12/21/24
March 06, 2002
Timeouts In Soccer!?!?: I don't like this a bit. I don't even like that they are considering it. One of the greatest things about soccer is the fact that there ARE no timeouts. Its non-stop action. There is no commercial every 3 minutes of playtime. Corporations will stop at nothing to get airtime. Some of the proponents of this idea say it has nothing to do with advertising....whatever. Thats exactly what its about. Soccer has been played this way for over 100 years. Don't tell me that athletes these days need more water breaks than they did years ago.
posted by StarFucker to soccer at 08:35 AM - 11 comments
One other point I forgot... Whenever I try watching North American sports, I find the stop/start nature and constant ad breaks very wearying. Not to mention the time-outs and stopping the clock, so that the last 5 minutes always seems to last half an hour. I'm surprised that more North Americans don't watch soccer because of it's free-flowing action. It's about the only time you'll go 45 minutes without an ad break on American television!
posted by salmacis at 09:17 AM on March 06, 2002
Americans don't mind because corporations have done a very good job of conditioning us....i mean, how do you explain the assinine debate over which commercial is the best one during the "superbowl"? I have almost entirely stopped watching or attending any other sport besides soccer. I always liked soccer, but the soccer bashing that goes on in America has made me sick. I deliberately go out of my way to criticize any other sport besides soccer nowadays...its fun to get into arguments with ignorants about how their sport, which can officially be timed at 60 minutes (basketball, football) can last over 4 hours....goddamn ridiculous... A typical basketball or football game has 60 minutes of actual playtime....3 hours of advertisents. Amazing.
posted by StarFucker at 09:35 AM on March 06, 2002
I agree with that. I really have to wonder how much traction Bettman will get amongst the NHL owners to get the 15-second face-off rule implemented, like they have in international hockey. Personally, I don't think it'll happen, the owners really want that ad revenue. I'm starting to think that the only places you see sports played on a much purer level (i.e., no constant interruptions for ads and TV timeouts) are either (a) at the international level or (b) grade school/high school/college sports that 98% of the time aren't on TV.
posted by PeteyStock at 12:21 PM on March 06, 2002
(c) Pay per view Speaking of which anyone know if the World Cup is going to be shown on normal digital cable channel? I really don't think I could afford to watch every single game this year, if it's PPV.
posted by riffola at 01:12 PM on March 06, 2002
There was a deal announced back in Jan stating that all the games will be shown live on cable. Just means getting up early or staying up late! Most games are on ESPN2, some on ESPN and the final on ABC. Only a handfull (10 or so I think) are being replayed.
posted by timberlog at 05:41 PM on March 06, 2002
Rumour has it that the cbc is going to be covering some of it in Canada.
posted by sauril at 07:15 PM on March 06, 2002
Thanks timberlog, I can't wait for it now. :)
posted by riffola at 07:49 PM on March 06, 2002
Actually the news is pretty good for soccer on TV in the US. The agreement between SUM (Soccer United Marketing) and ABC/ESPN stretches through 2006 and includes the FIFA Men's World Cup for 2002 and 2006, the 2002-2006 MLS Seasons and the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. Also for those interested in more US soccer, Fox Sports World recently announced that they would be showing 25 USL (21 A-league games, and finals from the D3, PDL, W, and Super-Y leagues). Exciting news for those of us interested in soccer here in the US.
posted by timberlog at 09:47 PM on March 06, 2002
I love FOXSPORTSWORLD!! What a great network.....just last night i watched Liverpool VS Newcastle. Great game, blistering pace. Liverpool have a great chance of winning the title this year! And then there's Sky Sports....with Kelly Dalglish! MMMMM, what a fox!! (no pun intended) Kirstie Gallagher is another babe...its trully the best...getting your soccer news told to you by 2 incredibly hot women....does it get better than that?
posted by StarFucker at 10:11 AM on March 07, 2002
No rumour. CBC will be covering the World Cup. What games will be covered, I dunno. But you can bet there will be coverage.
posted by mkn at 02:09 PM on March 07, 2002
It's a lot of fuss over nothing. Keith Cooper pretty much confirmed the idea is a non-starter. There's no problem per se with amending the Laws of the Game. The game of today looks very different from the game of 100 years ago. Thankfully, FIFA and the International Board tend to be far more cautious about rule changes than we see in North American sports.