Sports Random, Random

[Deuce]

Canada won 2-1, but I can't be a proud Canadian...

I cannot understand how anyone can take the sport of soccer seriously. Every 10 minutes, it looks like a player is on the verge of dying. The fake injuries are absolutely pathetic (and Canada was doing it more than Mexico was).

I watch a soccer game about once every 5 years. And every single time I watch a game, I'm disgusted by what I see. A dishonest sport like this can't - and shouldn't - be taken seriously.
I can't respect a sport which so obviously doesn't respect itself.

[ptmcmahon]

I enjoyed the game in spite of that silliness... but I can't disagree. I'll usually watch as much of the World Cup as I can, and usually most of Euro, but it's one of the main reasons I can't watch much more than that.

I laughed when they made a huge deal about one of the players subbing off because they had a slight cut and a tiny bid of blood as if it was some kind of horrific injury

[ti-amie]

I enjoyed the game in spite of that silliness... but I can't disagree. I'll usually watch as much of the World Cup as I can, and usually most of Euro, but it's one of the main reasons I can't watch much more than that.

I laughed when they made a huge deal about one of the players subbing off because they had a slight cut and a tiny bid of blood as if it was some kind of horrific injury

There was blood? Then it was a horrific injury. When I see a player drop to the ground as if he's been shot I look for blood. If there isn't any it's no surprise to see him running at full speed down the field two minutes later. I just go with it.

[Suliso]

There are sometimes really bad injuries which in the first seconds didn't look much like anything.

[ti-amie]

There are sometimes really bad injuries which in the first seconds didn't look much like anything.

This is also true.

[Deuce]

I don't believe that the Canadian player who was bleeding from a cut on his leg was one of the ones who was pretending to be on the verge of death (I may be wrong about that, as I only saw him coming out of the game).
But, honestly, when a cut like that occurs in a hockey game, the player would be ridiculed if he missed a shift, let alone was taken out of the game.

There are sometimes really bad injuries which in the first seconds didn't look much like anything.

^ But 95% of the time in this particular sport, the player who collapses to the ground, looking like he is about to die is completely faking his injury, and is up competing at 100% again within minutes of his 'near death experience'.

Honestly, this sport is out of control, and something must be done if it wishes to re-establish some sort of respectable credibility. But with sports gambling on the rise, the unfortunate likelihood is that these fake injuries will not only continue, but will increase even more.

They call soccer/football 'the beautiful game' - and perhaps it is that in theory. But in actual practice, it is rife with the dishonesty of fake injuries, dangerous rioting among 'fans', and corruption. Nothing beautiful about that.

[ptmcmahon]

I think most of the rest of the world isn't bothered by this though, at least not as much as we are. So I don't think they are too concerned about what us grumpy North Americans think of their game we don't even call football They probably have little issue with the fake injuries it so they don't care if we consider it credible or not. The game is doing just fine world wide with most of us not watching much or at all.

Same as if other parts had a problem with ice hockey because they considered it too.. can I say barbariac ...people checking each other, fighting etc, making each other bleed. If say someone in an country where ice hockey wasn't played much said it was out of control and had no credibility... we probably wouldn't make any changes because of their opinions either.

So I'll just watch the big events and roll my eyes when necessary.

[mmmm8]

I think for most sports fans worldwide, a strong affinity for, or, at least, the presence of soccer in their lives is so ingrained, there is not really an option to not be interested. I don't know any soccer fans that love diving (the common tactic of the injury-faking) and even fewer appreciate the corruption in the sport. But it's not a reason to stop watching. For many, it's a big part of their identity.

Most if not all "major" sports have a big level of unfairness, damaging side effects, mercantilism, and/or corruption. That's not an excuse for accepting them, but it's a fact.

[ponchi101]

I believe I can say that I have travelled a little bit around S. America. And I must be the sole man I know that dislikes football. It is, as M8 says, part of the national identity (It is good that Venezuela's national game is baseball).
And every time I talk about the diving and the on-court cheating, or the ridiculous (to me) "great" match that ended in a 0-0 draw, all I get is "well, that is the way the sport plays".

[ptmcmahon]

I got no qualms with low or no scoring matches. I don't need goals to enjoy a match. How un-North American of me. Almost as bad as me usually calling Ice Hockey ... Ice Hockey Although I play the other kind so I think that gives me an exception.

[Suliso]

It all depends what you're used to. I find American football silly and boring, but that's because I didn't grow up with it. Same with cricket.

[skatingfan]

As someone who grew up in a hockey culture the rolling on the ground like you're dying is really hard to watch. As a kid when I played soccer I was only injured once, and I was just hobbling on the field trying to get one of the coaches to signal for substitute. It never occurred to me to lay down on the field in order to get the attention of the referees.

[Deuce]

I think for most sports fans worldwide, a strong affinity for, or, at least, the presence of soccer in their lives is so ingrained, there is not really an option to not be interested. I don't know any soccer fans that love diving (the common tactic of the injury-faking) and even fewer appreciate the corruption in the sport. But it's not a reason to stop watching. For many, it's a big part of their identity.

Most if not all "major" sports have a big level of unfairness, damaging side effects, mercantilism, and/or corruption. That's not an excuse for accepting them, but it's a fact.

Granted that there is no professional sport that's perfect - and, as money becomes more and more pertinent in every pro sport, there will be less passion and more corruption -, I still say that soccer stands out because of the ridiculousness, manner, and frequency of players faking injuries. You just don't see that in any other sport to anywhere near the degree as is present in soccer.

Again, when I watch soccer, I see a sport which simply doesn't respect itself. I don't think it's healthy to simply overlook it, shrug one's shoulders, and say "Well, that's just the way it is." That's not very progressive thinking. I believe that high standards are better than low ones. It's amazing to me that those who claim to love the game are not making a concentrated and concerted effort to change this element of soccer for the better. Not that I've seen or heard, in any case.

[ptmcmahon]

Because most of them don’t think they need to get rid of the diving/fake injuries etc. Just because we who grew up in hockey cultures think it is an issue…doesn’t mean they do. Like usual you think that everyone else thinks the same way you (and in this case I ) do.

[Deuce]

Because most of them don’t think they need to get rid of the diving/fake injuries etc. Just because we who grew up in hockey cultures think it is an issue…doesn’t mean they do. Like usual you think that everyone else thinks the same way you (and in this case I ) do.

Soccer did not begin this way - with the diving, faking injuries, etc. It was not meant to be an inherent part of the game; this is not the way that the game was designed to be played. So any acceptance of this BS has been a gradual, ongoing process.

I cannot believe that there are not many TRUE soccer fans - such as those who remember the game before the nonsense, as but one segment - who want it to stop. But what are they doing to try to stop it?
I know one such person - a man in his 70s from Europe. When asked, he says that he really doesn't like the faking injuries, etc., and would enjoy the game significantly more if it were not present. But, at the same time, he accepts it by still watching it.

It's similar in a way to the manner in which North American culture has gradually accepted that many of their products are made under 'slave labour' in poor countries. People SAY that it's wrong and terrible, etc. - but they also demonstrate their acceptance of it by buying more and more products (because North American culture is extremely materialistic).

In both cases, there is little, if any, integrity shown.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” - Mahatma Gandhi

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