As I’ve fallen in love with football and think you should support your local(ish) side, I’ve started following an Columbus Crew Soccer Club in addition to the club that’ll be mine till I die, MCFC. (I’m also keeping an eye on NYCFC, but not as actively.)
Thought we might all have a spot for chatting about America’s own top flight league, so here we are!
Like the idea, but like most MLS fans don’t follow “my” side closely enough to have much intelligent to contribute. GO FIRE!
Id like to jump in but as a 0-2-2 Philadelphia Union fan it seems as if it will be another year with no playoffs and little to talk about.
San Jose should be my local side, but I’m new to the area and can’t get too excited by the Quakes, though I’m looking forward to checking out the new stadium sometime soon. I’m more of a Galaxy fan and interested to see how they get on this season without Donovan. Here’s hoping that Zardes keeps developing into a strong player for the Nats!
Sounders FC fan here. Very strong home opening game victory, very poor home second game loss, third game tied away missing 4 of our best players, including our best defender, best midfielder, and two best strikers. Typical, really. Sounders FC soccer never lacks for drama.
WTF can’t the MLS take a break for international football like everyone else?! GAH.
Lets go Purple Lions!
Do…do they even call themselves that?
They aren’t local yet, but I’m moving to Orlando ASAP and am following as much as I can
Fire get their first win! Over the Union, but still…
Shush! I quite enjoy gloating at my European friends that I’ve still got top-flight club football to watch during international breaks.
Bah, fuck Orlando. I’m still sore at how their owner screwed over Austin.
We went to a FC Dallas Academy game last Sunday. There was a big tournament at the Cotton Bowl and some of the minor league MLS teams were playing exhibition games. My granddaughter is into soccer in a big way. I’m trying hard to learn to like to the game and I have questions. Stupid, noobie questions.
When the goalie kicks the ball out, why do they do the big booming kick out past mid-field? It always resulted in a jump ball-type header that where the possession of the ball was rather random. Why wouldn’t the goalie just kick the ball to one of his open players and be more sure of maintaining possession? Is there a rule involved that I don’t know about?
For rules, the main part you would be concerned about is that the kick must leave the penalty area. Otherwise, the goalie is indeed free to kick the ball to anywhere on the field, including any of his players.
With that said, there are strategic reasons for kicking the ball long. Goalies generally aren’t that highly skilled at footwork, including precision passing. The consequences of a short kick gone awry can be disastrous, or even a perfect short kick to an open defender that subsequently loses the ball with no defense behind him. You do see short kicks occasionally, however, when a player nearby is exceptionally open and that player can be trusted to advance the ball.
Generally, though, the safer play is a longer kick downfield that puts some defenders between the ball and the goal. The goalie will probably try to find the most open player he can to kick it to, but long kicks like that don’t make for very accurate passes and there’s plenty of time for the other team to challenge for the ball, so it usually ends up being a scramble as to who wins the ball.
Hope that helps.
Your explanation is a good one. However, this is still the most infuriating thing in soccer to me. I HATE it when they just kick is seemingly to no one.
I want to be able to participate in this thread regularly and keep it active, but I’m not as good a Revs fan as I should be. I watch the games on TV whenever I’ve got the chance, though I’m unlikely to plan my weekend around them (as I might for, say, the Bruins or Celtics). Mostly, though, I’m in the exact demographic that would be a season-ticket or at least a package holder if they ever build the Boston-Metro stadium they’ve been working on for a decade plus, but I can only get to one or two games a year out in Foxborough.
Still, though, rough start for the team, but at least we have an excuse with Jermaine Jones being injured. Hoping we get back to the MLS Cup and don’t see the Galaxy, for once.
That makes sense. Thanks.
I suppose the goalie would only do short kicks to nearby teammates once or twice before the opposing team would drop a player back to steal it. It’s safer to have more defenders between the ball and the goal.
I’m still struggling with the offsides rule. I understand the rule and the reason behind it. But it seems like it punishes the offense for outrunning the defense as often as not. Especially in the youth league games. I played basketball in my youth, and my analogy is: you execute a perfect fast break and you get the numbers (2-on-1) and you have to stop and wait for the defense to catch up. It seems wrong somehow. I’ll eventually get used to it.
Be glad you’re not a City fan, then. Joe Hart is top notch at keeping the ball out of the net, but he has a bit of a reputation for putting the ball into the stands on goal kicks.
The fun thing are those very, very rare events when the goal keeper scores from his kick, such as when American keeper Tim Howard scored on Bolton on 04/01/2012.
I have two more years before Atlanta’s team comes to fruition (I have paid my season ticket deposits). But I enjoy watching the league. Some interesting stories so far: LA and Seattle looking sluggish out the gate (as is New England, but like half the starting team is injured). FC Dallas looking really good. The two expansion sides holding their own (I think Villa is, so far, more impressive than Kaka for their respective sides). Fun stuff so far.
I’ve only heard Lions and Orlando City. Their logo bumper stickers are everywhere, though.
I just got here myself, but I’m astonished about how beloved the team has been since even before its first game, far beyond the blah level of support the Magic, the other major league franchise in town, has received. True, the Magic have stunk for years, but the Lions are an expansion team who will stink for years too, and in a lesser league. I do hope it isn’t just that soccer is seen as mainly a white people’s sport.
From what I can gather, they have an above-average offense that has a scoring problem (other than Kaka) a swarming defense, but a shitty-ass goaltender.
I fully expect this Fire team to finish dead last in the league. The team’s been a complete clusterfuck since Hauptman bought them. It’s been a painful 5 or 6 years to be a fan. I was hopeful this year since they brought in 3 DPs. It’s probably too early to tell but Maloney looks like shit.
Maybe when Nyarko and Magee come back…