From Soccer to Football

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Tim McCarthy

  The World Cup:  A little “dab” will do! 

World Cup…I didn’t have a strong favorite in the last game, but I was glad to see the game didn’t end in a shoot out!  One of the things I don’t enjoy about the World Cup matches is when a shoot out decides the winner.  Why are there 20+ players on the team if so many of them are sitting on the bench when the outcome is determined?  The best team should win, not the luckiest goalie/shooter. 

While the ball movement and strategy of attack and defend in soccer require consummate skill, 90 minutes of cross-passing and back passing leave me a bit bored.  “Shoot the ball!” Some of the more entertaining moments for me came when the French players celebrated their win by teaching their President to “dab!” 

Soccer has been slow to gain fans in the U.S., possibly because of the low scoring.  Baseball purists love the 1 to 0 games, but the average fan wants to see action—hits, runs, home runs, and even the foul balls flying among the fans in the stadium!  The desire for action in sports may be an American taste.  Hockey struggled for many years but now has a solid fan base and TV exposure.  Hockey may be low scoring, but there is constant action on the ice—very little down time, no stopping for subs. 

Good thing we don’t have to wait for hockey season to see some action.  Football season is nearly upon us; training camps open in a few weeks.  The NFL pre-season starts in early August, and college games kick off around Labor Day.  I do enjoy the college games more than the pros.  They are 18-22 year-old kids and, while excellent athletes, they are kids and make “interesting” decisions on the field!  Not as predictable as the pros! In our office we have graduates (and fans) of Michigan, Alabama and Iowa, so we look forward to discussing the weekend results each Monday morning in the fall.  

Hard to imagine that football games will start in such oppressive heat and yet the season can end in freezing temperatures and snow!  At least no shoot outs are determining the champion in a football game!