How Soccer is Ruining America: A Jeremiad (In honor of the World Cup)

First Things ^ | 3/5/2009 | Stephen H. Webb

[antiRepublicrat]

Now that is just damn impressive.

There’s a real art to transmitting a lot of information in a small space, and the author of this is quite the artist. At first glance I knew what was where and pulled up any information I wanted in different ways without having to hunt for it. I can’t think of a better way I’ve seen any complex competition schedule structured.

Go see the Wikipedia page on the 2010 finals to see a much more inefficient way to transmit that much information. You have to scroll quite a bit back and forth and consult different charts to get the same information.

[dfwgator]

Edward Tufte would be proud of that site.

[1rudeboy]

That’s just brilliant. Like saying beer is the UN of drinks.

[AGreatPer]

Argentina playing a flat 4 and at times a flat 5. Hardly ever see that.

[Rufii]

When I was about five and a half or six, my family liked to play a game called work-ups, in which the players take turns at playing batter, fielder, catcher and pitcher. As few as three could play, and the number of positions could be expanded with additional players. After a hit or an out, the batter would rotate to the field, then play catcher, then pitcher, then bat again. The winner was the one with the most hits.

I never was very good at baseball, but at the age of nine, I discovered bowling, which I have enjoyed ever since.

[Fiji Hill]

Now quit stalking me. You’re never going to convince me that young children have the ability to play a good, exciting game of baseball/softball. It’s too complex a sport for young children to play with any skill.

So responding to your posts is "stalking"?????

I guess you're right. You should not expose your kids to baseball, football, basketball, or any other red-blooded American sports. If you want your kids to become wimpy America-hating Barack Hussein Obama-worshiping socialists, you should steer them into soccer or, better still, video games.

[Texas Eagle]

It's needed. It keeps the opposing team from crowding the goal, trying to keep someone right next to it so he can score when he gets the ball. If that were allowed, both teams would just crowd the opposing goal, and put defenders at their own goals to defend, and there wouldn't me much action on the rest of the field.

Basketball doesn't have an offsides rule and there seems to be plenty of scoring there.

Maybe basketball should institute an offsides rule and soccer should remove it.

I still won't watch either sport but, hey, it would still make the sport better.

[BlueLancer]

"It’s also great for little kids that can’t get the ball up to the basket, and have trouble dibbling."

Well, dibbling was the best thing that I could do in basketball. [smile]

[dfwgator]

Yeah, but basketball they score a hundred points, oh whoopee, Kobe makes another 20-footer.

You might as well just tune into the last two-minutes anyway, since the game always comes down to that, of course with all of the time-outs, it will take about 30 minutes to play those 2 minutes.

[Texas Eagle]

You might as well just tune into the last two-minutes anyway, since the game always comes down to that, of course with all of the time-outs, it will take about 30 minutes to play those 2 minutes.

Just one of many reasons I no longer watch basketball.

[Clemenza]

For all of those who brag about the superiority of American Football, I have to say two things, even as a devout Giants fan:

1. Only in America do we interrupt a game strictly for "commercial breaks."

2. The number of "time outs" should be reduced by AT LEAST half.

3. Is there REALLY a need for the Refs to make an announcement everytime there is a penalty?

[dfwgator]

Furthermore, I would make it so that you only have 20 seconds between plays. I think football would be much better if you eliminated the huddle.