Comments on: Why Football Sucks?

By: eli

eli — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:54:01 +0000

men wats wrong with this american with their football game all i know is that it fucking sucks. Soccer is by far the best sport to play and watch, it is just entertaining with all the skills and how it is played. football is just wack its for untalented people who have no talent at all. football is actually a easy ass game all you do is throw the ball to each other and fucking run with it.

By: Max

Max — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 00:14:23 +0000

I’ll agree with the article. FOOTBALL(AMERICAN) SUCKS, BASEBALL SUCKS, (this has nothing to do with it but)NASCAR SUCKS, NBA Ok.

By: Patrix

Patrix — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 02:38:53 +0000

Krish, any game that uses too much statistics to bolster its game is frankly not worth it. As long as the action in the field is good, I don’t care what the history says.

But you are right. Cricket and Baseball shouldn’t be compared. A friend once narrated me an incident from her office baseball match. A desi dude whacked the ball and promptly ran toward the pitcher scaring the beejesus out of him :)

By: kr!sh

kr!sh — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:53:31 +0000

You might not even respond to his Sports statistics claim since it actually weakens and dilutes your argument.

“Babe Ruthâ€™s record might be broken (or heck, it already is) but Bradman is supreme.” This doesn’t say anything. Why are Cricket stats better if Bradman is supreme? So your argument fails if someone surpasses Bradman’s record?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabermetrics is a metric for Objective analysis in Baseball. In other words, it might give a more reasonable answer to who is a better player – Tendulkar or Lara? if both were playing Baseball..

“And try throwing a full-toss ball to Dhoni at speeds higher than 95 miles per hour and see where it lands”
OK this assumes that the length of each pitch is the same. Baseball’s pitch length is 60 feet while Cricket’s is 66 feet.. So the equivalent speed is more than 100 MPH in Cricket and I am damn sure that Dhoni would struggle big time.. The reaction time is incredulously less!! Stopping Beckham/Carlos free kicks depends on the distance and hence it’s a subjective statement..

My point is you needn’t even try to refute Baseball = great statistics claim to argue why Football is good! It is good because of its simplicity and fluidity which is a shock to Americans because their games are both complex and have a lot of time-outs. I feel blessed because I like both these cultures.

The author is acting like Ann Coulter – say something very shocking and stupid and use it to sell your article / book.

By: DesiPundit » Archives » Why Football (Doesn’t) Suck

DesiPundit » Archives » Why Football (Doesn’t) Suck — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 15:34:03 +0000

[...] Patrix is peeved by a rather ill-informed and inflammatory Mark Fisher interview generally conveying anti-soccer sentiments, and resorts to fisking it in a determined manner [...]

By: Patrix

Patrix — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 02:56:46 +0000

gawker, I love football [American] too but sometime about the simplicity of football [the one using feet] is mersmerising…flashes of brilliances between ordinary play that seems to pop outta nowhere is what makes this game more exciting. See Argentina’s second goal against S-M yesterday…that indeed was perfection. Probably Americans ought to see such moments for them to appreciate the game better.

By: gawker

gawker — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 00:56:17 +0000

Ashutosh hit the nail right on the head when he said “As someone mentioned, Fisher is not trying to write about why Americans are not crazy about football, he is trying to write about why he thinks they are rightly not crazy about football.”

In addition, I also think Americans who are kinda clueless about soccer feel a bit jealous about all the ink being given to the soccer world cup right now. Oh God forbid, Americans should take heed of a sport that can’t be called “All-American”. This is just a stupid juvenile piece. Although I like football more than I like soccer, its not for the reasons Mr Fisher has provided.

By: Patrix

Patrix — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 23:50:57 +0000

Ashutosh, I wonder if he really meant it and is reading all the comments he got on his original post.

Confused, yup! it is usually me :) But I have fwded it to the group so if anyone thinks it is worthwhile, it will be linked.

By: confused

confused — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 23:38:22 +0000

Well I send a tip off to DP, i am not sure who reads those tip offs, I hope its not you. :)

By: Ashutosh

Ashutosh — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 22:06:51 +0000

As someone mentioned, Fisher is not trying to write about why Americans are not crazy about football, he is trying to write about why he thinks they are rightly not crazy about football. I think he is simply trying to be provocative and trying to get himself the limelight. Many of his statements, like the ones about terrorists, are just meaningless and inane.

By: Patrix

Patrix — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 18:34:31 +0000

Naveen, a certain section of the american media tries to trivialize things that they don't understand and they often end up with a egg on their face. I'll admit though that there have been positive reports and greater acceptance of the dominance of the Football World Cup in the global arena and almost apologetic acceptance that the Americans have to catch up. Read the National Geographic story for a prime example, especially the way it starts. Confused, good fisking by you too. I hope other DP contributors pick up on your comment and link my post...I can't link to my own blog, can I although I squeeze it in at times when it is relevant to other links. Nirav, I hope so too but it doesn't say so anywhere and the fact that it was published in German newspapers without any such disclaimers. I fear for Fisher if he ever visits. Pratyush, I had heard of that video but never got to see it. I am not trying to say that football is the best but hey, at least a little bit of respect for the game that the entire world seems to love is definitely in order. We don't deride American football or basketball and heck, even enjoy them. Chimpfish, we gotta give them some leeway...the more football they see, the more they come to appreciate the finer nuances of the game...only if insane columnists like Fisher keep their trap shut.

By: Life is a street car named Desire » The Joy of Discovery

Life is a street car named Desire » The Joy of Discovery — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 15:16:23 +0000

[...] P.s Patrix does a fine job of frisking this article here. Like him, I pass on the baton. [...]

By: chimpfish

chimpfish — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:43:07 +0000

This guy is a complete idiot. Its no coincidence that football is the most popular and watched sport in the World, whereas the majority of people outside of the US couldn’t care less about American “sports”. As an Englishmen i am extremely passionate about my football and a lot of that stems from the tradition and history of the game. There is no sport in the World that can match the drama and passion of football (eg 1999 Champions League Final). Oh and on a closing note any team that wins the World Cup has the right to call temselves World Champions, because they’ve actually managed to beat a few “other” countries along the way.
This to me just illustrates the narrow minded American view of anything that happens outside the US is petty and unimportant. Thsi reporter should get and life and stick to glorified rounders (baseball), rugby (american football) or netball (basketball).

By: Pratyush

Pratyush — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 11:30:10 +0000

I don’t even read such stuff. Useless. I had seen a video on youtube which makes fun of football. It got extreme reactions – of hilarity from Americans and utter annoyance/disgust from the rest of the world.

Seriously, no one is asking any one to watch if they don’t want to. Also, if they expect

1) They will be superb in a world game fast, or,
2) The game should be supported only if US does well,

they are living in a fool’s paradise.

I really do not give any importance to such pieces but I guess you can’t avoid them as where you are, the rhetoric is quite irritating.

By: All about the World Cup Soccer :: Live Stories about USA :: June :: 2006

All about the World Cup Soccer :: Live Stories about USA :: June :: 2006 — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 04:28:04 +0000

[...] Why Football Sucks??Soccer?s popularity in much of the world is sadly tied up with the most disturbing face of … Whatever happened to the spirit of USA, USA and the Miracle on Ice, … but to call it the World Cup is rather arrogant and overblown.? … [...]

By: Nirav

Nirav — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 01:27:22 +0000

This has to be an attempt at satire… I can’t imagine anyone being so stupid, ignorant and arrogant… but its such a lousy attempt, nonetheless.
I guess this guy has such abysmal witing skills that an average guy would never be able to pick out the fact that this was a satirical piece

By: confused

confused — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 01:25:37 +0000

A longer comment shall follow, hell I might fisk it on my own blog :). Whatever.

Suffice it say it is among the most asinine and idiotic interview I have ever read, just for giving this interview this idiot should be fired from Washpost. After this, I can never take any article written under his byline seriously.

What a loser! Good job Pat, link it on DP man, everyone should read this.

By: naveen

naveen — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 00:17:46 +0000

It does not look like an attempt to analyze why the sport has not caught on in US. It is a clear manifestation of the writer’s ignorance/blatant unacceptance of the sport, and an unashamed effort to trivialize it. This is a result of the American tendency (sorry I am having to generalize here) to be engulfed in a cocooned sporting network. I follow the major American sports very religiously. I think they have some good sporting qualities, and I appreciate them for that. But I still think that they are what they are due to an enormous amount of marketing and packaging. There are a lot of American sport features that do not apply to soccer, because of which it has not caught on in US: attention span, commercial breaks, anonymity of the coach/manager, possibility of a no-result, to name a few.
I think that one should not discredit a sport without understanding the essence of it. It is even more of a crime when done so by a professional journalist.
I agree with most of your rebuttals. I think it is fairly common to distort some facts to make a point you set out to make. I had read somewhere that Cricket is a gentleman sport, while football is a rowdy sport. Granted that there are more physical altercations in football due to the nature of the sport, but that does not make it a rowdy sport. And given the nature of American football, I have seen very few fights between players, while baseball and ice-hockey can put street brawls to shame. So one should analyze and appreciate sports for what they are, not complain for what they are not and distort the facts to promote one’s propaganda.