watched the Portugal vs Spain game and
I seriously hope every single game is as exciting and
as much fun as this one was… the tie seemed to be
a victory for Portugal as it was a underdog in the match…
Ronaldo played a great game… running all over the place during the
first half, he visible tired in the second half…but that didn’t stop him
from one of the more impressive performances of the world cup
and it was just the first game for Portugal…
as for Spain, I can see why they are one of the favorites…
they were cool, calm and collective during the whole game…
Spain plays a excellent team game…… I would now rate them
a co-favorite with Germany after this game…….
I agree, Spain vs Portugal was a fantastic game. Very sharp and unusually violent Spanish offence, but Ronaldo apparently is a magician, he knew exactly that he was going to make the third one even a he fell. I also watch Russia as 5 0 against Saudi Arabia. The second goal was unbelievably skillful, it looked like he was inspired by magic, which was probably the case, thats one you normally expect only Zlatan or Ronaldinho to pull off.
Tried to watch it a few times, tedious crap. Sorry man, but it is like watching a bunch of slaves training to ram some emperors gate, not a lot to see in terms of tactics or skills.
The point of the game is to get the ball into the opposing team’s end zone, or to prevent the opposing team from getting the ball into your team’s end zone. You can throw it to someone and have them try and catch it there, or catch it and run it there. Or, you can hand it off and have someone just run it there without a pass being involved at all. If you feel as though you’re not going to make it there, then you can attempt to kick it there for less points.
There are linemen, offensive ones who protect the quarterback, (the guy who throws the ball), from being tackled before he has a chance to throw it, and who make blocks and create lanes for a running back, (the guy who takes the hand-off and attempts to just run the ball). And there are defensive linemen who attempt to sack the quarterback and attempt to tackle the running back to prevent him from getting downfield with the ball. There are also defensive players in the backfield who can lay down massive hits to stop a running back who has made it past the linemen, and who can do the same to a receiver who has caught a pass and is now trying to get to the end zone and score.
So you don’t know whether the other team is going to try and run or pass, and so you have to account for both. And if you’re the offensive team, you don’t know whether they are going to all rush the quarterback at once or if they’re going to spread out and try and cover the receivers thus creating more time for the quarterback to decide what to do with the ball.
It’s a substantially more physical sport than soccer, and requires as much, or more strategy to formulate an effective game plan. Not to mention that you get significantly more explosive plays where shit is actually happening on the field that’s interesting to watch.
I mean, in soccer almost no one scores ever. In basketball everyone scores all the time. If football, you get some scores that you expect, and some you don’t expect, and sometimes a team has to suddenly be on their toes and take risks to catch up. It’s just an overall more interesting game.
Here’s what happens when the offensive line fails to protect the quarterback.
Here’s what happens when you’re in open space and fail to identify the defensive player who’s about to knock the teeth out of your head if you keep moving the ball toward his end zone.
It’s been sold out for every home game in history. More people care about football than soccer…and this is just a college level team. Soccer is a game for kids.
Appreciated. I know most of that but still, good post.
Addressing popularity, the US has no football tradition and has never produced a player that is good enough for the mediocre clubs in Europe. Well I think, once, a player called Ernie Steward, he played for a team that sometimes finishes 10th in the Netherlands, Willem II. But other than that the nation has had no contact with football. Forgive me if I use the actual term, Im not going to call America “the great Satan” just because some Arabs cal it that either.
Football is a team sport defined by individual skills, like basketball but a lot more rich and interesting.
This has little to do with the atmosphere we feel around games - that your American football can definitely produce. I see American football as a congregation of communities, as real football is in South America. In terms of the variety in athletic feats, I find it limited. Running fast holding a ball in your hand is not that impressive to me - taking American sports I find hockey a lot more impressive. Of all American sports thats the form that I admire, it allows for fast combinations like football, it requires quick witted reorganizations initiated by the payers themselves, much more tactics come up in the moment.
Its pointless to try to deny that American football is a cool game to be involved in - I can see ho it mobilizes communities and how it gets very tense with nice violent resolutions. But I still find it a lot less interesting than football, which Ill admit is boring often enough.
Yet the difficulty of scoring a goal is what makes the game so rich - scoring a goal is almost like inventing the wheel, it demands a lot of creativity.
…although American football has taken off big-time here (nfluk.com/tickets/index.html) it is not our national sport, but it does draw the crowds and has an ever-growing fan base.
K: well, that certainly didn’t go the way I thought it would…
UMMMMMMMMMM
I will wait until after those fine Brits face Belgium this afternoon
to decide… but I really have only Brazil to fall back upon…
as far as favorities go…