules
Aussie Rules footy is "out there", fast moving, high scoring and rough play
None of the 3 games have players all trussed up in "body armour" as with American Football

But ohhhh well ... 1/2 the can't even find either of those 2 countries on a world map...
They have enough trouble locating their own country cheers
Dave

 

[1MileCrash]

I think as long as the US is winning more games than you, it's soccer.

 

[micromass]

I think as long as the US is winning more games than you, it's soccer.

Except that we just beat the US last game.

 

[Tobias Funke]

Nobody seems to have mentioned the obvious reason why the USA doesn't "get" soccer. Play doesn't stop every few seconds for the next TV advertising break.

That may be a big reason that it hasn't caught on here. I do think Americans have a point about the flopping being out of control though. It's now a huge issue in the NBA too, but it's ten times worse in soccer. Oh, and the racist guy that repeatedly goes around biting people...that too (although Zidane's headbutt years ago was fantastic; now that's a manly way to shut up a loudmouth). And the fact that soccer is more about nationalism and long-standing grudges than people kicking a ball around. Maybe if there was a USA v. Taliban match Americans would care more. Losing a soccer match to Columbia or whatever doesn't really hurt our national pride.

 

[Nick O]

Maybe if there was a USA v. Taliban match Americans would care more.

I would watch this, and I might even take it seriously.

 

[nsaspook]

That may be a big reason that it hasn't caught on here. I do think Americans have a point about the flopping being out of control though.

The few times I've watched soccer before falling asleep the flopping was the best part of the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-KPVorsM8g

 

[AlephZero]

Maybe if there was a USA v. Taliban match Americans would care more.

Hm... Afghanistan seems to prefer cricket to soccer. They qualified for the 2012 World Twenty20 competition, and have qualified for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. No chance of the USA ever beating them at that.

 

[lisab]

Except that we just beat the US last game.

oh you remember that?

 

[gfd43tg]

I wouldn't be surprised if more people played soccer in Belgium than the USA

 

[WannabeNewton]

Losing a soccer match to Columbia or whatever doesn't really hurt our national pride.

It's hard to have national pride for a sport that the country absolutely sucks at.

I'm sure many more Americans would watch if Kate Upton was one of the members playing in the US's team. I know I would.

 

[WWGD]

Losing a soccer match to Columbia or whatever doesn't really hurt our national pride.

Or to Colombia, the country. I remember a campaign by Colombians to "disambiguate" the two: Columbia the university or city(es) in the U.S, vs. Colombia the country.