For the first time I am going to watch one of the biggest events in the whole world. Super Bowl or as I like to call it, Supa Bowl
For the first time it is casted on the main TV channel in my country, and since I have never seen a match of American football I thought this might be a nice start. The little I have seen of that sport is from a peak at some movies like Any Given Sunday and some TV shows like Friday Night light, and I have just watched at most 15 min of those combined.
So now I am looking forward to see if this is anything spectacular or is it a waste of my time? Find out, in the next episode of...... Supa Bowl American football, worth it or desert it?
Also can anyone give me a short introduction to the sport? I have almost no idea about the basics just that u have to get the ball to either of the sides and get a "touch down".
Oh, it should be spectacular. It will be spectacular.
A short intro into Football would take so long that the game would have already been over..... Typically American - crazy long rulebook, long overrated history, and macho-ism at its finest.
The game is similar to rugby in the sense that it is a turf war. You are fighting for position. The better position, the better chance to score points, as well as deprive your opponent of points. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
I went to a live football game once, and it sucked ass. Basically, nothing much happens. A play lasts a few seconds, then the game clock is paused and the players plan their next move for minutes. It takes an eternity for anything to happen. I understand that there's probably some strategic dimension to be found in football, but it just isn't exciting to watch at all for me.
If you understand how the downs work, then its VERY simple to follow
Every time a team gets the ball you have 4 plays to make 10 yards, so if it's "1st and 10" that's your first play out of 4, and if you make 10yards within 4 plays you get a new set of downs, so it goes back to "1st and 10" and it keeps going until there's a turnover or a score. If you fail on 4th down then the ball gets turned-over to the other team, so nearly all teams punt the ball on 4th down to get better field position for their defense(or kick a field-goal if you're close enough)
On February 08 2010 02:58 lokiM wrote: If you understand how the downs work, then its VERY simple to follow
Every time a team gets the ball you have 4 plays to make 10 yards, so if it's "1st and 10" that's your first play out of 4, and if you make 10yards within 4 plays you get a new set of downs, so it goes back to "1st and 10" and it keeps going until there's a turnover or a score. If you fail on 4th down then the ball gets turned-over to the other team, so nearly all teams punt the ball on 4th down to get better field position for their defense(or kick a field-goal if you're close enough)
How long is the field? and what exactly do you mean by punt the ball? I always wanted to know how this game works so any more explanation is much appreciated, especially since you write in a way that makes it understandable for a total newb, at least I think so
On February 08 2010 02:58 lokiM wrote: If you understand how the downs work, then its VERY simple to follow
Every time a team gets the ball you have 4 plays to make 10 yards, so if it's "1st and 10" that's your first play out of 4, and if you make 10yards within 4 plays you get a new set of downs, so it goes back to "1st and 10" and it keeps going until there's a turnover or a score. If you fail on 4th down then the ball gets turned-over to the other team, so nearly all teams punt the ball on 4th down to get better field position for their defense(or kick a field-goal if you're close enough)
How long is the field? and what exactly do you mean by punt the ball? I always wanted to know how this game works so any more explanation is much appreciated, especially since you write in a way that makes it understandable for a total newb, at least I think so
The field is a 100 yards. (about 92 meters) The team that is punting the ball block the opposing team from blocking the kicker. The kicker holds the ball in 1 hands and kicks it as far as he can.
On February 08 2010 02:58 lokiM wrote: If you understand how the downs work, then its VERY simple to follow
Every time a team gets the ball you have 4 plays to make 10 yards, so if it's "1st and 10" that's your first play out of 4, and if you make 10yards within 4 plays you get a new set of downs, so it goes back to "1st and 10" and it keeps going until there's a turnover or a score. If you fail on 4th down then the ball gets turned-over to the other team, so nearly all teams punt the ball on 4th down to get better field position for their defense(or kick a field-goal if you're close enough)
How long is the field? and what exactly do you mean by punt the ball? I always wanted to know how this game works so any more explanation is much appreciated, especially since you write in a way that makes it understandable for a total newb, at least I think so
It's 100 yards, but if you include both end zones it's about 110-120? Punting is just when you kick the ball without it hitting the ground, if you're close enough for a fieldgoal though then some1 holds it. basically you only want to punt if you know it will be too hard to make it on 4th down, or if you aren't close enough to make a field goal
On February 08 2010 02:58 lokiM wrote: If you understand how the downs work, then its VERY simple to follow
Every time a team gets the ball you have 4 plays to make 10 yards, so if it's "1st and 10" that's your first play out of 4, and if you make 10yards within 4 plays you get a new set of downs, so it goes back to "1st and 10" and it keeps going until there's a turnover or a score. If you fail on 4th down then the ball gets turned-over to the other team, so nearly all teams punt the ball on 4th down to get better field position for their defense(or kick a field-goal if you're close enough)
How long is the field? and what exactly do you mean by punt the ball? I always wanted to know how this game works so any more explanation is much appreciated, especially since you write in a way that makes it understandable for a total newb, at least I think so
Basically, 4th down is your last chance at getting your "first down" (by travelling 10 yards and resetting the play count). If you fail to get it on 4th down, the ball switches to the other team's offense at the same spot. Since that would give your opponents very good position on the field, in most situations teams will opt to "punt", or kick the ball farther down the field on 4th down. This way, the other team still gets the ball, but has worse position on the field, deeper into their own territory.
On February 08 2010 02:32 Neivler wrote: For the first time I am going to watch one of the biggest events in the whole world. Super Bowl or as I like to call it, Supa Bowl
For the first time it is casted on the main TV channel in my country, and since I have never seen a match of American football I thought this might be a nice start. The little I have seen of that sport is from a peak at some movies like Any Given Sunday and some TV shows like Friday Night light, and I have just watched at most 15 min of those combined.
So now I am looking forward to see if this is anything spectacular or is it a waste of my time? Find out, in the next episode of...... Supa Bowl American football, worth it or desert it?
Also can anyone give me a short introduction to the sport? I have almost no idea about the basics just that u have to get the ball to either of the sides and get a "touch down".
Both teams try to get to the opposing teams end-zone. If you get to the end-zone with the ball you get 6 points and a chance to get 1 more by kicking the ball into the goal. (teams almost always make it) The quaterback starts off with the ball and chooses the play. He can hand it off to a player (almost always the running back) or throw the ball to a player (wide-receiver). The supa-bowl is pretty bad because most of the time you spend watching you're seeing commercials and plays being stopped.
Football is a lot of fun to watch. Live games have the potential to be great, too. But I've only been to one, and it's probably one of the worst games in history. (Lions at Cardinals a few years back, when both teams were absolutely awful).
On February 08 2010 02:52 Scorch wrote: I went to a live football game once, and it sucked ass. Basically, nothing much happens. A play lasts a few seconds, then the game clock is paused and the players plan their next move for minutes. It takes an eternity for anything to happen. I understand that there's probably some strategic dimension to be found in football, but it just isn't exciting to watch at all for me.
you obviously were not drunk enough.
i never really liked football, but i understand the game, i watched the last super bowl at a friends house with a few guys who were really explaining the plays to me as it went along, it really made me appreciate the game alot more. now one of my roommates is a huge football fan, so everyone once and a while ill watch a game with him, but not too often haha. basically once i started understanding the more strategic elements of the game i started to appreciate it more. like starcraft.
Ok, the game is played in "turns". The goal is the move the ball as far as you can each "turn". One team plays offense, and they will have the ball. The goal of the defense is to not let the offense move the ball.
Now, once the offense comes on the field. They have 4 "turns" to move the ball 10 yards. So when you see things like "1st and 10", it means its the team's first turn, and there is 10 yards for them to get before getting a new set of turns. In football, they call these turns "downs".
During each down, the ball starts in the middle and the offense have control. They can chose to run the football, which means they hand the ball to a runner, and the runner tries to run as far as he can before his knees touch the ground. In which case that "down" is over. The offense can also chose to pass the football, they do this by throwing the football to one of the receivers. You generally can move the ball farther by passing but if the ball hits the ground before its caught, then you don't gain any yards.
But either way, you get 4 chances to move the ball 10 yards. And you SHOULD see where the offense is trying to reach on TV, american TV will have computer generated yellow line for TV viewers to see how far the offense has to go. Once you get pass that line you will start at 1st and 10 again.
During an offensive series, the defense (the side without the ball) will try to tackle anyone with the football, or intercept a pass, or force a fumble. A normal tackle is where the defensive player hits the ball carrier and force him on the ground, in which case the play is over. Interception is when a pass is caught by a defensive player before it lands on the ground, in which case the offensive series is over and the team that intercepted the ball will send their offensive squad. Fumble is when the offensive player with the ball drops the football while running, and before he is tackled. When there is a fumble, the lose ball is up for anyone to grab. Which ever team gets it, will go on offense.
However, if you fail to move the ball 10 yards after 4th down, then ball is turned over to the other team, and they start where the offense was. However, rather than trying to get the 10 yards in 4 tries, the offense has the option to "punt" the ball on 4th down. Because if the offense choose to make another offensive play on 4th down, and fails, the other team will have the ball at a very good position usually. So punting, is where the offense kick the ball as far as possible, and the opposing team will have to start their offense at where the punt ends up. This way, there is more ground for the opposing team to cover. This is called having "field position". you want the opposing offense to be as far from as your endzone as possible.
When the ball does reach the endzone through running or passing, then the team scores a touchdown, and thats 6 points. They then get to kick a fieldgoal to get an extra point.
The offense can also score by kicking a field goal on 4th down, if they are close to the opposing endzone. Kicking a fieldgoal without a touchdown gives the team 3 points.
Its pretty lengthy but should be pretty helpful. And there are a lot of commercials, like any football game... because the game gets paused VERY often.
On February 08 2010 03:57 Neivler wrote: How long will the Super Bowl last? Or approximately. It is aired around midnight and I have school tomorrow. I hate to be super tired the entire day
On February 08 2010 02:52 Scorch wrote: I went to a live football game once, and it sucked ass. Basically, nothing much happens. A play lasts a few seconds, then the game clock is paused and the players plan their next move for minutes. It takes an eternity for anything to happen. I understand that there's probably some strategic dimension to be found in football, but it just isn't exciting to watch at all for me.
you obviously were not drunk enough. .
no, the clock runs all the time unless a failed pass goes out of bounds, a player gets injured, a receiver with the ball runs out of bounds, and other similar things.
So basically when the game is close in the last quarter, they try as hard as they can to do these things in order to save clock time without using time outs. So like 2 minutes of game time could last 15 in real time due to planning and things.
PS- once the clock runs out, the play isn't over. If clock = 0 and the play is still going, then the quarter, or game will end when the play ends. Which is good if a team has 1 last play to make a touchdown with 3 sec to go but say they are on their own 10 yard line, they cannot physically run all the way down the field in 3 seconds and that would really suck since breaks like that are not only hard to get/take advantage of but highly entertaining and arguably the thing that all football players strive for.
On February 08 2010 03:57 Neivler wrote: How long will the Super Bowl last? It is aired around midnight and I have school tomorrow. I hate to be super tired the entire day
It's going to be a good four or five hours including the half time show and all of the formalities. You might want to tape it or something because thats going to go on really late for you lol.
On February 08 2010 03:57 Neivler wrote: How long will the Super Bowl last? Or approximately. It is aired around midnight and I have school tomorrow. I hate to be super tired the entire day
On February 08 2010 03:57 Neivler wrote: How long will the Super Bowl last? Or approximately. It is aired around midnight and I have school tomorrow. I hate to be super tired the entire day
Probably close to 4 hours.
when does it start pacific time, I'm at work til 7 I might leave early
If you add up all the actual time that is being played in a game of football, it only lasts for 11 minutes or so. The rest of the time the clock is running while they decide what play to run. However if you look at baseball the actual play time is even less, with most pitches being only a fraction of a second.
On February 08 2010 04:04 BlackJack wrote: If you add up all the actual time that is being played in a game of football, it only lasts for 11 minutes or so. The rest of the time the clock is running while they decide what play to run. However if you look at baseball the actual play time is even less, with most pitches being only a fraction of a second.
yea it would be interesting to watch prerecorded sports where they have edited out all the bullshit.
On February 08 2010 04:04 BlackJack wrote: If you add up all the actual time that is being played in a game of football, it only lasts for 11 minutes or so. The rest of the time the clock is running while they decide what play to run. However if you look at baseball the actual play time is even less, with most pitches being only a fraction of a second.
In baseball the pace really adds to the drama. There's this duel between the pitcher and batter going on every few seconds. That part is about as exciting as when there is a hit. In football the pace just bores me. The plays aren't much more exciting than the setup though. I won't be watching it.
On February 08 2010 04:04 BlackJack wrote: If you add up all the actual time that is being played in a game of football, it only lasts for 11 minutes or so. The rest of the time the clock is running while they decide what play to run. However if you look at baseball the actual play time is even less, with most pitches being only a fraction of a second.
i've seen this stat cited a lot recently - it is ridiculous on the surface but, commercials aside, its not too bad. presnap is perfectly exciting and watching replays is rewarding because there is so much going on on field.
On February 08 2010 04:04 BlackJack wrote: If you add up all the actual time that is being played in a game of football, it only lasts for 11 minutes or so. The rest of the time the clock is running while they decide what play to run. However if you look at baseball the actual play time is even less, with most pitches being only a fraction of a second.
In baseball the pace really adds to the drama. There's this duel between the pitcher and batter going on every few seconds. That part is about as exciting as when there is a hit. In football the pace just bores me. The plays aren't much more exciting than the setup though. I won't be watching it.
I find it to be just the opposite. There's a lot more strategy in football playcalling than there is in a pitcher deciding which pitch to throw. There's also the needed time to rest between plays. Every play in football is an explosion of force that requires a lot of energy. There's no way they could do that non-stop.
On February 08 2010 04:04 BlackJack wrote: If you add up all the actual time that is being played in a game of football, it only lasts for 11 minutes or so. The rest of the time the clock is running while they decide what play to run. However if you look at baseball the actual play time is even less, with most pitches being only a fraction of a second.
yea it would be interesting to watch prerecorded sports where they have edited out all the bullshit.
If you join a football torrent site, you can get games like this.
On February 08 2010 04:10 dhe95 wrote: The best part of the superbowl are probably the commercials btw.
The game is good if you understand football.
I CANT WATCH THE COMMERCIALS. Dont make me cry
Dude, they haven't been worth watching for like 10 years now. You aren't missing anything. The game is the exciting part.
For those who still don't get what a punt is, btw:
(pretty sure it's the longest one ever in the NFL)
A Field Goal:
An interception is when the quaterback (the player that takes the ball from the center and throws the ball, or hands it to the running back) throws the ball to a defender. A fumble is when a ball carrier drops the ball before being tackled (the ball can be forced out of his hands as well).
Then there are like a million other little rules that you learn while watching the game. Here are a few of the major penalties that get called:
offsides/encroachment: The ball gets placed at a specific place on the field, if a defensive player lines up beyond the front tip of the ball (called the neutral zone) it is considered offsides (even one inch is offsides). If a defensive player touches an offensive player before the ball is snapped, it's called encroachment, and the offense is awarded 5 yards toward the end zone.
False start: Offensive players must set in a position before a play (unless motion is signaled for by the quarterback, but then there are only certain players that can move, and there are a couple even more intricate rules that go with that). If the offensive player is set in his "stance" and he moves even the slightest bit (his hand twitches) it is called a false start, and the offense loses five yards (goes five yards away from the end zone).
Holding: A bit more complex, but it's basically grabbing a player and keeping him from proceeding in the direction he was going, after he has clearly passed the blocker. Not to be confused with blocking, which is just that. Holding is really hard for me to describe, and maybe someone can do it better. But if a blocker has been beaten, and he grabs both of the defenders shoulders and drags him to the ground, that would be holding.
Illegal contact: Similar to Pass Interference, but the ball was not intended for this receiver. It is legal for a player to hit, hold, or generally impede the progress of a receiver within the first five yards from the line of scrimmage (LOS from now on), but once that receiver is passed that five yard threshold, he is no longer allowed to touch him. If he touches a player beyond that five yard threshold and is seen doing so it is illegal contact. The offense gets five yards and a new set of downs.
Pass interference: if a defensive player hits an offensive player (or impedes his progress) after the ball has been thrown to that offensive player (receiver) it is called pass interference. There are a few other details that go with it, but you'd probably pick that up while watching the game. For instance, if a defender does not "play the ball" (i.e. turn their head and look for the ball) then it's pass interference. So, if a defender sees that the receiver is turning around to make a catch on a ball that is thrown slightly behind, and he does not look for the ball and puts his hands up, that is pass interference. A defender MUST play the ball. However, if the defender looks for the ball, and decides that he can't stop the ball from making it to the receiver, and times his hit properly (i.e. hits the receiver right as the ball touches his hands while he is still in the air) that is perfectly legal. PI calls are probably some of the most complex and difficult to understand, I think. For the most part, the call will be made because the defender touched the receiver before the ball was touched by any player other than the quarterback. The offense gets the ball at the spot of the foul (potentially, the offense could have a 98 yard penalty on this play), but a touchdown cannot be scored on the penalty. However, if the receiver manages to catch the ball despite the interference and gains more yards or scores (this happens a lot actually) the penalty can be declined and the extra yardage beyond the foul or the score will stand.
The offense can also be penalized for pass interference (with similar rules), but the offense only loses ten yards on the play. The most common offensive infraction is a push off (which is when the receiver pushes the defender away to create space to make catching easier).
Roughing the QB: Once the QB has thrown the ball, defenders are no longer allowed to hit the QB. They also cannot tackle the QB below his knees, while he's behind the line of scrimmage. They cannot hit the QB in the head. They cannot drive the QB into the ground after a tackle. They cannot swing him around and throw him to the ground (although that does happen and not get called all the time). There are too many rules that define roughing the QB, and it's the most hated rule in the sport.
I think that covers the most common penalties and so forth.
On February 08 2010 04:04 BlackJack wrote: If you add up all the actual time that is being played in a game of football, it only lasts for 11 minutes or so. The rest of the time the clock is running while they decide what play to run. However if you look at baseball the actual play time is even less, with most pitches being only a fraction of a second.
In baseball the pace really adds to the drama. There's this duel between the pitcher and batter going on every few seconds. That part is about as exciting as when there is a hit. In football the pace just bores me. The plays aren't much more exciting than the setup though. I won't be watching it.
I find it to be just the opposite. There's a lot more strategy in football playcalling than there is in a pitcher deciding which pitch to throw. There's also the needed time to rest between plays. Every play in football is an explosion of force that requires a lot of energy. There's no way they could do that non-stop.
I respectfully disagree with this statement and think you simply don't understand the intricacies of pitching. And I only say this because I recently heard a pitcher talking about all the things that go through his head before he makes a pitch, and it's pretty fucking ridiculous how much thought goes into it before he throws (It was Jake Peavy, btw, if that makes any difference to you).
Football is exciting for me because everyone is specialized and they have ample amount of time to rest in between points. What you get is people going 100% effort every single play doing the one exact job they are assigned.
I've been living in US for 10 years now... somehow I never managed to watch a single Super Bowl til now...and I don't think I'm gonna be watching it this year either...lol
For those of you who don't know anything about the NFL I'll define one penalty for you:
Defensive Pass Interference - A penalty which may or may not be called because of a defensive player's physical contact with a wide receiver during a passing play. This call is generally used due to the fact that all of the NFL's offenses are horrifically unimaginative and incapable of doing much else than rely on the Defensive Pass Interference call to move the football.
brat vs mondi is proving why TvZ is so homo, brat is playing great and still getting raped.
good macro doesn't always mean you are playing great
Well non of the players macro is that great. Brat have superb macro sometimes, but then it falls apart later in the game. It goes in waves and it aint as good as he should have at least.
On February 08 2010 03:54 Zurles wrote: It's basically the worst sport ever.
Have you seen Curling, lol?
are you joking? curling is fucking amazing a mean german guy gutturally grunting directions to guys who are scraping ice in front of them to clear the way for his marvelous shot.... how can you go wrong there?
on another note, the saints have been my favorite team since EVERETT was their quarterback, and in the 23 years of my life i've only seen them have 2 playoff runs that were worth mentioning... in 2000, they beat the rams, who had recently won a superbowl and then a few years ago they lost to the bears in the NFC title game... i don't really mind all the bandwagon fans, though, as any fan base is good.......... the saints havent had anything resembling a fan base for years... katrina actually helped there, but that's another story. my point is i remember when saints fans literally wore brown, paper garbage or grocery bags over their head with eye holes cut out because they didn't want to be recognized as being a saints fan..... i remember when the crowd at the superdome would literally boo their own team.... so yes, i remember the bad years
I understand if foreigners don't get the game, but I don't understand the dislike of the game.
I know I'm opening myself up to getting flamed, but the game the rest of the world calls football is, by comparison, boring as all hell. I watched the World Cup for what I guess is like a foreigner watching the super bowl and even though I know the rules of the game, I was bored out of my mind. I actually Untold Legends on the PSP, which is just about the worst game ever made, while the World Cup was being played, because nothing was happening, people were taking dives and not acting like men, and nobody really scored.
To each his own, I guess. But it never ceases to amaze me the deficit of interest in the game between americans and the rest of the world.
On February 08 2010 10:04 Arrian wrote: I understand if foreigners don't get the game, but I don't understand the dislike of the game.
I know I'm opening myself up to getting flamed, but the game the rest of the world calls football is, by comparison, boring as all hell. I watched the World Cup for what I guess is like a foreigner watching the super bowl and even though I know the rules of the game, I was bored out of my mind. I actually Untold Legends on the PSP, which is just about the worst game ever made, while the World Cup was being played, because nothing was happening, people were taking dives and not acting like men, and nobody really scored.
To each his own, I guess. But it never ceases to amaze me the deficit of interest in the game between americans and the rest of the world.
If you want to talk football vs American football, football needs it's rules updated. You can't watch but summaries of football. Especially nowadays it's boring since play has changed how it's played at such a high level. Not to mention the huge problems with the rules/referees.
Football could overtake all those american sports in the US. It has the potential. But the rules get in the way. Same with Asia. Football almost caught on big time there. But in the end it didn't.
Soccer has no tension. It could overtake all american sports ... if everyone liked soccer more than all other american sports.
"exciting sports" have a 50% chance of scoring. That provides the greatest variance, which allows for more upsets and large comebacks and droughts.
If you have possession in soccer or hockey, you're probably not going to score in that instance. It's like slots or roulette, if you do it enough you will score. In football, there's a feeling of momentum, and in particular tension builds on both sides of a drive. Plays significantly increase or decrease your chance of scoring on that possession.
Imagine if soccer had a super-Pele player who scored on 50% of his possessions. Imagine how intimidating it would be when you're on defense. Imagine on offense how much pressure you'd have to score.
On February 08 2010 13:01 igotmyown wrote: Soccer has no tension. It could overtake all american sports ... if everyone liked soccer more than all other american sports.
"exciting sports" have a 50% chance of scoring. That provides the greatest variance, which allows for more upsets and large comebacks and droughts.
If you have possession in soccer or hockey, you're probably not going to score in that instance. It's like slots or roulette, if you do it enough you will score. In football, there's a feeling of momentum, and in particular tension builds on both sides of a drive. Plays significantly increase or decrease your chance of scoring on that possession.
Imagine if soccer had a super-Pele player who scored on 50% of his possessions. Imagine how intimidating it would be when you're on defense. Imagine on offense how much pressure you'd have to score.
soccer sucks for commercials too that's why advertisers hate it and TV deals don't bring in as much revenue.
the whole momentum thing you talked along with easy commercial breaks makes American Football almost a "made for TV" sport.
I sat down and read about football (the rules and shit) on wikipedia before it started and then watched it (first football game I ever watched). It was pretty entertaining.
On February 08 2010 13:01 igotmyown wrote: Soccer has no tension. It could overtake all american sports ... if everyone liked soccer more than all other american sports.
"exciting sports" have a 50% chance of scoring. That provides the greatest variance, which allows for more upsets and large comebacks and droughts.
If you have possession in soccer or hockey, you're probably not going to score in that instance. It's like slots or roulette, if you do it enough you will score. In football, there's a feeling of momentum, and in particular tension builds on both sides of a drive. Plays significantly increase or decrease your chance of scoring on that possession.
Imagine if soccer had a super-Pele player who scored on 50% of his possessions. Imagine how intimidating it would be when you're on defense. Imagine on offense how much pressure you'd have to score.
On February 08 2010 13:01 igotmyown wrote: Soccer has no tension. It could overtake all american sports ... if everyone liked soccer more than all other american sports.
"exciting sports" have a 50% chance of scoring. That provides the greatest variance, which allows for more upsets and large comebacks and droughts.
If you have possession in soccer or hockey, you're probably not going to score in that instance. It's like slots or roulette, if you do it enough you will score. In football, there's a feeling of momentum, and in particular tension builds on both sides of a drive. Plays significantly increase or decrease your chance of scoring on that possession.
Imagine if soccer had a super-Pele player who scored on 50% of his possessions. Imagine how intimidating it would be when you're on defense. Imagine on offense how much pressure you'd have to score.
I 100% agree
Soccer blows as a spectator sport
And that is why it's the most popular and most watched sport in the world.
On February 08 2010 13:01 igotmyown wrote: Soccer has no tension. It could overtake all american sports ... if everyone liked soccer more than all other american sports.
"exciting sports" have a 50% chance of scoring. That provides the greatest variance, which allows for more upsets and large comebacks and droughts.
If you have possession in soccer or hockey, you're probably not going to score in that instance. It's like slots or roulette, if you do it enough you will score. In football, there's a feeling of momentum, and in particular tension builds on both sides of a drive. Plays significantly increase or decrease your chance of scoring on that possession.
Imagine if soccer had a super-Pele player who scored on 50% of his possessions. Imagine how intimidating it would be when you're on defense. Imagine on offense how much pressure you'd have to score.
There's definitely momentum in hockey and soccer, but it's built around puck/ball control, not just scoring.
EPT
![[image loading]](http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/07/11/zidane_narrowweb__300x375,2.jpg)
