Soccer is back! WITH public. Lovin' it...

[carum carvi]

I am not a die hard soccer fan, BUT I really, REALLY loved it when the soccer competition started again in my home country. WITH public! Yes, in many other countries public still isnt allowed to go to soccer games, but in my country it is. Oh, so nice! And the "simple" presence of public during a soccer/football match makes a world of difference. Because I wanna hear cheers, I wanna hear boos. I wanna see the supporters again. And they are back!

I wasnt aware HOW much I missed talking about soccer/football when they couldnt play. But now soccer has returned, I suddenly felt how much I have missed watching it, WITH public. The many sport talkshows with all their analysis of the game (and all the gossip) made me feel so good again as well. I love the chit chat surrounding the soccer game.

I suddenly realized there aren't many things that give me so much pleasure as watching soccer/football, even if it is only twice a week. I am one happy dude. Soccer is back. And I am really enjoying it!

Any other LinuxMint soccer fans out there?

[Pjotr]

It's that game where 22 millionaires are running after a ball, right?

[antikythera]

I was watching people throwing arrows at a board tonight in front of a packed auditorium full of drunk people, also known as World Series of Darts Finals

Also, speaking of overpaid blokes, Gareth Bale looks to be playing for Spurs again on loan in the very near future instead of being paid to watch football from the stands, oh and 37-0...

[ajgringo619]

I am not a die hard soccer fan, BUT I really, REALLY loved it when the soccer competition started again in my home country. WITH public! Yes, in many other countries public still isnt allowed to go to soccer games, but in my country it is. Oh, so nice! And the "simple" presence of public during a soccer/football match makes a world of difference. Because I wanna hear cheers, I wanna hear boos. I wanna see the supporters again. And they are back!

You and me both. I can't watch baseball anymore, with the cardboard fans and piped-in crowd noise. It's just not the same.

I wasnt aware HOW much I missed talking about soccer/football when they couldnt play. But now soccer has returned, I suddenly felt how much I have missed watching it, WITH public. The many sport talkshows with all their analysis of the game (and all the gossip) made me feel so good again as well. I love the chit chat surrounding the soccer game.

It was hard watching the EPL and Bundesliga without the fans. It just seemed weird when a goal was scored and all you heard were crickets.

I suddenly realized there aren't many things that give me so much pleasure as watching soccer/football, even if it is only twice a week. I am one happy dude. Soccer is back. And I am really enjoying it!

Any other LinuxMint soccer fans out there?

That's what makes sports great - the atmosphere and fans smack-talking each other for a couple of hours, without a care in the world.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I am not a die hard soccer fan, BUT I really, REALLY loved it when the soccer competition started again in my home country...

What is your home country? It's really annoying when people refer to things in "their country" but do not say where that is or even include it in their forum profile.

[Portreve]

It's that game where 22 millionaires are running after a ball, right?

It's the game where, a few years ago during FIFA where the U.S. suddenly won a few games, for almost a week you could watch FIFA games without having to watch a Spanish-language on-air tv channel. And then, of course, the day after the U.S. lost, it went right back to being on Spanish-language channels only.

It's the game where the most successful and famous players can come to the U.S. and... go unrecognized by nearly every person living here.

[ajgringo619]

It's that game where 22 millionaires are running after a ball, right?

It's the game where, a few years ago during FIFA where the U.S. suddenly won a few games, for almost a week you could watch FIFA games without having to watch a Spanish-language on-air tv channel. And then, of course, the day after the U.S. lost, it went right back to being on Spanish-language channels only.

It's the game where the most successful and famous players can come to the U.S. and... go unrecognized by nearly every person living here.

Tell me about it! I really wanted to watch the UEFA Champions League, but I refused to buy CBS All-Access for just one event.

I don't see soccer ever becoming as popular - or as good - as anything in Europe. I've been hearing about the surge of kids that play for decades - played myself back in the 70s - but it just doesn't translate. The best athletes in the US just don't seem to have any interest in soccer; which is funny, as the salaries of big-time soccer players are just as outrageous as here.

[Portreve]

I don't see soccer ever becoming as popular - or as good - as anything in Europe. I've been hearing about the surge of kids that play for decades - played myself back in the 70s - but it just doesn't translate. The best athletes in the US just don't seem to have any interest in soccer; which is funny, as the salaries of big-time soccer players are just as outrageous as here.

If someone offered to pay me $100 million to play American Football, I suppose I'd learn how to play it.

Incidentally, I was rooting for Team Germany.

[ajgringo619]

Incidentally, I was rooting for Team Germany.

I wanted either Man City or Bayern; really disappointed in Liverpool. I took a chance on Neymar on a fantasy ticket in the finals, but it didn't work out. Lewandowski was so good in this tournament that it was almost like a video game on cheat-mode.

[kelevra]

It's that game where 22 millionaires are running after a ball, right?

Along with Hockey, American Football and Baseball. I would sooner support semi-pro or college sports teams. I was recently at a pro Hockey game and it sucked. The $100 seats sucked, didn't fit my 6'3" body, and the refreshments were so outrageously priced. If I'm going to have a $5 hot dog or $7 popcorn, I'll go to a movie theatre.

[antikythera]

It's the same in Motorsport. F1 is ludicrously expensive to watch at a track and you can see F all because you are so far back from the circuits. NASCAR isn't much better but they treat the fans more like BTCC. I prefer BTCC (British Touring Car Championship), you can walk the pit lane for free and meet the drivers before the day's action to get autographs, selfies or have a chat. It can be a bit hectic and crammed in there though because it's only open for 30 minutes.

The mechanics are quite happy for you to go in the garage and take pictures of the car as long as they aren't of course busy and they let the kids sit in them.

The stands and side of track viewing areas are much closer. The racing is far more competitive and cars can pass each other without losing downforce or relying on DRS or push to pass. You have different classes of cars too, FWD and RWD, TOCA Engine or tuned manufacturer engine. There is success ballast and a limit on BHP as well as one reverse grid race out of the three they have on the day.

It all ads up to an enthralling race championship that is also a bargain day out at the local circuit with 10 hours constant action including support races. The support races are just as good too.

[Portreve]

It's been my observation for a long time that American sports is all about the money. I don't really get the impression that these folks for the most part would be involved if there weren't mega $$$ or £££ or €€€ involved. Personally, I kind of feel like it's a turn-off, though obviously millions of hardcore sports fans would no doubt disagree with me.

Oh well...

[Pjotr]

It's been my observation for a long time that American sports is all about the money.

Not only American sports....

On topic: I think soccer is probably one of the most boring sports ever invented by man.

[antikythera]

On topic: I think soccer is probably one of the most boring sports ever invented by man.

A very close second only to Golf which is a ruined walk in a park, also coincidentally played by idiots with more money than sense

[Portreve]

I presently have friends in Germany. I also used to have a girlfriend who was from Australia. This means I've seen a number of Soccer as well as Australian Rules Football games. I think they're both a lot of fun to watch. What I like about both of them is that there are no commercial interruptions. AR Football players impress me like no American Football player ever has: they are constantly running, not unlike Soccer players, which means they have to have darn good stamina. They play with minimal padding, which however you want to look at it means they have to have some serious guts considering there are collisions on the field, and those cannot be fun. And frankly anyone who can take an oblong-shaped ball and dribble it on any surface, much less a grassy field, and do so while running flat out, absolutely has my respect.

As far as Soccer, I like the gameplay and I also like the sportsmanship that you just do not see in American Football games. If someone gets hurt, everyone cares, not just that person's fellow teammates.

This brings up an off-topic memory of something from almost 40 years ago. Actually, two memories. I was in middle school at the time (for my non-American friends, that would be grades 5-8) and during our P.E. (physical education) class on one occasion they were trying to get us into soccer. Well, first off, I've never been a super physically active, much less athletic kid, so the constant running in soccer was something I just couldn't keep up with. I would get winded and my sides would start hurting so bad that I just couldn't continue. Anyhow, they got to showing us that we could use our heads to hit the ball, and at that point I had had enough. Given what we know these days about traumatic brain injury from getting hit in the head, it was probably wise for me to object. Besides, it was better to have to go sit alone in the classroom and read while everyone else was outside.

The second memory was when they had us playing baseball. I hit the ball one particular time, but I hadn't realized when I'd let go of the bat that it wasn't just casually and onto the ground, but rather it was still traveling with some significant force, and I'd almost smashed someone in the head with it. It wasn't until I'd stopped at First Base that I realized it wasn't just a couple kids but also the teachers present who were yelling at me. I had no idea why, and it wasn't until I walked over to one (who, as you might imagine, was quite upset) that I found out. Suffice it to say, after that they managed to keep me from ever hitting the ball again.

Being pulled off teams, or being sent back inside, or always being the last person to get on a team on those days when they had us playing any kind of sports (last because the team I would get on "had to take me" since I hadn't been picked by either team and was the last kid standing there) really didn't much matter since I was never into sports anyhow.

EDIT: Part of me wants to say Cricket is boring, but honestly I think it's much more confusing than boring.

If there is a game more pointless than golf, then it surely must be curling.

[Pjotr]

always being the last person to get on a team on those days when they had us playing any kind of sports (last because the team I would get on "had to take me" since I hadn't been picked by either team and was the last kid standing there)

Same here. Bloody humiliating, it was. In my class there were two of us in that category; I was always hoping that the other guy would be last to be selected and not I. Usually I was last, though.

Now I wonder why there apparently wasn't some attention given in teacher training, to the simple fact that it's not good to humiliate pupils in that way, and that a random team formation is therefore better?

[antikythera]

Aussie Rules is a lot like Rugby. There are two disciplines of Rugby, namely Rugby League and Rugby Union. The difference is mainly the way points are scored but like Aussie Rules they don't stop play and make an 80 minute game last 4 hours. They also don't wear a shed load of armour and a helmet. Some Rugby Players have gone to play American Football near the end of their careers, so I guess that says a lot about how physically demanding the two games are in comparison.

[Portreve]

always being the last person to get on a team on those days when they had us playing any kind of sports (last because the team I would get on "had to take me" since I hadn't been picked by either team and was the last kid standing there)

Same here. Bloody humiliating, it was. In my class there were two of us in that category; I was always hoping that the other guy would be last to be selected and not I. Usually I was last, though.

Now I wonder why there apparently wasn't some attention given in teacher training, to the simple fact that it's not good to humiliate pupils in that way, and that a random team formation is therefore better?

"Back in the day" was a very different reality compared to how things are handled today, and to be fair, I'm not certain I'm a fan of either, from what I know of how things are currently dealt with. I do remember at one point my eighth grade teacher, have been forced into stumbling upon an instance of how other kids were treating me, angrily scolded the class. It really didn't make a difference, of course.

[Portreve]

Aussie Rules is a lot like Rugby. There are two disciplines of Rugby, namely Rugby League and Rugby Union. The difference is mainly the way points are scored but like Aussie Rules they don't stop play and make an 80 minute game last 4 hours. They also don't wear a shed load of armour and a helmet. Some Rugby Players have gone to play American Football near the end of their careers, so I guess that says a lot about how physically demanding the two games are in comparison.

I've never watched Rugby. I've of course seen little clips from it, but that's it. I have had conversations in the past with people who thought I was talking about Rugby when I was discussing AR Football. Some folks not only do not possess a clue about something, they seem to actively not want to have a clue about it, either.

[antikythera]

I've watched Aussie Rules Highlights as and when they've been shown on TV here in the UK but don't follow it avidly. It's definitely as watchable as Rugby though.