Soccer - what next?
So this is really a response to a comment chapel_of_words made in my last post. He asked "where to from here for the casual viewer"? I thought it was a good question, but none of my responses were very short, so i broke it out in its own post. It calls to my mind that there is another tier of soccer viewer that I wasn't really thinking about: Someone that doesn't necessarily want to "follow" soccer or a specific team, which is still the most enjoyable way to watch soccer (or any other sport) IMO, but that wants to be a "casual" soccer fan. So I noodled over for a bit and came up with the following:
ESPN - ESPN (sometimes through it's alts, ESPN2) has an "MLS Game of the Week". Once a week, typically on Saturdays, they'll play a selected MLS game (MLS is the main US professional soccer league). It might be any of the 8 to 12 games being played that week, so there's little continuity if you're trying to follow a team. But what it lacks there it makes up for in variety. Think of the game-of-the-week as the "appetizer sampler" of US soccer: You'll get the most variety in what US teams you have available, which actually might be useful if you're not "sold" on a specific team or you just want a professional-level pick-up game.
Fox Soccer Channel - If you've got anything but the basic-cable package, you've probably had the Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) and never realized it (or never cared until now). Say what you will about Fox News Corp or the Fox TV network, they got the Soccer channel right. They mix in national and international games, "classic" games and highlights/soccer news. It can be a little more random (than ESPN) at times, because of the International factor, but adds more to the "sampler platter" that way. It is nice to see how, even using the same rules, soccer can be played differently around the world.
Most cable/dish providers have a way to search for broadcasts, btw. For comcast, by way of example, you can find any/all soccer games quickly by pressing the Menu key on the remote, selecting Search. Then pick "sports" and finally "soccer". This gives you a nice grid-view of all of the available games you can watch right now, and over the next two or three days. Makes it very easy to see what's available.
The Internet - This takes a little more overt work on your part because you essentially have to seek it out, but there are a variety of outlets for watching games in live-video, play-by-play commentary, recaps, etc. If you wanted to stick with the US league you can pay $30 or 40 and get access to 160 games each season in HD (including live broadcast, recap-mode, etc). It's a great option if don't have/don't want cable, but still want a 'fix'( [link] ).
If you prefer the in-person experience, you should be able to find some local lower-league games in almost any market. In Atlanta, for example, you have the Silverbacks - it's a smaller, less-funded league than MLS, but it's still a professional-level of play and local teams love for folks to come out and cheer for them. Almost every city in North America has at least one similar team. Googling for " soccer" should get you in the right direction. Many colleges or even high schools also have regular games.
In terms of significant events and tournaments coming up. The MLS is back into its regular season and the major euro-leagues should be starting up soon, so their finals won't be for a while. At the super-international level of play, here are a few suggestions:
The Women's Soccer World Cup is coming up in about 11 months. It starts in late June 2011 and will be hosted in Germany this year. The Women's Cup is often very enjoyable to watch, IMO, because a lot of big men's soccer powerhouse nations don't seem to take the women's game nearly as serious (I'm looking at you south america), which means a lot of other nations get a real chance to shine, including the U.S. The crowds (and the vuvuzelas) aren't a massive, but the entertainment and professional-passion for the game is definitely in full force. mystech (IIRC) and I stumbled accidentally into the 1999 final game where the U.S. won. It was quite impressive.
In 2013, FIFA will hold the next Confederation Cup, a sort of precursor to the World Cup. It's similar to the World Cup in that it's fought for by national teams, but is a little smaller in scale. It's played between the current champions of the different regional confederations, the current World Cup champs, and the host nation (who is typically also the host for the world cup the following year), for a total of eight teams.
2013 should also be the time for the U-20 World Cup. In soccer, you'll often see references to U-20 and U-17. These refer to the Under-20 and Under-17 year old leagues respectively. The play is still pretty professional, but since the players are younger it's often a more energetic and less technical a tournament. Since most of the players, especially in U17, are hoping to impress the professional scouts they throw a lot onto the field making it very entertaining to watch.
Right now, the U-20 Women's World Cup just started in Germany (the final will be on 1-Aug). FYI - the US is in and we play Switzerland tomorrow.
They're harder to plan on, but watch for announcements of "Friendlies". This are non-competition matches between two teams - that is, win/loose/draw they do not effect international or club standings. Since there's nothing at risk, teams are free to be a little more 'fun' about the game and are more willing to put entertainment over performance. Also, many friendlies don't have the usual restrictions on substitutes, so you're much more likely to see more of the team and both teams should have 'fresh legs' for more of the game. Manchester United is in the U.S. right now to play a handful of friendlies. They play the Philadelphia Union on 22 July, the Kansas City Wizards on 25 July and the MLS All-Star team on the 29th. The Tottenham Hotspur's are also running around the U.S. right now pickin' fights with the locals. They play San Jose tomorrow (the 17th), and New York on the 23rd (that will be worth tracking down). Many friendlies are carried by ESPN or Fox Soccer, but if you're not keeping an eye open for them, you might have a hard time catching them.
Now, without going off on too much of a tangent, while you can do any/all of the above, I still think the best way to enjoy the game is to pick a single team and follow them. There's a connection you develop, and this applies to any team-sport really, when you start following a team. You start to recognize the names and faces and you start to understand why some things are significant. You groan when you realize Jaqua is out on injury, because despite the fact he moves like an ungainly teen, you needed his height up front. You know that Levesque rocks a mean mustache, and he's the guy you want being sub'd in at the 70 minute mark because he'll close up shop nicely, but don't start him because he doesn't alway have the endurance. Montero is great when he turns it on, but is something of a petulant youth and can be easily frustrated. Watching two great teams play is definitely fun and entertaining, but these kinds of connections with the team add such an incredible, additional dynamic to the game. The level of adrenaline and intensity I feel while watching "my" team play is so much higher than watching anything else. (but I think this starts to be a topic demanding its own post)
As a reminder, I consider it my civic duty to answer questions, etc about the game and "spread the gospel" - so if you have watched a game recently and you didn't understand why they did something or why the referee ruled that way....by all means, ask away. (I don't pretend to have all of the answers, but I'm pretty sure I can help)
ESPN - ESPN (sometimes through it's alts, ESPN2) has an "MLS Game of the Week". Once a week, typically on Saturdays, they'll play a selected MLS game (MLS is the main US professional soccer league). It might be any of the 8 to 12 games being played that week, so there's little continuity if you're trying to follow a team. But what it lacks there it makes up for in variety. Think of the game-of-the-week as the "appetizer sampler" of US soccer: You'll get the most variety in what US teams you have available, which actually might be useful if you're not "sold" on a specific team or you just want a professional-level pick-up game.
Fox Soccer Channel - If you've got anything but the basic-cable package, you've probably had the Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) and never realized it (or never cared until now). Say what you will about Fox News Corp or the Fox TV network, they got the Soccer channel right. They mix in national and international games, "classic" games and highlights/soccer news. It can be a little more random (than ESPN) at times, because of the International factor, but adds more to the "sampler platter" that way. It is nice to see how, even using the same rules, soccer can be played differently around the world.
Most cable/dish providers have a way to search for broadcasts, btw. For comcast, by way of example, you can find any/all soccer games quickly by pressing the Menu key on the remote, selecting Search. Then pick "sports" and finally "soccer". This gives you a nice grid-view of all of the available games you can watch right now, and over the next two or three days. Makes it very easy to see what's available.
The Internet - This takes a little more overt work on your part because you essentially have to seek it out, but there are a variety of outlets for watching games in live-video, play-by-play commentary, recaps, etc. If you wanted to stick with the US league you can pay $30 or 40 and get access to 160 games each season in HD (including live broadcast, recap-mode, etc). It's a great option if don't have/don't want cable, but still want a 'fix'( [link] ).
If you prefer the in-person experience, you should be able to find some local lower-league games in almost any market. In Atlanta, for example, you have the Silverbacks - it's a smaller, less-funded league than MLS, but it's still a professional-level of play and local teams love for folks to come out and cheer for them. Almost every city in North America has at least one similar team. Googling for " soccer" should get you in the right direction. Many colleges or even high schools also have regular games.
In terms of significant events and tournaments coming up. The MLS is back into its regular season and the major euro-leagues should be starting up soon, so their finals won't be for a while. At the super-international level of play, here are a few suggestions:
The Women's Soccer World Cup is coming up in about 11 months. It starts in late June 2011 and will be hosted in Germany this year. The Women's Cup is often very enjoyable to watch, IMO, because a lot of big men's soccer powerhouse nations don't seem to take the women's game nearly as serious (I'm looking at you south america), which means a lot of other nations get a real chance to shine, including the U.S. The crowds (and the vuvuzelas) aren't a massive, but the entertainment and professional-passion for the game is definitely in full force. mystech (IIRC) and I stumbled accidentally into the 1999 final game where the U.S. won. It was quite impressive.
In 2013, FIFA will hold the next Confederation Cup, a sort of precursor to the World Cup. It's similar to the World Cup in that it's fought for by national teams, but is a little smaller in scale. It's played between the current champions of the different regional confederations, the current World Cup champs, and the host nation (who is typically also the host for the world cup the following year), for a total of eight teams.
2013 should also be the time for the U-20 World Cup. In soccer, you'll often see references to U-20 and U-17. These refer to the Under-20 and Under-17 year old leagues respectively. The play is still pretty professional, but since the players are younger it's often a more energetic and less technical a tournament. Since most of the players, especially in U17, are hoping to impress the professional scouts they throw a lot onto the field making it very entertaining to watch.
Right now, the U-20 Women's World Cup just started in Germany (the final will be on 1-Aug). FYI - the US is in and we play Switzerland tomorrow.
They're harder to plan on, but watch for announcements of "Friendlies". This are non-competition matches between two teams - that is, win/loose/draw they do not effect international or club standings. Since there's nothing at risk, teams are free to be a little more 'fun' about the game and are more willing to put entertainment over performance. Also, many friendlies don't have the usual restrictions on substitutes, so you're much more likely to see more of the team and both teams should have 'fresh legs' for more of the game. Manchester United is in the U.S. right now to play a handful of friendlies. They play the Philadelphia Union on 22 July, the Kansas City Wizards on 25 July and the MLS All-Star team on the 29th. The Tottenham Hotspur's are also running around the U.S. right now pickin' fights with the locals. They play San Jose tomorrow (the 17th), and New York on the 23rd (that will be worth tracking down). Many friendlies are carried by ESPN or Fox Soccer, but if you're not keeping an eye open for them, you might have a hard time catching them.
Now, without going off on too much of a tangent, while you can do any/all of the above, I still think the best way to enjoy the game is to pick a single team and follow them. There's a connection you develop, and this applies to any team-sport really, when you start following a team. You start to recognize the names and faces and you start to understand why some things are significant. You groan when you realize Jaqua is out on injury, because despite the fact he moves like an ungainly teen, you needed his height up front. You know that Levesque rocks a mean mustache, and he's the guy you want being sub'd in at the 70 minute mark because he'll close up shop nicely, but don't start him because he doesn't alway have the endurance. Montero is great when he turns it on, but is something of a petulant youth and can be easily frustrated. Watching two great teams play is definitely fun and entertaining, but these kinds of connections with the team add such an incredible, additional dynamic to the game. The level of adrenaline and intensity I feel while watching "my" team play is so much higher than watching anything else. (but I think this starts to be a topic demanding its own post)
As a reminder, I consider it my civic duty to answer questions, etc about the game and "spread the gospel" - so if you have watched a game recently and you didn't understand why they did something or why the referee ruled that way....by all means, ask away. (I don't pretend to have all of the answers, but I'm pretty sure I can help)