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I'm not a big soccer fan, but this final has been amazing. It's going into penalty kicks now. Turn it on if you aren't watching it. It's on Fox.

Argentina wins on penalty kicks. It was an exciting game. Argentina went up 2-0 but grew tired around the 78th minute and France came back to tie it. In the overtime, Messi scored but France's best player tied it again on a penalty kick in the 2nd Old Testament. What a game! I just might start watching more soccer.

I think soccer is one of those sports that becomes more fun to watch the more you know. Hockey is that way, too. Watching games live helps see more of the strategy going on away from the ball/puck.

For sure, that final was a game for the ages. France's offense being suppressed for almost 70 minutes was kind of magic in its own right, evidenced by Mbappe making the tiny cracks that showed at the end hurt. Damn what a game.

honorentheos wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:28 pm

I think soccer is one of those sports that becomes more fun to watch the more you know. Hockey is that way, too. Watching games live helps see more of the strategy going on away from the ball/puck.

For sure, that final was a game for the ages. France's offense being suppressed for almost 70 minutes was kind of magic in its own right, evidenced by Mbappe making the tiny cracks that showed at the end hurt. Damn what a game.

I've tried very hard to like soccer. I liked it when I lived in Brazil because my favorite player at the time was Ronaldinho, who I think was the best in his prime. But since then, it's just ... meh.

Avg game sees only 2 points scored over 90 minutes of play. Many games end up 0-0 and go to penalty kicks. The flops these players take to gain advantage are some of the most hilarious acting jobs I've ever seen, but there is no instant replay so whatever the judge calls stands and it can make all the difference in a game.

As the comedian Jay Mohr once said, the average soccer game is 1-1, and if they take away the goalies it would be 2-1.

honorentheos wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:28 pm

I think soccer is one of those sports that becomes more fun to watch the more you know. Hockey is that way, too. Watching games live helps see more of the strategy going on away from the ball/puck.

For sure, that final was a game for the ages. France's offense being suppressed for almost 70 minutes was kind of magic in its own right, evidenced by Mbappe making the tiny cracks that showed at the end hurt. Damn what a game.

My experience watching soccer has been similar. The more I watch and learn, the more I enjoy it.

I've played on teams with guys who flopped and tried to play the ref in soccer and basketball. Sucks to watch, sucks to have on your team. I don't watch the NBA anymore for similar reasons that you (ETA: veritas) cite for not watching soccer. It became boring to me even though it's the sport where the most points get scored. No sport is a good spectator sport for everyone.

That said, soccer is more enjoyable the more you know. When someone complains that there isn't enough scoring I shrug. I like MMA, especially skilled BJJ fighters, and when someone says they think a fight was boring because to them it was just two dudes trying to screw, it's usually coming from someone who just wants to see a brawl. Technical fights aren't as spectacular whether standing up or on the ground, either, yet in my opinion they're more interesting than two people throwing wild haymakers at each other.

To each their own.

ETA: Should have used the quote feature so it was clear I was responding to Veritas.

I should add, I also rarely sit and watch any sport anymore. I have always preferred doing over watching, and as I've gotten older the vicarious relationship with any sport is too strained to be worth the time. I will flip on a game while working on something, but my main motivation for watching sports comes from meeting up with friends to use the game/match/bout as a reason to get together. No more fantasy sports, I feel fine not knowing who is starting where for whom anymore where as a teen into my twenties that was the ante to be at the table. So I don't mean to suggest everyone should love to watch soccer. I just think the reputation some give it for being boring and low scoring is not an inherent issue with the sport as much as it is a matter of taste and knowledge.