Posted on 06/27/2014 8:16:11 AM PDT by Kaslin
I love S. Florida. When you move, can I have your place?
Too late. I moved a few years ago.
I take it you don’t live there?
Incidentally (just to avoid a misunderstanding), I was not referring to stadium capacity and utilization, I was referring to crowd turnout.
Re your post 112 directing us to “Understanding the Game of Soccer,” please be advised that I know all that I need to know about that exceedingly boring game, wondering why anyone would find it interesting. Maybe it turns you on, but you’re in a distinct minority of the American population. Learn to deal with that reality.
Repeat, I have no interest in it. It’s a game for foreigners, who likely are attracted to it because it calls for very little in the way of equipment. Outfitting, say, a Little League baseball team, OTOH...
Re your post 89, yes, I do understand “nationalism” as being the driving force in the popularity of the game and I hinted as such when I wrote “What is this odd attraction to soccer on the part of those in other countries other than their team winning?” What continues to baffle me is that these peoples find this low-scoring, oddly-structured (i.e., no use of one’s hands, unlike any other athletic endeavor) sport interesting. This I will take to my grave, it’s simply beyond my comprehension.
National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer.It's an interesting read, written by a sports economist. In sum, he argues that baseball could have easily become the "world" sport, but things got in the way. What makes it very interesting is that he details how soccer and baseball evolved in the U.S. at the same time.
Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of theories about the decline of US blacks in pro baseball, but not as many as to why the black fanbase bailed. US blacks had a high of 18.7% playing 1981 MLB, in 2014 it was 8.3%. Don’t know if the black fans stopped before the decline or after.
Of the major sports, baseball is really an oddball at the rules level. The pacing is different, the defense is in charge of the ball, raw physical athleticism isn’t a requirement to be successful, there are many ‘unwritten rules’ that are enforced by the simple fact no one wants 90+mph stuck in their ribs.
Freegards
Please excuse me if I gave the wrong impression. I understand what you’re saying, that nationalism drives the interest in the World Cup games. I didn’t think you were saying anything else.
I looked at that book you recommended and I’m going to get it since, as it turns out, baseball is the only sport that I enjoy and I’m always interested in books on its evolution, and this one really is different in that the author parallels its development with that of soccer. Hmmm.
It was nice of you to pass this information along.
(I'm a baseball fan, too).
Oh, just buy a used copy. No need to drop $20. ;)
Oh, when I buy from Amazon I always go for a used copy. I see that someone has one for $1.47. Even with shipping it’s not a king’s ransom.
Soccer is capitalist: the big clubs get the big crowds, get the biggest TV money and ticket money, get the biggest and best players.
Its US/Can sports that are set up socialist: drafts, salary caps, no relegation. Everything is set up to equal all NFL/NBA/MLB/CFL/NHL teams.
Baseball isn’t American, but enjoy yourself. Personally, I find it as exciting as watching paint dry.
You aren’t serious are you?.
My apologies to baseball and ‘football’ fans, but those sports are as exciting as watching grass grow. You can go on holiday for two weeks, return to the tv, and not have missed anything.
Soccer is not socialist (in fact its pure capitalism) or communist. Its truly democratic, as you can play it anywhere. Open to all. All that’s needed is skill and willingness.
“Its truly democratic, as you can play it anywhere. Open to all. All that’s needed is skill and willingness.”
Point well taken. I used to coach my girls’ soccer team, and at that age it was mainly willingness! The skills could be taught to an extent. And the girls without great ball skills learned to play REALLY TOUGH on defense (so more willingness and heart).
What goes faster and further, a soccer ball being thrown, or a soccer ball being kicked?
It’s still odd to me that there is a sport in which one’s hands are never used. There’s no other sport that I can think of in which this is a limitation.
But if you get your jollies watching grown men play a version of kickball, good for you. I have no interest in it.
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