Sad to see them go
Posted 14 Jul 2010
Football/Soccer, People | 1 Comment
Well, our productivity will surely see an upswing now that we’ve bid the World Cup adieu. Four more long years until the glory of the “beautiful game” returns to the global stage. It was a great run in 2010 and we thoroughly enjoyed the play.
Earlier on in the World Cup we posted about our disappointment with the way some players dramatize and over-exaggerate their injuries during play. Today I feel it is appropriate to call out one of the things I greatly admired about the players in this World Cup.
In one of the matches, when a red card was delivered and a player was forced to leave the field, it was truly inspiring to see the look of hurt and sadness on the remaining players from BOTH squads.
I was impressed that even though it came to their advantage, the opposing players still empathized with the anguish of their fellow sportsman. None of the players who make it to the world stage to play would enjoy being sent off early, despite whether the ejection is merited or not.
After observing this in one match, I watched the players’ faces a bit more closely in later matches and every time a red card was served, I saw the same reaction. Unlike the grimace that shows up after a player dives, I believe this empathetic anguish was true emotion.
Bravo to the the world of soccer (football) for once again showing us how naturally we humans can unite with one another!
Why is soccer (football) so popular?
Posted 6 Jul 2010
Football/Soccer, People | 5 Comments
I don’t have statistics to back this up, but soccer has to be one of the most popular, if not the most popular, sports in the world.
I’ve often wondered what it is about the sport which makes it so popular.
Is it the team play? Is it the length of the game? The fact that a hero can be made with a single play? Perhaps it is just because anyone can play with little or no required sports equipment?
Why do you think soccer is so popular?
Communication on the field
Posted 23 Jun 2010
Football/Soccer, Language, People | 3 Comments
For years I have been wondering about this and today I’m bringing the question to you, good readers of chickenmonkeydog.
Watching World Cup Soccer reminded me of a question I’ve had about how teammates who do not share a common language communicate on the field.
When one team has players who do not share a common language, how do they communicate on the field? In the World Cup, I imagine it is less of an issue, since the players on each team are from the same country. However, in most professional leagues each team is made up of players from all over the world.
If David Beckham gets hired by AC Milan, does he need to take Italian language as part of his contract? Even if players do try to pick up the native tongue of the country where they are to play, in the heat of the game do they still have issues with using the newly learned language? When you have more than a few different “native tongues” on one team, does the team try to use a common language? Is there some abbreviated set of terms that teams learn to simplify communication?
The possible solutions are endless, but do you know what solutions are actually used?
When men start to cry
Posted 18 Jun 2010
Football/Soccer, People | 6 Comments
As I continued to be absorbed by the World Cup, I began to wonder at what point in their soccer playing careers the sportsmen begin to whine, cry and act like fragile babies on the field?
When kids start playing soccer, it is about being tough. You get hit, you get up, you play on. Your teammates, friends, and family support you for being tough and focused.
Yet somehow, by the time you make it to being a professional player you feel that falling to the ground grimacing and wailing at the slightest hit (and sometimes as no hit at all!) is proper behavior.
What happened?
Where along the line did the admiration switch from the tough players to those who whine the most? Is it because crying and faking gets more calls, more calls means more wins, and more wins means more money?
Long hair on the pitch
Posted 17 Jun 2010
Football/Soccer, People, Weird | 4 Comments
(1) Let’s define “long hair” for males as hair that is 3 inches long or longer.
(2) Out of the entire world’s male population from the ages 18 – 35, a certain unknown percentage of men will have “long hair” on their heads, according to our definition.
Given (1) and (2), would you estimate that the percentage of male professional soccer players in the world with “long hair” on their heads is greater than the overall percentage of men (age 18 – 35) with “long hair” on their heads?
If so, why? If not, why not?
