Football ("soccer") is a sign of U.S.A.’s moral decay

Americans #1 complaint is the low scores. Number two is ties.

#3 is probably the incessant diving/flopping, and I agree with that one.

I love cricket for all the terms and the fact a match can take days for reasons I cannot fathom. I love the term "test match" and haven't a clue about what it means. I've read a lot of the cricket stories about the Indian/Pakistan rivalry and have enjoyed how much a culture there is about it. And I am a Monty Python fiend.

I remember that, even if only as a curiosity piece on the national news. In the seventies, a classmate from my HS got a scholarship on soccer and was one of the first "pro" players in a national league. I think he was paid around $20k/year. Not much even then for a professional of any sport.

How about officiating in the NBA? How many years has it been since anyone's been called for traveling? And it happens all the time in every game.

I think you pegged Ann accurately and neatly.

I think you pegged Ann's 'state of mind' down and thanks for the map, big but very informative.

A test match is a long drawn out event which can last up to 5 days. It's an international event, at the moment England are playing Sri Lanka. Each team bats for two innings.

Other non test matches are county matches, one day matches with limited overs (an over is 6 balls) usually 50 each, or 20/20 matches where each side bowls just 20 overs. 20/20 matches are very big in India, and that's where all the money is.

Because in a nation of 350,000,000 morons taking up1% of the population is a good niche market.

I love cricket. I just don't get it. There seems be a very important part of the game in the spectators. It just seems so genteel. The fact that India and Pakistan can play it in a friendly way and I've never heard of a cricket war or a cricket riot or of cricket hooligans speaks volumes of good about it.

Thanks for your explanations.

I should have been born an Edwardian Englishman and gone to public school. I do have an old cricket bat. I keep it hidden so I don't have to try to explain cricket to my friends. Its one of my favorite things in the world. Don't tell anyone.

See, the world doesn't fall apart because English is used in a slightly different fashion in some places.

None of my Edwardian ancestors went to public school. Some of them worked in the Sheffield steel industry, people don't tend to romanticise about that bit of Edwardian history.

I wager there is about a foul a minute in soccer. However, the vast majority are ignored. I think that this is a type of corruption in the game.

No, that's the game. It's not for pussies. That's why they invented golf.

The trouble with that is that the fouling mostly eclipses the sport. I watch the game for great passing and scoring kicks. These are diminished and obscured by the vicious fouls a great passer or scorer has to sustain.

There is plenty to criticize in most if not all organized sports. If I like to watch a game I watch and worry about this kind of stuff later on, on a forum.

Exactly. I wonder how many of the those criticizing have any competence at any sport? Sports are a mental and physical challenge. I respect anyone that can perform at a high level.

Even I who recently defended the flopping modes on one of the present soccer football threads, not saying I liked them, but that they are part of the game, am getting a tad not so amused. But it's not my game, it's the world's, and the flops are part of how it's evolved. Maybe it'll devolve over time too. Anyway, I'm still enjoying the sport, shenanigans and all. Despite flops and fouls, I see/read about some tremendous ability all over the field. Disappointed that Mexico is out.

On to Costa Rica winning over Greece, I hope. Not that I have anything against Greece, I just like our 'neighbor', Costa Rica.

They're perfect for keeping the sheeple contented.