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I imagine it's a bit like the basketball WC for the US. They can't bring themselves to care too much about it, but they're still expected to win.The Hitch said:Do Brazil care about the Copa America? Looking at trophy history they seem to have always underperformed compared to what they show the rest of the time and to what their players should be capable of.
Zam_Olyas said:They could have practice the dance a little bit better. terrible routine. 4 out of 10 for choreography
l.Harm said:Ok never heard of the Gaucho dance? Why do the media say it's racist?
Officiating. FIFA uses one referee and two linesmen, plus an alternate referee who keeps track of time and substitutions. Only the referee can call penalties. The linesmen help with offsides and such.
So you’ve got a field wider and longer than a football field, you’ve got guys flopping all over the place trying to draw phantom fouls, you’ve got guys biting opponents, and you police such mayhem with one peace officer. This is what is known as anarchy.
One of the charms of soccer is all that open space. Lots of green grass on which to put more yellow shirts. So do like every smart city in America, FIFA, and beef up your police presence.
Replay. Baseball, which sometimes is no more innovative than the Amish, has adopted replay review. It’s time to bring it to international soccer. Run the thespians from the game.
When James Harden or Manu Ginobili gets away with a flop in an NBA game, it often costs their opponents two points. Two points in a game that typically totals 210 points. And the NBA is alarmed and outraged.
When Portugal’s Joao Moutinho or somebody acts like they’ve been shot, a gullible referee often will call the foul. Which can lead to a goal. In a game that typically totals one goal.
If these guys want to go all **** Van ****, fine. Stop the game, go to the monitor and let officials decide exactly what happened. If there’s a foul, call it. If there’s a flop, hand the offender an Oscar and a yellow card.
Timeclock. Put the official time on the scoreboard. The official time is kept on the field and is a state secret. Television broadcasts give us a close estimate, but the very notion that fans and players and coaches can’t be allowed to know how much time is left? What is this? The 13th century Catholic Church, where everything is written and spoken in Latin to keep it from the commoners?
Substitutions. Each team is allowed only three subs. Sort of like the old college football single-platoon system. Which was scrapped more than a half century ago.
FoxxyBrown1111 said:36 isn´t 42 and much more important... he declined with age (as it should be), instead of improving like a certain circus cyclist...
Merckx index said:Of course, then the game would have hours of stoppage time. I definitely advocate replay for some obvious situations, but for flops and fouls it could really mess with the game's flow. There is certainly a problem here, but I don't think replay is the answer.
Players found to embellish or dive would receive warnings and fines. They’d also proposed extending fines to coaches and teams.
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hrotha said:Substitutions are perfectly fine as they are, and timekeeping is hardly an issue. But the point about the officiating was just silly: the linesmen can and must tell the referee if they see something he missed, including penalties. Sure, the main ref still gets to make the call, but that's because someone has to be on top of the hierarchy. Officers form a team and the referee trusts his linesmen, so if they're sure of what they saw, the ref will call it. I don't see the problem here.
Replays would be good. Diving shouldn't be punished via replays, as that would take forever, but by committees reviewing the key plays later and handing out suspensions.
It all boils down to Americans wanting to make soccer more of an American sport. Well no thanks, it's mostly fine as it is.
Merckx index said:
hrotha said:Well no thanks, it's mostly fine as it is.
Sciocco said:First part is an exaggeration. The majority of Americans will gladly mindlessly watch football (NFL) and not give one **** about association football.
FoxxyBrown1111 said:... and some hardcore fans in Europe/Germany too. Going all in at Sundays from 7 p.m. european time until 4 a.m. the next day (3 full live games a 3 hours). For 5 months. The reason we don´t kill ourselves in winter...
Sciocco said:So the saturday/sunday/monday night and superbowl games are at 0100 for you? I've ****ed my sleep schedule to watch tennis and hockey before so, I know what ya mean.
hrotha said:It all boils down to Americans wanting to make soccer more of an American sport. Well no thanks, it's mostly fine as it is.
FoxxyBrown1111 said:Actually I like that (first game 7 p.m.; second at around 10 p.m.). You know upfront, that sunday is not the shitty day before working-Monday, but another party day added.
Can´t imagine to watch football during mid-day. I think a lot of our US friends here like that too. Especially those on holidays or students...
TNF/SNF & MNF are even later they start 2 or 3 a.m. depending on summer/winter time. Those games are missed often, but not always. Depends on the pairing...
Sciocco said:The schedule makes football kind of an "all day" event. I went to college in the deep south and a lot of people followed a pattern: Wake up sunday morning, go to local baptist church, eat brunch/lunch with family or friends, and it is time for the first set of games of the day. East coast and central timezone (where I was in college) have football from roughly 1300 to 2300, 1200 to 2200 so it fits. Saturday was more important though, because college football is more important than NFL football in Mississippi.