tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post6618715197886541693..comments2023-07-08T06:36:52.942-07:00Comments on Two guys who, like, never agree: Suck it, Jack! (You too, FIFA)Dieselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02736353413710315191noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post-69421057657205631632008-02-22T21:02:00.000-07:002008-02-22T21:02:00.000-07:00Are some of us supposed to care?Are some of us supposed to care?pfagan68https://www.blogger.com/profile/14771755445684145223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post-20065541513708860112008-02-18T19:02:00.000-07:002008-02-18T19:02:00.000-07:00Actually that's a good point that, sadly, is true....Actually that's a good point that, sadly, is true. The general problem with soccer is that there are a lot of levels of management when administrating the game, combined with a sheer number of corrupt and/or poor countries/people in charge. Soccer is to the entire world like basketball is to inner-city America, a chance to escape and, better, make money, so there's a lot of shady deals going on from the bottom all the way to the top. For instance, there are a lot of really, really good players in Africa, and they are cheaper than certain Brazilians or other Europeans. Agents have 'represented' these players and negotiated contracts for them at odd places (Russia, the Faroe Islands) with the promise of bigger things to come, and then forget about them. There are thousands of sad stories.<BR/><BR/>One of the beautiful things about soccer is its vast global appeal; it also happens to be its ugliest. Everything that is wrong about the world seems to be general practice when it comes to soccer, and the way many do business is a reflection of where they are from (see: Italy, corruption). The EPL dips into Asia because it sees fans who will buy a jersey, not because they could be lifelong fans. They seem to have taken a pass on the US for the time being because it's harder to club an American fan over the head in the same way. In my opinion, I enjoy that there's a relatively small hard-core fanbase that's into it, and I wish they'd leave it at that. <BR/><BR/>However, I disagree that Americans are less likely to embrace soccer because of all its problems - if there was more scoring, that would eliminate 99% of complaints. Spygate was a big deal, but not really. Outside of people (ie The Media) making it a huge deal, NFL fans like us probably weren't that outraged. I buy into the idea that they were just the first to be caught doing it, and being a fan of good defense, I think that's only fair since quarterbacks have radios in their ears while they're on the field. <BR/><BR/>Finally, everyone thought the gambling scandal was going to really hit the NBA hard. Has it? There's been little mention of it since, even though we live in a state where it was known to possibly have had the greatest effect at a key time (but that says more about lackadaisical PHX fans; I'm guessing Philly, NY and Detroit would still hold a grudge). The NBA and David Stern are masters at spinning things, but this time there wasn't much spinning done - people just forgot about it, and ESPN didn't have to act like they were outraged and we should be, too. We Americans have short-term memories, and things tend to blend together and we lose interest pretty fast. The rest of the world doesn't have all that much else to get their interest, so it helps that the sport is popular.<BR/><BR/>But yes, in certain segments, soccer is rotten-to-the-core. Brazil nearly bankrupted itself and its (federation) president was corrupt, but it was one hell of a story - Brazil ended up winning the 02 Cup a year later.bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09344486226133665830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34989425.post-40976545046304052802008-02-18T14:37:00.000-07:002008-02-18T14:37:00.000-07:00Question to you and the other soccer expoits out t...Question to you and the other soccer expoits out there: Is this sport as absolutely as rotten-to-the-core as it seems? It appears that the only time I ever hear of anything significant in the soccer world, it surrounds corruption, cheating or overt racism. Yet, soccer's popularity continues to grow. Unlike Formula 1, where the rampant bending of every imaginable rule (and subsequent draconian penalties) has seriously hurt the sport's rep, fanbase, and revenue, soccer seems to amble along without any friction whatsoever. <BR/><BR/>I'll get to the point: Can a country (the U.S.) so absolutely obsessed with something as back-page-news as 'Spygate' possibly welcome the world's game with open arms? For all of the negative things one can say about American sports/sports culture, one can be certain that a team like Juventus would not be given the opportunities that it has been afforded in Serie A. That kind of shit just doesn't fly here. Videotaping the defensive signals of a shit-heap team like the Jets gets you crucified; making too many phone calls to would-be recruits gets you (probably) fired. Match fixing? Something that is a million times worse than either of the above infractions? Forgetaboutit.Big Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15662911162583221895noreply@blogger.com