Ann Coulter Is Right to Fear the World Cup

[Valmy]

It is not about that.  It is about the inherent awesomeness of football.

Compared to rugby, football is a painfully slow and slow paced game to watch.  But it has media dominance and so rubgy, as a direct competitor, will never see the light of day.

Whatever.  Football never got an awesome movie like Invictus made about it.  And the best sports are slow, as they give time for the drama to build.

[crazy canuck]

The pauses are part of why it is a perfect game for TV.

Agreed.  It is a slow game which is perfect for TV advertising.  But that doesnt make the game awesome.  Just slow.

[derspiess]

Football movies really tend to bore me, for the most part.  The only one I sort of liked was Rudy.  I guess Blind Side was okay.  But none of them seem to be able to match the excitement and drama you get from an actual game.

Football is not the least bit slow.  The pauses actually make the action faster and more explosive.

[crazy canuck]

Football is not the least bit slow.  The pauses actually make the action faster and more explosive.

Slow is fast, freedom is slavery etc.

[derspiess]

  The only sport with faster action is hockey, and that's because they're on skates.

[Valmy]

If the action is so slow how come it gives everybody dangerous head injuries eh?  You don't get that from being slow no sir.

[crazy canuck]

If the action is so slow how come it gives everybody dangerous head injuries eh?  You don't get that from being slow no sir.

The game is slow in the sense that it often only moves a few yards before the end of a play.   It is slow paced because there is no continuity of play.  As you said, if it were otherwise it wouldnt be good for TV.   

[Razgovory]

The pauses are part of why it is a perfect game for TV.

Yeah, football has really replaced Baseball as the professional sport due to TV.  I think in part it's because when the game is playing everyone is moving at once.  That doesn't lend itself well to radio.  In a baseball game you typically on have only three guys doing anything at a given time.  The batter, catcher and pitcher.  Much easier to describe in radio.

[Valmy]

If the action is so slow how come it gives everybody dangerous head injuries eh?  You don't get that from being slow no sir.

The game is slow in the sense that it often only moves a few yards before the end of a play.   It is slow paced because there is no continuity of play.  As you said, if it were otherwise it wouldnt be good for TV.   

I actually did not say that.  Continuity of play does nothing for me.  I mean I don't mind games that have it obviously, but big deal.

[crazy canuck]

If the action is so slow how come it gives everybody dangerous head injuries eh?  You don't get that from being slow no sir.

The game is slow in the sense that it often only moves a few yards before the end of a play.   It is slow paced because there is no continuity of play.  As you said, if it were otherwise it wouldnt be good for TV.   

I actually did not say that.  Continuity of play does nothing for me.  I mean I don't mind games that have it obviously, but big deal.

Like I said in the first post, the leagues and treatment TV gives it has convinced people this slow paced game is not that bad and so fast paced games that are in direct competition - ie rubgy have no chance in the US market.  People have grown accustomed to the slow pace and it fits the lifestyle that has grown up around the game.

[viper37]

Soccer is fun to play.  But to watch, is often boring.  But that US-Belgium game yesterday was fantastic. 

[garbon]

it fits the lifestyle that has grown up around the game.

On a different note, I was just saying the other day that I think football packs in more excitement per game than soccer.

[MadImmortalMan]

I like soccer and basketball.  I think watching cars race around a track and watching others play golf are worse than watching paint dry.

But I also like watching baseball and cricket. 


I am the undecided voter....

I find watching soccer and basketball to be remarkably similar to watching a car race. It's just constant movement. All tactics and little strategy. Even baseball is less boring than basketball and racing.

[FunkMonk]

The stop-startfests of football take me out of the action and ruin some of the excitement for me. Give me a flowing game of soccer any day of the week.

[Valmy]

Like I said in the first post, the leagues and treatment TV gives it has convinced people this slow paced game is not that bad and so fast paced games that are in direct competition - ie rubgy have no chance in the US market.  People have grown accustomed to the slow pace and it fits the lifestyle that has grown up around the game.

If fast paced automatically made things better than the most popular sport would be the 100 meter dash.  And further your premise is obviously incorrect since rugby was around and lost to those other sports long before TV or any leagues were around. 

Though I guess, to be fair, I have no idea what you mean by direct competition.  What sport is Rugby in direct competition with in the US that it is not in the other 150+ countries it has not caught on?