When I was in Vegas this month lots of the US webmasters I met knew more about soccer than some of my mates back in London - are you guys following more soccer now? Ever see a day when soccer might be more popular than any of the big three - Football, Baseball, Basketball? I even met a ex Fulham player in selling shoes in Ceasars Palace.....!!


Chris, CEO, BabeCell
http://www.babecell.com
.:Cash in on Cellular:.

yep it has been the fastest growing sport amongst youngsters, and has spawned two major leagues. Many of which sell more tickets than your average baseball game, believe it or not. I have played, coached, and referreed the sport. My mother and father both coached my sister and I when we were young.

Are you serious? whenever i see soccer highlights i always see empty stadiums. And whats the second soccer league?

Are you serious? whenever i see soccer highlights i always see empty stadiums. And whats the second soccer league? [/b][/quote]
What's the first? :agrin:

I love soccer. CT played several sports, but soccer was the best for an, ahem, overactive child :P

He said it's what he misses the most being in the AF and plans on finding or starting a league on base when he gets to Japan.

Alot of the current under 20 year olds know soccer alot, but still most dont seem to embrace it much even after playing it for years as a kid.

I reffed soccer for little bastards at the YMCA. We all had alot of fun.

I'm old...

I played lots of soccer in my youth.

Even offered terms by Southend and as a school boy played against Fulham when they had an old and fat George Best and Rodney Marsh.My friend went and played for California Surf from the old American league.

Here in Vancouver Soccer is quite big , but especially with Girls.

Vancouver Whitecaps get a lot of TV coverage here.


Vancouver is different though , we even play cricket here :)

In the US, the only boys that play soccer are those whose moms won't let them play football for fear of getting hurt. Soccer is played by nancy-boys in the US.

Not saying if its right, or wrong - just how soccer has developed in the US.

Grimm, your soccer experience probably is the reason you havea mac, cats, and vote for democrats.

:lol: :lol:

Actually, based on my son and his friends and my friends and their kids, kids get hurt in soccer than they do in football. They aren't wearing those pussy pads, lol! :awinky:

And I can promise you, you do NOT want a hyperactive kid on a football or baseball team. WAY too much sitting around and waiting. Basketball and soccer are good for the little ADD angels :P

Actually, based on my son and his friends and my friends and their kids, kids get hurt in soccer than they do in football. They aren't wearing those pussy pads, lol! :awinky:

And I can promise you, you do NOT want a hyperactive kid on a football or baseball team. WAY too much sitting around and waiting. Basketball and soccer are good for the little ADD angels :P [/b][/quote]
Peaches, you must be kidding.

let me repost your words for you to read:

Did your son and his friends play orginzied tackle football in high school? I know Georgia takes its football very seriously - like they do in La.

Trust me, your experiences are not serving you well. It defies common sense.

I guess you probably think the world is flat too.

What's the first? :agrin: [/b][/quote]
MLS, major leauge soccer
there is only one team i even remotely know , San Jose Quakes.
And unlike Grimm's team these guys always have an EMPTY stadium.

Mike,

http://pictures.footymad.net/upload/780/71974-5.jpg

That is how soccer (I hate that word - its FOOTBALL!!!) is played in europe :-))

As I said, I based it on my experience and that of my son's friends and my friend's kids. If I walked off the edge of the earth tomorrow, I would say it was flat :)

Wow, one picture? I have bled more then that from basketball - getting elbowed from a billionaire!!

The guy is standing up.... have you see the collisions in the NFL? Watch the Patriots - Steelers game Sunday and you tell me if soccer is more violent, or has more injuries.

Concusions, broken bones, major contusions are COMMON in football. Ronnie Lot had doctors cut a piece of his finger off so he could play in a game.

Soccer is a great sport for girls, and guys who have over protective mothers!

:lol: :yowsa:

Peaches, its ok - we know you are a soccer mom - be proud of it!!

ahahahahahaha Mike you are a tad cunty today it seems.

there is only one team in the world...

http://www.manutd.com

And if you disagree , well you are all gonna get your fucking head kicked in!!!!!!


Come on over here if you reckon your hard enough!!!

;-))))

UNITED!!!

Peaches, its ok - we know you are a soccer mom - be proud of it!! [/b][/quote]
Michael, he played football. And baseball. And basketball. And roller hockey. And lacross.

Soccer was just a sport where he could always be in constant motion and that's what he liked. I don't know many mothers who were ABLE to tell their sons they weren't allowed to play football - especially here in the south! :P Your CHILD picks what sports they want to play and excel in, unless you're a crappy parent.

HAHAHA Nick the owner of my local football team is trying to buy your club.

I have respect for United - its a well run orginization,and a huge money maker!

As far as traveling for soccer, or to debate it? Come on - I have wasted enough keystrokes as it is on such a sissy sport. :D

If it makes you feel any better, my wife is a great soccer player. Was on the State team in Cali, and had mutlible scholarship offers. But, she is a girl....

We have debates all the time. Soccer players are great athletes, they run a lot. Soccer in Europe is a different sport then in the US.

Who ate all the pies, who ate all the pies :lol:

With most european football matches, apart from the rare occurrences with the image above, all they have to suffer the indignancy of the chipped fingernail or the occasional bruise and a possible paper cut from counting their cash.

Rugby is where its at ..no padding, just a box (to make sure your family jewels dont get tarnished) and a gumshield :okthumb:

I would only be concerned about being injured as a fan in stands then actualy playing the sport.


Peaches - see you are already coming back to your senses. I think they can kick you out of Georgia for saying soccer is better, mroe violent, etc.. over football.

Rugby is a violent, crazy sport. The guys I knew who played in college were neanderthalls... pain was pleasure to them.

Those really ARE sissy sports!!!

;-)))


http://www.aurorasoccerclub.ca/conte...nnie_gazza.jpg

You only sing when you're winning!!!!

Sing when you're winning.... you only sing when your winning....

;-)))

Lacross is actually a VERY fun sport to watch, IMHO. How they manage to catch those damn balls is beyond me.

That don't count, its Gazza he deserves it :lol: gwan the Vinnie

He is allegedly like one of those "tiny tears" dolls, squeeze him and he turns on the waterworks

Old soccer joke...when packed in a crowd of 50,000 people all standing at Old Trafford the home ground of Manchester United....

Guy turns the guy on his left and says "This is my first game here , its packed.What do you do if you are breaking your neck for a piss?

The guy turns to him and says , "Quiet as you can piss in the guys coat pocket next to you"

"Fuck , won't he notice"

Naw , you didn't"


;-)))

{{In full yob mode}} (singing)

He's got a pinneapple on his head!!! He's got a fucking pineapple on his head!!


(sung by 50,000 people at a black star with an interesting hair style...I think the poor bastard eventually quit)


;-)))

Any Totenham fans on this board?...prolly not , they don't have electric. LOL

LOL harsh

I was not aware that there were any other team, but

CELTIC

:okthumb:

I was at the cup final when Gazza broke his leg!!!


I just said to a mate , that I fucking hate that guy , I wish he would die. LOL

Fucking hated Gazza.

I had a mate and my father in law support Totenham (yiddos). Oh look who owns hotspurs.com ;-)))

If I ever get up there man, I will bring the pings and give ya a game :okthumb:

I was not aware that there were any other team, but

CELTIC

:okthumb: [/b][/quote]
When Ever Im In Times Of Trouble,
Mother Mary Comes To Me
Singing Glasgow Celtic 1, Caley 3.
Celtic 1, Caley 3
Celtic 1, Caley 3
Glasgow Celtic 1, Caley 3

We Are Rangers
Super Rangers
No One likes Us
We Dont Care
We hate Celtic
Fenian Bastards
and Well Chase Them Anywhere


Can you hear the Celtic sing?
No-oh, No-oh!
Can you hear the Celtic sing?
No-oh, No-oh!
Can you hear the Celtic sing?
Cannae hear a fuckin' thing!
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh,oh-oh!

Oh, this is so fuckin' easy!
So fuckin' easy!
Oh, this is so fuckin' easy!

You're so shite its unbelievable!
You're so shite its unbelievable!

Whats it like to follow Shite?
Whats it like to follow SHITE?



Stand up if you hate Celtic
Stand up if you hate Celtic
Stand up if you hate Celtic
Stand up if you hate Celtic
Sit down if you've won fuck all
Sit down if you've won fuck all
Sit down if you've won fuck all
Sit down if you've won fuck all




;-)))))

I would do this - I hope to see some chop limbs :okthumb:

Soccer has got to be the most boring sport in the world to watch on TV. That's why it has never gotten big in the U.S.

I would speculate it's actually no more exciting to watch in person. However, it's a bit different in Europe. They have nothing else to do, so they all pile into the soccer stadium and out of boredom they start fucking with each other, fights break out, etc. So much like "rasslin", the true entertainment is watching the crowd, not the match.

I gotta agree with Mike on the popularity of soccer rising with youth along with this new generation of parents. They do not want their child to get hurt or feel inferior to other children who are better athletes and be ridiculed. So they play soccer.

You can take a kid who is a total spaz and put him in a soccer game and he can run up and down the field like an idiot and feel like he's participating even though he never gets involved in a play. Try that in football and because it's a true team effort he either gets creamed or by his inaction allows another parent's kid to get creamed and they scream bloody murder for the coach to get his spastic ass off the field.

Exactly why CT started in it :)

Hell Puppy, have you ever played soccer and not just kicked the ball ??

Man United .. by far the most inventive chants....

Some favourites:

http://red11.org/mufc/images/20012002/2002...ManUnitedFC.mp3

http://red11.org/mufc/images/20012002/2002...avidBeckham.mp3

http://red11.org/mufc/images/20012002/2002...eenYourDick.mp3

http://red11.org/mufc/sound/mp3/MyOldMan.mp3

No dude, I'm straight.

No dude, I'm straight. [/b][/quote]
First the tongue ring, then the Armstrong bracelet, now soccer.....CT's going to kick your ass when he comes home! :P

Maybe Futsal is better for the US TV format... http://www.futsal.com/

Smaller field, less players, shorter time, and more goals :)

I would do this - I hope to see some chop limbs :okthumb: [/b][/quote]


It will be like that, and better because with a -5 degrees windchill on game day... its going to be a classic game.

First the tongue ring, then the Armstrong bracelet, now soccer.....CT's going to kick your ass when he comes home! :P [/b][/quote]
Well, dont say we didn't warn ya if he shows up at home with a guy.

When we first moved to San Diego my parents were in property management at an upscale complex near the beach. We had two residents that were in professional sports - one was on the San Diego Chargers - the other was on the San Diego Sockers. Can you guess which guy got mobbed by the kids more? And he wasn't even a popular player - they just knew he was on the team.

Soccer in the US is great for kids - maybe up through high school and a little college (I hear the scholarships for this are great for girls - but my daughter lost interest at 10, about the time she started playing catcher in fast pitch softball - now THERE'S a sport!). However, beyond that it's just never really taken the nation "by storm" like football, baseball - and hell, I'm shocked - even NASCAR has reached beyond its redneck roots in the past few years.

There was that bit of time when Mia Hamm got all the girls wanting to play soccer... and I remember the Pele games on Atari back in the day... but America has had a "fleeting" romance with soccer over the years and that's about it...

:unsure:

Are you serious? whenever i see soccer highlights i always see empty stadiums. And whats the second soccer league? [/b][/quote]
well there is the MLS league... im not sure what the other league is named... then there are the national indoor leagues


And the stadiums seem empty because a lot of teams play in football stadiums, they section off about 20-30 thousand seats in a 80-100K stadium, and it looks empty:)

The Columbus crew have i believe a 26,000 seat stadium that sells out consistantly.

Its not as big in the US as football or baseball, but is as big as your average NBA game (not saying much). But amongst youth in america, it is the largest youth program sport. bigger than pop warner and LL USA.

ESPN covers it

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/index?cc=5901

I dont particularly watch it. Internationally it is the largest sport in the world, hundreds of thousands attend matches..

actaully kath.. if you look at the numbers, attendance only, Major LEague Soccer is competing with the NBA.

Nascar simply has the numbers. I cant stand the "sport", but if you can pack 500 thousand fans into anything, the marketing must be incredible.

Its amazing the world difference.. a soccer player making a mil a year in the US, can go to Europe or South America and make 20 per.

sure mike;) this coming from a man who never did a two-a-day in his life:)

Soccer is one of the hardest sports to be in condition for. Much harder than basketball or football. have you seen the size of a soccer field at that level, and they dont get to break between plays:)

I would compare the conditioning for soccer much like that for tour cycling, except harder. I knew a bunch of collegiate soccer players, and their conditioning was a lot harder than my collegiate football conditioning. No way i could have competed in soccer.

Im a football guy myself. with baseball and college basketball a close second.

I prefer college over pro sports any day. Professional atheletes are only respectable in the NFL, and the NHL. The NBA is soft.

I gotta agree with ya there Grimm... if you'll notice, more than half the time those NBA players are just standing there WATCHING one or two guys make the shot. lol And if they get hurt - they are down on the court milking it for all its worth... in football they get hit HARD and then are right back up, getting into it again... plus I can't stand the squeaky shoes... like fingernails on a chalkboard - lol

As far as soccer goes though, I do have to admit that there's an endurance factor - all that back and forth, back and forth on the field... when my daughter played I used to feel like was watching a tennis match seeing all these little ankle biters running back and forth across the field. lol Peaches is dead on - it's a great sport for hyper kids!

:awinky:

Wow, one picture? I have bled more then that from basketball - getting elbowed from a billionaire!!

The guy is standing up.... have you see the collisions in the NFL? Watch the Patriots - Steelers game Sunday and you tell me if soccer is more violent, or has more injuries.

Concusions, broken bones, major contusions are COMMON in football. Ronnie Lot had doctors cut a piece of his finger off so he could play in a game.

Soccer is a great sport for girls, and guys who have over protective mothers!

:lol: :yowsa: [/b][/quote]
well its a good thing you never played, wouldnt want my friend and partner to have experienced concussions:) they arent that bad, really:)

I gotta agree with ya there Grimm... if you'll notice, more than half the time those NBA players are just standing there WATCHING one or two guys make the shot. lol And if they get hurt - they are down on the court milking it for all its worth... in football they get hit HARD and then are right back up, getting into it again... plus I can't stand the squeaky shoes... like fingernails on a chalkboard - lol

As far as soccer goes though, I do have to admit that there's an endurance factor - all that back and forth, back and forth on the field... when my daughter played I used to feel like was watching a tennis match seeing all these little ankle biters running back and forth across the field. lol Peaches is dead on - it's a great sport for hyper kids!

:awinky: [/b][/quote]
Indeed, the average career for a tailback in the NFL is 2.3 years. Thats why the up front money is so coveted. In the NBA and MLB they have guaranteed contracts, so they can afford to dog it up and down the court.

I think the bias is between a contact and finess sport, international soccer is damn deadly.

Football is a very physical contact sport. I suffered more than a few concussions, dislocated bones and bruises and breaks.