Close your eyes and imagine that you're watching the best soccer game ever played -- with the best players the sport has ever seen. Now imagine that the rules of the game have changed in an instant, and those same players -- especially the defenders -- spend up to half the game running backwards at full speed. And imagine that the player with the ball doesn't just have to keep opposing players from getting it away from him, but he also has to contend with opposing players who can line him up and belt him into next week in a full-speed collision while he has possession of the ball.
Now tell me which player has to be better conditioned. LOL.
Ironically, soccer has a natural tendency to devolve into a dull game because the players do need to be in great condition. The problem is that the conditioning for soccer is aerobic, while a more exciting sport like hockey is one where anaerobic conditioning is needed. That's what gives it such a frenetic pace.
Picture a guy running a marathon in typical fashion. Then picture another guy who runs the same marathon in a series of short bursts, where he sprints at full speed for 40-60 seconds and then sits down for two 40-60 second shifts ... then does this repeatedly until he covers the entire 26 miles. Which competitor has to be the better athlete here?
Don’t want to argue the merits of your who is the better athlete, hockey players or soccer but.....years ago I was sitting in a VIP box watching an indoor soccer game in the ‘Great Western Forum’. The usher asked my husband and I if two guys could join us. Those guys happened to be professional hockey players. Don’t remember their names or the team they played for but we got into a discussion about soccer vs hockey. Both players had played soccer and they both said hockey was much easier to play. They expressed great admiration for soccer players. Does that mean soccer players are better athletes, NO. It means all players who achieve the status of a professional are exceptional athletes, and they are gifted and skilled in different areas. Kudos to them all.
I’m not saying that I don’t admire all good athletes. And you would think that someone like me who likes soccer would also like hockey. It’s the same principle, right? Get the ball or puck in the net.
But I enjoy curling more than I do hockey, and I think it’s because I can’t follow the puck. And I don’t particularly like that hockey is becoming as thuggish as the NBA.
Another thing that the World Cup has going for it is the nationalistic fervor. I’ve traveled overseas, and there is nothing like it when it comes to sports. The enthusiasm is contagious.