Olbermann's advice for American soccer fans

[KamaAina]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/olbermann-s-advice-for-american-soccer-fans-204134504.html

In the wake of the USA's disappointing World Cup elimination at the hands of Belgium, Keith Olbermann has offered his advice on "How to Make Soccer Work in America."

"I don't care whether or not soccer succeeds or fails in this country," says Olbermann in the preface to his remarks. "I don't care in the same way I don't care if the NFL succeeds or fails in this country."...

His main piece of advice seems to be to "stop imitating the English."

According to Olbermann, soccer fans usage of British football parlance such as "pitch," "nil" and "kit" comes off as pretentious and "sounds like one of those movies about ancient Rome where they're all speaking with British accents."

[El Supremo]

1. More from 6 days ago >>

[caraher]

2. He's right about not aping the English

Going the other direction, I think promoters of American football in England have the sense not to go overboard aping Americanisms. I recall being in England in 1987 and watching NFL highlights on TV read totally England-style: "Denver Broncos 34, Detroit Lions nil." There's no surer way to make certain the sport you're promoting remains a small niche sport than creating inessential jargon that creates an "in" group dynamic the potential new fan is most likely to find off-putting...

[El Supremo]

3. But MIM probably uses all those words.

Like "pitch," "nil" and "kit". We know he already says "whilst" and "colour". Not pretentious. Just a Limey!

[madinmaryland]

7. And how would you know what my favourite sport is.

It might just include armour.

[Renew Deal]

4. That was great

Last edited Thu Jul 3, 2014, 11:15 AM - Edit history (1)

And he's right about the MLS team names. I can't believe they're still doing this stuff. "Sporting Kansas City" and "Real Salt Lake" are embarrassing. It's like when the MLS ran the clock down and had an overtime.

[VWolf]

5. Agreed

Not sure if there's any connection, whatsoever, between KC and Lisbon, or between SLC and Madrid. Those names are just dumb.

However, considering that KC's team was originally called The Wiz, they had nowhere to go but up.

Even the name DC United gives me pause. I think the NE Revolution probably has the best name in MLS. It's a shame they're so bad on the pitch .... err .... field.

[Renew Deal]

6. NE was good for a long time

I think Twellman was there during those years. I don't mind pitch, but the people yelling about how "unlucky" things are are pests.

[jakefrep]

9. "Sporting Kansas City" beats the hell out of "Kansas City Wiz"

...and FC Dallas is preferable to Dallas Burn.

[jakefrep]

8. Meh. Olbermann can sod off.

If soccer weren't already "working" in the US, would ESPN be showing every World Cup game live? Would NBC have shelled out for the TV rights to the English League? I doubt it. There's no need to bastardize the game to suit the tastes of casual American fans.

[wilt the stilt]

10. except he is right about 90% of the time

especially you snotty fans. Like we who have watched sports can't understand the "game of soccer". It's not like it's rocket science. It's a basic game. I've been around since Pele. He's got it right about ties and furthermore answer me this. Why is it the only game that doesn't finish the game playing the game. All other sports finish the game playing the game. shootouts are a joke and it shows that the game is fundamentally flawed.

[caraher]

11. Of course, it wasn't always like this...

They used to hold a rematch... but today, TV and the other businesspeople can't have that. Drawing lots has also been tried, as well as something close to the NHL penalty shot...

The old solution used to be that tied games were replayed, but in today’s crowded schedules, expediency demands that the result is decided on that day. FIFA tried the toss of a coin and had rejected a brighter idea from the now defunct North American Soccer League.

The N.A.S.L. of the 1970s had, to my mind, a fairer option.

It required an outfield player to run with the ball from 35 yards out, giving him five seconds to score and allowing the goalkeeper to advance toward the player.

That at least contained more skills than the single shot of a nervous, fatigued individual.

[VWolf]

12. I respectfully disagree

The game itself isn't flawed. There have been many proposals to deal with overtime in order to avoid the crapshoot.

The fundamental problem is twofold: First, because soccer is played worldwide, there needs to be consensus among the over 200 participating nations in order to make any changes. Think the United Nations to the fifth power. Things move along at glacial rates. Second, the governing body, FIFA, is corrupt to the core. So nobody trusts them to do the right thing, making it even more difficult to reach any consensus.

In 1995, a new rule was added that prohibited the keeper from using his hands when the ball was played back to him by a field player. People were clamoring for this rule for over a decade before it was implemented. The inertia is simply staggering.

Frankly, I'm surprised the refs have been allowed to use the spray to mark off the 10 yards on free kicks. This has been standard practice in South America for some time, but I just assumed FIFA wouldn't allow it for this world cup.

[JonLP24]

13. US national soccer team support and viewership

reached high levels. The match where they clinched there way into the World Cup and their match against Portugal was the most watched soccer game ever in the US. Germany was also highly rated. Their knockout stage match against Belgium is 2nd on the highest rated soccer match.

MLS is also growing fast in TV coverage and revenues.

I don't think soccer isn't having a catching on problem when there was pretty much no fan support since '94. My problem is I have no "team". I probably would root for Seattle Sounders over any team in the world since I did also live there. I'm waiting for Arizona to get a team before I see my self being passionate. I think that was a problem since I can't see the average sports fan choosing European country teams as their team because they have the best soccer players in the world . Now the MLS is a top 10 soccer league, behind the big 4 European leagues & Brazil & Mexico which isn't bad at all. This explains the soccer ratings. US have a damn good team and were put in a league w/ quality opponents. US needed to beat Portugal to clinch, but the draw made things tricky but still had a 65% chance of advancing. It also had a late finish that added drama to the group. Something a national team is easy for US fans and when they have a good team playing in important matches and winning. Even the Belgium game was also a great game to watch.