[blackshoe]

I thought the only rule in Rugby was that you have to chug a beer every time you pass by the keg.

[NickRW]

blackshoe, on Sep 23 2010, 02:01 AM, said:

I thought the only rule in Rugby was that you have to chug a beer every time you pass by the keg. 

Yuh, well. Some teams are like that. I clearly remember the - er - initiation in the Royal Dick Vet College team was either successfully completing Cardinal Puff (a suicidal drinking game) or throwing up as a result of having "manfully" failed. Of course they don't let you attempt this game until you're in a sufficient state that you're quite unlikely to complete it - or at least they didn't in the 70s.

[qwery_hi]

mike777, on Sep 22 2010, 03:34 PM, said:

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until there is much more gambling and much more violence in the sport.

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until the players are more interested in playing than in play acting. FTFY

[mike777]

qwery_hi, on Sep 23 2010, 03:06 AM, said:

mike777, on Sep 22 2010, 03:34 PM, said:

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until there is much more gambling and much more  violence in the sport.

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until the players are more interested in playing than in play acting. FTFY

Americans love acting in sports....that is not an issue.

If anything we want more acting not less.

[matmat]

The soccer rules are much too obscure and subjective. There are insufficient statistics to print in the morning paper.

[Lobowolf]

qwery_hi, on Sep 23 2010, 03:06 AM, said:

mike777, on Sep 22 2010, 03:34 PM, said:

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until there is much more gambling and much more  violence in the sport.

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until the players are more interested in playing than in play acting. FTFY

cf. Jeter, Derek

[Lobowolf]

Phil, on Sep 21 2010, 11:03 AM, said:

Soccer will slowly increase in popularity in the US. Its too bad the World Cup is only once every four years.

Professional football and basketball will (are?) slowly decrease(ing), much like NASCAR has fallen off its peak.

F1 will increase in popularity in the US as well, and ALMS will follow.

Baseball will stay the same.

Tiger Woods has relegated golf to a second tier sport again with hockey and tennis.

None of this has anything to do with the length of commercial breaks, although there is a point where professional sports becomes unwatchable due to the length of the timeouts.

But I also believe there is a certain culture to the ads to professional football games, which might be an unstated claim of the OP.

Strongly disagree with your prediction for football vis a vis baseball. Football is pretty much THE spectator sport in the USA, and AFAIK has been pretty been on a consistent, long-term upswing for a long time (since the days it was #2 to baseball, which was quite a while ago). Moreover, the crackdown on steroids in baseball is working to re-normalize the longball numbers, which isn't good for fan interest (though I think it's a good thing, I realize I'm in the minority; the fans want to see a bazillion homers).

That being said, it may happen in the short-mid term, as there's a very good chance we're going to see a work stoppage in the NFL next year, which will hurt the sport.

[NickRW]

qwery_hi, on Sep 23 2010, 08:06 AM, said:

mike777, on Sep 22 2010, 03:34 PM, said:

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until there is much more gambling and much more  violence in the sport.

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until the players are more interested in playing than in play acting. FTFY

Ah, given what passes for wrestling on the west side of the pond, I find that hard to believe!

[qwery_hi]

mike777, on Sep 23 2010, 09:01 AM, said:

qwery_hi, on Sep 23 2010, 03:06 AM, said:

mike777, on Sep 22 2010, 03:34 PM, said:

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until there is much more gambling and much more  violence in the sport.

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until the players are more interested in playing than in play acting. FTFY

Americans love acting in sports....that is not an issue.

If anything we want more acting not less.

Or perhaps you mean gambling like illustrated here ?

http://news.bbc.co.u...ope/5164194.stm

[qwery_hi]

NickRW, on Sep 23 2010, 12:35 PM, said:

qwery_hi, on Sep 23 2010, 08:06 AM, said:

mike777, on Sep 22 2010, 03:34 PM, said:

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until there is much more gambling and much more  violence in the sport.

I dont think Americans will watch more soccer until the players are more interested in playing than in play acting. FTFY

Ah, given what passes for wrestling on the west side of the pond, I find that hard to believe!

Yes, but can they compete with such fine actors who dabble in soccer? For your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=nQL-NV5qmBU
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=v6yLDq0iK4U
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=kswQkBvMe9w