Topic: Soccer Discussion: 1.67% Chance of Being the Best Thread on the NWR Forums

[Soren]

England calls it soccer though.

[NWR_insanolord]

So then which country are the people always yelling at people for calling it soccer from?

[Soren]

I don't know, but only one country has a 6 hour show on the weekends called Soccer Saturday.

[NWR_insanolord]

Then this is probably one of those things that's more the product of asshole Eurosnob Americans than actual Europeans.

[famicomplicated]

Hi, I'm British!
People in the UK call it football.
TV shows are called things like Football Focus, The Football League Show, On the Ball, Match of the Day.

A cable network once had a show called Soccer Saturday, but that doesn't mean the presenters ever called the sport soccer, that was just the name of the show (probably named because of the alliteration).


Most people don't really care if Americans call it soccer, we know that's your word for it.
What we don't like is being told we're "wrong" for calling it football!


We also appreciate it if when talking in a group of British people, you refer to your own sport as "American Football" to avoid confusion as to what sport you're talking about. 

[NWR_insanolord]

The name "soccer" actually originated in England, as an abbreviated form of "association football." The press wanted a three letter abbreviation, and decided the first three letters of association wouldn't do, so they went with "SOC," which was then adapted, most likely drunkenly, into "soccer." Like a lot of things, it fell out of wider use in Britain but stayed the same here.

I'm guessing I was right and this was all those damned Eurosnobs being their usual asshole selves.

[Khushrenada]

I'm guessing I was right and this was all those damned Eurosnobs being their usual asshole selves.

The term is Eurotrash but leave it to you vulgar Americans with your large gas-guzzling SUV's and deep-fried candy bars to get it wrong as usual. Now I must get back to my all-night dance techno party with mon amis as we discuss the latest football scores and eat Brésilienne Belgium waffles because we know how to live.

[Khushrenada]

Also, how can the Japanese correspondent be British? That is like having the Americans report on football or "soccer". He'd be unable to understand or relate to anything about it.

[NWR_insanolord]

MLS Western Conference Playoff Picks:
Knockout: Vancouver over Dallas.
Semis: RSL over LA, Seattle over Vancouver.
Finals: Seattle over RSL.

Eastern Conference Picks:
Knockout: New York over KC.
Semis: New England over Columbus, DC over New York.
Finals: New England over DC.

MLS Cup Final: Seattle over New England.

[NWR_insanolord]

Terrible, terrible late penalty call gives Dallas the win, killing my predictions and any faith I ever had in the officiating in this league immediately. On the plus side, it does give me an idea for the mafia game.

[NWR_insanolord]

Vincent Tan, Magic Johnson and like 40 other people officially announced as the ownership group of the rebranded Chivas USA, to (re)enter the league in 2017 alongside Atlanta.

Really not liking this new trend in team names; I think one aspect of American sports the league really should keep is the team name structure. I hate the Galaxy and Timbers, but they at least have proper names.

[Ceric]

Does Tennessee have a club?  My son asked the other day.

[NWR_insanolord]

They don't, and the way things are going it doesn't look likely. From what I've looked at it doesn't seem like you have a team in any of the more prominent lower divisions. It's probably not going to get any closer than D.C., Columbus or Kansas City.

[Manthony Chopkins]

I'm also not a fan of the "FC" trend some of these teams are moving towards. I much prefer nicknames like Galaxy, Fire, Dynamo, etc. I miss the Kansas City Wizards.

[NWR_insanolord]

I will say, though, that they're still not as bad as "Real Salt Lake." That one's dumber on several levels.

[NWR_insanolord]

This isn't going to mean much to most people, but the one thing I saw on Halloween that genuinely scares me is someone mentioning Shalrie Joseph starting at forward. This is a really bad time for me to be reminded of that.

[NWR_insanolord]

First legs of the first round in the books. Revs looking unstoppable, all but clinching a berth in the East final with a 4-2 win at Columbus. New York stays hot with Henry and BWP, up 2-0 going back to D.C. Draws in both West games, though the Sounders at least picked up an all-important away goal.

[NWR_insanolord]

THE AWAY GOALS RULE IS THE BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO MLS! A 1-1 draw in Dallas followed by a 0-0 draw in Seattle means the Sounders roll on for yet another battle with the LA Galaxy, this time for a berth in the MLS Cup Final. The treble is within reach! Wooooo!

[NWR_insanolord]

Now that the Mafia game has, uh, concluded, soccer can go back go being confined in this thread that pretty much only i post in.

Huge weekend in MLS, with the second legs of the conference final matchups. Saturday the Red Bulls head to Foxboro, for a game that will feature Theirry Henry playing on turf (!) and not feature Golden Boot winner/all-time single season goals record-tying Bradley Wright-Philips due to suspension. The Revs have been red-hot as of late and carry a 2-1 lead home, so New York needs a pretty massive game.

In relatively easier tasks, Seattle, after losing 1-0 in LA last week, needs a big performance in front of what I'm sure will be a record-setting crowd at CenturyLink Field in Seattle Sunday night. The Galaxy just barely edged them out in LA, but that was without two major parts of the Sounders in Osvaldo Alonso and Lamar Neagle. The Sounders get them back for a game that figures to be one of the best of the year, and maybe ever in this league.

[ShyGuy]

Is this the new NewsRadio thread?



Just kidding, apparently we have a champion soccer team over here on the best side of the state. Who knew?

[NWR_insanolord]

You live by the away goals rule, you die by the away goals rule.


EDIT: Really, this final is the culmination of two somewhat dumb but obviously influential MLS idiosyncrasies: the Galaxy's away goal versus New England's blind draw.

[NWR_insanolord]

As much as I hate to say it, congrats to the LA Galaxy. One hell of a cup final, with league MVP Robbie Keane having a largely pretty awful game but coming up big when it mattered the most, scoring the winner in extra time.

Really, though, a hell of a season for the New England Revolution. Came into the year with the lowest payroll in the league, after years of being a bottom-dweller, and took the juggernaut of the Galaxy, with all its star power and the weight of Landon Donovan's final game, to extra time, fighting 'til the final minute.

And now we enter into one hell of an offseason, with the expansion draft on Wednesday and then the massive CBA negotiation that will shape the league for years to come.

[Soren]

I think we should all thank the real 2014 MLS MVP: that shitty blind draw that put Jermaine Jones in New England.

[NWR_insanolord]

And he was the best player in today's game. Touched the ball like 40 more times than any other player out there. Had Nguyen not gone out right at the end of regulation I think the Revs probably pull it out, or at least take it to penalties. You look how many guys come into this league at midseason and struggle early on, he came in for New England and basically sparked their late surge.

[Soren]

Jermaine played great, the game was just really tough to watch before the breakthroughs. Still, the drama of extra time was enough to make up for a mediocre first 90.


I just hope MLS finally updates their rulebook to say "we reserve the right to whatever the hell we want when a superstar decides to join our league." And I hope that everyone who's not a DP get a nice raise with the new CBA. It's embarrassing to see salary figures every year and have so many players earning less than 50 grand a year.