do you actually care about the world cup?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Information we all need to know about the World Cup

[Keystone Phil]

The fats and dumbs here can't stand the sport because they don't get 48 commercial breaks to go get more snacks.

Says the guy who watches it at a soccer bar where snacks and drinks are brought to him, with no interruptions. 

I mostly watch at home. I only go to a bar near work for weekday games (mostly Champions League stuff since league play is almost always on the weekend).

[politicus]

No. Handball is the only ball game I am interested in. Its fast, violent, tactical and includes spectacular scoring methods. I also like speedway, boxing and road bike racing (which is my boring sport - but I love to see the accelerations, the point where the riders trick each other and gets away). Archery can be interesting too and I have a weird interest in snooker.

[Niemeyerite]

Yes. (Not Murican)

That.

I'll be picking my plane to Brazil in less than two weeks!!!!!11!!!!1!!

[rejectamenta]

Somewhat? I have no investment in it, but it's a great global event that I don't want to completely miss.

road bike racing (which is my boring sport - but I love to see the accelerations, the point where the riders trick each other and gets away).

Maybe a weird comparison, but NASCAR is very similar to this and I enjoy it for the same exact reasons. It's difficult to explain to someone who isn't already down with it, and ultimately it's still a 'boring' event, but the drama is palpable once it's understood.

[minionofmidas]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

[7,052,770]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

That's even more true of baseball, at least in a single-game perspective.

[Lief 🗽]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

That's even more true of baseball, at least in a single-game perspective.

Yeah, but a baseball final is 7 games, versus one.

[Platypus]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

And yet, at least at the club level, it is also the most unfair because money is allowed to rule the game, and 99% of national titles are won by about a half dozen clubs (or less), across every league in Europe.

[Хahar 🤔]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

And yet, at least at the club level, it is also the most unfair because money is allowed to rule the game, and 99% of national titles are won by about a half dozen clubs (or less), across every league in Europe.

I've always wondered about that. Doesn't it get boring to be a fan of a team that has no chance of ever winning?

[Joe Republic]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

And yet, at least at the club level, it is also the most unfair because money is allowed to rule the game, and 99% of national titles are won by about a half dozen clubs (or less), across every league in Europe.

I've always wondered about that. Doesn't it get boring to be a fan of a team that has no chance of ever winning?

The last time the Cubs won the World Series, the Ottoman Empire was still around.

[Хahar 🤔]

I'll always love that fact, but it's not really the same thing; as recently as 2008, the Cubs had the best record in the National League. Usually they haven't been good, but it's just bad luck that they've never managed to win.

[Platypus]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

And yet, at least at the club level, it is also the most unfair because money is allowed to rule the game, and 99% of national titles are won by about a half dozen clubs (or less), across every league in Europe.

I've always wondered about that. Doesn't it get boring to be a fan of a team that has no chance of ever winning?

The last time the Cubs won the World Series, the Ottoman Empire was still around.

In the last twenty years, ten teams have won the world series. 8 have been NBA champions, and 14 have won the Superbowl.

In Australia, 11 have won the AFL Premiership, and the same number the NRL.

In contrast, 5 have won the EPL - Blackburn Rovers in 94-95, Manchester City twice, Manchester United 11 times, Chelsea 3 times, Arsenal 3 times. 5 have won La Liga (Spain), and 5 have won Serie A. The Bundesliga has 6, and only the French Ligue 1 is in the same realm as equalised leagues in the US and Australia, with 10.

[bore]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

And yet, at least at the club level, it is also the most unfair because money is allowed to rule the game, and 99% of national titles are won by about a half dozen clubs (or less), across every league in Europe.

I've always wondered about that. Doesn't it get boring to be a fan of a team that has no chance of ever winning?

No, because you set your definition of winning accordingly. For instance my team (Hibs) are never going to win the league so I would count a big derby win over Hearts or winning a cup or placing 3rd as a victory and would celebrate that like (and the cup more than) your average Celtic fan celebrates winning the league. The fact that Hibs are utterly woeful at the moment means when we do eventually do well it will be all the sweeter.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It also used to be the case in England (for instance) that the FA Cup was a bigger deal than the League. And then for a long time they were more-or-less roughly equal. And when all of this was the case, the League was much more open.

[Badger]

The what?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Obama cares

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/06/president-obama-announces-presidential-delegation-federative-republic-br

Thanks Obama!

[minionofmidas]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

And yet, at least at the club level, it is also the most unfair because money is allowed to rule the game, and 99% of national titles are won by about a half dozen clubs (or less), across every league in Europe.

I've always wondered about that. Doesn't it get boring to be a fan of a team that has no chance of ever winning?

I wonder the same about fans of teams that win something every year.

(Besides, Bayern's defeats always seem to matter much more than their wins because they're unexpected and the wins are not... really, I can't get into the minds of people who're into that. What makes them tick?)


But yeah, the closed leages and salary caps and drafting rules exist in America because the sports they watch wouldn't be bearable otherwise. Football really didn't need all that til fairly recently, though really by now we're in dire need of reforms in that direction. It's all the Champions League's setup's fault, of course.

(Incidentally, the Football League was always far more closed and thus 'American', the tiered divisions notwithstanding, than the Serie A let alone the Bundesliga.)

[morgieb]

One thing to note is that - precisely because it is so low-scoring - football is the most "unfair" of the big team sports: the one where the objectively weaker team has the best chances of winning.

And yet, at least at the club level, it is also the most unfair because money is allowed to rule the game, and 99% of national titles are won by about a half dozen clubs (or less), across every league in Europe.

I've always wondered about that. Doesn't it get boring to be a fan of a team that has no chance of ever winning?

Yeah, as an Australian who was brought up on the NRL and to a lesser extent the AFL, it's always felt...strange to support a league where everything is utterly predictable. I suppose relegation balances it out, but still...

[Oldiesfreak1854]

No.  Watching soccer is the best 90 minutes to get a nap.

[dead0man]

I feel like people who say that nothing happens in soccer are implying that the only thing that matters in a sports game is the goals.

I get what you're trying to say, a lot of the important plays in soccer aren't anywhere near the goal and are just setting up opportunities to score*, but the score is the only thing that matters when all is said and done.



*this is probably easier for fans of hockey to understand


edit-funny related (to the thread) thing happened to me at work last night.....got in, swings said that there are brackets that everybody needs to fill out and I was like "whoa, we're doing a World Cup bracket?.....wait, can you even do a WC bracket?" and they were "WTF is a the "world cup"?....this is for the College World Series"....freaking Americans.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

I suppose relegation balances it out, but still...

as someone who lives near karlsruhe and reads a karlsruhe newspaper, yes. it does.

[Cobbler]

I feel like people who say that nothing happens in soccer are implying that the only thing that matters in a sports game is the goals.

I get what you're trying to say, a lot of the important plays in soccer aren't anywhere near the goal and are just setting up opportunities to score*, but the score is the only thing that matters when all is said and done.

Not just soccer, though. American football has a lot of excitement on the plays, and the process of getting the touchdown, not just the touchdown itself. Yes, score is all that matters when you are looking at the game on a spreadsheet; but appreciation of a sport involves much more than the points you score, and that goes for all the sports, not just soccer/hockey.

[Peeperkorn]

The real problem is the people who cares if the yanks care or not about football.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Is it over yet?