[Rebel Mike]

Soccer on ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports
ESPN and ABC Sports are the U.S. English-language homes of the Men's and Women's FIFA World Cup events through 2014. The networks combine to present the most comprehensive soccer coverage in the United States, featuring Major League Soccer, the nation's premier soccer league, and the U.S. National Teams. In addition, ESPN provides extensive coverage of the UEFA Champions League and the NCAA Men's and Women's soccer championships.

In 2005, ESPN, ABC Sports and ESPN2 acquired the rights for exclusive English-language telecasts of the FIFA World Cup� and the FIFA Women's World Cup for another eight years in the United States. The three networks will televise the entire 2010 FIFA World Cup� (South Africa), the 2014 FIFA World Cup� and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 (China)

ESPN, Inc. also acquired the rights to the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011, the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2009 and 2013 and other events.

[kinghenry89]

Nobody will watch soccer in the US until 2010 when the World Cup starts again.

Doodah. Doodah.

[tcrock]

Originally Posted by kinghenry89

Nobody will watch soccer in the US until 2010 when the World Cup starts again.

Doodah. Doodah.

speak for yourself

we know the haters and detractors outnumber the supporters of soccer............but i would think, as your obviously a hockey fan, that you would understand what it's like when people dis a sport you're into........hockey has it's detractors as well if you hadn't noticed.

soccer gets some of the more itellectual riducule, like for instance "it's a communist sport" ...brilliant, and the ever so American, "there's just not enough scoring" or "any sport that you can't use your hands...isn't a sport"...another brilliant observation.....and of course the "there's not enough timeouts and commercials in soccer"

and lately all the haters are pointing out some of the questionable officiating as a reason why they "hate" the sport.......like there's never a bad pass intereference call in our football that decides a game (and there's even video replay, timeouts and all the other time stoppages...but still bad officiating occurrs)

soccer never gets a fair shake in this country.....and never will, because whatever we're not good at, we don't watch. (and that does happen with hockey too, to a lesser extent....but it never gets the same respects as football, baseball and basketball)

but it won't stop me from watching

[jonnyd]

Originally Posted by tcrock

speak for yourself

we know the haters and detractors outnumber the supporters of soccer............but i would think, as your obviously a hockey fan, that you would understand what it's like when people dis a sport you're into........hockey has it's detractors as well if you hadn't noticed.

soccer gets some of the more itellectual riducule, like for instance "it's a communist sport" ...brilliant, and the ever so American, "there's just not enough scoring" or "any sport that you can't use your hands...isn't a sport"...another brilliant observation.....and of course the "there's not enough timeouts and commercials in soccer"

and lately all the haters are pointing out some of the questionable officiating as a reason why they "hate" the sport.......like there's never a bad pass intereference call in our football that decides a game (and there's even video replay, timeouts and all the other time stoppages...but still bad officiating occurrs)

soccer never gets a fair shake in this country.....and never will, because whatever we're not good at, we don't watch. (and that does happen with hockey too, to a lesser extent....but it never gets the same respects as football, baseball and basketball)

but it won't stop me from watching

i couldnt not have said it any better myself

[devilonthetownhallroof]

Originally Posted by tcrock

speak for yourself

we know the haters and detractors outnumber the supporters of soccer............but i would think, as your obviously a hockey fan, that you would understand what it's like when people dis a sport you're into........hockey has it's detractors as well if you hadn't noticed.

soccer gets some of the more itellectual riducule, like for instance "it's a communist sport" ...brilliant, and the ever so American, "there's just not enough scoring" or "any sport that you can't use your hands...isn't a sport"...another brilliant observation.....and of course the "there's not enough timeouts and commercials in soccer"

and lately all the haters are pointing out some of the questionable officiating as a reason why they "hate" the sport.......like there's never a bad pass intereference call in our football that decides a game (and there's even video replay, timeouts and all the other time stoppages...but still bad officiating occurrs)

soccer never gets a fair shake in this country.....and never will, because whatever we're not good at, we don't watch. (and that does happen with hockey too, to a lesser extent....but it never gets the same respects as football, baseball and basketball)

but it won't stop me from watching

The problem with soccer, to me, is that it's just SO boring. Everytime I try to watch it, it just seems like NOTHING happens. It's not just the lack of scoring, it's the lack of scoring CHANCES. Most of the time it seems they're just running around the middle of the field with the ball, turn it over, then the other team does the same. At least in hockey you see 30-40 shots a side each game, and sustained offensive attacks, so there's at least the CHANCE of something happening. I love 1-0 games in hockey, as long as the score is such because of great goaltending, and not a lack of shots.

[statjeff22]

Originally Posted by tcrock

speak for yourself

we know the haters and detractors outnumber the supporters of soccer............but i would think, as your obviously a hockey fan, that you would understand what it's like when people dis a sport you're into........hockey has it's detractors as well if you hadn't noticed.

soccer gets some of the more itellectual riducule, like for instance "it's a communist sport" ...brilliant, and the ever so American, "there's just not enough scoring" or "any sport that you can't use your hands...isn't a sport"...another brilliant observation.....and of course the "there's not enough timeouts and commercials in soccer"

and lately all the haters are pointing out some of the questionable officiating as a reason why they "hate" the sport.......like there's never a bad pass intereference call in our football that decides a game (and there's even video replay, timeouts and all the other time stoppages...but still bad officiating occurrs)

soccer never gets a fair shake in this country.....and never will, because whatever we're not good at, we don't watch. (and that does happen with hockey too, to a lesser extent....but it never gets the same respects as football, baseball and basketball)

but it won't stop me from watching

You're right about unfamiliarity breeding contempt (the opposite of the saying), but hockey proves kinghenry's point - coming from a position of strength in the 80s and early 90s that soccer has never come close to, it has collapsed to the point of irrelevance to all except those who are true fans.

IMO, your complaint about the comments on the refereeing really doesn't ring true, either. It is not the people who don't watch soccer who are complaining, it's the people who do, and it's those people who (in the TGG threads, at least) keep saying how teams got robbed in every game, that FIFA is doing a horrible job controlling the refs, and so on. If there was a general perception that EVERY game in the NFL or MLB playoffs was determined by bad calls, people would watch it a lot less.

[tcrock]

Originally Posted by statjeff22

IMO, your complaint about the comments on the refereeing really doesn't ring true, either. It is not the people who don't watch soccer who are complaining, it's the people who do, and it's those people who (in the TGG threads, at least) keep saying how teams got robbed in every game, that FIFA is doing a horrible job controlling the refs, and so on. If there was a general perception that EVERY game in the NFL or MLB playoffs was determined by bad calls, people would watch it a lot less.

I'm basing that referee comment on a letter to newsday I saw on sunday, where someone wrote something like "Can't wait for "real football" to return because referees don't decide the outcome of a game...players do"....which I took obvious exception to.........i've seen that sort of sentiment echoed on this forum as well...

I mean I hear what your saying, but wasn't the Super Bowl marred by several very questionable calls that definitely had an impact on the outcome?

I would say from my perspective, officiating was suspect in a few of the World Cup games, but not the majority. Officiating in soccer is much more subjective anyhow,, which leaves it naturally open to more criticism...which maybe is the reason people here "hate" it, amongst other reasons.

[statjeff22]

Originally Posted by tcrock

I'm basing that referee comment on a letter to newsday I saw on sunday, where someone wrote something like "Can't wait for "real football" to return because referees don't decide the outcome of a game...players do"....which I took obvious exception to.........i've seen that sort of sentiment echoed on this forum as well...

I mean I hear what your saying, but wasn't the Super Bowl marred by several very questionable calls that definitely had an impact on the outcome?

Yes, and so was the NBA Finals, and people were up in arms over it. The difference, I think, is the outsized importance of a bad call in a sport where 1-0 games are routine.

I don't think that officiating is actually the biggest reason why soccer hasn't made it here, but rather the lack of scoring and scoring chances. When I turn on the TV with 35 minutes left in the second half of a 1-0 game and hear an announcer say that "this match is probably over," why should I be interested? And this is coming from someone who played the game in high school.

[winstonbiggs]

Originally Posted by tcrock

speak for yourself

we know the haters and detractors outnumber the supporters of soccer............but i would think, as your obviously a hockey fan, that you would understand what it's like when people dis a sport you're into........hockey has it's detractors as well if you hadn't noticed.

soccer gets some of the more itellectual riducule, like for instance "it's a communist sport" ...brilliant, and the ever so American, "there's just not enough scoring" or "any sport that you can't use your hands...isn't a sport"...another brilliant observation.....and of course the "there's not enough timeouts and commercials in soccer"

and lately all the haters are pointing out some of the questionable officiating as a reason why they "hate" the sport.......like there's never a bad pass intereference call in our football that decides a game (and there's even video replay, timeouts and all the other time stoppages...but still bad officiating occurrs)

soccer never gets a fair shake in this country.....and never will, because whatever we're not good at, we don't watch. (and that does happen with hockey too, to a lesser extent....but it never gets the same respects as football, baseball and basketball)

but it won't stop me from watching

Soccer doesn't get a fair shake here because they don't stop the clock. It isn't sponser friendly.

[Rebel Mike]

Originally Posted by winstonbiggs

Soccer doesn't get a fair shake here because they don't stop the clock. It isn't sponser friendly.

And winstonbiggs never fails with the right points. As true as this may be, the fact of the matter is sponsorship comes from the jerseys as well as whatever commercials half time brings. Also, note the right side of the scoreboard on ESPN. Currently it says "Adidas". The first half was T-Mobile.

An example:

[abyzmul]

Originally Posted by winstonbiggs

Soccer doesn't get a fair shake here because they don't stop the clock. It isn't sponser friendly.

That's it right there. If they can make people watch that horrible Big Brother show, they can market soccer successfully. As long as they can make money off of it.

[Cakes]

Originally Posted by tcrock

speak for yourself

we know the haters and detractors outnumber the supporters of soccer............but i would think, as your obviously a hockey fan, that you would understand what it's like when people dis a sport you're into........hockey has it's detractors as well if you hadn't noticed.

soccer gets some of the more itellectual riducule, like for instance "it's a communist sport" ...brilliant, and the ever so American, "there's just not enough scoring" or "any sport that you can't use your hands...isn't a sport"...another brilliant observation.....and of course the "there's not enough timeouts and commercials in soccer"

and lately all the haters are pointing out some of the questionable officiating as a reason why they "hate" the sport.......like there's never a bad pass intereference call in our football that decides a game (and there's even video replay, timeouts and all the other time stoppages...but still bad officiating occurrs)

soccer never gets a fair shake in this country.....and never will, because whatever we're not good at, we don't watch. (and that does happen with hockey too, to a lesser extent....but it never gets the same respects as football, baseball and basketball)

but it won't stop me from watching

I dislike-

• that players cannot use their hands. Obviously, the sport ceases to be soccer the moment they change the rules and allow players to use their hands. When I played youth soccer I hated the fact that my arms could only be used for balance. Has there ever been a handless soccer player? Or a Jim Abbott or Tom Dempsey type guy with a stub for a hand? What about a Pete Gray type?
  
• the lack of scoring. 1-0 games that are "over" with a half to go is ridiculous to me
  
• the flopping. That's a very wussy-type action. That's something that flew on the playground when I was in elementary school. Seeing grown men do it is very, very sad.

I like-

• the lack of commercials
  
• the fact that the players are very athletic and that doing steroids would probably be a bad thing because steroids take away players' lateral movement (look at David Boston and Albert Pujols- one couldn't run laterally and the other one knocked himself out of the lineup for weeks trying to jog laterally)

[tcrock]

Originally Posted by Cakes

I dislike-

• that players cannot use their hands. Obviously, the sport ceases to be soccer the moment they change the rules and allow players to use their hands. When I played youth soccer I hated the fact that my arms could only be used for balance. Has there ever been a handless soccer player? Or a Jim Abbott or Tom Dempsey type guy with a stub for a hand? What about a Pete Gray type?
  
• the lack of scoring. 1-0 games that are "over" with a half to go is ridiculous to me
  
• the flopping. That's a very wussy-type action. That's something that flew on the playground when I was in elementary school. Seeing grown men do it is very, very sad.

I like-

• the lack of commercials
  
• the fact that the players are very athletic and that doing steroids would probably be a bad thing because steroids take away players' lateral movement (look at David Boston and Albert Pujols- one couldn't run laterally and the other one knocked himself out of the lineup for weeks trying to jog laterally)

I agree with the flopping part, but that's a little overblown. If you watch you'll see that this seems to be a more regional thing. All country's players take dives but it always seems to me that the Meditteranean contries (Italy, France, Spain) are definitely more actors. England, Germany, The Dutch the Czechs etc take dives too, but they get up and play as opposed to rolling around in fake agony. South Americans countries seem to be pretty adept at the acting part too. of course these aren't quite facts, but i've been sort of watching it closely in this tourney and that's the way it looks to me. I don't want to paint with such broad strokes because they're obviously are exceptions

I also think sometimes these guys get legitamtely hurt, but some of the tackles don't seem like much to us because we're more accustomed to seeing a big football hit.

[kinghenry89]

Originally Posted by tcrock

speak for yourself

we know the haters and detractors outnumber the supporters of soccer............but i would think, as your obviously a hockey fan, that you would understand what it's like when people dis a sport you're into........hockey has it's detractors as well if you hadn't noticed.

soccer gets some of the more itellectual riducule, like for instance "it's a communist sport" ...brilliant, and the ever so American, "there's just not enough scoring" or "any sport that you can't use your hands...isn't a sport"...another brilliant observation.....and of course the "there's not enough timeouts and commercials in soccer"

and lately all the haters are pointing out some of the questionable officiating as a reason why they "hate" the sport.......like there's never a bad pass intereference call in our football that decides a game (and there's even video replay, timeouts and all the other time stoppages...but still bad officiating occurrs)

soccer never gets a fair shake in this country.....and never will, because whatever we're not good at, we don't watch. (and that does happen with hockey too, to a lesser extent....but it never gets the same respects as football, baseball and basketball)

but it won't stop me from watching

Don't get me wrong, I like soccer perfectly fine. But, as you pointed out, I like hockey as well and it doesn't make people pay attention to it.

To me the World Cup is like the Olympics. Everybody is a swimming or gymnastics expert and enthusiast for a month, then they stop caring for 4 years until the games roll around again.

Until the US gets a more competitive league than the MLS they aren't going to get fans watching on a consistent basis.

[tcrock]

Originally Posted by kinghenry89

Don't get me wrong, I like soccer perfectly fine. But, as you pointed out, I like hockey as well and it doesn't make people pay attention to it.

To me the World Cup is like the Olympics. Everybody is a swimming or gymnastics expert and enthusiast for a month, then they stop caring for 4 years until the games roll around again.

Until the US gets a more competitive league than the MLS they aren't going to get fans watching on a consistent basis.

absolutely......It just gets me when people routinely dismiss the sport when to me the only reason we like any sport is because we have rooting interests. To me hockey is the only real exciting game to watch as a sport. all others football, and baseball especially, if you watch a game, don't know the teams, what league they're in, how this game falls in the context of a season or a playoff, and don't know any players, I would think those games are as boring as people find soccer

[wildthing2022000]

^ I will watch.

[Sundayjack]

Yes, I analyzed this proposal for ABC/ESPN, and offered the following report before the deal was signed:

In 2010, the World Cup will garner ratings just slightly ahead of the WNBA, the winner will be Italy, Germany, or Brazil, and the final score of the championship game will be "1-nil".

In 2014, things will change a bit. The World Cup will overcome the ESPN Spelling Bee Championship for ratings. The eventual winner will be Germany, Brazil or Italy, and the final score of the final game will be "1-nil".

Meanwhile, through it all, Stuart Scott will still be annoying.

[Rextasy]

Originally Posted by Sundayjack

In 2014, things will change a bit. The World Cup will overcome the ESPN Spelling Bee Championship for ratings. The eventual winner will be Germany, Brazil or Italy, and the final score of the final game will be "1-nil".
[/INDENT]

It won't come close to the World Paintball Championship though..

[Exit 117]

No matter how hard they try, soccer won't be big in the US.

[Italian Seafood]

Soccer to me is like the Olympics, every four years I get interested and root for the USA (and Italy in soccer), but it just doesn't keep my interest beyond that. Not that it's a bad game, but we have so many other sports we're into here that soccer will never be #1. It will always have its place and I think our team will continue to be competitive on a world scale, which will help.