I was wondering when this was going to happen. Both Steve Kelley of the Times and Art Thiel of the P-I jump all over the beautiful game that was anything but yesterday on the Qwest pitch.
The Seattle Sounders and L.A. Galaxy scrummed to a 1-1 tie yesterday, but a majority of mainstream press focused on what many people who are not fans of the sport point to as a reason for their loathing of soccer: Flopping.
There was an abundance of it yesterday in the game along with some questionable officiating that may have encouraged it. In any case, the drama queens were in full drag and Thiel pulls a quote from his notes when Sounders coach Sigi Schmid last week addressed the issue:
"The bigger concern right now is I think situations happen on the field that players embellish and over-dramatize what happens," Schmid said. "You watch soccer anywhere in the world. A guy gets hit in the thigh and he grabs his knee. A guy gets hit in the shoulder and he grabs his face. It's just wrong."
The articles have yet again ignited a debate about the relevance or worthiness of pro soccer on the American stage. The opponents point to the flopping and the lack of scoring as reasons the game is a sham. The proponents, like any involved fan of any particular sport will point toward the opponents’ ignorance of the game.
Flopping is irritating in any sport, to say the least. The NBA is almost worse than soccer and has rendered some teams unwatchable. It’s the passive aggressiveness of the acts that so infuriates the Bud-drinking, football loving crowd. They’d just as soon see the player take a real shot to the chin and get up. Or deliver a blow to the mid section and stand over his fallen victim. The whining and acting has not and never will be embraced in this country. It's why we all hate Duke.
What I don’t understand is the compulsion by both camps to debate the merits of the sport one way or the other. If you don’t like soccer, by all means, don’t attend games, read the articles or watch it on TV. Same goes for the soccer snobs. You’re worse than baseball stat geeks. The Sounders have already proven that the MLS can work in a North American city in a fantastic way. They’ve put a quality, entertaining product on the field that plays in an electric environment full of soccer hooligans. Let it go.
Put on your scarf, have a pint and enjoy yourself.
The Seattle Sounders and L.A. Galaxy scrummed to a 1-1 tie yesterday, but a majority of mainstream press focused on what many people who are not fans of the sport point to as a reason for their loathing of soccer: Flopping.
There was an abundance of it yesterday in the game along with some questionable officiating that may have encouraged it. In any case, the drama queens were in full drag and Thiel pulls a quote from his notes when Sounders coach Sigi Schmid last week addressed the issue:
"The bigger concern right now is I think situations happen on the field that players embellish and over-dramatize what happens," Schmid said. "You watch soccer anywhere in the world. A guy gets hit in the thigh and he grabs his knee. A guy gets hit in the shoulder and he grabs his face. It's just wrong."
The articles have yet again ignited a debate about the relevance or worthiness of pro soccer on the American stage. The opponents point to the flopping and the lack of scoring as reasons the game is a sham. The proponents, like any involved fan of any particular sport will point toward the opponents’ ignorance of the game.
Flopping is irritating in any sport, to say the least. The NBA is almost worse than soccer and has rendered some teams unwatchable. It’s the passive aggressiveness of the acts that so infuriates the Bud-drinking, football loving crowd. They’d just as soon see the player take a real shot to the chin and get up. Or deliver a blow to the mid section and stand over his fallen victim. The whining and acting has not and never will be embraced in this country. It's why we all hate Duke.
What I don’t understand is the compulsion by both camps to debate the merits of the sport one way or the other. If you don’t like soccer, by all means, don’t attend games, read the articles or watch it on TV. Same goes for the soccer snobs. You’re worse than baseball stat geeks. The Sounders have already proven that the MLS can work in a North American city in a fantastic way. They’ve put a quality, entertaining product on the field that plays in an electric environment full of soccer hooligans. Let it go.
Put on your scarf, have a pint and enjoy yourself.
1 comment:
Nicely stated!
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