HuskyHawk
The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2011
- Messages
- 32,196
- Reaction Score
- 83,017
For @Kitaman who wants to understand the game, and why he should become a fan, as suggested by @Waquoit . I was never a serious player, but my HS team played in the state championship game every year I was there, then soccer was huge at UConn and we went to most games as part of the North Goal Gang. I had friends who were HS players, and I joined intramural teams. I'm too slow to be good. Years later started watching on TV due to the National Team World Cup efforts.
Positives about the sport: Very few stoppages in play. No commercials. Very limited substitutions. That means that overall fitness is critical, and pacing is critical. There is impressive athleticism, but not usually the size/strength focus we see in US football and basketball. Speed and skill, ball placement. The biggest thing I noticed from UConn level soccer to MLA to Europe to World Cup is accuracy of ball placement on passes. The football analogy would be throwing a deep pass that the receiver catches in stride perfectly vs a pass that he has to come back for and make contested. Strategy takes longer to pick up, and I am no expert. There are some clear differences in teams that focus on possession and controlled short passing to move up field. Others may have a strong defense and counter-attack game (like a steal and fastbreak in basketball). Others may rely on deep balls to speedy wing players.
Maybe somebody who is a less of a casual than me can help him understand the game. Offsides was counter-intuitive to me when I was introduced to the game. For hockey fans, it works like the blue line, except it isn't fixed, it moves with the last non goalie defender for the other team.
Positives about the sport: Very few stoppages in play. No commercials. Very limited substitutions. That means that overall fitness is critical, and pacing is critical. There is impressive athleticism, but not usually the size/strength focus we see in US football and basketball. Speed and skill, ball placement. The biggest thing I noticed from UConn level soccer to MLA to Europe to World Cup is accuracy of ball placement on passes. The football analogy would be throwing a deep pass that the receiver catches in stride perfectly vs a pass that he has to come back for and make contested. Strategy takes longer to pick up, and I am no expert. There are some clear differences in teams that focus on possession and controlled short passing to move up field. Others may have a strong defense and counter-attack game (like a steal and fastbreak in basketball). Others may rely on deep balls to speedy wing players.
Maybe somebody who is a less of a casual than me can help him understand the game. Offsides was counter-intuitive to me when I was introduced to the game. For hockey fans, it works like the blue line, except it isn't fixed, it moves with the last non goalie defender for the other team.