World Cup South Africa 2010

[gouldy]

Originally posted by slosprint

Any game in which two points is a massive lead needs to rethink its rules. Sorry, but it's true.

Yeah, the fact that this is what makes it exciting should just be completely thrown out of the window, totally.

Americans always seem to miss the fact that it is the low scoring nature of the sport that is what makes it exciting. There is no more exciting a way to win a game than to be behind by one goal and then to score two late goals. This is only really possible because it's such a fine line between victory and loss, like in that situation, only two goals were required to turn a loss into a victory. Two goals can occur in 2 minutes, or they may not occur at all. This is why the game is exciting and why there is so much passion around the globe for it. The problem is that Americans on the whole don't tend to get subtlety. For you it's mostly about bright colours and pretty girls waving pom-poms.

Having said all that, two goals isn't a massive lead. Two goals ahead is not that nice a position to be in because it's difficult to know how to set up for the rest of the game. Do you sit back and try to defend? Well no, you can't really, because if the opposition get just one goals back, they're right back in it and then you've not got any attacking players left. Do you continue trying to attack and get another one to seal the victory? Well, no, you can't really do that either for the same reason, only it's even easier for the opposition to get a goal back.

The close margins involved in the game makes it tense and therefore very exciting and exhilarating when it comes good for your team, especially when it's in the final moments of the game. But also can make it gut wrenchingly frustrating and heart breaking when it goes against your team, especially if it's in the final moments of the game. It's a very easy game to get passionate about.

Not like basketball or something, where you can end up with like 120 - 103.... wtf is that? Surely it just gets boring, no anticipation or tension or anything worhty of getting passionate about, other than the skill on show. Football (Soccer) is much more than that, purely because of the reasons most Americans dislike it... because of their short attention spans.

EDIT: And America are oooooooutta there!

Originally posted by gouldy
Not like basketball or something, where you can end up with like 120 - 103.... wtf is that? Surely it just gets boring

I saw a basket ball game once. I could have fallen a sleep. It was repetitive. It was just one team had the ball, they dunked it, the other team has the ball, they dunked it, and repeat.

Originally posted by gouldy
And America are oooooooutta there!

Good.

[slosprint]

My only point was that 2 points in any sport can be achieved completely through sheer luck, whereas in games with higher and higher scores luck becomes less and less of a factor and the games require more skill to win.

[hyyyper]

^or the game is too easy [;)]

And you don't score a goal on good luck. Perhaps the final touch is luck, but getting the ball to the other goal in the first place has nothing to do with luck

[gouldy]

Slosprint:

thus removing the chance of the underdog winning, thus removing any excitement.

[slosprint]

See Super Bowl 46

[gouldy]

See about half of all football (soccer) games that ever took place.

cheers.

[slosprint]

yeah, you have to wait for hours for something to happen... Yippee...

^ what is with you being so cocky?
you do it on a regular basis.

[gouldy]

Originally posted by slosprint

yeah, you have to wait for hours for something to happen... Yippee...

Well this is kind of false, because a game lasts for 90 minutes and an average score is about 2-1, so that means you have to wait about 30 minutes actually.

But again, the subtlety has been completely missed:

goals aren't everything. I have been to and watched on tv, plenty of games that ended 0-0 and have been more exciting to watch than games that finished 2-0 for example. It's not just goals that make the game exciting. Like I said before about victory being decided by a fine line, in Football (soccer) the game could have 2 minutes left to play and the score is 0-0, one teams is on top and hits the post but the ball doesn't go in, and they do it again and again, one goal would win the game, the other team runs down the other end on a counter attack, they also hit the post. This is immense to watch, if you're in the stadiunm and you can feel the tension, it's not something you can experience anywhere else, doing anything else. Neither team scores and the game ends 0-0, it doesn't matter, because the point is that a sport entertains the people who watch it and because of the high tension involved, everyone watching was subject to intense drama.

On the other hand, one of the teams scores the goal required to win the game, the clock says 92 minutes, it's basically the last kick of the game. The fans of the team that scores go into absolute rapture. I have never felt a feeling like this from any other source. But you have the losing fans also, who are mortified, a feeling of such a degree that again, I have never felt this kind of feeling from any other source.

Football is amazing drama, without writers. Whether the score is 0-0 or 6-6 (a score from this season in the SPL), there will have usually been at least one period of play that was worth the entrance fee alone.

Edit: This is also why I like Ice Hockey, because the sport follows a similar vein, again, fine lines can separate victory and loss hence making the thing exciting to watch.

^Don't forget about the fistfights. [;)]

[gouldy]

yeah, Ice Hockey is pretty good for that stuff, I showed my brother an Ice Hockey game a little while back and he was like "what!? The refs are just standing there letting this happen!?"

[slosprint]

They have padding on. They're fine. Better than spasming on the field when someone's toe grazes you.

[gouldy]

So here it is. The Spitfire vs the Messerschmitt.

England v Germany is underway.

The next 120 minutes will determine my mood for the next week.

COME ON ME BABBIES!!!

Slosprtint, we don't like what Italians have done to the game either. But not all footballers are like that, fortunately. But unfortunately, most of the international footballers are like that for the most part.

[gouldy]

I love hate Germany.

2-0 to Germany already.

We are actually genuinely pathetic.

WHAT THE FUUUCK!!?!?!?!? HOLY poop!"!?

Is anyone else watching this!!!!! It's 2-2!!! THE love REFEREE SAID IT WASN'T OVER THE LINE!?!?! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS GAME IS INSANE NOW! SEPP BLATTER, take note, the time for goal line technology is here, love die you stupid europrean c*nt.

[slosprint]

LOL! it's resembling WWII perfectly!!!

Haha gouldy WE WIN GO GERMANY GO...poop ENGLAND !!!!!!!'

[gouldy]

Suck my dick, my grandparents killed your grandparents during the war.

Absolutely fking absurd! Just months after Blatter said that there would never be goal line technology. I'll be damned if that fat bastard is gonna cost us a world cup game against Germany.

Lol...

Shut you love mouth up gloudy...racist bastard!!!!

3:1 YEA GERMANY GO...love you ENGLAND

[hyyyper]

4-1?? what a joke

[gouldy]

absolute joke. England deserve to lose.

Germany don't deserve to win though cus they're German, and should die.

JUST BECAUSE YOU LOSE RIGHT??? haha GO GERMANY 4:1

[gouldy]

no, because they're German.

Mate, I wouldn't get too excited about this victory, a sunday league team would have beaten us on this performance. Germany won't go too far. Our players have given up now.