Comments on: How Did This Get on Television? http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/ It's always football season somewhere. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:41:56 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Alexi http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/comment-page-1/#comment-88114 Alexi Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0000 http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/#comment-88114 Woah... some harsh words for this variation on soccer. Sorry you all are so detested by it, but as a player (& soccer player since age of 4) I have to say that the rule changes make sense to me, and are there for good reasons, and really indoor soccer has helped me to gain much better touch and overall benefited me when I would step on to a regulation soccer field. As for the professional side of it (MISL) you might be right, it's not interesting to watch, but it's a wonderful game that should be promoted everywhere, especially in the US because it's more practical than outdoor soccer (takes up less space and offers opportunities in big cities for soccer year round). As americans we often forget why or how certain things can exist unless they bring in boatloads of cash... but hey that's american culture - hypercapitalistic... Woah… some harsh words for this variation on soccer. Sorry you all are so detested by it, but as a player (& soccer player since age of 4) I have to say that the rule changes make sense to me, and are there for good reasons, and really indoor soccer has helped me to gain much better touch and overall benefited me when I would step on to a regulation soccer field. As for the professional side of it (MISL) you might be right, it’s not interesting to watch, but it’s a wonderful game that should be promoted everywhere, especially in the US because it’s more practical than outdoor soccer (takes up less space and offers opportunities in big cities for soccer year round). As americans we often forget why or how certain things can exist unless they bring in boatloads of cash… but hey that’s american culture – hypercapitalistic…

]]> By: Paul Suchomel http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/comment-page-1/#comment-8594 Paul Suchomel Mon, 16 Apr 2007 20:00:07 +0000 http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/#comment-8594 Just an FYI from someone close to this pathetic "sport" of MISL Soccer, I completely agree with you. I currently sell tickets for one of the six, that is right, six, teams in the league and I have never been so embarrased about putting a position on a resume as I am now. Just to throw it out there, I am using it as a stepping stone to get to something better, but the 7 long months I have had to put up with the 2 die-hard fans of this league bothering me about the team have left me wanting to blow my brains out just about every night. I will give this "sport" one thing, it is different, whether that is a good thing I will leave for you to decide but I am pretty sure you know the answer. On a positive note, the league may be expanding to a whole 8-9 teams next year, think of the competition! Just an FYI from someone close to this pathetic “sport” of MISL Soccer, I completely agree with you. I currently sell tickets for one of the six, that is right, six, teams in the league and I have never been so embarrased about putting a position on a resume as I am now. Just to throw it out there, I am using it as a stepping stone to get to something better, but the 7 long months I have had to put up with the 2 die-hard fans of this league bothering me about the team have left me wanting to blow my brains out just about every night. I will give this “sport” one thing, it is different, whether that is a good thing I will leave for you to decide but I am pretty sure you know the answer. On a positive note, the league may be expanding to a whole 8-9 teams next year, think of the competition!

]]> By: a different dave http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/comment-page-1/#comment-8474 a different dave Sun, 15 Apr 2007 03:28:11 +0000 http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/#comment-8474 As to MISL, Dave, I agree with your comments. This isn't even the same MISL that was fairly successful in the 1980's but later went under. The current MISL is a joke; yet for some reason the CNN/Sports Illustrated website lists both MLS and MISL under their USA section of their website, but no mention of USL (the outdoor soccer "minor leagues" in North America). USL is easily more important and bigger than MISL, yet for some reason it gets ignored. I have a bone to pick with the original MISL and with indoor soccer in general: it was one of the reasons why the NASL folded, and indoor soccer easily helped set soccer in the USA/Canada back at least a decade, maybe two decades. True the NASL was being run poorly in the early 1980's, but the player salary bidding wars for star players wasn't just between NASL clubs, but between the NASL and MISL as well. That killed the NASL and in fact when the league folded several NASL clubs jumped over to the MISL. The NASL should never have experimented with doing both outdoor and indoor soccer. Indoor soccer was the "cuckoo bird" in the nest that killed off pro outdoor soccer in the USA from 1984-1996. It was justified with that slimy bromide that "Americans will never understand soccer, you have to dumb it down for them". Supposedly indoor soccer was what the doctor ordered, and yet, indoor soccer failed, too. The whole point of soccer in America was to finally have a sport played by the rest of the world become popular in the USA as well, and yet indoor soccer is not only not played in the rest of the world to any serious degree, we ended up with a version of indoor soccer that the rest of the world didn't even play! It was a repeat of the cricket ---> baseball and rugby ---> gridiron transformation where Americans always insist that a game is no good unless it is "Americanized", which is just a sporting version of the "not invented here syndrome". Surely we have enough Americanized sports now that we don't need to keep on inventing new ones. Indoor soccer serves no rational purpose except to fill a few arenas when a local ice hockey or basketball team isn't playing. That's the same "justification" for arena football, and it shows just how meaningless these types of arena sports really are. As to MISL, Dave, I agree with your comments. This isn’t even the same MISL that was fairly successful in the 1980’s but later went under. The current MISL is a joke; yet for some reason the CNN/Sports Illustrated website lists both MLS and MISL under their USA section of their website, but no mention of USL (the outdoor soccer “minor leagues” in North America). USL is easily more important and bigger than MISL, yet for some reason it gets ignored.

I have a bone to pick with the original MISL and with indoor soccer in general: it was one of the reasons why the NASL folded, and indoor soccer easily helped set soccer in the USA/Canada back at least a decade, maybe two decades. True the NASL was being run poorly in the early 1980’s, but the player salary bidding wars for star players wasn’t just between NASL clubs, but between the NASL and MISL as well. That killed the NASL and in fact when the league folded several NASL clubs jumped over to the MISL.

The NASL should never have experimented with doing both outdoor and indoor soccer. Indoor soccer was the “cuckoo bird” in the nest that killed off pro outdoor soccer in the USA from 1984-1996. It was justified with that slimy bromide that “Americans will never understand soccer, you have to dumb it down for them”. Supposedly indoor soccer was what the doctor ordered, and yet, indoor soccer failed, too.

The whole point of soccer in America was to finally have a sport played by the rest of the world become popular in the USA as well, and yet indoor soccer is not only not played in the rest of the world to any serious degree, we ended up with a version of indoor soccer that the rest of the world didn’t even play! It was a repeat of the cricket —> baseball and rugby —> gridiron transformation where Americans always insist that a game is no good unless it is “Americanized”, which is just a sporting version of the “not invented here syndrome”.

Surely we have enough Americanized sports now that we don’t need to keep on inventing new ones. Indoor soccer serves no rational purpose except to fill a few arenas when a local ice hockey or basketball team isn’t playing. That’s the same “justification” for arena football, and it shows just how meaningless these types of arena sports really are.

]]> By: a different dave http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/comment-page-1/#comment-8471 a different dave Sun, 15 Apr 2007 02:28:33 +0000 http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/#comment-8471 Joejoejoe stole my thunder about futsal. Not only is American indoor soccer not sanctioned by FIFA, it isn't even the same kind of six-a-side indoor soccer played in other countries. For instance, there is Masters Football in Britain, it has side boards, but the rules are different from MISL and for some reason the goals are inside the field of play rather than being buried into the boards the way it is done in American indoor soccer: http://www.mastersfootball.com/ There are actually quite a few variations of five- or six-a-side indoor soccer, all over the world, but futsal is the only version governed by FIFA and thus the only hope we have of having any kind of standardized rules of play. Joejoejoe stole my thunder about futsal.

Not only is American indoor soccer not sanctioned by FIFA, it isn’t even the same kind of six-a-side indoor soccer played in other countries.

For instance, there is Masters Football in Britain, it has side boards, but the rules are different from MISL and for some reason the goals are inside the field of play rather than being buried into the boards the way it is done in American indoor soccer:

http://www.mastersfootball.com/

There are actually quite a few variations of five- or six-a-side indoor soccer, all over the world, but futsal is the only version governed by FIFA and thus the only hope we have of having any kind of standardized rules of play.

]]> By: Dave http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/comment-page-1/#comment-8462 Dave Sun, 15 Apr 2007 00:01:13 +0000 http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/#comment-8462 Oh, I know all about futsal. http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/03/15/an-open-letter-to-indoor-football-leagues/ What little I've seen of futsal was a lot more interesting than that smelly hunk of cheese I saw today. A pro futsal league would do a lot more for soccer in this country than MISL ever could. Oh, I know all about futsal.

http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/03/15/an-open-letter-to-indoor-football-leagues/

What little I’ve seen of futsal was a lot more interesting than that smelly hunk of cheese I saw today. A pro futsal league would do a lot more for soccer in this country than MISL ever could.

]]> By: joejoejoe http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/comment-page-1/#comment-8461 joejoejoe Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:19:35 +0000 http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2007/04/14/how-did-this-get-on-television/#comment-8461 FIFA only sanctions one indoor game, Futsal. I've seen videos of it and seen a pickup game while travelling in Honduras. It can be played on a court similar in size to a basketball court but there are no boards. Soccer is about touch and bashing the ball off the boards doesn't help your outdoor game, it hurts it. Futsal is barely played in the US and far less popular than indoor soccer with boards but it's very big around the world. It would be great if Futsal gained some ground in the U.S.. Here's a sample video of Futsal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjQz5In70SY FIFA only sanctions one indoor game, Futsal. I’ve seen videos of it and seen a pickup game while travelling in Honduras. It can be played on a court similar in size to a basketball court but there are no boards. Soccer is about touch and bashing the ball off the boards doesn’t help your outdoor game, it hurts it. Futsal is barely played in the US and far less popular than indoor soccer with boards but it’s very big around the world. It would be great if Futsal gained some ground in the U.S..

Here’s a sample video of Futsal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjQz5In70SY

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