The Bobcat Nation

I dont care about your opinions on it, and that its not as cool as football.. I'm just curious what the people who watch its thoughts are on who will win La Liga this year or English Premier league?? I'm hopin Chelsea gets their shlt together this year and I'm thinkin Real Madrid will take the crown from Barca... Any Thoughts?

I like soccer a lot. My interest in Europe usually falls off a bit during college football season and picks up towards spring. The top of the table in the Premier League is less interesting to me because it's usually the same four teams..and then Man U wins. I focus on the relegation battles-that's intense. I also pay closer attention to the teams with Americans.

I think Barca-as long as Messi is there. He's amazing.

I wish we got the Dutch league like a few years ago. I really enjoyed that.

I also follow MLS a bit. Big fan of the Portland Timbers.

And to those who hate soccer-please save it-we've heard it all before.

Yeah I agree Messi is crazy good best in the world, but I think that Real might knock em off because of the transfers this year.. That dude Christiano Ronaldo (who is a flopper) is crazy good as well, and I believe he is more well rounded because of his size and he can shoot with both feet. But yeah I like MLS but lets face it, America sucks for soccer. I watched Man U destroy the Sounders last summer.. Although they are fun to go see, the level of talent is a fraction of what it is around the world, which is sad because all the really talented American players play overseas because their Clubs have more money.. I'm just waitin to see if Neymar goes EPL cuz he is crazy good at his Club team Santos in Brazil, I believe he is the next prodigy of FIFA.

If you ever get a chance to watch a great movie about the magnitude of this sport check out Green Street Hooligans... Kind of violent (like Boondock Saints) but it is one of my all time favorites.

NO!!!!! Rugby.....Our Grand-daughter played through HS and one year in College. Followed her then.....

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You guys might find this cool, he kicked a field goal that tied the NFL record you will see in the video (he falls short when against the wind, but switches direction on the field and kicks it over)
Crazy Talented Guy, Maybe when one of these guys retires an NFL team would pick em up hahha

GoGrizOpponents wrote:But yeah I like MLS but lets face it, America sucks for soccer.

It's no premier league, but since watching it from its inception in 1996 I've seen it get much better. The single entity system and strict salary rules keep the league from being world class, but that system has also kept the league financially viable unlike its predessor the NASL. The league has helped the US national team improve mightly. Most of our national team players play over seas now for more money, but most got their start in MLS.

The addition of the Cascadia teams (Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver) are a huge boost to the league. Those cities are crazy about the game and draw huge crowds.

It'll be interesting to see what Klinsman does with our National team. So far it hasn't looked too good. I afraid we don't have enough of the skillful players necessary to play his system. We did better bunkering and counter attacking.

You would think after we won at the world cup in 2010 soccer would attract more fans.. It needs to start by getting an MLS team in more major cities. Like Atlanta, Miami, Indianapolis, Phoenix, etc.

Yes. Some people watch soccer. I am not one of them.

CPACAT wrote:Yes. Some people watch soccer. I am not one of them.

Haha, im kinda surprised it took so long for the first smart@ss response to this thread.

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No

GoGrizOpponents wrote:You would think after we won at the world cup in 2010 soccer would attract more fans..

We did ? Guess I missed it.

HassFan wrote:

We did ? Guess I missed it.

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Last minute goal to win the game, pretty intense. Guess you missed out.

GoGrizOpponents wrote:

HassFan wrote:

We did ? Guess I missed it.

Last minute goal to win the game, pretty intense. Guess you missed out.

Here's the reaction to the goal-in Nebraska of all places: [youtube][/youtube]

At 52 seconds. Looks like a few people cared.

I enjoy watching soccer, mainly the Sounders, then USA soccer. They draw such great enthusiastic crowds to their games, would love to go one day. I have 3 high schoolers in soccer and have coached in the YSA system here in Billings. I didn't know much about it when our kids first started but it is really an athletic game. It is definitely a players game. The coach can't call time outs and draw up plans. It is up to the players to make things happen on the field. I wish they had soccer in high school when I went to GFH in the late 70's. Wouldn't be surprised to see soccer at MSU in the future.

BelgradeBobcat wrote:
Here's the reaction to the goal-in Nebraska of all places: [youtube][/youtube]

At 52 seconds. Looks like a few people cared.

Thanks for the backup

BelgradeBobcat wrote:

GoGrizOpponents wrote:

HassFan wrote:

We did ? Guess I missed it.

Last minute goal to win the game, pretty intense. Guess you missed out.

Here's the reaction to the goal-in Nebraska of all places: [youtube][/youtube]

At 52 seconds. Looks like a few people cared.

Not sure if this is what HaasFan was meaning (or if it was just intended as a smartass anti-soccer comment) but I took it to mean the way the poster made it sound as if we did something amazing like winning the World Cup that should have interested more people. I was glued to the tv for every game, that win was crazy but in the end it was just a pool play win. In reality they fizzled out of the World Cup losing the first elimination game. If you are talking about the World Cup drawing people into soccer as long term fans, the US has done better in the past and it hasn't drawn the masses to soccer once the World Cup ended so not sure why a pool play win (no matter how awesome) would do it.

Edit to add one other comment. The World Cup has the same draw as the Olympics, national pride reflected in sport. I like to watch soccer but don't plan around it or follow it closely like I do other sports, except in the case of something like the World Cup. Much the same way that half the country tunes into Figure Skating, Track and Field, Swimming, etc. every four years. After the Olympics, the vast majority of those that tuned in won't see that sporting event again for another four years.

That win over Algeria win got us into the knockout round which is about as good as the US can expect. We did win our group-which was fun because we finished ahead of England. We bombed out against Ghana in the knockout round in extra time-it kind of threw a cloud over the euphoria of the Algeria win from a few days before-a real missed opportunity.

Soccer is a niche sport in this country and will be for the foresable future-nothing wrong with that. It is very popular in certain parts of the Country-especially in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Sounders average 36,000 a game and the Portland Timbers are ridiculously popular in that town. The national team is a big draw as well and it didn't used to be that way.

ESPN Sports Center guys used to make fun of soccer all the time...until they started making money off of it. The ratings for the last World Cup were very good. Now they televise Premier League games.

Agreed BB, not trying to downplay the win, just saying that was how I took Haasfan's "we won?" message, because I kind of had the reaction on first reading of the you would think after we won at the world cup in 2010 that we would attract more fans quote. That win was huge and I loved it and really have begun to enjoy soccer even beyond the world cup. However, as I said and as you point out, the reason it was huge was the national pride part as much as the soccer part. It is great to see how the Northwest has taken to it and supported it, I do hope that continues to spread and does just sit as a regional thing.

Don't know much about soccer other than I think the rules are kind of like hockey - which I do like to watch. I played some soccer (without rules) in the 70's as conditioning with some competetive skiers (which I was not one of) - and it was fun. But that was about the extent of the soccer experience for me - other than I remember "Pele". So - my comment was kind of a tongue in cheek smart ass (which I am at times) retort. I knew we did well somewhere along the line, but like kmax said, if there is national pride on the line, I might pay a bit of attention, but not enough to know anything about the sport.

GO CATS !

I think we'll see the sport keep growing as a spectator sport in this country. Many (most) kids play the game at the youth level now-a-days so they understand and appreciate the game a lot more.

US soccer will always have the problem of most of the best athletes moving to other sports as they move into high school, but with a country of 300 million we're going to have some good players. It's just a matter of finding them. Guys like Kobe Bryant and Chad Ochocinco (there are many others) are very good soccer players and fans of the game.