Viewpoints: Soccer shoot-out

The most popular sport in the world

By Bryan Rosenbaum

It's easy to poke fun at the occasional "hooliganism" that gives the sports and its fans a bad name. On the other hand, soccer fans are among the most passionate and knowledgeable in the world. The occasional balloon full of urine or fireworks coming down from the stands aside, the hooligan problem has been getting better over the last decade. People in England don't worry about coming home with stab wounds anymore because it has become an "Americanized" family affair.

The atmosphere at a soccer game (in Europe, not at an MLS game) is crazy - singing, dancing and all-out drunkenness - and that's before the match even begins. The color and atmosphere is impossible for American sports to duplicate.

Big soccer matches are not high scoring because 1) it is not meant to be, and 2) the teams are usually so even that it takes a great play with great finishing to score. Unlike American sports, which have constantly tinkered with rules to make them more fan-friendly and increase scoring, soccer has kept with its roots, minimally adding rule changes when needed.

Soccer is truly a team sport. There are goal scoring records, but even that and other individual statistics do not matter. You won't see fans getting behind certain players who are chasing records while their team is losing (e.g. Mark McGwire and the Cardinals), but you will see fans getting behind their teams every step of the way as they try to win championships.

A soccer player might be fantastic, but never has one player carried an entire team. Look what happened to Brazil when Ronaldo didn't play well in the World Cup final, and look how France played as a team and dismantled the Brazilians 3-0.

There's a certain skill involved with soccer that most Americans just don't have because we don't play it that often. Asking an American to kick a soccer ball is like asking a European to throw a baseball. Nearly every American thinks that he or she is good at baseball, basketball or football, but only a certain few think they are good at soccer.

Surprisingly for a country of this size, the United States has never been a power in international soccer. Because of this, the sport has never been given the recognition it deserves. We finished 32nd out of 32 teams at France '98, advanced to the second round on our own home turf in 1994 and were blasted out of the first round in 1990. Before 1990, the last time America qualified for the World Cup was in 1950. Just because this country isn't very good does not mean it is not a sport.

Oh, yeah, more people watch the World Cup final than any other sporting event in the world. It just happens to be the world's most popular sport, no matter what this country, which represents a mere five percent of the world, may believe.

Bryan Rosenbaum is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He can be reached at Bryan.Rosenbaum@wildcat.arizona.edu

Futbol, what the hell is that?

By Dan Rosen

That's right, you wouldn't catch this sports fan in one of those hideous billboard advertisements they call jerseys.

Soccer is a sport in which people like to actually kill each other in the stands or the players on the field because the opposing team scores a goal.

Passion or just plain insanity?

The answer is obvious, it is just insanity at a soccer game. Who says the laws don't apply inside a FUTBOL Stadium?

Some people could argue that the thousands of deaths that result from these sporting events are not so bad because the people die in the heat of a passionate rage for their country.

What the hell does that mean?

Contrary to popular belief overseas, people dying is not a good thing, and a soccer match should not be a reenactment of the Civil War.

Where would you rather be, in Kosovo right now, or at a soccer match on a Sunday afternoon?

Either way, give me my fatigues!

Soccer is a very popular sport in Europe, so let's just keep it there. Maybe the so-called passion that these fans possess for their sport is a bit overdone. People may think that I am just a scared American, but there is no way in hell that I would go to a futbol game overseas. At first, the rush of the fans would probably be intriguing, but why would I want to put my life in danger over a stupid game?

Really now, it is just a damn game. Whether your team wins or loses, you will get over it. You won't, however, get over it if you hurt, maim or kill another "passionate fan" in the process.

People here in the United States understand that killing is bad, well at least most people. I am sure glad that I am out of high school so I don't have to worry about stepping in a booby trap and getting blown up by a bomb while I am going to my phys-ed class.

So, if killing is bad, and Americans understand that, it leaves me to believe that people don't go to Major League Soccer games because they fear for their lives.

It may not be that the sports fans in this country fear for their lives, it may just be that they find the sport really boring.

You could turn off a soccer game at 1:30 with the score at 'nil' 'nil' and then turn it back on at 3:00 to find the scoreboard to be the same. In fact, the only difference is that if the match was in Europe, the death toll would have risen in that hour and a half.

Argue it anyway you want to, it is not because Americans aren't good at the sport. There are some good soccer players in this country, but no one cares about them because they play soccer.

And one last thing; does anybody else think that the MLS is the biggest disgrace to American sports?

I would rather get four wisdom teeth yanked without Novocain by a dentist who used infected pliers, than attend a soccer game.

Dan Rosen is a junior majoring in journalism. Dan Rosen can be reached at Dan.Rosen@wildcat.arizona.edu