It has come to that time of year where many American football* fans are without a team to root for until the Super Bowl when they hope for good commercials. If you are a soccer fan and have a football fan in your life who is interested in learning about soccer, then I have some tips below. (NOTE: Do not try to convert the unwilling football fan. Save your energy for the father-in-law who has grand-kids that play. Trying to convert the uninterested usually backfires.)
The most incomprehensible thing about soccer to most football fans that I’ve spoken to is the offside rule. Luckily there is a pretty easy way to convey the concept using football terms. The key is to take the rule that they already understand and tweak it to help them understand the soccer equivalent. If you’re not a football person, you might first need to brush up your understanding of the carrying game first.
Offside in football is a foul in which a player is on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped. This foul occurs simultaneously with the snap. Unlike offensive players, defensive players are not compelled to come to a set position before the snap.
In soccer there is no line of scrimmage nor a “snap” of the ball. Since the ball is almost continuously in play, the rule is a bit harder to police but understanding is all that we’re aiming for now. First of all, only offensive players can be called offside and only in their offensive half of the field (nearest the goal they intend to score on). The line for offside is not a fixed yard line but rather it moves with the last defender** equivalent to the defensive position of safety. (See Below)
So since the ball is almost always in play, offensive players are moving around and can even cross the offside line. A call of offside is made when an offensive player is in an offside position and the ball is played toward him or her. In football terms, the wide receiver cannot run past the invisible yard line of the safety until the ball is thrown by the quarterback. So the timing of streak (go), post and corner routes need to be timed very well. If the ball is not passed before the intended receiver gets by the “safety”, he’ll be offside. Curl and comeback routes can be effective in keeping a player onside. But if he is offside at the time of the pass, receiving the ball in an offside position doesn’t matter (like a defensive lineman who tries to jump back as the ball is snapped).
The player possessing the ball cannot be offside. So a player can dribble through the offside line. Therefore if the quarterback or running back carry the ball forward, they are not offside.
That pretty much sums it up. If I’ve missed anything, please leave it in the comments below and I’ll adjust it. Pass this information along to a football fan that cares to learn.
* I don’t like using the term American football but I do it to avoid confusion. I also dislike using one sport to explain another but have done this
**This statement is partially false. The last defender needs to have the goalkeeper behind them. This is something that soccer fans and even referees get wrong from time to time. Two defenders (one usually being the goalkeeper) need to be between the offender and the goal line. If the goalkeeper goes out of the goal a far distance, one defender is not enough to keep an offensive player onside.
Stories are an integral part of our society and have been for thousands of years. Whether the Odyssey, the Bible, Star Wars or Romeo & Juliet, the stories of the present and past have almost all been intended to tell us something. Not particularly something about the past although many are historical in nature. More often than not, stories are trying to tell us something about the human condition. Although a form of entertainment, they can also be instructive.
It wasn’t a 100% binary equation. Gladiators could win, lose or “tie”. Not even all of the defeated were condemned to death. Despite these extenuating circumstances, one thing is most definitely certain, bad gladiators died. I have no desire to bring back gladiatorial games or anything of the sort but in some ways our pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.
About a year ago, I took my daughter to a Devils game. To be honest, she didn’t seem overly interested in the game. It appeared that she was more excited by the cotton candy and Devil horns. I was extremely surprised when she said at the end of the game “I want to play hockey.” At that point we had only taken her ice skating a handful of times. I told her that I fully supported the idea of her playing hockey but that there were some steps she needed to go through first. She needed to spend this winter improving her skating and starting to learn how to play the game. This past weekend she had her first hockey tournament.
So as you go out into the world today and do whatever it is that makes you feel alive, do it with the joy of a 9 year old girl. One who had such a big smile on her face most of the weekend that no one would have ever known her team lost by large margins. I do not believe that you should want to fail. I just believe that you should be willing to RISK IT!
Talent is coveted, scouted, poached and revered in this country. It often comes with an extremely high price tag. That price is monetary in the professional ranks. However at the lower levels, the price of talent is far too often the possibility of teamwork. At times this comes from jealousy of teammates. Unfortunately it is more frequently a result of trading team ethos for star power. It may get results but are they the right ones and for how long?
Many sports teams are in the middle of their preseason sessions at the moment. I’m sure that many players are working hard. It is almost a prerequisite for any level of success in the sports world. The reason that I hedge is that there is a higher level of effort that is more in line with the actual effort. That level of effort is called labor.
The ability to see past the obvious and simple solution is not one that everyone possesses. Judging books by their covers or even first chapters is not always the best strategy. Not everything in the world is completely formulaic. Even some chemical formulas require a catalyst to increase the rate of their reaction. Despite these facts, there is a solid majority of people that believe the obvious answer is the only possible answer. One of the main reasons is that it is comfortable. Comfort is probably the ethos of our age. So the reason that I asked you not to read this blog is that I want you act on it.
The discussion of the GOAT is always tough because it brings apples against oranges and people’s personal perspective weighs heavily on their arguments. The comparison of Messi vs Ronaldo could be a more objective conversation but adding Pele into the mix makes things much more difficult. Considering different eras and playing landscapes muddies the waters to the point where the argument says more about what the fan values rather than what the player meant in their own time. With all of those points well established from the outset, I am not at all bashful about nominating my mom as the Youth Soccer Fan GOAT! This is not a son’s love for his mother taken to the extreme. In fact, I thought my mother was one of the worst fans at the time but given years to evaluate and compare, she truly was the best.
One of my bucket list items is completely out of my control. I want to see the US Men’s National Team win a World Cup before I die. While I believe this is completely achievable, it will take some doing. There are many moving parts to this endeavor both on a national and an individual level. Although I am sure that USSF policies will influence the speed at which this goal is achieved, the greater shift will need to be a cultural one. Those types of shifts happen in small groups first, then extend outward. Since the children of today are going to be the major influencers of future culture, my plea is “Don’t think that Messi is special!”
It was around 1988 when I started making the phone calls. On Friday nights, it was my job to call all of the players/parents from my soccer team. The information that I had to tell them was where the game was and what time the “caravan” was leaving A&P’s parking lot. It wasn’t a fun job but it was a necessary one to make sure that everyone got to the game. Today we have TeamSnap and other services to take care of this job. While I’m sure that my fourteen year old self would have jumped at the chance to have this service available. I’m glad that I suffered through that weekly chore.
Huryk Unlimited 