# Resolved: I fucking hate soccer! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 3, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453 "2010-07-03T19:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/241 "2010-07-08T13:04:32Z")
Time in this thread: about an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/242 "2010-07-08T14:29:47Z")
> [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](#): > > How much time are you going to invest in something you don’t like … a game at that! Being derisive about sports you don’t like is a sport in itself I suppose. Back to my _Twilight_ metaphor – where is the middle ground between “You haven’t watched it enough to know what you’re talking about” and “why do you watch it if you hate it so much”? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/243 "2010-07-08T14:55:54Z")
Oddly enough, I didn’t become indifferent (hate is to harsh a word for something so inconsequential) to it until I actually watched it. No preconceptions brought to the table. I had hoped that it would be good seeing that so many people watched it. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/244 "2010-07-09T17:39:46Z")
I’m going to take a WAG that **Uzi** has never been to a real live football match in his short, hardly eventful life. With that in mind, I’d like to tell you that you are entitled to your opinions, **Uzi** but until you have stood on an open terrace on a freezing Tuesday night, while the rain’s coming down in biblical proportions, AND your team is getting beat 4 - 0 with 10 mins to go AND you’ve got 300 miles to travel to get home, THEN, and only then [DEL]are[/DEL]is your [DEL]opinions[/DEL]ignorant sniping going to count for shit. Or, at least to me, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/245 "2010-07-09T18:02:39Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > What I absolutely hate about football is [**the utter lack of skill involved in playing it**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2zFqqskFM4&feature=related). Well, that was 5:42 of skillful footwork. At a wild guess, I’d say this compilation represents clips from, say, forty games, with an average of about 8.5 seconds of footage per game. Forty games at 90 minutes per means 3600 minutes of playing time, giving us a ratio of skillful footwork to slogging tedium of about 1 to 632. I’m sure someone can refine my estimates. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/246 "2010-07-09T20:51:04Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Or, at least to me, that is. Sorry, you haven’t made a case for your intelligence with this post. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/247 "2010-07-10T11:41:34Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Sorry, you haven’t made a case for your intelligence with this post. You aren’t doing much for your own reputation with your _“Teh football suxx, yah!”_ spiel. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/248 "2010-07-10T15:36:23Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, that was 5:42 of skillful footwork. At a wild guess, I’d say this compilation represents clips from, say, forty games, with an average of about 8.5 seconds of footage per game. Forty games at 90 minutes per means 3600 minutes of playing time, giving us a ratio of skillful footwork to slogging tedium of about 1 to 632. > > I’m sure someone can refine my estimates. Similar calculations show that Michael Jordan did something of note roughly once every three months during his career. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/249 "2010-07-10T16:38:46Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > …but until you have stood on an open terrace on a freezing Tuesday night, while the rain’s coming down in biblical proportions, AND your team is getting beat 4 - 0 with 10 mins to go AND you’ve got 300 miles to travel to get home, THEN, and only then [DEL]are[/DEL]is your [DEL]opinions[/DEL]ignorant sniping going to count for shit. I had to address this again. What is your point here? That you are stupid for doing this and only if I reach the same level of stupidity do I have the ability to make a useful comment? Or are you trying to prove you are a ‘real’ fan? ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/250 "2010-07-10T16:49:46Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > At least they don’t throw temper tantrums and behave like six year olds beating each other up like in hockey (OK - not as much as in hockey). No, they save that for the fans. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/251 "2010-07-10T16:52:37Z")
**Get Fuzzy** has expressed my [opinion](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-07-09/) of the [World](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-07-08/) Cup quite [well](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-07-07/) this [week](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-07-06/). ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/252 "2010-07-10T16:53:55Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, that was 5:42 of skillful footwork. At a wild guess, I’d say this compilation represents clips from, say, forty games, with an average of about 8.5 seconds of footage per game. Forty games at 90 minutes per means 3600 minutes of playing time, giving us a ratio of skillful footwork to slogging tedium of about 1 to 632. > > I’m sure someone can refine my estimates. and to be honest, some of those were clearly accidental, as they lost control of the ball for a moment and recovered. It was funny that even in most of the trick moves they pulled off the trick a then completely pooched the money shot afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/253 "2010-07-10T16:58:15Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > I had to address this again. What is your point here? That you are stupid for doing this and only if I reach the same level of stupidity do I have the ability to make a useful comment? Or are you trying to prove you are a ‘real’ fan? Supporting teams through thick and thin is stupid. Supporting “franchises” that don’t even pretend that they are about anything but money, and that move from town to town with all the class of touring escorts. Franchises that don’t really care about results because they are guaranteed to be in the same league next year because americans are afraid of relegation. Supporting them is smart. Is it stupid to support your team even when it is really hard to support your team? Perhaps, but thats infinitely better than the faux passion shown by rah-rah yankees at the world-championships-international-Superbowl. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/254 "2010-07-10T17:25:55Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **Get Fuzzy** has expressed my [opinion](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-07-09/) of the [World](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-07-08/) Cup quite [well](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-07-07/) this [week](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-07-06/). Heh, I like warm milk and half times with no show. 😃 Don’t worry haters - last game tomorrow, four years until the next world cup. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/255 "2010-07-10T17:57:28Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > and to be honest, some of those were clearly accidental, as they lost control of the ball for a moment and recovered. > > It was funny that even in most of the trick moves they pulled off the trick a then completely pooched the money shot afterwards. Care to point out an instance, because I didn’t see a lot of mistakes. They didn’t show the conclusion of most of the plays either, so I don’t know how you can claim that they messed up in the end. A couple of those tricks were really stupid though. The spinning in the air one… what the fuck? There was one later, where the attacker did a couple step overs while flailing his arms, the defender never bit, so what’s the point? Ronaldinho was pretty awesome for a couple years though. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453/256 "2010-07-10T20:00:17Z")
I do agree that a lot of what you on that video is showboating with sometimes no end product but hey ho, that’s what you get with a clip sequence. Often the really difficult stuff can be done with minimum of flair. Anyone who wants to see what a team can do at the height of their powers should watch Brazil circa 70-74. Skillful? certainly but what they did was with purpose, elegance and economy of effort. Drilling a 70 yard crossfield ball to the chest of a team-mate is every bit as difficult as the circus tricks in those clips. The greatest players…as in every sport…make it look routine and mundane but anyone with an appreciation of the game knows how hard it is and will purr with delight when they see it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-i-fucking-hate-soccer/545453.md?page=12)