Bobby Dodd sold out.

ibeattetris

Helluva Engineer
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3,606
The only time I watch soccer is when the US National teams are playing. It's funny when the players fall down and go into massive dramatic gyrations over their booboos. This guy doesn't even fall down and he goes into convulsions.



Or when the player rolls around grabbing his leg (as if in agony) waiting for a call from the ref. As soon as the penalty is called he gets up and kicks the ball 40 yards downfield without even a limp.
 

ibeattetris

Helluva Engineer
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3,606
Ain't all soccer. May be more flopping in the NBA than MLS, and even the NFL has gotten in on the act at times:

NBA is really bad too, but we weren't discussing basketball.

I like in baseball, if you get hit by a pitch, you're told not to rub it. In soccer, you're told if you get touched you need to roll around. Different strokes I guess.

(Didn't the NBA at least try to address this issue though? Can't you get penalized now if the flop is obvious? Is soccer looking to do something similar?)
 

GTRX7

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Atlanta
NBA is really bad too, but we weren't discussing basketball.

I like in baseball, if you get hit by a pitch, you're told not to rub it. In soccer, you're told if you get touched you need to roll around. Different strokes I guess.

(Didn't the NBA at least try to address this issue though? Can't you get penalized now if the flop is obvious? Is soccer looking to do something similar?)

Soccer has always penalized flops. If caught, they result in a foul on you and, if bad enough, result in a yellow card that could lead to suspension. In MLS, the league can now also review plays after the game and retroactively suspend or fine players if fouls or flops are bad enough and were not detected during the games. Also, it is certainly not like all soccer players flop. There are a lot tougher soccer players than baseball players to be sure. In general, Americans do it less than most countries as well, which US fans appreciate.

The main reason you get all the rolling around in soccer is that the clock doesn't stop, so you can waste time if your team is in the lead. No similar motivation in other sports (well, except some football players that were intentionally flopping in order to slow down the hurry up offenses a few years back).
 

ibeattetris

Helluva Engineer
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3,606
Soccer has always penalized flops. If caught, they result in a foul on you and, if bad enough, result in a yellow card that could lead to suspension.
That's cool. I had no idea as I have never seen it called (I'm sure it has, my soccer watching consists of world cup and anytime I can catch US mens).
In MLS, the league can now also review plays after the game and retroactively suspend or fine players if fouls or flops are bad enough and were not detected during the games.
Awesome.

Also, it is certainly not like all soccer players flop.
Sure, as do not ALL basketball or ALL football players. It just SEEMS (to me) like it happens a lot more in soccer (but like you later say, maybe it is more of a cultural thing since you note that it happens less frequently for Americans).
There are a lot tougher soccer players than baseball players to be sure.
What a baseless statement with zero possible evidence that could substantiate it. The two sports are so different I couldn't imagine comparing relative "toughness". Unless of course you mean "tough soccer players are as tough as tough competitors in other sports", which I'd agree with.

The main reason you get all the rolling around in soccer is that the clock doesn't stop, so you can waste time if your team is in the lead.
Then call a delay of game or whatever refs are allowed to do in situations like that, seems silly. Also seems silly counter productive to give the other team time to set up and prepare a defense.

No similar motivation in other sports (well, except some football players that were intentionally flopping in order to slow down the hurry up offenses a few years back).
This trend was sickening, and I'm glad it's been largely done away with.
 

GTRanj

Jolly Good Fellow
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Atlanta, Georgia
NBA is really bad too, but we weren't discussing basketball.

I like in baseball, if you get hit by a pitch, you're told not to rub it. In soccer, you're told if you get touched you need to roll around. Different strokes I guess.

(Didn't the NBA at least try to address this issue though? Can't you get penalized now if the flop is obvious? Is soccer looking to do something similar?)

I see where you are coming from. You and most American football fans share the same sentiment that the flops are quite annoying (which as a former player, I wholeheartedly agree with) and a big reason why you can't watch the games.

I know several people, even world wide, who are huge soccer fans and a big reason they don't like American football is all of the stop and go. 5 seconds of action, 30 second breaks.

I bring up these points because to me, if people could look past these common reasons why they don't like either sport, and really try to understand the game, they could find both sports extremely enjoyable.
 

a5ehren

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
485
The reason for flops in soccer is pretty simple. A free kick is a pretty strong reward for a plain-jane foul and there are only 3 refs on the field (and only 1 of them calls most fouls) so you have to get their attention.

Given how much ground they have to cover, soccer refs do a pretty decent job of picking out real fouls from fake ones, honestly.

Think of it like Pass Interference in the NFL and how much acting goes on around that...and they have like 8 officials.
 

gtcole

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
188
I was pleasantly surprised at how little fouls there were Sunday. There was some pretty physical play that was allowed by the refs which I'm hoping is a trend of the MLS. That'd be big for the sport to be more popular in the US I think and would differentiate us from Euro leagues
 

deeeznutz

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One thing that just boggles my mind about soccer (sorry, futbol) is the lack of a clear clock. Why do they have the dumb system of the head ref keeping track of how much extra stoppage time to add on at the end when stopwatch technology has been around for a long time? Just have the ref carry a clicker or something to start and stop the game clock as needed, and have the game end when the clock reaches 90:00. It seems so simple and would go a long way to modernize the game.
Btw the only time I ever watch futbol is during the major tournaments, and then I ALWAYS choose to watch it on Univision/Telemundo, even though I don't speak Spanish. Their announcers bring so much more excitement, plus the "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" calls are awesome.
 
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MikeJackets

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Maryville,Tennessee
I was pleasantly surprised at how little fouls there were Sunday. There was some pretty physical play that was allowed by the refs which I'm hoping is a trend of the MLS. That'd be big for the sport to be more popular in the US I think and would differentiate us from Euro leagues
I believe soccer could very well become very popular in Metro-Atlanta if Atlanta United were in the Playoffs regularly. ESPN had good things to say about Atlanta FC

http://www.espnfc.com/team/atlanta-united-fc/18418/index
 
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