I love sports! (Well, some of them)
Sports Guy has another pop at soccer
Okay I have been forced to act. I am placing The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, on a two-week probationary period. If he chooses to randomly slander Soccer in that period, that's it, I will be done with him for good. This will be disappointing for me as I am a big fan of his work, normally. I gobble up every single article he writes like the rest of his legion of thirty something male fans. However this anti soccer thing he has going on is really ugly.
The Sports Guy - Cheesey does it
Taking a step back...
Simmons had a completely unnecessary pop at Soccer and Europeans in general by blaming them for what he perceived as an increase in 'flopping' (diving) in the NBA. That was equal parts laughable and annoying enough (Um, Sports Guy, remember Bill Laimbeer? The guy deserved an Oscar for some of his performances! Failing Laimbeer, how about Minty pretending to get hit by a pitch in the Yanks v Angels game last night?!) but it appears Sports Guy has taken a decidedly anti soccer slant with this arrogant, throw-away, inane comment. In his recent piece on 'reasons he loves sports....' he writes;
No. 922: MLS Direct Kick Does anyone else crack up each time they see this commercial? "For just $74.95, you can watch every MLS game!" OK, maybe I don't crack up, but there is some mild guffawing.
It is an unusual tactic, particularly considering Simmons made a half-hearted attempt to 'adopt' Tottenham Hotspur as his English League team, he even wrote a huge article on it, and then never followed it up.
However, the most puzzling aspect of this is that Simmons ends his article with 'Just one more reason why I love sports.' How does that work? You love sports because you find advertisements trying to promote a minority sport laughable? That's a deep, all encompassing love alright.
What exactly is he going with this pathetic, childish jab at soccer? Where is the journalistic-skill, class and or nobility in attacking a minority sport like that? All a comment like that does is show ignorance and perhaps fear of the unknown. Does he feel threatened by his lack of understanding of soccer?
Did Sports Guy forget he was going to attempt to get 'into' soccer? Did he recently develop some symptoms of amnesia? Or is he just being lazy and pandering to that asinine, boring and ignorant group of anti-soccer types in the States who refuse to give the worlds greatest game a chance?
Sadly, it's probably the latter. Well, Chief, you are on probation! If I want the above level of rubbish, gutter sports journalism I'll go watch Jim Rome.
Come on Bill, you are better than that.
Sports Guy has another pop at soccer
Okay I have been forced to act. I am placing The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, on a two-week probationary period. If he chooses to randomly slander Soccer in that period, that's it, I will be done with him for good. This will be disappointing for me as I am a big fan of his work, normally. I gobble up every single article he writes like the rest of his legion of thirty something male fans. However this anti soccer thing he has going on is really ugly.
The Sports Guy - Cheesey does itTaking a step back...
Simmons had a completely unnecessary pop at Soccer and Europeans in general by blaming them for what he perceived as an increase in 'flopping' (diving) in the NBA. That was equal parts laughable and annoying enough (Um, Sports Guy, remember Bill Laimbeer? The guy deserved an Oscar for some of his performances! Failing Laimbeer, how about Minty pretending to get hit by a pitch in the Yanks v Angels game last night?!) but it appears Sports Guy has taken a decidedly anti soccer slant with this arrogant, throw-away, inane comment. In his recent piece on 'reasons he loves sports....' he writes;
No. 922: MLS Direct Kick Does anyone else crack up each time they see this commercial? "For just $74.95, you can watch every MLS game!" OK, maybe I don't crack up, but there is some mild guffawing.
It is an unusual tactic, particularly considering Simmons made a half-hearted attempt to 'adopt' Tottenham Hotspur as his English League team, he even wrote a huge article on it, and then never followed it up.
However, the most puzzling aspect of this is that Simmons ends his article with 'Just one more reason why I love sports.' How does that work? You love sports because you find advertisements trying to promote a minority sport laughable? That's a deep, all encompassing love alright.
What exactly is he going with this pathetic, childish jab at soccer? Where is the journalistic-skill, class and or nobility in attacking a minority sport like that? All a comment like that does is show ignorance and perhaps fear of the unknown. Does he feel threatened by his lack of understanding of soccer?
Did Sports Guy forget he was going to attempt to get 'into' soccer? Did he recently develop some symptoms of amnesia? Or is he just being lazy and pandering to that asinine, boring and ignorant group of anti-soccer types in the States who refuse to give the worlds greatest game a chance?
Sadly, it's probably the latter. Well, Chief, you are on probation! If I want the above level of rubbish, gutter sports journalism I'll go watch Jim Rome.
Come on Bill, you are better than that.
Comments
And the MLS thing was such a throwaway line that really wasn't fair. MLS averages about 15,000 fans per game and that number is trending upwards. Hockey games are drawing barely 2,000 people more per games, and there are some serious questions about how they get their numbers.
MLS gives away over half of its tickets to sponsors.
MLS Direct TV is a ripoff. Get 100 MLS games for $75 or take 2,000 MLB games for $90.
Soccer players do go down like they've been shot every time someone bumps them on the field.
What on earth is the point of rebuking MLS for attempting to fill the stadium? I don't get that. There aren't literally hundreds of thousands of tickets given away in the same fashion to MLB, NBA and NFL games? Really?
Further more, give me a half filled, passionate MLS crowd any day over, for example, the Lakers fans who leave the game with 7 mins left in the 4th qtr.
As for your ridiculous, ignorant and lazy comment on Soccer players 'going down', there aren't any responsible, level headed retorts to this sadly. I mean there are, but why argue coherently with someone who makes such sweepingly generalised, boring and basically ignorant comments?
I have watched soccer all my life, it's a wonderful game played by some of the greatest athletes in the World. Zu Zu Zidane, Patrick Viera and Roy Keane would all make more passionate responses to your silly, poorly thought out comment.
However I will settle for, you Sir, are an idiot.