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I have only just discovered this thread and I am amazed at the amount of ignorance there is about propper football (aka soccer).
The first fallacy that I will debate is the arguement that soccer players are pussys. This is the same argument used by those faggy rugby league boys. Now that is harder than most sports but it doesnt have anywhere near the intellignec and skill that soccer has. The number of times I have heard from neaderthal rugby league player that soccer players are for poofters is uncountable. I would often ask them if I was a poof because I played soccer. They would inevitable say yes. I would then say "I am also a kickboxer. Am I still a poof". They then know that I am heaps harder than them and have to yield defeat. Now I have played almost every sport under the sun and soccer is one of the hardest games I have played. Heaps harder than Hockey. I liked hockey. I played hockey for two years and I couldnt believe how pussy it was. You have soo much protective gear on that you cant possibly get hurt (and I wore the least equipment in the league). As previously mentioned there are punishments for diving by recieving a yellow card. This is because it takes away from the game and wastes time. The reason that soccer players hit the ground so much is a case of biomechanics. If someone is sprinting at full speed (strikers usually run as fast as olympic sprinters) and they get hit full on at body level thenthey either stop dead or get hit backwards. This doesnt happen when the opposing force hits you in the ankles. Your feet, and thus base of support, is stopped but your bodys momentum continues. In such a situation the result is a pretty spectacular looking dive. It may look fake but it is the only thing that physics allows to happen.
Another point that has been commonly brought up is the low scores that are commonplace in soccer. This is a by-product of what I call 'the americanisation of sport'. By this I mean that the game is no longer designed for the players but for the spectators, often to the detriment of the game. Such examples are designated hitter rule, interchange rule, and scoring every 30 seconds. The interchange rule was experimented in both soccer and league and they realised it sucked. It took away a major strategic part of the game and denounced stamina as one of the pre requisits of the athlete. A winger averages over 11km per game (assuming he plays his position right). This means that a winger has to spread his sprinting over the 90 minutes of the game instead of the 2 minutes typically allocated to the athletes in american sports. The other point of scoring every 30 seconds like in basketball may be interesting as a show but it gets boring very quickly as tyhere is no suspense built up. Some of the best soccer games I have ever seen have been nill all draws because the entire time I have been on the edge of my seat. When two great teams are dualing then 1 mistake can cost them the game. In the higher scoring games 1 mistake can be easily remedied with subsequent opportunities. Ironically Americans use this reason to say Soccer is Boring but they find Cricket boring when they usually score a run every 30 second for 5 days. The desgniated hitter rule also fits in with the offensive/defensive teams of gridiron. A true athlete must be able to attack and defend. You dont stop a game to change your team because suddenly your not attacking anymore. It takes out the strategy of counter attack. It also lessens the quality of the athlete. It also breaks the momentum of suspense and thus amking the game harder to get into. Dont get me wrong. I think the american games such as gridiron, basketball and the canadian ice hockey have a lot of potential but you have to eliminate the americanisation of it. The game comes first.
Another point to raise is that soccer is the biggest sport in the world. They must be doing something right. The soccer world cup is second only to the olympics in media hype. True soccer fans that are found in europe and south america take their games so seriously. Countries have actually gone to war over a soccer game. You dont find that in many other sports.
As someone previously said soccer has the true claim to the title of football. Why? It uses the feet more than anything else. How can league, union or gridiron possible call themselves football when the ball spends almost the entire time in their hands. AFL could be accurately called a code of football but only as second to soccer.
The reason for stoppage time is to stop fakers from playing the clock and trhus getting advantage unfairly over the other team. The game must go on.
The people who rate gridiron as really tough should then try rugby league or rugby union. They do the same sort of hits but without helmets and their shoulder pads are paper thin. As previously said I hate league but at least I have to admit that it is harder than most sports.
I will admit that some soccer games are boring. Different countrys tend to breed different types of soccer. German soccer is as boring as shite. Spanish soccer is flairy but extremely brutal. Brazilian soccer define flair. English soccer whilst very good can appear boring if two strong defensive teams are playing each other. Dont just watch 1 or 2 games from the same league and then denounce all soccer as like that.
Thats my two cents anyway...
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