Here we go. I feel like I go through this every four years. The soccer haters come out every World Cup and then my defensive claws come out. This is not pointed at any one person but to all those folks who say, "Soccer is so dumb" or "Soccer is so boring" or "Soccer is full of cheaters/diving..." or anything in that genre of haterade.
Let me start by saying yes. I probably am biased because I played the "beautiful game" for 10 years of my life. And that is in quotes because that is what its nickname is. Not because I'm being sarcastic or don't agree with that. Because I do. I really do.
Why is it called the "Beautiful Game"? Well one of the reasons is because anyone in the world can play it as long as you have a ball and can make some kind of makeshift goal with whatever you have... sticks, rocks, metal, big piles of poop.... (okay that last one is weird but you could if you really needed to). Another reason is the camaraderie it brings between the fans but also the players. Yes, a lot of crap happens but that's the same with any sport. The only other time when opposing teams come together to support their country is the Olympics. And at the Olympics, it's divided by sport. At the World Cup, entire countries get behind ONE team and give their full support and love that team. Yes, fans get insanely upset (like I did today at my beloved España when they played horribly and sooooo not cohesively) but that happens at lots of sporting events. Case in point: the rivalry between the Dodgers and Giants is so bad, someone almost lost hisLIFE. In my humble opinion it is also called that because it has the hottest guys... but again. That's just me
To rebut the point that it's boring watching guys run around a field for 90 minutes... you obviously don't know how to watch the game and are close minded enough to not even try to have someone explain it to you. You know that most people in the world think that the NFL is boring and dumb too right? Again, it's because they don't know how to watch it. For the longest time I refused to watch baseball because I thought it was boring but then I had someone start to explain things and I realized that I was being close minded. Now I really enjoy going to baseball games!
"It's full of divers and cheaters." Let me ask you this: What sport doesn't have SOME kind of cheater? Football: penalties and flags all over the place. Baseball: Steroids (actually a good number of sports). Basketball: also more penalties and trying to cheat the system. Yes. Admittedly, in soccer there are some people/countries who are more prone to diving/whining and looking for calls. Have someone come at you with cleats going for your knee and you see how you like it. If you perceive yourself to be in danger, it's danger. Some of them are over whining.. yeah. *coughronaldocough*
Anyway. That's my rant. So how about the next time you decide to open your mouth and bag on a game that most of the people on this planet enjoy, you think about what you're about to say?
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