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JayUp88

Soccer is a joke.

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First off I know there are many fans of soccer in this board and this is by no means a knock on you or the sport you like so if I come off like I am attacking you guys I am sorry I am mostly just venting.

I can't help but notice that soccer is the only sport were fans enjoy hurting each other. You can't look at the sports section of website without reading about some soccer riot. How can anyone take soccer serious when people just end up killing each other anytime theres a "bad call" or some crap. Yahoo's headings yesterday were "Soccer brawl in Colombia leaves 78 injured, 18 with stab wounds" but no one over there seems to bat an eye because it just keeps happening.....how can this be. If something like that were to happen at a football game or a hockey game over here it would be crazy. The sport would be changed forever. Don't get me wrong we have a couple fist fights between drunken fans now and then but people aren't taring down the stadium or killing people. what makes people do that over there?

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First off I know there are many fans of soccer in this board and this is by no means a knock on you or the sport you like so if I come off like I am attacking you guys I am sorry I am mostly just venting.

I can't help but notice that soccer is the only sport were fans enjoy hurting each other. You can't look at the sports section of website without reading about some soccer riot. How can anyone take soccer serious when people just end up killing each other anytime theres a "bad call" or some crap. Yahoo's headings yesterday were "Soccer brawl in Colombia leaves 78 injured, 18 with stab wounds" but no one over there seems to bat an eye because it just keeps happening.....how can this be. If something like that were to happen at a football game or a hockey game over here it would be crazy. The sport would be changed forever. Don't get me wrong we have a couple fist fights between drunken fans now and then but people aren't taring down the stadium or killing people. what makes people do that over there?

Let me jump on this. :)

I don't think this has anything to do with the sport itself but the plain simple fact that soccer is the most popular sport in literally every country in the world. Sure, America favors Football, Canada favors hockey, other countries favor other sports, but if you look at the entire world, there is no sport that is number 1 in more countries than soccer. Hence, we can draw fairly simple conclusions.

1) There are a ton of countries in the world that are way behind when it comes to -- well, let's just call it manorism for simplicity. What I am saying is, there are quite a few countries were in general riots are more common, people tend to be more violent during political crises, the way people treat each other in society is a bit different, etc. Hence, if those countries also like soccer, it is very likely that their actions in their "normal" lives also reflect of the way they treat each other when attending a soccer game. Colombia in general is more passionate about stuff than us stuck-up Americans are (generalization!!! give me a break). If you add alcohol to the mix, sure, I can see how a riot might arise. Same riot probably also arises when there are other sports played that these people feel passionate about.

2) In general, major sports in the US have become corporate events, or events reserved for the upper class. Sure, this is far fetched and particularly untrue for baseball, where you can actually take your family to a game for perhaps under $100. However, most sporting events these days cost WAY too much money to attend, excluding the less well-off people. While steroptypical, more well-off people are probably less likely to hit each other over the head at a sporting event they just paid $100 a seat for. Not to say that there aren't exceptions. In many other countries though, sporting events are actually still well visited by the less well-off people. For example, most soccer stadiums in Europe still have sectors of the stadium as standing-only room. These "seats" are really cheap, even cheaper if you buy a season ticket. I used to buy a season ticker for hockey in Germany, standing room only for maybe $150....for 25 or so home games! That's unheard of in the US.

3) Soccer gets a bad rap in the US, no matter how you turn it. When does ESPN or other major networks report on soccer? When there is a riot at the game. Do they show who wins the Champions League? Who wins titles in major leagues around the world? Nope. In fact, the few times I saw goals shown on ESPNs Top-10 plays of the day, I usually laugh asking myself, who picked out THAT goal as a great unusual goal? These networks have a hard time judging what is a good soccer game and what is not. At least in the southern states we get a bit more soccer, primarily because the hispanic population is interested in it.

In any regard, look beyond the few riots you see and try to FIND good soccer games where fans are friendly and you will see a great atmosphere. Not to say you won't find crazies, most recently the issues facing Italian soccer attandees, but then, it's not like there are NO incidents whatsover to report in other sports.

Edited by C-Dub

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I don't mind soccer its self. heck i wish soccer was popular when i was young because its fun to play now. I just want to know why people kill over it....

So this may sound like a stupid question but i have no ideaout of north America, but do other country really have tons of sports like America and Canada have. football, hockey, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. or is soccer basically all they have.

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JayUp, do you get offended when ESPN (allegedly) only talks about hockey when a Bertuzzi like incident happens? Same sort of thing.

I don't care of soccer myself, but there's plenty of NFL fans that enjoy hurting each other too. The media just doesn't cover it.

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Sadly this is part of certain cultures . Soccer as stated is the global game . it's throughout every country in the world and with this comes national pride and hatred of others . i hate saying this about a game i love and enjoy but it's the facts . people use Soccer as a way of getting at others . it's their passion so other aspects of their life is vented through it . like in my country it's a religious thing and i'm embaressed that in the past people have lost their lives because of it . but i will say it is light years ahead of what it was like even 15 -20 years ago. but putting this aside the way people look at the global game should be what happens on the pitch not what happens in the stands .

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Sadly this is part of certain cultures . Soccer as stated is the global game . it's throughout every country in the world and with this comes national pride and hatred of others . i hate saying this about a game i love and enjoy but it's the facts . people use Soccer as a way of getting at others . it's their passion so other aspects of their life is vented through it . like in my country it's a religious thing and i'm embaressed that in the past people have lost their lives because of it . but i will say it is light years ahead of what it was like even 15 -20 years ago. but putting this aside the way people look at the global game should be what happens on the pitch not what happens in the stands .

Thanks for that answer it makes a lot of sense. Hope i didn't tick you off or anything!!!

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So this may sound like a stupid question but i have no ideaout of north America, but do other country really have tons of sports like America and Canada have. football, hockey, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. or is soccer basically all they have.

Not sure. I am originally from Germany now living in the US, so I can only speak for Germany. Soccer is Number 1 but there are lots of other sports getting attention. Hockey is one of them and the German basketball league has gained a lot of popularity. Further, racing is popular, escially Formula 1 but also the German GT type series. During the winter time, the various ski world cups (ski jumping, biathlon, etc) get a lot of attention.

However, I am not aware of many countries having the type of monetary force behind sports like the NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB. I think that is uncommon in most countries. In fact, most soccer teams in Germany are officially still clubs, not owned by a person or consortium like the franchises in the above mentioned leagues. Some of that is changing though, most notably with soccer clubs like Manchaster, that is a publically traded company at this point.

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Thanks for that answer it makes a lot of sense. Hope i didn't tick you off or anything!!!

it's no probs bud . no offense taken.i know fair well about the problem's that Soccer has . but as i said they are very slowly but surely being eradicated.

oh i will add if you chose to follow a team , follow Glasgow Celtic.hee hee. i know my bad. :P

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First off I know there are many fans of soccer in this board and this is by no means a knock on you or the sport you like so if I come off like I am attacking you guys I am sorry I am mostly just venting.

I can't help but notice that soccer is the only sport were fans enjoy hurting each other. You can't look at the sports section of website without reading about some soccer riot. How can anyone take soccer serious when people just end up killing each other anytime theres a "bad call" or some crap. Yahoo's headings yesterday were "Soccer brawl in Colombia leaves 78 injured, 18 with stab wounds" but no one over there seems to bat an eye because it just keeps happening.....how can this be. If something like that were to happen at a football game or a hockey game over here it would be crazy. The sport would be changed forever. Don't get me wrong we have a couple fist fights between drunken fans now and then but people aren't taring down the stadium or killing people. what makes people do that over there?

United States overall, while definitely far from perfect, is a fairly civil country when compared to others.

Columbia is not. And no, I know all Columbians are probably not like that before somebody yells my head off about being too generalized.

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Football holds a lot of power

You made a typo, but its ok. You typed Football when you meant to type soccer. I didn't see any football in that video.

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You made a typo, but its ok. You typed Football when you meant to type soccer. I didn't see any football in that video.

No typo at all since they kick a ball with their foot hence the name Football.

Plus the world governing body is called Fédération Internationale de Football Association or as known in English “International Federation of Association Football”

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No typo at all since they kick a ball with their foot hence the name Football.

Plus the world governing body is called Fédération Internationale de Football Association or as known in English “International Federation of Association Football”

exactly . i've never understood why they call American football American football when they use their hands . football has been played longer and held this title longer . Soccer = football = the global game. :thumbup:

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soccer is terrible, it's pretty bad when the fans are tougher than the players. they are the biggest wimps ever.....

funny_soccer.jpg

Congratulations on the Lamest-Post-Of-The-Thread-So-Far Award.

How about you line up in my back yard and we'll have the ref step me back the appropriate distance for a free kick and I shoot you in the balls a few times. :D

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soccer is terrible, it's pretty bad when the fans are tougher than the players. they are the biggest wimps ever.....

funny_soccer.jpg

intelligence is radiating from this post :rolleyes:

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I think the question the OP is asking is simply this...

Why in other countries, when fans riot, is little or nothing done about it? No, the answer is not 'more violent cultures' because people generally say the US is barbaric in relation to the UK, which has its own problem with soccer riots.

The OP is simply wondering why rioting is relatively tolerated at soccer matches as compared to other sports.

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The OP is simply wondering why rioting is relatively tolerated at soccer matches as compared to other sports.

Please explain, I have not seen anything in the news lately that would suggest that riots are accepted, particularly in countries like England, the Netherlands, or Italy. I would generally consider these societies as civil as it gets and again, riots have create quite a public outcry when they happen. Most recently, the Italian league shut down after a fan of one team shot another fan of another team at a traffic light after a game. Clearly, this does not seem to be an action suggestion acceptance.

EDIT: I know that most to all German clubs have policies that if you are rioting in a stadium, including throwing things onto the pitch, etc, you will be banned for life from attending. Similarly, everytime the Euro rolls around (once every 4 years) Germany collects passports of known hooligans to prevent them from crossing the border to attend Euro games in foreign countries.

Edited by C-Dub

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I think the question the OP is asking is simply this...

Why in other countries, when fans riot, is little or nothing done about it? No, the answer is not 'more violent cultures' because people generally say the US is barbaric in relation to the UK, which has its own problem with soccer riots.

The OP is simply wondering why rioting is relatively tolerated at soccer matches as compared to other sports.

I think the UK soccer riots problem is a stereotype nowadays. In the past it was more of a problem, but with the huge money that is involved in the English Premier League, for example, such 'riots' wouldn't be tolerated. (And certainly are not tolerated.) I can't remember the last time anything close to a 'riot' happened in the English Premier League, for example.

In recent times, the main 'trouble' between fans seems to happen when English clubs play teams in mainland Europe, or vice versa. Often, a small minority of 'fans' travel with the sole intention of looking for a fight and often haven't even got tickets to the game. In fact, with these people the game is a distant second in their priorities.

In some ways the reputation of British teams and their fans work unfairly against them - there has been many situations where European police have used obscene and excessive force for seemingly very little reason, inciting 'riot' conditions themselves. (Last season, Spanish police were seen using batons on a crowd, knocking a disabled Spurs fan out of his wheelchair, for god's sake) Another thing to note is the problem of racism - it used to be a problem in England at matches but is now virtually non-existent, whereas in leagues like Italy and Spain, reports of fans racially abusing players is much higher.

Of course, countries in South America are a bit different and I'm sure there are logical reasons as to why they occur more often. I can't say I follow the Colombian league.

The main reason why the sport is so popular globally is because it's probably the most basic sport in terms of what you need to play. A ball. That's it. So street kids in the poorest countries can play without needing any money to shell out on equipment etc. In fact, most of the true legends of the game, the real top-class players are invariably from poor, working-class backgrounds.

Personally, I've always played and loved the game. (I don't think there was an ice-rink in my country never mind my town when I was young. Recently, I've grown somewhat disillusioned with it as big-bucks infiltrate the sport, the rule-makers basically want to ban any physcial play whatsoever, and fancy-haired funboys flop and dive around the field pretending they've been shot up the arse. (All of which are actually much more of a genuine threat to the sport than riots!)

To the football fans who might read this, I'm a Liverpool fan, which may explain the disenchantment!

Edited by Green Wing

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