Pro Soccer

[Oxynia]

His friends of course gave him no end of shit about playing a wussy girls' sport which made me angry.

When we moved to this country 12 years ago, I was very shocked to hear Americans call soccer "girlie"...it is a tough, aggressive sport played by real men who don't insulate themselves with 40lbs of padding and industrial strength athletic cups* like they do in the NFL. These guys get bruised and banged up like nobody's business, and there's nothing wussy about that. Just because they aren't 6'6" and built like tanks doesn't mean they aren't serious athletes playing serious sport.

My favorite quote on the subject comes from Oscar Wilde who said "Football is all very well a good game for rough girls, but not for delicate boys." Very too true.

We do follow Real Madrid, and Barcelona to a lesser extent, since we've spent a fair amount of time in Spain and someday hope to retire to Andalucía (where, between the flamenco and sangria, I think my soul was born). We've gone to quite a few La Liga matches and nothing beats the Bernabéu in Madrid as a stadium for world-class football. Style-wise though, Barça plays a prettier game as that is where the tiki-taka passing style was created, and it's such a joy to watch. I just don't like how badly separatist politics play into Barça matches, though, so do prefer to see RM in Madrid if we're going to a live game.


* Speaking of which, did you happen to see Gerard Piqué getting smacked...um, downstairs in the match against Honduras? Ouch!!

[SweetOblivion]

Jul 12, 2010 20:42:39 GMT -4 Oxynia said:

When we moved to this country 12 years ago, I was very shocked to hear Americans call soccer "girlie"...it is a tough, aggressive sport played by real men who don't insulate themselves with 40lbs of padding and industrial strength athletic cups* like they do in the NFL.

This, in a nutshell, is why I could never get into most American sports, especially football. I even come from a sports family; my dad was a radio broadcaster, and my oldest brother is the sports editor of a newspaper. When I was four, my father took me to a UT game. When it was over he asked me what I thought about it. My response was, "It's just a bunch of men running into each other". In 36 years, that opinion hasn't changed.

This has been my longest exposure to soccer yet, and I'm impressed. The men have to be athletes, most of them are in excellent shape (most NFL players look like blobs of dough to me). Soccer players have to run around and play the game the entire match, none of this starting-and-stopping nonsense.

No offense to any Greecies who also like American football, but I've found my new love. . (And thanks to all the Greecies who are probably tired of us newbies showing up every four years and asking lots of dumb questions)

[Oxynia]

Hah! There are no dumb questions from someone who appreciates the beauty of the beautiful game!

[SweetOblivion]

Aw, thanks! And it's another thing to annoy my family with. They've never been able to get me into any sports, but now I'm a soccer convert. When my brother (the sports editor) called me a couple of weeks ago and asked what I was doing, I said I was watching the World Cup. His response was, "Wow, you're *that* bored?".

Now I want to see if there's a women's (or co-ed) rec league near me.

[Deleted]

I honestly think if soccer is ever going to become more than just a passing interest in the US, one of the European clubs, with a proven farm system (Ajax, Barcelona), will have to take the reins. The MLS just isn't capable of it.

In the past years Barcelona, Chelsea, and RM have tried to increase their presence here by playing friendlies with the MLS teams. There is now more name recognition for these clubs, but European clubs are still so far out of reach for any youth who would aspire to play for the big guns.

I don't know if anyone saw it, but during the WC coverage Klinsmann spoke directly to this issue. To paraphrase, he said the whole system here is ass-backwards, because kids have to pay to play. It's like that in no other country, and it certainly isn't like that for any of the big 3 sports here. The kids who eventually go onto become the Ronaldos (sorry Cristiano, there is only one Ronaldo for me), Messis, etc. are the ones who have to fight it out for their spot on the neighborhood, regional, national youth clubs. In this respect soccer isn't much different from youth basketball, football, and to certain extent, baseball here in the US. The players who make it to the top are the ones who scrapped along, and honed their skills out in park district basketball courts and fields, playing any and every pickup game they could get themselves into. US soccer is not like that. Besides the stigma of playing a "wimpy" sport, the kids, the scrappers who would otherwise play basketball and football, have no way to build the necessary skills because the access points are closed to them (fees just to be on the team, travel and transportation costs to fields largely located outside the inner city). Given these obstacles it makes more sense to play traditional American sports and aim for a scholarship or pro prospects.

Given this present reality, it's rather unfortunate. The top stars largely come from rather modest roots. It's wishful thinking on my part, but I would love to see one of the European clubs set up a some sort of training academy here. The bottom line is that kids need to have a hero, and they can only aspire to be the best if they know about those who came before, and/or a club's history. And until the US builds a good foundation of its own, that focus is going to have to come from the outside.

That was much longer than I intended.

[chonies]

The kids who eventually go onto become the Ronaldos (sorry Cristiano, there is only one Ronaldo for me)

Swoon. Let's run away together, moonglow. And thanks for the tip about the Klinsmann point--I'll see if I can dig up a transcript.

SweetOblivion, there is almost definitely a co-ed or women's rec league near you. I live in Amarillo and there's one here that I just joined.

I have a question. Why do MLS and other teams around the world have the same names, like Dynamo, United, Chivas? I have a feeling there's an answer my sleepy brain can't pick up, or I'm looking for meaning where there is none. Most of the MLS teams have unique names, and DC's name is kind of awesome, kind of derpy (see also Washington Nationals), but Houson Dynamo makes me think of Dinamo Zagreb, etc. I suppose Chivas has their name because they are owned by a Mexican investment firm, but there are already other teams named Chivas, but I remain a bit confused.

ETA: To lower the tone of discourse further, more Cristiano Ronaldo baby drama.

[hushhush]

Oxynia, just checking that you are not a rabid fan, because I really don't like the current Real Madrid superstar galacticos setup. I'll be rooting for their downfall come the Champions League. (I wish Casillas and Alonso could go to a different club because I really do like them as individual players.)

Style-wise though, Barça plays a prettier game as that is where the tiki-taka passing style was created, and it's such a joy to watch.

And Real just hired Mourinho. If he sticks to his usual style then the football Madrid will likely play next season is going to put an espresso to sleep.

I dated a Spaniard who was a big Sevilla fan. He really hated Valencia. That ended badly and I've been cheering for Valencia ever since

chonies, I think that naming scheme can be really silly. Some of those team names work and some of them just really...don't.
Real Salt Lake for heavenssakes??? It just makes me laugh. I picture old school Mormon settlers waving scarves in the air singing Campeones ole ole ole...

SweetOblivion - I went to grad school at UT-Austin. There are tons of womens leagues and co-ed rec leagues in the Austin area for all ages and abilities!

ETA: I can watch college basketball, but most of the other major American sports kinda bore me. I'll watch NFL once in a blue moon, but I'd much rather see rugby because it's faster and more frenetic.

[Matilda]

Jul 13, 2010 9:34:58 GMT -4 chonies said:

ETA: To lower the tone of discourse further, more Cristiano Ronaldo baby drama.

Unless they've been fibbing about when the baby was born, there's no way that's baby CRon (unless he breeds giant babies who can hold their own toys at 3 weeks old). Apparently it's his cousin's daughter. He's also got a nephew who's a few months old so I expect there'll be plenty of "here's Ronaldo's son!!!!!" pictures featuring a wide variety of babies of different ages and genders. He's handled this really badly, and I think the best thing he could do now is release a picture of him with the baby and give some kind of explanation of where said baby came from, because this isn't going to end until the press get something.

[Oxynia]

I agree, there's no way that's a newborn baby. I'd seriously pity the mother's recovery if it were.

Jul 13, 2010 12:23:48 GMT -4 hushhush said:

Oxynia, just checking that you are not a rabid fan, because I really don't like the current Real Madrid superstar galacticos setup. I'll be rooting for their downfall come the Champions League. (I wish Casillas and Alonso could go to a different club because I really do like them as individual players.)

Style-wise though, Barça plays a prettier game as that is where the tiki-taka passing style was created, and it's such a joy to watch.

And Real just hired Mourinho. If he sticks to his usual style then the football Madrid will likely play next season is going to put an espresso to sleep.

No, we're not hardcore supporters at all! We're too leftist in our politics!

Seriously, we appreciate La Liga as a whole, very entertaining matches and superb talent all around, although the way politics intersects across the league leaves a lot to be desired. We like RM mostly as live spectators because of the stadium and the passion of the crowd...the rabid fans are hardcore neocons who embarrass the sport, we'll have nothing to do with them.

I was concerned when I heard about Mourinho taking over as coach. I predict some player discontent and a shaky season, but time will tell.

[hushhush]

I agree with your prediction. C. Ronaldo's ego and Mourinho's ego...together...at the same club? ;D

I'm waiting for the pre-season clearance sale to start at Real Madrid! A bunch of those expensive players they bought last year aren't going to work in Mourinho's system. They are heavy on attackers right now, and considering that Mourinho usually wants his team to score two goals and shut up shop, that doesn't sound ideal.