Here are some ideas I have that I believe would make soccer a much more watchable sporting event:
1. Much bigger goals. I'm talking the entire end of the field. C'mon, 0-0! 1-2?!? I'm thinking 2 goalies, and 50 meters of open, scorable turf. And maybe make it taller too. Let's get that score up there around 45-38 or so.
2. Intermediary goals (this theory I've stolen from Jim, who in turn has taken much of my best material for jokes in our class). In football you've got downs, field goals, and safeties. Baseball has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd bases to reach before a run is scored. I suggest soccer create some intermediary goals. I have no idea what they would be.. Maybe chasing around a midget, or pulling the refs shorts down for a .25 point. I dunno, something...
3. Four periods. I like that the clock rarely stops, but seeing 80 minutes left is daunting. Let's have a couple bathroom breaks built in.
4. The US shouldn't suck. There, I said it.
More here: Indisputably, Soccer Sucks!
Posted by cmwillis at June 21, 2006 11:59 PM | TrackBackI look forward to it!
Posted by: cmwillis at June 23, 2006 9:29 AMWhat's wrong? Have I not commented on your blog in too long? Tell me this wasn't written to get a rise out of me. On to your ridiculously American points:
1. Only in overly "goal" oriented societies is a ridiculously high score important. No pun intended there. Who said 45 points is better than 2? I say 2 goals in 90 minutes is likely to be just as exciting as 115 in the NBA. Is there even a reason for me to watch an NBA game until the last 5 minutes?
2. I think the intermediary goals are there, you just aren't getting actual points for them. Soccer fans see them, cheer, and get excited. For American fans used to home runs and slam dunks it's a little bit hard to follow the plot for several minutes while good play develops in soccer.
3. I think most of the people in the US already use the bathroom several times during the US's games without even realizing it. Let 'em continue I say. The rest of us want to watch a game without TV timeouts, injury timeouts, coach timeouts, we're wussy little baby timeouts, ...
4. All agreed.
I'll give you one point for calling it soccer and not football, but outside of that you should probably be expecting a soccer ball to the face when I come home.
Posted by: Dale at June 23, 2006 3:48 AM