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Why Soccer Is Better Than Football
The Wall Street Journal ^ | May 18, 2012 | BRUCE ORWALL

Posted on 05/18/2012 2:47:30 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican

LONDON—Words can barely describe the jaw-dropping season finale staged by England's Premier League last weekend, but that didn't stop every pundit, Twitter wag and pub crawler in Britain from searching many beers into Sunday night for new ways to say "best season ever."

The day started at 3 p.m. with seven of the league's 20 teams still playing for something important: not just the championship, but also to secure berths in a prestigious Europe-wide competition and the right to stay in the Premier League at all, under rules that annually demote the weakest teams.

It wasn't settled until minutes before 5 p.m., when two improbable late goals delivered Manchester City—the world's only underdog lavishly bankrolled by an Abu Dhabi sheik—its first title since the late 1960s. Former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher described the feeling that swelled up in City supporters when he told the BBC: "I just swore a lot. I cried, I cried like a baby." Celebrating in a Santiago, Chile, bar, he "may have tried" to rip a TV off the wall.

Observing the mayhem from my usual perch at the Gunmakers pub in London's Marylebone, I left the television undisturbed, but marked a personal milestone of my own: I've made the switch from American football to real football. After years of trying to sneak away from the National Football League—with its weaponized linemen, bounty-hunting defenses and periodic bursts of action to break up the commercials—I am finally, completely finished with it. You may be ready for some football, but I'm so bored with the NFL.

As an American, this puts me at loggerheads not just with my countrymen—this year's Super Bowl was the most watched program in U.S. history—but also my colleague and boss, Wall Street Journal deputy editor in chief Gerard Baker.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: crazytalk; deluded; footballrules; nfl; psychosis; soccer; socceris4sissys
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To: MinorityRepublican

Whats the toughest thing about playing soccer?

- Having to tell your parents you’re gay


61 posted on 05/18/2012 3:40:16 PM PDT by strider44
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To: RetiredTexasVet
Soccer & hockey ... rather just sit and watch grass grow.

Lol....that's what I always say about NBA basketball.
62 posted on 05/18/2012 3:40:50 PM PDT by copaliscrossing (Progressives are Socialists)
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To: Malone LaVeigh
I accidentally caught part of a Premier English soccer game one day while I was surfing channels and I have to admit that it was unlike other soccer games I've watched in the past. It was definitely more aggressive play. The Brits were always driving hard to make goals rather than constantly passing back and forth amongst themselves.

From what I understand, this is the big difference between the European style soccer and Latin American style. European is more physical and faster up and down the field, whereas, the Latin American game is more pass happy and getting pretty with the ball.

At least that's what I have been told...lol
63 posted on 05/18/2012 3:43:03 PM PDT by copaliscrossing (Progressives are Socialists)
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To: JohnBrowdie

At least a soccer game does end in our lifetime. Our whole hosehold is pretty irritated with the how-many-commercials-can-we possibly-get NFL games (didn’t they used to be fully within a 3 hour slot as televised?). and for baseball games, my wife will absolutely not tolerate the duration which has more spitting per inning than any other action. Golf is actually beginning to seem as exciting as baseball (and not much longer).


64 posted on 05/18/2012 3:43:41 PM PDT by rod1 (CTLY)
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To: strider44

You say that, but everytime they’ve interviewed soccer players, they basically said that they are not comfortable playing with gays on their team, and that a gay player would have a pretty rough go of it.


65 posted on 05/18/2012 3:44:16 PM PDT by dfwgator
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I haven’t had time to check the score...Is it still 0-0?


66 posted on 05/18/2012 3:45:44 PM PDT by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)
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To: strider44

My son was a goalie. It is not that gentle when you are diving for a ball just as a player is unloading a blast or... when you are playing kiss-kiss with an upright.


67 posted on 05/18/2012 3:46:42 PM PDT by rod1 (CTLY)
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To: strider44
Whats the toughest thing about playing soccer?

- Having to tell your parents you’re gay


I thought that was skateboarding. My bad :)
68 posted on 05/18/2012 3:47:49 PM PDT by 867V309
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To: Malone LaVeigh

I love World Cup soccer because they play their hearts out for their countries (and soccer has no commercials). US and Mexican soccer suck by comparison.


69 posted on 05/18/2012 3:48:29 PM PDT by kearnyirish2
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To: strider44
(American) football as a homoerotic ritual
70 posted on 05/18/2012 3:48:57 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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To: dsrtsage

Would it make you feel any better if each goal in soccer was worth 7 points?


71 posted on 05/18/2012 3:49:11 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: RetiredTexasVet

Live hockey is incredible; not so good on TV.


72 posted on 05/18/2012 3:49:43 PM PDT by kearnyirish2
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To: dfwgator

If they were worth 100 points, the score would still be 0-0


73 posted on 05/18/2012 3:49:56 PM PDT by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)
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To: mitch5501

Yes, indeed. Here’s the proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlG3qqtWNy8


74 posted on 05/18/2012 3:50:11 PM PDT by vladimir998
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To: dsrtsage

Less than 5% of games end 0-0.


75 posted on 05/18/2012 3:50:21 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: MinorityRepublican

well, if noel gallagher is going to cry about soccer then it must be the world’s greatest game . don’t writers ever read what they write before they send their items off to print?


76 posted on 05/18/2012 3:51:09 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch (I am the margin of error.)
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To: kosciusko51

US soccer will never be popular because it is too easy for Americans to watch live games where they have talent (Europe, where even the best South Americans play). Why would someone watch the Red Bulls when they can watch Real Madrid?


77 posted on 05/18/2012 3:51:16 PM PDT by kearnyirish2
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To: kearnyirish2

Even hockey now seems to have endless TV timeouts, which really screws things up when you attend the games.


78 posted on 05/18/2012 3:51:20 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator

perhaps, but what percent of the games that ended 1-0 had the score occur in the last minute?


79 posted on 05/18/2012 3:51:32 PM PDT by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)
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To: kearnyirish2

It’s like European basketball fans...are you going to watch your domestic league games, or the NBA.


80 posted on 05/18/2012 3:52:15 PM PDT by dfwgator
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