Why football failed to catch on in certain countries

[kopstudent89]

NightlyPoe said:

pastro243 said:
I always hear this "offside rule is stupid" from people from the US. Without offside the game would turn into a million meaningless goals with poachers as forwards and boring long balls to them. Seriously, it's more than the goals, watch the midfield and try to get what happens there.

Read the actual comment.  Once again, I said the rule should be dropped when it gets carried to a certain point on the field.  Call it an attacking zone or whatever.  It wouldn't change the midfield game at all really.  It would just stop the defense from getting bailed out next to the goal.

As for telling us to watch the midfield game.  It's really not that hard to follow, nor is it all that interesting.  That sentiment is almost a demonstration of why soccer is such a lousy sport to watch.

Offside is the single most important rule of Football, and every little change in this rule ultimately evolves the game. 

And to your last point, you can enjoy football for many things. The little things in midfield, the defensive game, the skills, team play, tactics, etc.. The more you watch the more you get how the subtle things can influence the game. Also two things separate it from most sports:

- It's like basketball where it is basket after basket, it does not seek quick instant gratification but rather you have to wait for the big moments and take them.  This delayed form of gratification makes you appreciate a lot of things in the game, and it makes scoring a goal so enjoyable.

- There are no breaks, no commercial to break the tension, no timeouts. This keeps the emotion of the game, the fans, the crowd, going on and on which in turn builds momentum. This is why football fans are so different than most sports (that and the fact that american fans in stadiums are just no fun).

Last edited by kopstudent89 - on 24 July 2018