Changing the Game

By | October 20, 2013

If you could change the game of soccer, how would you do it? With Brazil being the first instance where goal line technology is being implemented, I got thinking as to how soccer could change for the better. Small changes to the game could make it more popular in the US. We are a country of instant gratification, and the more goals the better is what pleases us. I came up with a theory as to how the game of football could change for the better.

Here’s my article describing my theory on ESPNW.com-

http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/blog/post/7763/make-great-game-better

Check it out and let me know what you think!

 

2 thoughts on “Changing the Game

  1. Nat Cat

    First off, I loved the sassiness and personality in your writing style. Second, I’m surprised nobody has ever come up with this “solution” before. It is definitely is very American in nature, because no avid European football fan would ever stand for this sort of drastic change to the game. But a large part of the reason American’s hate soccer is, like you mentioned, because they think it’s boring (not enough goals scored, too much pointless running, blah blah blah). In the American sports world, fast inherently means exciting — but soccer, is typically a much slower pace of play, that sporadically and randomly (although many times what appears to be random was actually a steady build up) bursts into fast plays of action. Part of the “art” of soccer, which I believe is what makes it the “beautiful game,” is the very fact that it requires patience and discipline to watch, appreciate, and truly understand what’s going on. There are two 45 minutes halves which are seldom interrupted for substitutions. Unlike most sports though, even as it’s displayed on TV, soccer has very little stoppage time. It’s the only sport in the world where a zero-zero outcome doesn’t mean it was a bad game or that there was a lack of effort/performance shown by either team.
    As a soccer player, I know you understand this, but I also understand your desire to gain more fans for the sport that you love to play. I’m just not sure it merits sacrificing tradition in order to appeal to the immediacy expectation of American culture.

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  2. Daniel Carp

    Your special teams theory interests me, Avery. Personally, I really like the idea of utilizing specialists. Much like a kicker jogging onto the football field for a last-second field goal or a pinch-hitter coming off the bench in baseball, subbing a player with a particular skillset in for a key play definitely helps the tension mount.

    I would also assume, however, that most soccer pundits wouldn’t buy into this theory. The game of soccer, moreso than some other sports, is very much rooted in the team concept, rather than a collection of individuals. It’s about tapping into the talents of the 11 people on the pitch rather than searching for the perfect person to make a cameo appearance. For that reason I think your idea would struggle to gain traction.

    As for how to increase scoring in the U.S., the only thing that comes to my mind is maybe adopting a sevens game like the United States has with rugby to increase scoring. Although I don’t love the concept and it would tear down the root of the rules of soccer (11 players per side), if increasing scoring is the goal, that could be a way to do it.

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