My city has a professional soccer team now and the opening match is tonight. I’ve never watched it or played, our high school football and field hockey coaches wouldn’t let a team in, but I’m looking forward to tonight’s game. The city is pretty excited too. Problem is I really don’t know much about the rules. Yeah, get it in the goal. That’s about all I know.
Instead of going through some convoluted rule book online because I need to get in my run, can someone give me a brief primer? Major rules I should know about? The big ones that drive the game.
I think soccer players are hot too and that’s why I’m watching. Don’t tell my hubby.
Instead of going through some convoluted rule book online because I need to get in my run, can someone give me a brief primer? Major rules I should know about? The big ones that drive the game.
Haven’t the Sounders been around for quite a while now? Pretty sure the Whitecaps have played them… ?
Anyways, to get to your question. Ball in net = 1 goal. Most goals wins.
Offside is a biggie. I googled this http://www.offside-ref.co.uk/laws/11-offside-rule/detailed/ since it’s not really a simple thing necessarily.
Also, and I think this is the most important in soccer: any time a player is so much as touched by a player of the opposing team, they are to go down like they’ve been shot and cry like little school girls.
Sounders were upgraded to an expansion team of Major League Soccer. Vancouver is getting one too, I think next year.
I noticed the drama when they fell.
Maui answered some questions for me. Otherwise it was pretty obvious. Yell and jump around when we score. I almost fell off the treadmill when they scored the first time.
I’m going to do some reading so that I an really understand the finer points for the next game.
They are playing at playing at our football stadium instead of down in Tacoma. The completely redid the team, brought in one of the best coaches in the league and the best goalie, who is a local boy. Big push here for them and it got me thinking about supporting them. Seachickens and Mariners suck. Sonics left for OK. I enjoy sports when they get exciting, like championships, etc. We thought we’d give soccer a try. We loved tonights game!
If you’ve watched any hockey, the strategy is very similar, only on a 110-by-75-yard field. I love it. South Americans play it with flair, Europeans play with precision. Both are diving wussies.
Also, remember that the time on the scoreboard clock is not official. The rules state the center referee is the only timekeeper (kind of like life when you think about it). The center also is the only person who can call penalties; the assistant referees (the guys on the sidelines with flags) can call out of bounds and offsides, and alert the center to infractions. A yellow card is a warning (usually for rough play or dissent/eccessive disagreement with the center), a red card is an ejection (a second yellow card, a blatant attempt to injure another player, saying something you wouldn’t say in front of your grandmother).
Finally, I’ve adopted Sounders FC as my MLS team as well, still holding on to my one year of life in Bellingham.
And Tigerchik, soccer chicks rule, too. Learning that most female soccer players are lesbians was like learning the truth about Santa Claus. Sigh.
yellow card = warning,
red card = ejection,
but 2 yellow cards = 1 red card.
basically, there are only 2 important rules:
the offsides rule, mentinoed above; and only the goalie can touch the ball with his hands. i’m guessing you already knew about that one.
good to know about penalty shots, and indirect kicks w/in the penalty box, but someone can explain those to you when they come up.
-charles
Learning that most female soccer players are lesbians was like learning the truth about Santa Claus. Sigh.
Oh, maybe it was my heterosexuality rather than my hockey-style play that got me kicked out
I’m your typical American who thinks that soccer is boring so I never watch it. This is coming from a guy who was an All-State soccer player in high school. The only reason I played soccer was because our high school did not have a football team at the time so I had to earn my letter at something else that let me run around.
I do understand your point, however, about soccer players being hot
Soccer is a chess match, so look for the strategy involved. Don’t just look at the guy with the ball, watch the whole field.
And
Don’t get shot. Soccer is the best sport in the world, simply because it’s the only one that still allows capital punishment for poor play or oficiating.
'Scuse the hell out of this Yank for trying to understand the game. I beg of you all the forgiveness you can muster, since I’ve proven myself to be an unworthy philistine. Would you rather I dismiss soccer like most Americans?
Gendarme? Touch line violation? Sending off? Are any of those close? Please, enlighten us, oh brilliant one, so we can truly understand what’s going on when England lay an egg in South Africa next year.
'Scuse the hell out of this Yank for trying to understand the game. I beg of you all the forgiveness you can muster, since I’ve proven myself to be an unworthy philistine. Would you rather I dismiss soccer like most Americans?
Gendarme? Touch line violation? Sending off? Are any of those close? Please, enlighten us, oh brilliant one, so we can truly understand what’s going on when England lay an egg in South Africa next year.
Whoa, step back and take a deep breath! You are absolutely correct with the “assistant referees” phrase but as with tris where some people reveal when the came to the game with whether they call it an Olympic, standard or international distance you will more often here them still referred to as linesman. There is only one referee in charge (hence the assistant referee title) I have never heard the phrase centre referee used before, out of bounds is out of play, touchline violation is a rugby term, sending off absolutely correct Sir.
Sorry, if I inadvertently offended you I thought you were taking the piss, along the lines of the guy that was all pissy about the use of nil whereas he wanted to change the it to “O”! Something along the lines of making tennis matches being scored 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0 instead of 15 love, 30 love etc.
For the record I thought you were from either Milan or Brasil based on your user name http://news.bbc.co.uk/...football/7123560.stm, once again I apologise. for any offense. Just for the record I doubt we will even qualify for South Africa let alone “lay an egg” whatever that means!
Oh no, man, I try to spread the gospel of the game. When I was a newspaper reporter covering the game at the high school level, I wrote “Opening touch is at 1 p.m,” and I referred to it as a “match,” not a “game.” However, I’m also a hockey fan and I did inadvertently refer to the person standing in front of the goal as a “goaltender,” not a “goalkeeper.”
When at all possible, I use the proper terminology relevant to the sport, but again, I learned world sport from an American perspective. So why most (not all) Americans still score tennis 15-love, 30-love, etc., while saying “zero” instead of “nil” with regard to soccer remains a mystery.
Nope, I’m a yank. Just like the way Kaka plays. And his name.
