[yvonne]

You explain it by saying the webmistress is in week 9 of an 11-week quarter, and has a freelance project due today.

That being said, I am impressed not only by how far American football has come, but also by how far Americans\' attitude toward football has changed.

as for the keeper, if we manage to escape from the group, we might as well leave the pitch if a game comes to penalties. (Ah for the days of Peter Shilton!)

[yvonne]

You explain it by saying the webmistress is in week 9 of an 11-week quarter, and has a freelance project due today.

That being said, I am impressed not only by how far American football has come, but also by how far Americans\' attitude toward football has changed.

as for the keeper, if we manage to escape from the group, we might as well leave the pitch if a game comes to penalties. (Ah for the days of Peter Shilton!)

[washingtonismoney]

Tim Howard turned in a Toby Gerhart-esque performance as GK for the U.S. Hope these rumors of a bad injury are just that.

[washingtonismoney]

Tim Howard turned in a Toby Gerhart-esque performance as GK for the U.S. Hope these rumors of a bad injury are just that.

[terry]

The lack of posts about soccer just shows that most of the Cardboarders have good sense. Soccer is boring. In fact, soccer has the odd quality of getting more boring as the level of skill increases. It\'s more fun to watch AYSO than top-level soccer.

[terry]

The lack of posts about soccer just shows that most of the Cardboarders have good sense. Soccer is boring. In fact, soccer has the odd quality of getting more boring as the level of skill increases. It\'s more fun to watch AYSO than top-level soccer.

[Redrum]

As an ex-AYSO coach who has seen plenty of top level world soccer,  I thought the AYSO games were more interesting.   Good game for women, who don\'t get to play many contact sports.  Good HS sport because kids need as many sports as can possibly absorb and interest them.  Even...ulp...baseball.  That\'s right, Terry.  If you\'re gonna go after sports on a boring rap,  lovers of baseball are in a glass house with a bucket of rocks.

[Redrum]

As an ex-AYSO coach who has seen plenty of top level world soccer,  I thought the AYSO games were more interesting.   Good game for women, who don\'t get to play many contact sports.  Good HS sport because kids need as many sports as can possibly absorb and interest them.  Even...ulp...baseball.  That\'s right, Terry.  If you\'re gonna go after sports on a boring rap,  lovers of baseball are in a glass house with a bucket of rocks.

[Pastor]

It\'s OK when they play in jello....


OMG did I type that?! :o

[Pastor]

It\'s OK when they play in jello....


OMG did I type that?! :o

[Kathy]

No way is baseball more boring than soccer! Players usually score more than once in three hours in baseball, and you just can\'t beat the tension of an artfully delivered strikeout to preserve the home team\'s win or the joy of an Albert Pujols grand slam.

It\'s a beautiful game.

[Kathy]

No way is baseball more boring than soccer! Players usually score more than once in three hours in baseball, and you just can\'t beat the tension of an artfully delivered strikeout to preserve the home team\'s win or the joy of an Albert Pujols grand slam.

It\'s a beautiful game.

[yvonne]

It may be a beautiful game, but it\'s not the beautiful game! Besides, the World Cup has a lot more credibility than the "World Series (sic)"

How manly can a sport be if the object is to run home?

[yvonne]

It may be a beautiful game, but it\'s not the beautiful game! Besides, the World Cup has a lot more credibility than the "World Series (sic)"

How manly can a sport be if the object is to run home?

[Redrum]

...is baseball writing?

Because they praise the aesthetics of the game.   Check out Roger Angel.  Check out The Boys of Summer.   The exquisite explanation that occurs in baseball writing.   All the emphasis on the meaning behind things:  the manager\'s moves,  the other manager\'s counter-moves,  the tactics of pitching a particular batter,  the great stories of the legendary players,    the descriptive effort needed to illuminate the beauties of the pitchers\' duel.   The descriptive praise for the beauty of the ballpark as a theater for morality and truth.

Why do the writers have to carry baseball\'s water?   Why do they have to write so much about what is not actually happening on the field?  I\'m thinking maybe the game\'s actual excitement factor might be mixed up in this.  

[Redrum]

...is baseball writing?

Because they praise the aesthetics of the game.   Check out Roger Angel.  Check out The Boys of Summer.   The exquisite explanation that occurs in baseball writing.   All the emphasis on the meaning behind things:  the manager\'s moves,  the other manager\'s counter-moves,  the tactics of pitching a particular batter,  the great stories of the legendary players,    the descriptive effort needed to illuminate the beauties of the pitchers\' duel.   The descriptive praise for the beauty of the ballpark as a theater for morality and truth.

Why do the writers have to carry baseball\'s water?   Why do they have to write so much about what is not actually happening on the field?  I\'m thinking maybe the game\'s actual excitement factor might be mixed up in this.  

[CowboyIndian]

There are no 0-0 final scores in baseball....never.

[CowboyIndian]

There are no 0-0 final scores in baseball....never.

[yvonne]

I don\'t understand your point.

A friend of mine watched basketball, and after watching all the back and forth and large numbers wondered why each team wasn\'t simply awarded 100 points at the beginning and that the went on for only two minutes instead of an hour.

[yvonne]

I don\'t understand your point.

A friend of mine watched basketball, and after watching all the back and forth and large numbers wondered why each team wasn\'t simply awarded 100 points at the beginning and that the went on for only two minutes instead of an hour.

[yvonne]

PS: I take back what I said about Americans\' reduced provincialism regarding football.

[yvonne]

PS: I take back what I said about Americans\' reduced provincialism regarding football.

[fullmetal]

There are no 0-0 final scores in baseball....never.

zing!

but i mean, i probably could have stopped dempsey\'s goal...but i wouldn\'t have wanted to!

seen on the road sign at El Arroyo\'s (garvin may know this place): "We tied England, but the [tiebreaker] goes to the ones with the most teeth."

[fullmetal]

There are no 0-0 final scores in baseball....never.

zing!

but i mean, i probably could have stopped dempsey\'s goal...but i wouldn\'t have wanted to!

seen on the road sign at El Arroyo\'s (garvin may know this place): "We tied England, but the [tiebreaker] goes to the ones with the most teeth."

[Redrum]

"There are no 0-0 ties in baseball"

As if a walked batter who advances on a sacrifice fly and comes home on an opposite field single that gets past the fielder  to win the game 1-0 in the 14th  is drama befitting Shakespeare.

[Redrum]

"There are no 0-0 ties in baseball"

As if a walked batter who advances on a sacrifice fly and comes home on an opposite field single that gets past the fielder  to win the game 1-0 in the 14th  is drama befitting Shakespeare.

[CowboyIndian]

As if a walked batter who advances on a sacrifice fly and comes home on an opposite field single that gets past the fielder  to win the game 1-0 in the 14th  is drama befitting Shakespeare.

Well, that can go in the putting-words-in-my-mouth Hall of Fame.
For most folks my age (of which I thought you were one, RR), soccer is just a lousy cultural fit. Maybe time and the generations behind me will change that...or it\'s already been changed in those groups...but it holds zero interest or allure for me...and lots of folks like me.
How do you feel about jai-alai?

[CowboyIndian]

As if a walked batter who advances on a sacrifice fly and comes home on an opposite field single that gets past the fielder  to win the game 1-0 in the 14th  is drama befitting Shakespeare.

Well, that can go in the putting-words-in-my-mouth Hall of Fame.
For most folks my age (of which I thought you were one, RR), soccer is just a lousy cultural fit. Maybe time and the generations behind me will change that...or it\'s already been changed in those groups...but it holds zero interest or allure for me...and lots of folks like me.
How do you feel about jai-alai?

[washingtonismoney]

I always think these my-sport-is-better-than-your-sport pissing matches are useless anyway. If you don\'t like it, don\'t watch--that should be pretty easy, no? But certainly we can all agree that something about all these sports is appealing, otherwise why would so many people watch and participate? Except for NASCAR. That makes no sense.

[washingtonismoney]

I always think these my-sport-is-better-than-your-sport pissing matches are useless anyway. If you don\'t like it, don\'t watch--that should be pretty easy, no? But certainly we can all agree that something about all these sports is appealing, otherwise why would so many people watch and participate? Except for NASCAR. That makes no sense.

[CowboyIndian]

I always think these my-sport-is-better-than-your-sport pissing matches are useless anyway. If you don\'t like it, don\'t watch--that should be pretty easy, no?

Exactly...although an accusation of provincialism requires some response, no?

[CowboyIndian]

I always think these my-sport-is-better-than-your-sport pissing matches are useless anyway. If you don\'t like it, don\'t watch--that should be pretty easy, no?

Exactly...although an accusation of provincialism requires some response, no?

[terry]

For most folks my age (of which I thought you were one, RR), soccer is just a lousy cultural fit. Maybe time and the generations behind me will change that...or it\'s already been changed in those groups....

I don\'t see a generational shift. Soccer has been the dominant youth sport in America for a generation, hands down. There is no question that soccer rules among kids, and that\'s been true for 30 years. But those kids who grow up playing the game do not become pro soccer fans, by and large. They move on to football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR, golf, etc. Sure, Americans are willing to pay some attention to the World Cup once every four years, just as they pay attention to beach volleyball or figure skating in the Olympics once every four years. But that doesn\'t mean soccer is catching on as a major spectator sport. I don\'t see any evidence that soccer is on its way to becoming America\'s game as generations of soccer-playing kids grow up.

[terry]

For most folks my age (of which I thought you were one, RR), soccer is just a lousy cultural fit. Maybe time and the generations behind me will change that...or it\'s already been changed in those groups....

I don\'t see a generational shift. Soccer has been the dominant youth sport in America for a generation, hands down. There is no question that soccer rules among kids, and that\'s been true for 30 years. But those kids who grow up playing the game do not become pro soccer fans, by and large. They move on to football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR, golf, etc. Sure, Americans are willing to pay some attention to the World Cup once every four years, just as they pay attention to beach volleyball or figure skating in the Olympics once every four years. But that doesn\'t mean soccer is catching on as a major spectator sport. I don\'t see any evidence that soccer is on its way to becoming America\'s game as generations of soccer-playing kids grow up.

[yvonne]

There\'s a marked difference in how Americans have been treating the World Cup this time around, and I attribute that to the large number of Americans who have played youth soccer.  In the past, people were confused about the offside rule, people didn\'t understand the low scores, and could not tell a good goal from a poor one.  This time, all the American papers are accurately describing Dempsey\'s goal.  When announcers mention Premier League, Serie A, or La Liga teams, Americans know who they are.  The ESPN broadcast has included such greats as Jurgen Klinsmann and Ruud Gulit.  

Americans don\'t follow the MLS because the quality of the league is low.  Good American players play in the Premier League and to a lesser degree Serie A.  If America ever does well in the World Cup.

My friend hosts young adults from Britain who participate in a program to coach American youth.  A pair of them this summer predicted that the U.S. would win a World Cup within 20 years.  Believe me, that would cause Americans to embrace the sport.

[yvonne]

There\'s a marked difference in how Americans have been treating the World Cup this time around, and I attribute that to the large number of Americans who have played youth soccer.  In the past, people were confused about the offside rule, people didn\'t understand the low scores, and could not tell a good goal from a poor one.  This time, all the American papers are accurately describing Dempsey\'s goal.  When announcers mention Premier League, Serie A, or La Liga teams, Americans know who they are.  The ESPN broadcast has included such greats as Jurgen Klinsmann and Ruud Gulit.  

Americans don\'t follow the MLS because the quality of the league is low.  Good American players play in the Premier League and to a lesser degree Serie A.  If America ever does well in the World Cup.

My friend hosts young adults from Britain who participate in a program to coach American youth.  A pair of them this summer predicted that the U.S. would win a World Cup within 20 years.  Believe me, that would cause Americans to embrace the sport.

[oski79]

How manly can a sport be if the object is to run home?

Manly?  Hit a batter with a pitched ball and unless there\'s a piece of bone sticking out he\'ll stare down the pitcher as if to say "that\'s all you got?" before heading to first.  Bump into a soccer player with the ball and he goes down like he was shot.  Until he either gets the call or realizes he isn\'t going to, of course.  Then, either way, he\'s fine...

Yvonne, I do agree with your main point, though.  You are right about the increased awareness and understanding of soccer in this country, although I guess until we start calling it "football" noone will concede that point.  

[oski79]

How manly can a sport be if the object is to run home?

Manly?  Hit a batter with a pitched ball and unless there\'s a piece of bone sticking out he\'ll stare down the pitcher as if to say "that\'s all you got?" before heading to first.  Bump into a soccer player with the ball and he goes down like he was shot.  Until he either gets the call or realizes he isn\'t going to, of course.  Then, either way, he\'s fine...

Yvonne, I do agree with your main point, though.  You are right about the increased awareness and understanding of soccer in this country, although I guess until we start calling it "football" noone will concede that point.  

[yvonne]

I always think these my-sport-is-better-than-your-sport pissing matches are useless anyway. If you don\'t like it, don\'t watch--that should be pretty easy, no?

Exactly...although an accusation of provincialism requires some response, no?

Not really.  What do you call it when a country follows only sports that no one else plays?

[yvonne]

I always think these my-sport-is-better-than-your-sport pissing matches are useless anyway. If you don\'t like it, don\'t watch--that should be pretty easy, no?

Exactly...although an accusation of provincialism requires some response, no?

Not really.  What do you call it when a country follows only sports that no one else plays?