Dave Bryce Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 In an effort to include our international brethren in the sporting discussion, I'd like to start a thread about the other game of football. So, tell us about it! Who plays whom? Is it mainly an international sport, or does each country have their own teams? How about intercontinental competition? How does that work? Who are the big boys? Which country has the best teams? Besides watching it, what else do we need to know in order to get a better feel for the game and it's trappings? dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty_dup1 Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Which one? Rugby League where two lines of beefy blokes, unprotected by helmuts and body armour, run at each other and throw the ball backwards. (C'mon the Saints) Rugby Union, similar to League, but played by combatants with University Degrees. (Go the Brumbies) Aussie Rules, indescribable - but worshipped as a religion in the Southern parts of Australia. (Up the Swans) Soccer - Previous known in Australia as an excuse for efnic communities to gather in large numbers and ignite flares, but possibly ready for a jump in popularity should we reach the World Cup finals. (Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi) Frosty (Anyway - forget the footy, it's cricket season) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthplanet Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 It's still baseball season! And hockey is coming! Q:What do you call a truck with nothing in the bed,nothing on the hitch, and room for more than three people in the cab? A:"A car".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Australian Rules - I have NO idea what's going on, but those guys are the definition of REAL men!! I asked an Australian bloke to explain AR Football to me. I came away realizing that Australians do NOT speak English. US qualifies for World Cup 2002... WOO-HOO!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Originally posted by Dave Bryce: In an effort to include our international brethren in the sporting discussion, I'd like to start a thread about the other game of football. So, tell us about it! dB You're awfully nice, Dave, but very unlucky this time... I happen to be one of the five Italians (on a total of about 55 millions) who don't give a damn about football/soccer... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif What about a thread on motor racing... just kidding http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfjunkie Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 i assume you're talking about the sport that is called "football" everywhere in the world except the US, where we call it "soccer". i know very little, and there is a lot to know. in the european league alone, there are over 100 teams (including manchester united and real madrid). the world cup is seperate- a country has one team, and it happens every 4 years. there are about 200 countries with world cup teams. you might remember that in 1998 iran knocked the US out of the tournament. the gulf war ended in 1991, but it was still pretty dramatic. i was in france during the cup in 98, and for some reason i bought a (favored) brazil jersey. france won, the shirt's in my basement. afghanistan does not have a world cup team, but they do compete in the asian league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Cobelas Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Originally posted by Dave Bryce: Who are the big boys? Which country has the best teams? dB As of lately, Spain. JoseC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Originally posted by marino: You're awfully nice, Dave, but very unlucky this time... I happen to be one of the five Italians (on a total of about 55 millions) who don't give a damn about football/soccer... And I'm one of the 5 Americans that cares about soccer! My dad was an excellent player, so while other kids were catching baseballs and footballs, my dad taught me to juggle a soccer ball. He and I (along with an Argentine friend of ours) saw the '74 World Cup via closed circuit TV in Madison Square Garden. Years later, he took me to Pele's first home game with the NY Cosmos (OK, so seeing Pele with the Cosmos was like seeing Willie Mays with the Mets). Here in Rochester, there's a loyal soccer audience. The A League team (a level below MLS) is the Rhinos, who've won the past 3 of 4 league titles and draw over 13,000 per game (far better than most MLS franchises). There's a proposed soccer-oriented stadium similar to the one in Columbus. What amazes me is soccer is more popular as a youth participation sport than a spectator sport. Soccer players are among the best conditioned athletes in any sport: 90 minutes of playing time, players responsible for both offense and defense, the size of the pitch, the need for sheer speed combined with fancy footwork and leaping ability. Low scoring? So is hockey. Slow play? So is baseball. It's a great sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulliver Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 How about a thread on handball? Hey, we tend to play our keyboards by hands, not by legs (or foots for that matter), right? I think it should be a little bit closer to the subject than a thread about soccer... (oh, what a weird name... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif ). I am back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pim Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Whoa Dave, I love this! For all not knowing me: I am from The Netherlands, from Amsterdam. That brings me immediatly to Ajax - from Amsterdam. Ajax won the Champions League (former Europe Cup) 4 times and was World Champion two times. I do not know how many times Ajax won the national cup, but many, many times, I assure you. The club is 101 years old. Ajax does stand for offensive, attractive football. They always play a system they called in the seventies "Total Football"; which means that the offensive players start to defend on the field-side from the opponent as soon the opponent conquered the ball. You can compare that with the ice-hockey term "power play". In my country with only 16 million people, it's hard to keep our "own" good players. Countries like Italy, Spain and England pay much higher salaries, so the best Dutch players are playing abroad. However Ajax is very famous for its football education. Very often Ajax is sucessful with a young team but what will stand together for only a couple of seasons. Than the talented players are bought by the top teams of the mentioned countries. All teams from Europe which end up high in the national leagues will play the Champions League - a European league. There is much money to win in the Champions League. This is the reason why so many clubs, which are playing in the C.L, are afraid to LOOSE. Not loosing seems more important than WINNING - so many games in the C.L. are (indeed) boring. Except when Ajax plays! Ajax wants to play beautiful football and wants to win. In that sequence. Every four years there is a tournament organized for country teams. These are not the best or attractive games either, because a national team is only together for a few days a year, so it's not what you call a well tuned machine. Next year the tournament will be held in Japan and Korea. Watch England, Brazil, France and Portugal. I expect some firework from these countries. Avoid Italy, Germany and Belgium. They play very defensive. My country is kicked out in the play offs. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif The U.S.A. team did a better job: they will appear there. So to my opinion, the most attractive games are played in the national leagues for club teams. These teams are the best balanced, and because the stakes are not that high, the teams are willing to play to win. Unfortunately from an international point of view, these aren't the games which will be international broadcasted... So I understand why many guys from this forum think that football is boring. Simply because the best matches are not be seen. To me good football is an art. Ajax is art. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Thanks Dave! Related links: http://www.ajax.nl http://www.ajax.nl/eng/goals.html (downloadable videos) This message has been edited by pim@dancewave.nl on 10-24-2001 at 10:52 AM This message has been edited by pim@dancewave.nl on 10-24-2001 at 01:40 PM My Music I always wondered what happened after the fade out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meccajay Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 <> Dan, i had the pleasure of seeing this once on ESPN years ago, and it was like watching a snuff film!! I was sitting there in absolute shock at the punishment these guys dished out and were able to take. I must admit only a few Howie Long or Bryan Cox type's in the NFL would be able to hang... TROLL . . . ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Originally posted by wager47: i assume you're talking about the sport that is called "football" everywhere in the world except the US, where we call it "soccer". B] Who's bright idea was it to call american football "football"? I mean other than fieldgoals and punts, the game is played wityh the hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mats Olsson. Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 A major issue with European Pro-Soccer teams is that they buy, trade and sell players all the time - even mid-season. A team that is great this month can be incredible or just so-so in less than six months. A soccer-game with no or very few goals is quite common, but can still be very spectacular to watch if you are really into the game of soccer. My hometown has no great soccer teams, yet there are games here every day of the week during most of the season. I'm not sure, but it might be as many as 150 amateur teams in this city alone, a lot of hard-core soccer-players are playing just for fun after work or school and they don't give a fuck if anyone is watching. /Mats P.S. There is more than 5 soccer fields just outside our studio... and a rugby field... and a baseball field... and a american football training field... and within short walking distance there is a large racketsport hall... and a golf-course... and a indoor + outdoor hockey/skating arena... and an athletics arena... http://www.lexam.net/peter/carnut/man.gif What do we want? Procrastination! When do we want it? Later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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