Dear american football...

[Millhouse]

So essentially one of the best arguments soccer fanatics have about the game is that it ends quickly? If only I could use that same logic with my girlfriend...

i'm pretty sure she would want you to wrap things up in under 3 hours if that were remotely an issue

 

[ImperialOrange]

The red sox game last wed against the cubs lasted 4 hours and 19 minutes. Thats a little excessive.

Baseball has that odd dynamic of either being a looooong high scoring game, or a short boring low scoring game. More runs = more pitcher changes, etc.

What was the gametime for the 2-1 game the day prior?

 

[Bayside44]

and the thing that gets me in the soccer v baseball boring argument is when they talk about all the strategy in soccer.

bullspit.

there is also a TON of strategy in baseball and extremely dramatic moments.

to bring in a Yankee reference and future HOF Andy Pettitte, there is nothing that got me on the edge of my seat more than when the camera would show him...glove to face, eyes over webbing just drilling a hole through the catchers glove...while we all waited for the next pitch or that patented move to 1st for the pick off.

Balk.

 

[CU44SE]

Baseball has that odd dynamic of either being a looooong high scoring game, or a short boring low scoring game. More runs = more pitcher changes, etc.

What was the gametime for the 2-1 game the day prior?

3 hours and 35 minutes. There is just way to many lulls in the action. I used to be a baseball fan, and still kinda am. I can go to the park and watch a game and have a great time, but I just can't watch it at home on tv anymore. Maybe get through 2-3 innings. Mostly only watch the playoffs now, the seasons way too long, some games just absolutely drag.

 

[ImperialOrange]

So essentially one of the best arguments soccer fanatics have about the game is that it ends quickly? If only I could use that same logic with my girlfriend...

A soccer match is ~100 minutes of action in a 115 minutes of time spent. 87% of the telecast is actually watching the game being played.
An NFL game is 60 minutes of game spread over 190 minutes. 31.5% of the telecast is actually watching the game being played.

End game, I'm not sure your lady will be impressed by you going for 3 hours if you go for a minute, stop and gameplan for 2 minutes, go for a minute, stop and gameplan for 2 minutes, etc. 60 times during that 3 hours.

 

[ImperialOrange]

3 hours and 35 minutes. There is just way to many lulls in the action. I used to be a baseball fan, and still kinda am. I can go to the park and watch a game and have a great time, but I just can't watch it at home on tv anymore. Maybe get through 2-3 innings. Mostly only watch the playoffs now, the seasons way too long, some games just absolutely drag.

Exactly how I am with baseball. A day at the ballpark is great every once in awhile but can you imagine some of these folks that go to dozens of games a year? It must be nice to have that kind of free time.

 

[CU44SE]

A soccer match is ~100 minutes of action in a 115 minutes of time spent. 87% of the telecast is actually watching the game being played.
An NFL game is 60 minutes of game spread over 190 minutes. 31.5% of the telecast is actually watching the game being played.

End game, I'm not sure your lady will be impressed by you going for 3 hours if you go for a minute, stop and gameplan for 2 minutes, go for a minute, stop and gameplan for 2 minutes, etc. 60 times during that 3 hours.

NFL is by far my favorite sport, but do you want your mind blown? In that 190 minutes, the ball is only in play for an average of 11 minutes. 56% of the broadcast is showing replays, while commercials take up 60 minutes of the 190 minutes

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406

 

[TheCusian]

NFL is by far my favorite sport, but do you want your mind blown? In that 190 minutes, the ball is only in play for an average of 11 minutes. 56% of the broadcast is showing replays, while commercials take up 60 minutes of the 190 minutes http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406

Yep. Baseball is bad too.

Contrast with Hockey, Lacrosse, and Soccer - shorter games/matches but way more "ball/puck is live time" ... More efficient use of my time as a fan.

Now - there is something to be said for sitting down on the couch on a Sunday afternoon and watching RedZone. Different thing entirely.

I watched baseball the year my son was born - only because it was summer and he would sleep on me for hours (ie. no where to be). It was okay.

 

[RandygoCuse]

i agree that's what they should do but there's only so much potential for that. which is fine.

i think it could be better than minor league baseball because it takes longer for baseball players to learn. it won't be as big as college sports because there's no connection to a beloved school.

pair up with all the best euro teams, use their scouting, borrow their young players. US fans can feel like they have a home team in Europe. much more so than minor league baseball where people already have a MLB team to root for that might be different from the parent club of your local team.

Are you proposing that MLS teams affiliate with EPL teams? Interesting...

 

[ImperialOrange]

there is also a TON of strategy in baseball and extremely dramatic moments.

There is a ton of strategy in both. I think the issue is what people view as extremely dynamic moments. A well set up attack that ends up with the ball going off the crossbar or narrowly missing vs actually scoring is akin to a center fielder making a diving catch to me on a potential hit from a 3-2 count. To others it may not be. Both have build up and electric moments but one of those scenarios happens more frequently.

The other side of it is a 0-0 pitchers duel which reminds me of a 0-0 match where neither team can get the ball out of midfield. A pitchers duel sounds more exciting but it's essentially a high stakes game of catch. I could truly live without either if I don't have a vested interest in the teams.

We could probably agree I wont try to sell you on a 0-0 Hull v West Brom match with 10 total shots anymore than you would try and sell me on a 1-0 Twins v Oakland game with 10 total hits.

 

[Millhouse]

NFL is by far my favorite sport, but do you want your mind blown? In that 190 minutes, the ball is only in play for an average of 11 minutes. 56% of the broadcast is showing replays, while commercials take up 60 minutes of the 190 minutes

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406

sticking up for football. there's more than just the ball. 22 people on the field are beating each others brains in when the ball is in play. in baseball, a lot of the players are sitting down, others are just standing and waiting. it's going to be biased towards continuous games but it's not like all action is the same action.

 

[Millhouse]

Are you proposing that MLS teams affiliate with EPL teams? Interesting...

maybe not just the EPL - italy spain germany. i don't know. maybe different markets would prefer to be hooked up with a different league. hook up with teams regularly in the champions league. it's front running but every mls team would have someone good to root for overseas. no one wants to get stuck with i don't know west brom

 

[CU44SE]

sticking up for football. there's more than just the ball. 22 people on the field are beating each others brains in when the ball is in play. in baseball, a lot of the players are sitting down, others are just standing and waiting. it's going to be biased towards continuous games but it's not like all action is the same action.

I found it a little surprising that baseball had a little more actual game action then the NFL with 14 minutes but 88 minutes of the telecast is showing players standing in the field, while another 10 minutes shows players lounging in the dugout.

 

[Scooch]

i think i read somewhere the Vin Scully blames velcro.

i can deal with pitching changes. at least there is some strategy. the stupid ticks and worthless rituals of batters make me crazier.

The pitching changes drive me insane. Just an endless parade of crappy middle relievers being rotated in every couple of batters. Such over-managing.

All the added time for commercial breaks, batters taking more pitches, and the rituals you mention only add a few extra minutes.

The lefty/righty/situational nonsense that every manager feels obligated to participate in adds 2-3X that.

 

[SU2NASA]

it's funny that a sport whose meatheads hate soccer so much are so willing to let the game come down to a kicking contest between soccer players. at least the stupid soccer shootout is contested by the players who played the whole game

And those kicks in football also happen over the course of the entire game.

Soccer penalty kicks are like deciding a basketball game with a free throw contest. Except the percentage of penalty kick goals is actually higher than free throw percentages.

 

[KaiserUEO]

maybe not just the EPL - italy spain germany. i don't know. maybe different markets would prefer to be hooked up with a different league. hook up with teams regularly in the champions league. it's front running but every mls team would have someone good to root for overseas. no one wants to get stuck with i don't know west brom

i thought this was what Man City was doing with NYCFC??

as a Man City fan, i thought this was a home run (pun intended).

 

[ImperialOrange]

NFL is by far my favorite sport, but do you want your mind blown? In that 190 minutes, the ball is only in play for an average of 11 minutes. 56% of the broadcast is showing replays, while commercials take up 60 minutes of the 190 minutes

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406

I didn't know the exact figures but I knew they were absurd. I love college football but am a bit less interested in NFL.

 

[Millhouse]

i thought this was what Man City was doing with NYCFC??

as a Man City fan, i thought this was a home run (pun intended).

i think i saw that too. i want to see loud, open, official links

i think i'm going to adopt man city, i sorta did this year, but i felt like a front runner. it's not really sticking. Chip is dying to move to Man City, he's going to be sorely disappointed to find women there.

 

[ImperialOrange]

maybe not just the EPL - italy spain germany. i don't know. maybe different markets would prefer to be hooked up with a different league. hook up with teams regularly in the champions league. it's front running but every mls team would have someone good to root for overseas. no one wants to get stuck with i don't know west brom

Great in theory but couldn't be executed. Most CL level teams have their own B clubs (Bayern Munich II, Barcalona B, etc) that play in lower leagues as well as U21s and U17s. There's been talk of big EPL teams doing the same. The need for European clubs to have an MLS affiliate simply isn't there and the amount of gaurenteed first flight teams in most leagues is limited. What would happen if an MLS teamas affiliate got relegated?

 

[shandeezy7]

A soccer match is ~100 minutes of action in a 115 minutes of time spent. 87% of the telecast is actually watching the game being played.
An NFL game is 60 minutes of game spread over 190 minutes. 31.5% of the telecast is actually watching the game being played.

End game, I'm not sure your lady will be impressed by you going for 3 hours if you go for a minute, stop and gameplan for 2 minutes, go for a minute, stop and gameplan for 2 minutes, etc. 60 times during that 3 hours.

Well, you also have to take into account when someone is lying on the ground for 5 minutes pretending that their leg needs to be amputated (multiple occasions per game), as well as the setup time for goal kicks, corner kicks, free kicks, and the amount of time teams stall at the end of the game to make a substitution. I wouldn't define any of that as action.

 

[SU2NASA]

Well, you also have to take into account when someone is lying on the ground for 5 minutes pretending that their leg needs to be amputated (multiple occasions per game), as well as the setup time for goal kicks, corner kicks, free kicks, and the amount of time teams stall at the end of the game to make a substitution. I wouldn't define any of that as action.

Soccer, where you can see guys that hurt (maybe) their shoulders get taken off on stretchers.

 

[Jasoncuse]

That was just some cute moment. Soccer will go back to being a fringe sport in terms of it's following.

People watched the US matches, not out of excitement for the sport, but for the America factor. I bet millions paid attention as a way to keep up with social media. I haven't seen a single piece of US soccer paraphernalia since the Belgium match, as expected.

Now let the real football begin!

 

[CU44SE]

Well, you also have to take into account when someone is lying on the ground for 5 minutes pretending that their leg needs to be amputated (multiple occasions per game), as well as the setup time for goal kicks, corner kicks, free kicks, and the amount of time teams stall at the end of the game to make a substitution. I wouldn't define any of that as action.

EPL- 62.39 minutes, Serie A- 65.1 minutes of the 110 minutes (including 15 min half and 5 or so of stoppage time) the ball was in play.

 

[Stevenson]

Field Goals...

New rule: missed field goal is a 15 yard penalty and loss of down.

Teams won't try long ones, and you'll see them on third down at the end of halfs.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Soccer, where you can see guys that hurt (maybe) their shoulders get taken off on stretchers.

Even worse: