Rant Meme Public Response #1: Soccer

[dlgood]

Instead of doing the "Rabbit Hole", I'm kicking off with a entry based upon the Rant Meme - feel free to put additional topics up for me to follow on, or ignore, BTW.

For the benefit of ludditerobot: The state of sports in the DC area, including soccer and baseball

Here's the state of sports in DC: The Redskins went 6-10. That's pretty much it.

Now we do have a whole host of other franchies and teams. We've got a baseball team coming to town, and season tickets selling like crazy, but no one is going to worry about the details, or whether they're any good, for at least a season or two. The Bullets (or as they're now called, the Wizards) are having a surprisingly good year. The NHL is on strike. Georgetown and GW men's basketball are pretty decent. And we have some fun college lacrosse over at Maryland and Hopkins.

But mostly, we care about how much the Redskins stunk. We certainly don't care about soccer.

I should amend that. Kids all over the region participate in youth league soccer. We have plenty of transplants that love the world's most popular sport. And there's even a niche market of locals. The DC United professional franchise won the MLS Cup. The DC area is home to such stars as Mia Hamm and Freddy Adu.

But I just don't care. I've never gotten into soccer. How am I going to get into a sport where I almost never get to throw anything?

Soccer takes that lack of getting to throw stuff and takes it to a new level of lame with the interminable running around all over the place. It bores me. Playing soccer always felt way more like a chore than fun. And watching soccer, at least before the first few pints of Guinness, isn't any better.

Now, at least some folks will ask me about Hockey. Hockey, which is almost like Soccer on ice. Skating all over the place chasing after the tiny puck. Fewer discrete and set play action, and more of a "flow" game. And while Soccer is a niche sport (read: not america) Hockey is Canadian. And it's cold and jews don't play Hockey. And so on... But Hockey has a huge advantage over soccer. It has weapons. And somehow, shooting a hockey puck is infinitely more fun than kicking a soccer ball.

Now this is not to say that I hate soccer. To hate soccer, I would have to care about it. And I don't. I didn't care about soccer when my dad took me and Big Sis to see the Diplomats when we were kids. I didn't care about soccer when I was in youth league. I don't care now.

But if there's a wad of paper, and trash can, and they're in the same room, then I'm going to be taking shots. Trashketball - there's a sport.

Comments

[stars91.livejournal.com]

The whole soccer thing...I agree, boring as hell! I had to sit through 5 years of youth league soccer! Thank gawd that's over and she's interested only in basketball now! *g*

New topic: college basketball - the good the bad and the ugly!

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Oy.

Here's the good of College Basketball. The tournament. The crowds. The way every conference game seems to feel like a Big Deal. The smaller gyms like Cameron and LittleJohn... Getting to see so many different players and types of games. Half court offenses where every player touches the ball. The occaisional instance where Traveling Violations and Three Seconds are called. Coaches that stay in the same place for decades. Rick Majerus. One Shining Moment. The old Bracketville Commercials. Robert Goulet's "Big Monday" commercials froma few years ago.

The Bad. With a near inifite supply of teams, it's just so hard to keep track of things. Crummy free throw shooting. Last minutes that take twenty minutes. Screaming Dick Vitale. Hyper-critical Billy Packer. Derivative Raftery. Alumni who sit quietly on their hands instead of cheering. Off-Campus arenas.

The Ugly - The NCAA Rules Manual. Jim Harrick. Dave Bliss at Baylor. Big Doofy White Guys who can't move. Lou Carnesecca's sweaters. Bob Knight's Temper. Fans that throw stuff at the court. Gene Keady's hair.

[regala-electra.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this greatly until...

But Hockey has a huge advantage over soccer. It has weapons

For I am now dead from laughing. Hee.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Why thank you. Indeed, Hockey has weapons. I must say, that when I was in high school, I never saw anyone look nearly as beat up as the girls on the field hockey team. That stuff was vicious.

[rahael.livejournal.com]

True. I can remember the looks of vicious concentration on all our faces (I went to an all girls school for a while) when we played hockey. That was the most brutal game we played!

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Yes. My friends on the Field Hockey team would periodically show up for class with broken fingers, broken noses, and just a big raft of bruises everywhere.

Guys like to say that butt-kicking women are hot, and they are, but not when they are purplish-blue and missing teeth.

Though

[rahael.livejournal.com]

of course when I say hockey, it's the non-ice kind. Obviously.

[ladyoneill.livejournal.com]

I love soccer (not that I really watch any at least in this country) but I think that's due to the fact that I was always much more of a fan of kickball over dodgeball. I can kick, can't throw. *g*

Oh, and congrats to MD on their win over Duke! Yay!

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. Beating Duke always makes a season feel better.

It varies what people get into. Sportswise, my first love was baseball, and the skill-set and pace couldn't be any more different.