Quote:
Originally Posted by Fletch
I wish every soccer hater was forced to sit down and watch yesterday's match. I'm certainly no diehard fan - I don't know 99% of the players and I only watch the major tournaments and biggest games. That being said, the excitement in the stands and the obvious tension on the field (er, "pitch"  ) yesterday was incredible. Some of the near misses were breath taking - shots off of posts, defenders heading away sure goals, etc. And the physical play was awesome. Only watching a few matches per year, the difference between that game yesterday and the embarrassing flopping of the World Cup was refreshing. Bloody noses, elbows, tackle after tackle.
And finally, while I know that purists don't like games being decided by penalties, it was truly gripping TV to have it all come down to that. Seeing the best player in the world choke and then get bailed out was soap opera level stuff.
Any sports fan who actually sat down and watched that yesterday would have been glued to their TV - it had every element of a classic from any other sport.
Just my two cents as an infrequent observer. |
Good post, Fletch! Because I had so much personal emotion invested in the game, I couldn't tell you if an impartial observer (even a soccer fan) would have thought it was an exciting game. I guess the intensity came through well.
The comment you made comparing it to the World Cup is interesting. It's why international soccer sucks compared to club soccer. Club soccer is like the
NCAA tournament and international soccer is like the NBA. It's so much more exciting and intense. There is also usually a better quality of play because they play together all the time. This game was just an amazing example of sports at it's highest level. Two teams going absolutely 120% balls out fighting with every thing they got for their goal. So often it is a cliche to say that it is a shame that either team had to lose, but I've rarely seen that be so true as it was yesterday.