Quote :

"Ernie: I think I'm becoming a soccer fan."

The next world cup is 4 years away. In the meantime, I really hope that you guys continue being a fan of the game. Pick an MLS team and follow them. Watch the EPL when it kicks off for the next season (and if Henry stays, watch Arsenal go undefeated like they did in 2003). It's a great sport... I wish Amerricans cared... maybe a huge World Cup win will finally make it at least competitive with hockey.

6/12/2006 8:35:50 AM

is it wrong that i felt good when mexico beat iran

those two goals in like 3 minutes were fucking beautiful

6/12/2006 9:16:36 AM

I'm never going to get in to MLS but it's only a month from the end of the World Cup until the start of the European club season though!

6/12/2006 9:19:51 AM

i might check the score of the US team at work today

but that's about it, as far as viewing goes

6/12/2006 9:20:27 AM

not.gonna.happen

Soccer's just gonna have to wait until all the people who played soccer as kids grow up and start watching themselves...
oh wait, that's already happened...

welp... i got nuthin

6/12/2006 9:24:57 AM

^^^ Who's your EPL team? Don't say ManU... i hate it when posers say that.

^^^^ those goals were amazing... esp the second one... the header from the 5'4" guy. Fence jumping Pedro beat the Nuclear Hackmed Muhammads.

[Edited on June 12, 2006 at 9:26 AM. Reason : .]

6/12/2006 9:25:43 AM

West Ham United, who are in the UEFA Cup 1 year post promotion.

and I liked Shearer so Newcastle a bit too..

6/12/2006 9:27:10 AM

ok good... If you were a ManU fan... I would have two reasons to hate you... ManU and Mets...

6/12/2006 9:31:45 AM

i honestly dont see the buzz sustaining after the world cup is over....the action simply doesn't come fast enough in soccer to capture the attention of new fans in the US. compared to hockey, soccer moves at a snails pace...and hockey isnt one of the top 3 sports here (popularity wise).

you could probably call baseball, "americas soccer", in reference to its level of action...however, baseball has such a storied history in the US, that its popularity will last dispite its lack of sustained action. soccer simply doesnt have the history here, nor the sustained action to rope in a good deal of new fans...atleast in my opinion...and i like soccer.

[Edited on June 12, 2006 at 9:58 AM. Reason : df]

6/12/2006 9:54:59 AM

THEY SHOULD BRING BACK COMPETITIVE INDOOR SOCCER!!!!!

6/12/2006 9:56:36 AM

that shit is awesome woodfoot

6/12/2006 9:58:34 AM

i know right

6/12/2006 10:10:17 AM

but the thing about the hockey buzz...if the canes didnt make it this far, it wouldnt be how it is around here...what if they had a losing record?

6/12/2006 11:02:43 AM

^see 2003 canes attendance.....

6/12/2006 11:05:59 AM

Quote :

"Who's your EPL team? Don't say ManU... i hate it when posers say that."

what are you twelve? i havent heard the word 'poser' used since AT LEAST 6th grade

6/12/2006 11:06:33 AM

hah, poser

6/12/2006 11:09:47 AM

BECKHAM IS SOOOO DREAMY

6/12/2006 12:19:37 PM

^^^ well that's how it goes. A "soccer fan" loves manu

6/12/2006 12:20:47 PM

(marketing pitch)

There will be a professional team playing at SAS Soccer Park starting next year. This team will play in USL-1, one level below MLS. Unlike other minor leagues in the USA though, this team will occasionally play MLS teams, both in friendlies and in the U.S. Open Cup, a national men's soccer tournament open to any professional or amateur soccer team in the country that MLS and USL participate in. A fan club has already been started, go to http://www.trisoccerfan.com in the future to get future game information as there will be a couple friendlies in the future. The stated aim of the fan club is to have an institutionalized passionate support fitting for all fans and have activities such as tailgating pre-game and road trips to places such as Virginia Beach, Charleston, and Atlanta. In other words, they will not be hooligans, but they will not be kiddy either. This fan club has already talked with the team's ownership and some ground rules have already been established as well as our right to exist, so we promise to have no hooliganry. SAS seats 7000 and based on season ticket sales so far, we expect to average around 4-5000 per game so it will be a boisterous atmosphere.

Plus, the league we will play in, USL-1, is home to future stars as they go on to bigger and better things, as well as former stars. The infamous Romario, former World Cup champion with Brazil, plays for Miami FC. There are also top-flight teams like the Rochester Rhinos and the Montreal Impact, where based on level of play and number of fans, perform better than some of the lesser teams in MLS.

Bottom line, come watch a game next year, and see if you will enjoy it. Other than hockey playoffs, there's not much else in the area for sports in the summer.

[Edited on June 12, 2006 at 4:14 PM. Reason : .]

6/12/2006 4:09:34 PM

america got shut out... all of a sudden people don't care anymore

6/12/2006 4:31:54 PM

they cared to begin with?

6/12/2006 4:34:51 PM

Quote :

"the action simply doesn't come fast enough in soccer to capture the attention of new fans in the US. compared to hockey, soccer moves at a snails pace...and hockey isnt one of the top 3 sports here (popularity wise)."

It does come fast enough, but your average fan just doesn't understand the game, nor is it simple enough to grasp the nuances to just start liking it. American football, while plays being extremely complex, have a simple grasp. Go 10 yards, or punt. Hike ball, either pass or throw ball. Simple. Baseball, while having all its little in game strategy, is simple too. Pitch ball, hit ball, catch ball.

In soccer, I can see progressions building before the midfield line similar to how I can see our backdoor cuts develop a pass ahead of time. The problem is, they usually don't result in scores the way basketball backdoors do, and this is where the casual viewer begins to lose interest.

6/12/2006 4:39:03 PM

you're forgetting something....

SOCCER IS BORING

Any game that can feasibly end in a 0-0 tie unequivocally sucks.

[Edited on June 12, 2006 at 4:43 PM. Reason : except hockey. lol. but that shit never happens. plus hockey is fun]

6/12/2006 4:42:19 PM

^^ agreed. Low scores have nothing to do with the amount of action.. it's non-stop. I never liked the sport until like 2002-2003 when I went to Europe and I fell in love with it then..

6/12/2006 4:43:34 PM

just because soccer players can run for a really long time doesnt mean the sport is entertaining

its a good sport for little kids though...any kid can run around and kick a ball

6/12/2006 4:43:50 PM

Quote :

"Baseball, while having all its little in game strategy, is simple too. Pitch ball, hit ball, catch ball. "

oo! i can play this game too:

soccer, while having all its little in game strategy, is simple too. kick ball in net.

6/12/2006 4:54:29 PM

^^ I found basketball to be MUCH easier as a kid and was always better at it.. which is strange.

6/12/2006 4:56:02 PM

hey look them's my words

6/12/2006 4:59:07 PM

Sweden 0-0 Trinidad & Tobago was anything but boring.

11 vs. 10 ftw

6/12/2006 5:54:23 PM

^even hearing you talk about it is boring.

6/12/2006 7:46:50 PM

hahahah ususally sober is all like "baseball's not a sport", me thinks he's playing devils advocate

6/12/2006 7:48:59 PM

USL-1 is the same level as the old Capitol Xpress right

as someone who spent a summer working for them

good luck getting 4000 people to a game...

6/12/2006 7:50:44 PM

Quote :

"(and if Henry stays, watch Arsenal go undefeated like they did in 2003). "

Henry's already signed a 5 year contract, and as far as Arsenal going undefeated:


AHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA
HHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH
AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH
AHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAH






Yeah, RIGHT.

6/12/2006 7:55:03 PM

fuck soccer, it has interrupted my two favorite shows

6/12/2006 8:02:02 PM

you have favorite shows on the mexican stations?

6/12/2006 8:20:13 PM

I watched State beat South Florida last year 14-0. Nothing will ever top that in boredom.

6/12/2006 9:09:02 PM

Quote :

"good luck getting 4000 people to a game..."

As of April, they had 2000 season tickets sold a year before the first game.

Since the Capitol Express played the USL have become far more professional. Back then, if you had the money for an expansion franchise they gave it to you. Now, the number of teams is smaller but more quality.

Last year's average attendances:

2005
Montreal 11176
Rochester 9570
Portland 5553
Vancouver 5086
P.R. 5003
Charleston 3649
Minn. 3135
Seattle 2885
Richmond 2654
Toronto 2462
Atlanta 1724
V.B. 1240

Remove Richmond for this year (dropped down a division cause they didn't want to have national travel expenses) and add Miami. Based on season ticket sales, the new team are projected between Charleston and Puerto Rico. Plus, the GM running the team was responsible for #2 on the list. Rochester and Atlanta opened new stadiums this year. Virginia Beach got ownership that cares about the team. Toronto are a joke unfortunately.

[Edited on June 12, 2006 at 9:18 PM. Reason : .]

6/12/2006 9:09:50 PM

i really think people want to get into soccer, but its very hard in this country

whether you like to admit it or not, soccer is the most popular sport for suburban white americans (read: most of the country) to play growing up

the diehards follow european leagues, but its very hard for casual fans to follow something with little publicity and no potential for live viewing. nobody gives a shit about the mls and nobody will until some energy is brought to the forum. its just nowhere near a premiere league and even the casual fans know it

a strong world cup showing would go a long way

in conclusion, its not that people wouldnt watch soccer in america, its more that theres nothing worth watching

6/12/2006 9:14:00 PM

^ I agree. MLS right now is caught in the conundrum of do they want to build a solid product for the future or do we want to make money. A solid product requires stars, but they cost a lot of money. Ten of the twelve teams right now have opted for the latter (the two exceptions: Chivas USA, owned by the owner of Mexican power Chivas de Guadalajara, and New York Red Bulls, owned by Red Bull).

Look at the good players in the league and it's pretty much good Americans that want to play at home (Landon Donovan) and star players from around CONCACAF (Carlos Ruiz, Dwayne de Rosario, Shalrie Joseph). Very little from Europe, most of the best Americans play in Europe (which, if they played in the USA, our national team would suffer), we have some good South Americans like Jamie Moreno of Bolivia and formerly Carlos Valderrama of Colombia (the guy with the mega afro). The thing is they cost money. The minimum wage for senior players in the league is only $28000 and that's most of what your run-of-the-mill guys get. It's hard to retain players when they could go play in Norway at the same level and make at least double the salary.

The thing is, fans want the best players and such. This happened once, with the North American Soccer League and Pele and Beckenbauer and Chinaglia played for the New York Cosmos, and other stars played. But the financial setup of the league was so screwed up it could never make sense from a business standpoint. The people that setup MLS were well aware of NASL's failures and vowed to never repeat them.

Red Bull and Chivas' owner are pretty much ignoring the other owners in that last point.

[Edited on June 12, 2006 at 9:43 PM. Reason : .]

6/12/2006 9:39:14 PM

I'm a big fan, but I can't bring myself to give the tiniest damn about MLS. We'll never commit ourselves to competing with the European leagues for talent, so we should just give more major network television coverage to the European matches if we want to drum up interest.

6/13/2006 1:34:25 AM

I'd say after the US/Czech game there's not much of a buzz in the US, you know how we are... Only pull for a winner..



Anyways.. I played soccer growing up and in high school and about the only time I can get into it anymore is the World Cup. It sucks though because last week and this week I have to work nights so I haven't had a chance to watch any games live.

6/13/2006 2:07:01 AM

Quote :

"sober46an3 All American 38522 Posts user info edit post Quote : "Baseball, while having all its little in game strategy, is simple too. Pitch ball, hit ball, catch ball. " oo! i can play this game too: soccer, while having all its little in game strategy, is simple too. kick ball in net."

I expected you to do this. Congrats on ignoring everything else.

Quote :

"saps852 All American 45185 Posts user info edit post hahahah ususally sober is all like "baseball's not a sport", me thinks he's playing devils advocate"

Yea, a lot of his posts read like this. Seems like he is "that guy" on the forum often.

6/13/2006 1:01:50 PM

soccer will never get as good a ratings in the united states as football or basketball or baseball...probably not even hockey

doesnt mean the game is bad, it just means america as a whole doesnt care about it as much as football, basketball, baseball, etc

6/13/2006 1:05:51 PM

^^^well unless you live in europe that should work out well then, since the games are aired in the morning

6/13/2006 1:09:45 PM

Eh, not really the morning. They're at 9 AM, noon, and 3 PM.

6/13/2006 1:12:43 PM

we are in college, 9am is fucking morning, 12pm is fucking morning, 3 is clearly early afternoon, but i quantized, in any rate, if you cared, a "night job" wouldn't stop you from watching the games, definetly not the usa game which played yesterday at noon

6/13/2006 1:19:10 PM

Quote :

"soccer will never get as good a ratings in the united states as football or basketball or baseball...probably not even hockey"

i think thats all about to change

6/13/2006 1:23:25 PM

does anyone really watch the NBA

that shit is far less entertaining than soccer or hockey

6/13/2006 1:24:27 PM

Quote :

"I expected you to do this. Congrats on ignoring everything else. "

thats because i agreed with the last half of what you said. you start off by acting like soccer is the only sport that has complex undertones. you're just oozing with ignorance when you say something like along the lines of "soccer is so complex, yet football and baseball are just simpleton sports". im merely pointing how amazingly inept you sound. i used your same "logic", and you essentially called me an idiot....but you had no problems doing the same thing.

i completely agree that there are things that the average fan doesnt grasp...which is EXACTLY why it won't gain the popularity here that it has in the rest of the world. soccer isnt entrenched in our society like other sports, and people really don't give a damn about it enough to truely understand whats going on....especially when excitement, in comparison to other sports, isnt as visable, nor prevelent.

it really sounds like you're just upset that others don't like the sport you love so much....and instead of accepting that, youre just going to babble untrue jibberish, and then result to name calling.



[Edited on June 13, 2006 at 1:30 PM. Reason : f]

6/13/2006 1:27:48 PM

Quote :

"i think thats all about to change"

how many illegal immigrants do you think we're letting in?

6/13/2006 1:30:26 PM