How do you guys watch the World Cup?

[TrueBlue53]

I have tried but everytime I fall asleep. I just dont see wat is so exciting bout it.

[djKianoosh]

it might help to understand the strategy of the game. this site breaks it down amazingly: http://www.zonalmarking.net

cause if you're just waiting to see goals, then it's the same thing as me going to a baseball game and falling asleep because i'm waiting to see home runs. I've been to three yankee games, one red sox, one mets, one phillies and one nats game. I've fallen asleep at every single one of them. at the stadium! i think it's mostly cause i just don't appreciate the strategy involved. lately my friends have been trying to explain some of the nuances. i'm trying, and i bet i wont fall asleep if i ever go again. lol.


now, a lot of the games truly have been boring. so we cant fault you for falling asleep. but we can't expect goals every 5 minutes, this game is not set up that way. put it this way, Argentina is the team that has the most shots in this world cup. Right now they are averaging a shot every 4-5 minutes. That's just a shot. and they're the most offensive team in the tournament right now (along with portugal's 7-0 thrashing of north korea yesterday).

brasil plays very defensive. most of the big teams do. brasil just knows how to bury any chance they get, that's why they win, but they're not living up to their stereotype of playing the 'beautiful game'. The more offensive teams this year are: Spain, Holland, Argentina, Serbia, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Portugal, Ghana, New Zealand (yes, believe it or not) and a few others depending on circumstances. the reality is the average scores in the world cup has been declining forever. i know it's a big concern in south america that they don't think fifa is addressing this issue. safe, defensive strategies have really dominated the play so far. and only a few teams mentioned are truly going for wins. a lot of that is because of the format of the tournament.

luckily, the elimination stage is coming up. that should improve things...

[StreetPack]

I have tried but everytime I fall asleep. I just dont see wat is so exciting bout it.

I was the same way up until this year. I decided to spark a huge J in order to see if it was more interesting this way. The game slowed down for me, I begun to understand some of the strategy (on a basic level) and what to get excited for. Now it doesn't matter sober or baked, its a very very fun game to watch.

[resnor]

The game slowed down for you? Hahahaaaa...it's not like soccer was extraordinarily fast paced. LOL. I think having played soccer makes World Cup much more enjoyable. I compare it to golf...I HATED watching golf, until I started playing.

[StreetPack]

The game slowed down for you? Hahahaaaa...it's not like soccer was extraordinarily fast paced. LOL. I think having played soccer makes World Cup much more enjoyable. I compare it to golf...I HATED watching golf, until I started playing.

I used to play soccer and football when I was younger however I could never watch soccer although I was addicted to watching football.

Slowed down in the sense that I started paying more attention to the nuances of the game because I was without the prejudice of "this is boring" lol

[resnor]

Oh, I see. LOL. I can't see how anyone could watch a match like USA's today, and not find soccer to be awesome. This was a crazy match today.

[Mister Marcus]

it might help to understand the strategy of the game. this site breaks it down amazingly: http://www.zonalmarking.net

I understand it completely. The problem is that the strategy way more often than not doesn't even result in a shot on goal. Baseball may end in a 1-0 game but have quite a few "close calls". Hockey which is similiar to Soccer has several shots on goal but still may end up 1-0. Shots on goal whether they score or not is what keeps games interesting. Algeria had 3 shots today. 3 shots in 90 minutes. 1 SHOT EVERY 30 MINUTES.

[djKianoosh]

I understand it completely. The problem is that the strategy way more often than not doesn't even result in a shot on goal. Baseball may end in a 1-0 game but have quite a few "close calls". Hockey which is similiar to Soccer has several shots on goal but still may end up 1-0. Shots on goal whether they score or not is what keeps games interesting. Algeria had 3 shots today. 3 shots in 90 minutes. 1 SHOT EVERY 30 MINUTES.

on the other end of the spectrum, argentina are averaging over 20 shots per game.. so one shot every few minutes.

but regardless of how many shots were taken between usa-algeria, it was a very entertaining game.

[MonoxideChild]

Eh, the World Cup honestly isn't the best thing to really get your interest going IMO. The teams are pretty weak compared to when the international guys are all on the same team like in the Premier League. It's a little watered down and about 100x more conservative. I'm loving this years tourney though.

[andyveer]

My routine has changed for past 2 weeks , because of world cup ,i watch all matches ,of my favorite teams , sleep late at night and then wake late.

[djKianoosh]

Eh, the World Cup honestly isn't the best thing to really get your interest going IMO. The teams are pretty weak compared to when the international guys are all on the same team like in the Premier League. It's a little watered down and about 100x more conservative. I'm loving this years tourney though.

From the round of 16, 73% of the players left are the ones that play in the top 5 european leagues. So we are seeing the best right now...

[MonoxideChild]

From the round of 16, 73% of the players left are the ones that play in the top 5 european leagues. So we are seeing the best right now...

Yeah but I'm talking about all the prelim games for the points. They're not exactly the best teams. There are games like Turkmenistan/Antarctica that get put on tv sometimes. I can see how some people would think it's boring. The later stages of the tourney are great typically though.

[djKianoosh]

ah yes, you have a point. I think though, there's two main factors. One is that there is more parity in quality between the worst and best teams. New Zealand got 3 draws! awesome for them! The other really major thing is the format of the first round. 8 groups of 4 teams, round-robin within the group, top two advance. I dont know what other format would work with 32 teams, cause you want to give every team a few games at least. Can't just start off with single-elimination...

maybe have more/less teams and a different number of groups? instead of 3 games, have 4 games in the first round? or maybe less?

[rank is dumb]

Well unlike many sports.. Fifa has not changed the rules to allow people to score more..

I love soccer... Thats the fun of it.. Kinda like fishing. You wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait and BAMMMMMMMMMMMMMM GOAAAAAAAL GOAAAAAAL GOAAAAAAAL GOAAAAAAL!!!! Thats what makes it exciting!!!:p

[HcopenhagenH]

The only time America says they love soccer is when the World Cup comes around. It is the in thing to do. Fact is, America hates soccer. Americans don't want to be changed by the Europeans and 3rd world countries.

Soccer is a poor man's sport. If a country has dirt streets, chickens on the corners, and people walking the street in bare feet and no shirt then they are probably good at soccer.

There is no such thing as strategy. I don't care what anyone says. I have looked at strategy on soccer and high level soccer matches don't use it. In higher level soccer matches it is all about luck and who the smarter team is.

What it boils down to is soccer is a boring sport in which unintelligent people play and watch. They then claim that others that don't like soccer are ignorant and don't understand strategy. Lol.... what strategy? It is all luck.

[MonoxideChild]

The only time America says they love soccer is when the World Cup comes around. It is the in thing to do. Fact is, America hates soccer. Americans don't want to be changed by the Europeans and 3rd world countries.

Soccer is a poor man's sport. If a country has dirt streets, chickens on the corners, and people walking the street in bare feet and no shirt then they are probably good at soccer.

There is no such thing as strategy. I don't care what anyone says. I have looked at strategy on soccer and high level soccer matches don't use it. In higher level soccer matches it is all about luck and who the smarter team is.

What it boils down to is soccer is a boring sport in which unintelligent people play and watch. They then claim that others that don't like soccer are ignorant and don't understand strategy. Lol.... what strategy? It is all luck.
Must be why countries like England, Germany, Italy, etc. are so good...:rolleyes:

[Titans 4 LIFE]

The only time America says they love soccer is when the World Cup comes around. It is the in thing to do. Fact is, America hates soccer. Americans don't want to be changed by the Europeans and 3rd world countries.

Soccer is a poor man's sport. If a country has dirt streets, chickens on the corners, and people walking the street in bare feet and no shirt then they are probably good at soccer.

There is no such thing as strategy. I don't care what anyone says. I have looked at strategy on soccer and high level soccer matches don't use it. In higher level soccer matches it is all about luck and who the smarter team is.

What it boils down to is soccer is a boring sport in which unintelligent people play and watch. They then claim that others that don't like soccer are ignorant and don't understand strategy. Lol.... what strategy? It is all luck.
Name one single part of the game that involves any luck whatsoever. Maybe the refereeing but other then that it is 100% skill and strategy.

Try going 1 on 1 against Ronaldhino, then say its all about luck.

[ahr19]

The only time America says they love soccer is when the World Cup comes around. It is the in thing to do. Fact is, America hates soccer. Americans don't want to be changed by the Europeans and 3rd world countries.

Soccer is a poor man's sport. If a country has dirt streets, chickens on the corners, and people walking the street in bare feet and no shirt then they are probably good at soccer.

There is no such thing as strategy. I don't care what anyone says. I have looked at strategy on soccer and high level soccer matches don't use it. In higher level soccer matches it is all about luck and who the smarter team is.

What it boils down to is soccer is a boring sport in which unintelligent people play and watch. They then claim that others that don't like soccer are ignorant and don't understand strategy. Lol.... what strategy? It is all luck.

That comment is just ... shameful ... Soccer uses geometry (triangles), physics (bending a ball, backspin), psychology (mind games with keepers on PK's etc, etc), statistics (thinking through balls here) ... I mean, most unintelligent people know all about that, right? :rolleyes:

I guess 95% of the world is unintelligent since soccer is big there.

[rank is dumb]

The only time America says they love soccer is when the World Cup comes around. It is the in thing to do. Fact is, America hates soccer. Americans don't want to be changed by the Europeans and 3rd world countries.

Soccer is a poor man's sport. If a country has dirt streets, chickens on the corners, and people walking the street in bare feet and no shirt then they are probably good at soccer.

There is no such thing as strategy. I don't care what anyone says. I have looked at strategy on soccer and high level soccer matches don't use it. In higher level soccer matches it is all about luck and who the smarter team is.

What it boils down to is soccer is a boring sport in which unintelligent people play and watch. They then claim that others that don't like soccer are ignorant and don't understand strategy. Lol.... what strategy? It is all luck.

You are a ignorant person please find a tall buiding and throw your self off it.. :D

[djKianoosh]

i wouldn't even acknowledge the fool, but for the rest of you's, if you've been following this Zonal Marking website like I have, you'd see that these guys' analysis of the tactics of the games so far has been spot on:
http://www.zonalmarking.net/

they pretty much have anticipated all the games based on tactics, even pointing out what teams should do to counter another team, and then breaking it down afterward with a ton of detail.

as far as the comment about "a poor man's sport". that's funny, cause last I checked I think pretty much all the good sports are somewhat of "a poor man's sport". oh, by the way, US-Ghana drew in over 15 million viewers in this fool's "America". Compare that with the 13 million viewers Spain got, in Spain, for their win against neighboring country Portugal. And Spain's supposedly the overall favorite. All that tells me is that the potential for soccer in this country is enormous.

[bk1998]

as far as the comment about "a poor man's sport". that's funny, cause last I checked I think pretty much all the good sports are somewhat of "a poor man's sport". oh, by the way, US-Ghana drew in over 15 million viewers in this fool's "America". Compare that with the 13 million viewers Spain got, in Spain, for their win against neighboring country Portugal. And Spain's supposedly the overall favorite. All that tells me is that the potential for soccer in this country is enormous.

Spain - Population 40M
USA - Population 300M+

Horrible analysis.

[djKianoosh]

not so horrible. When you're talking about sheer numbers, I'm saying the US has enough of a soccer-viewing public to match a country like Spain. Sure, percentages are not the same, we all know that. But US Soccer doesn't need the percentage to be the same, that's the important point here. It can draw as many people to watch its most important game with a far smaller percentage of the population.

So every incremental step, however small it may seem, is a big deal for soccer in the US.