The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI'm ready to get flamed. Here we go:
Do you know why so many Europeans play soccer?
So they don't have to watch it.
Freethinker65
(10,024 posts)N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,738 posts)lillypaddle
(9,581 posts)That's okay, I'll just forget again.
N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,738 posts)Its a game featuring hair-dos and rock throwing played on a long strip of ice.
lillypaddle
(9,581 posts)really? LOL
You still watch it while playing it... and it's not just Europeans... it's everyone but the US*
*15M Americans play soccer
LisaM
(27,813 posts)A lot of my friends are EPL fans, and they were having a lot of fun watching, so I determined that I had to find a team. Eventually, I found one I wanted to root for (Tottenham Hotspur), and it became far, far more interesting.
I knew that this would be the case after, years ago, watching Ireland play Italy in an Irish pub. Having a team really makes all the difference in the world.
brooklynite
(94,602 posts)...as opposed to "American" football where the players have to take a break after every 30 seconds of "action".
awesomerwb1
(4,268 posts)and then wait 40 or 45 seconds until they're finished drinking water, getting oxygen and lining up AGAIN.
NFL is made for tv. You watch a play for 6 seconds and then 40-45 seconds of replays from every angle.
John Fante
(3,479 posts)Would stop the clock in these scenarios, but not soccer!
Free kicks
Penalties
Ball goes out of bounds
Substitutions
(mostly fake) injuries
Plus there is a TON of dead time even as the clock is ticking. Two teams kicking the ball around in midfield isn't exciting.
Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)Nothing else comes close. These sort of US jokes grew stale decades ago.
mac56
(17,570 posts)and growing.
So your point....?
Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)That's it.
awesomerwb1
(4,268 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"So your point....?"
I'd imagine the point is that being the most popular sport in the world outweighs a mere joke in terms of both credibility and validity.
And now I'm off to grab a Big Mac and some fries. Just to piss off the pompous and the high-brow... and 'cause I like them.
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)The football is on the left while the soccer ball is on the right.
awesomerwb1
(4,268 posts)DFW
(54,410 posts)In Europe, the thing on the right is a football, and the thing on the left is a custom-painted M&M.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)1930 (first half)
1930 (second half)
braddy
(3,585 posts)Gidney N Cloyd
(19,841 posts)Ernesto
(5,077 posts)Dyedinthewoolliberal
(15,579 posts)FSogol
(45,490 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(21,107 posts)sarge43
(28,941 posts)Floyd R. Turbo
(26,549 posts)DFW
(54,410 posts)When they ask what in the world I mean, I explain that every time the Spanish national soccer team plays somewhere, thousands of fans travel to the game to cheer their country on, yelling "Panya, Panya Panya!" It always gets a laugh out of them because that is indeed exactly what they shout. What they are really shouting, of course, is "España, España, España," but it never comes out that way when shouted very rapidly three times in a row.
Now that the European championships are underway, my wife is very relieved. Her mom is quite ill, and her mom's town is only reachable by car. The hospital she is in is really lousy, with disinterested, absent doctors. Earlier this week, my wife heard her mom's breathing sounding very rough, and she demanded the hospital check for pneumonia. They didn't want to, but my wife is a social worker used to dealing with disinterested doctors and agencies, and didn't take no for an answer. They finally checked, and whaddaya know, her mom had pneumonia. She drives up there and back now about twice a week. I hate, it because the autobahn network in our area is clogged with a lot of trucks from Eastern Europe, and those guys are overworked, over-tired, and often drunk. Driving that route is just plain dangerous. A few years ago, a truck demolished her car (while she was standing still!), and she was almost killed inside it. But for the moment, she is relieved, because all roads in Germany are only about two thirds as clogged as usual. Why? Because so many people are home watching soccer games!
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)And I'd rather watch Rugby Union than either.
Floyd R. Turbo
(26,549 posts)geardaddy
(24,931 posts)BlueTsunami2018
(3,493 posts)They gang brawl at the games so theres something interesting to do while drinking.
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)Always the most laughably defensive and paranoid whenever this type of topic shows up.
As soon as I saw the topic I knew darn well there would be a branch from scared baseball fans.
mac56
(17,570 posts)If I wanted to watch people knock themselves out for 90 minutes without ever scoring --
I'd bring my friends to the bar.
John Fante
(3,479 posts)and you're bored out of your mind watching. The fact that the score is usually 0-0 in this scenario doesn't help matters.
Give me basketball anyday.