Beckham will play in the US

[ertmann|CPH]

Beckham moves To LA Galaxy in a five year deal worth £128 million, this summer...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6248835.stm

W T F!!!??? probably the last we've seen of him on the England side eh?

[ujay]

He stopped being a footballer long ago and moved on to being a celebrity (and very well he's done at it too).

A move to the US is the only worthwhile step left to him.

UJ

[watadoo]

I didn't know there were any soccer teams in the US.

[ujay]

It's been a well trodden path for quite a while now, George Best is one who comes to mind. When their careers start to decline in Europe they can trade on their celebrity in the US market.
It would seem, that despite the promotional opportunities they bring, no one has managed to really get US soccer off the ground yet though. Not surprising when you consider the resistance there is to anything where the rules can't be dictated by self interest.

UJ

[watadoo]

No, it's not that. Soccer is just boring.

You have a bunch of guys dressed in prissy pants running around for an hour or so and once every two or three games, a goal is scored. Nothing much to get excited about.

[ertmann|CPH]

Originally posted by watadoo
I didn't know there were any soccer teams in the US.

Well, apparently MLS is a year away from becomming profitable, since they made a "major" deal with ESPN, and supposedly it's quite big in LA, due to the Hispanic population there, some 24,000 spectators at the rows on average...

Originally posted by watadoo
No, it's not that. Soccer is just boring.

I dare you to watch a major Italian, Spanish or English derby, seated on the fan rows, or in the local pub, and tell me it's boring

Football is passion, if you don't have a connection for any of the teams playing, it is indeed usualy boring.

[watadoo]

Aww, I'm just kidding. I find all sports intensely fun to watch and some to play. I even watch australian rules football and almost kinda know what's going on from time to time.

Even cricket can be pretty dang exciting when played by pros. http://grouper.com/video/MediaDetail...icket%26fx%3d&

[MonKeyRum]

He will come, he may sometimes score, and no one in the US will care

[Schmeet]

Pretty much to be expected seeing as he is 32, a pretty old age for a football player.

Still £128 million isn't too bad.

[shakey_snake]

Originally posted by MonKeyRum
He will come, he may sometimes score, and no one in the US will care

Agreed.

But there probably are enough entertainment dollars in the US for 4 major sports. And I don't see football, basketball or baseball going anywhere.

Sorry Canada, Hispanics breed faster.

[mistermeow]

Its all environment. I am sure soccer is very exciting in Europe. In the United States, its (American)Football, which is our most exciting sport, and the other major sports.

If you were sitting in Japan watching a semipro American Pro Football game, I am sure it would be nothing to get excited about!

[zootm]

Apparently there's been a huge uptake in tickets for LA Galaxy tickets; one wonders if this will actually make those in the US take a little more notice of the "beautiful game"?

As a sidenote, I heard Beckham referring to the sport as "soccer" on the radio this morning; this probably means his UK passport has now been revoked...

[Wolfgang]

Well, he'll probably get US nationality and play for the US team in the world cup.

Honestly though, in the US football is still seen as a girl's sport and according to an article I read in the Guardian, it's a family thing. People go to the matches with kids and balloons and hot dogs. Fuck that shit. Whistles and beer and fireworks is the way it is.

Is this man really going to be what 'soccer' in the US needs? I bet most Americans who've seen David Beckham's face probably didn't know he's a footballer.

[MidnightViper88]

I heard about him on the news...Some reporter talking about him said something like "He's one of the most well known soccer players in America", but when I kept hearing the name David Beckham before, I kept thinking "Who?"

The only thing I've got to say about this is that he'll probably have a hard time adjusting to calling it "Soccer" instead of "Football"...

[Omega X]

Originally posted by Wolfgang

Honestly though, in the US football is still seen as a girl's sport and according to an article I read in the Guardian, it's a family thing. People go to the matches with kids and balloons and hot dogs. Fuck that shit. Whistles and beer and fireworks is the way it is.

Who honestly cares?

I've seen enough foreigners dis American football to wrap the world 23 times with their words.

And in the end, its still going to be popular in America regardless. And the pads thing is really laughable. I mean, who in their right minds would let their players kill themselves...

[shakey_snake]

Originally posted by Wolfgang
...and according to an article I read in the Guardian, it's a family thing. People go to the matches with kids and balloons and hot dogs.

yeah, I don't think you could have come up with a better description.

[Wolfgang]

Originally posted by Omega X
Who honestly cares?

I've seen enough foreigners dis American football to wrap the world 23 times with their words.

And in the end, its still going to be popular in America regardless. And the pads thing is really laughable. I mean, who in their right minds would let their players kill themselves...

Rugby or Australian rules football players? Seriously, I did not mention American football (although you're right to think I think it's a shit sport). And I agree, the pads thing is really laughable.

[shakey_snake]

Originally posted by Wolfgang
Rugby or Australian rules football players? Seriously, I did not mention American football (although you're right to think I think it's a shit sport). And I agree, the pads thing is really laughable.

I think if you ever tried playing organized ball, I'm pretty sure you'd be glad to have the pads.
And if you look at the history of the game, there is a reason that they do it: people were being killed, regularly.

If you think about it (rather than just defaulting to the ethnocentric response), playing from scrimmage makes the game quite a bit different.

Every 25 seconds, everyone stops, lines up, picks out who they are going to hit as hard as they can, and then does it. Repeat for an hour.

In ARF or rugby you can be running around picking daisies for a while before the ball ever comes your way.

American football is essentially and historically, Rugby played dirty. When I read some of the stuff found in Rugby Union Law 10.1 I laugh.

[shakey_snake]

Originally posted by Wolfgang
Rugby or Australian rules football players? Seriously, I did not mention American football (although you're right to think I think it's a shit sport). And I agree, the pads thing is really laughable.

I think if you ever tried playing organized ball, I'm pretty sure you'd be glad to have the pads.

1. If you look at the history of the game, there is a reason that they do it: people were being killed, regularly. American football is basically Rugby played dirty.
   
2. If you think about it (rather than just defaulting to the ethnocentric response), playing from scrimmage makes the game quite a bit different, and more dangerous.
   Every 25 seconds, everyone stops, lines up, picks out who they are going to hit as hard as they can, and then does it. Repeat for an hour. In ARF or rugby you can be running around picking daisies for a while before the ball ever comes your way.
   
3. When I read the stuff found in Rugby Union Rules 10.1 and 10.4.e, I laugh.

[zootm]

Originally posted by Wolfgang
Honestly though, in the US football is still seen as a girl's sport and according to an article I read in the Guardian, it's a family thing. People go to the matches with kids and balloons and hot dogs. Fuck that shit. Whistles and beer and fireworks is the way it is.

I used to go to see Scotland's American Football team (while we still had one), games of that sport are treated a lot more as a spectacle than they are as what we'd consider a "sport". The game is very entertainment-driven, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can make it seem insincere to people used to the game itself being the centre of attention all the time.

[shakey_snake]

All professional US sports are like that. When I go to NBA game, or baseball games, I almost have to keep myself from staring at the jumbotron the entire time.

[fc*uk]

Beckham claims he did it to help popularize the sport here in America.

Personally, I think it could work, if the european football clubs came over here for a few years. We americans need to be taught how to play the damn sport and not just go through the motions.

[Wolfgang]

I just don't like the game. The whole idea of "every 25 seconds the game stops so the players can think about who to beat the shit out of" is a bit primitive. It's also the reason I don't like basketball much, it's always starting and stopping, there's not much continuity.

[ertmann|CPH]

Originally posted by shakey_snake
American football is essentially and historically, Rugby played dirty. When I read some of the stuff found in Rugby Union Law 10.1 I laugh.

I'm not much into either of those sports, neither of them are really played here. The only sports that really interrests me, are Orienteering which i practice myself, and when our national & or club football/icehockey teams play international matches. So im not a sports fanatatic, and have no relationship with either of those sports.

However, for a casual spectator like me, it does seem to be the other way around, i've allways thought if you put some good English rugby fellas against an NFL side, and let them play rugby rules, they would bloody run them over like a freight train. I mean, rugby players can bleed really bad - without anyone ever thinking of stopping the game, they wear little in the way of protection, and since play doesn't stop every other minutte, it must be much harder physically.

[shakey_snake]

Originally posted by ertmann|CPH
However, for a casual spectator like me, it does seem to be the other way around, i've allways thought if you put some good English rugby fellas against an NFL side, and let them play rugby rules, they would bloody run them over like a freight train. I mean, rugby players can bleed really bad - without anyone ever thinking of stopping the game, they wear little in the way of protection, and since play doesn't stop every other minutte, it must be much harder physically.

Well, if some good English rugby fellas threw on some pads, and played american football, I highly doubt they could keep up with the quickness of the American players.
They are different forms of endurance, running wind sprints and running constantly.

Originally posted by Wolfgang
I just don't like the game. The whole idea of "every 25 seconds the game stops so the players can think about who to beat the shit out of" is a bit primitive. It's also the reason I don't like basketball much, it's always starting and stopping, there's not much continuity.

Well any game starts and stops a lot in comparison to soccer and Rugby Union.

[Razzinno]

I bet most Americans who've seen David Beckham's face probably didn't know he's a footballer.

He stopped being a footballer long ago and moved on to being a celebrity.

Every time I see a picture of him, I don't know who it is. Why? Because he changes his appearance more than Madonna. Brown hair, blond hair, long hair, short hair, no hair, dress shirt, T-shirt, no shirt.

When I realize who it is, I think, "Oh yeah, that soccer-playing attention whore from England.

[Omega X]

Originally posted by Wolfgang
Rugby or Australian rules football players? Seriously, I did not mention American football (although you're right to think I think it's a shit sport). And I agree, the pads thing is really laughable.

Well in your first post you put "US" and "football" next to eachother without a comma. Which made me think American Football. And I thought that other people who like the players to kill themselves from lack of padding was laughable. Not that I find American Football laughable.

[Wolfgang]

If you re-read the post, it reads like "In the United States football is still seen as a girl's sport". That could use a comma but I think it's quite obvious it isn't referring to "US football" but "football in the US" and by football I mean "soccer".

[shakey_snake]

Originally posted by Wolfgang
If you re-read the post, it reads like "In the United States football is still seen as a girl's sport". That could use a comma but I think it's quite obvious it isn't referring to "US football" but "football in the US" and by football I mean "soccer".

Then just use the word soccer, since we all know what it means.

[ertmann|CPH]

matter of principle

[shakey_snake]

My point exactly, principles of good communication.

[Omega X]

Originally posted by Wolfgang
If you re-read the post, it reads like "In the United States football is still seen as a girl's sport". That could use a comma but I think it's quite obvious it isn't referring to "US football" but "football in the US" and by football I mean "soccer".

That was the part that was mixed up, because normally most people not from America(many that I've met) that talk about Soccer always use "United States Football" as a reference to pigskin football and not football as in soccer.

Since I figured out the mix up then I can agree with the original post and ignore the rest.

[zootm]

Originally posted by shakey_snake
My point exactly, principles of good communication.

[Image]

I thought that said "athiests", and got very confused...