Meh. Offseason and all.

This is great. Thanks for taking the time. Next question.


What justifies "connection" in order to root for a sports team?

If you're talking about the OP, I'd like to rule that you can't consider someone with a sub 70 IQ a troll. They are in fact literally reeruned.

Do you have a first generation relative from the area? If so, you are most likely exempt. If you lived or worked in said region for more than 6 years, 2 weeks and 3 days it is also acceptable.

If you have taken a shit at the Raytown Quik Trip I'll also allow it.

ROFL

Father raised in KC (3-18), although not born there (oh this is dicey!!!).

Grandparents season tickets holders of the Chiefs for about a decade in the 60's-early 70's.

lol at Fox Sports

So basically you want to punch me in the face for being a Chiefs fan and not a Jets/Giants fan.

Well I guess sometimes I want to punch myself in the face for being a Chiefs fan too.

Sucks for all the Rams fans I guess. Lots of bruised faces in St. Louis.

American sports are the only sports that matter.

Soccer is a 3rd world sport and it's unbelievably boring.

Would rather watch paint dry.

People say...Oooo you gotta go to a SKC game THE ATMOSPHERE OMG!

**** no I don't. You could give me the best tix in the house, all you can eat/drink pass for free and even limo my ass to/from Sporting Park and I still wouldn't go.

If you wear skinny jeans, blog regularly at Starbucks, love being trendy and think your cool because you've tried all of the $10 craft beers in town and supported the KC Streetcar, then maybe SKC is for you.

Don't know what skc is like. But MLS games, if you sit in the supporter section it's a bunch of drunks, cursing, yelling vulgar stuff at the players, loud drums and constant chants and heckling, and sometimes smoke bombs and streamers. I don't think a live game is what you think it is. And that's just MLS.

I understand where BWillie is coming from but as mentioned professional teams aren't bound by geography so it is highly presumptuous to assume fans should abide by a circle on a map.

Interestingly, an arena football league had a rule where at least three players had to hail from a radius near the franchise.

The Olympics are garbage. They should put every single participant in a giant pool. Then each country gets to pick an athlete one at a time. Once every athlete is picked, make them all play ice hockey and NFL football only. Then cancel the Olympics. The next year, do the same thing to the World Cup. Boom. Problem solved.

So much for soccer being the "game of the future" in America:

Youth Soccer Participation Has Fallen Significantly in America

Half the countries in the world probably have coaches who aren't of that nationality, Jethro

What a shock. Soccer youth participation has declined because we're pricing low income soccer players out? Someone ruining sports to make a few extra bucks? You don't say....

Other countries thrive at soccer because all you need is a ball and a goal. In America, you need to be part of a traveling league built for the rich. What a surprise.

Also those same potential "low income soccer players" in America would rather play basketball and football.

THEN WE CNT WIN CUZ TEH ATHLEETZ ARENT BEST LBRONG JAMZ WOULD BE BEST SOCR PLAYR IN WORLD


WUT IF STEVEDEBERG PALYED SOCCR!?

I don't think anyone's suggesting soccer will take over America. Of course many of them will pick other sports. But low income soccer players are severely underserved in the US. Especially when you consider how low a % of Latinos are playing organized youth soccer in the US.

It’s probably around 90-95% Latino on teams in southwest Kansas.

Once again...many of you prove what idiots you are.(yeah, I'm one too, but not on this subject). 1) The OP is very misleading. But someone of intelligence brought up the fact that many games were while many of us were at work. 2) The MLS is NOT as good as many foreign leagues, yet it picks up in popularity yearly. 3) Sissy sport? No pads! I have broken 8 bones playing that sissy sport.

I don't care about the World Cup if the U.S. isn't in it.. seems pretty obvious and many people feel that way.

I haven’t ever heard a person call soccer a “sissy” sport.


I have heard it called boring, though.

Any sport is boring if you don’t understand the fine details. Croatia vs England is a perfect example of a great game

this,



theres no reason we shoudlnt qualify every cycle except total failure on our part..


total failure = shit product = less interest


what a bummer.....major damage to soccer here in the USA.


Theres always room for another sport, but not one where we have a shit product

I actually got really into the WC this year for whatever reason, even though I didn't have a horse in the race.

Something cool about teams competing for the pride of their entire nation, not just a smaller fanbase.

My interest in Soccer has certainly increased in the last 2-3 years. Wouldn't call myself a huge fan by any means, but I can watch the sport with interest now at least.

I'm shocked! Ratings are down in a World Cup contest for which the US didn't qualify? Who would have thunk it?

Maybe it's fine in some pockets. But plenty of studies show that soccer is catered to those with $100k+ income. It's totally ridiculous that it costs several thousand to play in a league where all you need is a ball and a field. That's a huge miss and helps explain why our soccer pipeline sucks that has little to do with soccer not being popular.

Atlanta United is EASILY the best ticket in town here. And is by far the most fun sporting experience Atlanta offers.

And the Braves and Falcons have pretty rabid fanbases too. Nobody gives a shit about the Hawks. LMAO

Don't forget the 7am start times.

Might not be sissy, but when Tennis starts mocking the "injuries" you know its bad

https://content.jwplatform.com/previ...262b5d91f96b84

Yeah people care so much about a tournament played every 4 years they didnt even bother to tune in! Its growing in America!

That is not true in my experience. My son plays on a competitive, traveling select team. I know for a fact Not everyone pays the same rates. If a kids family is lower income but he’s talented, they will pay lower fees. Nobody wants to miss out on a talented kid.

And you're white trash and a homophobe.

Soccer is gay

Hockey does everything that soccer does except better.

Soccer haters are as bad as vegans and crossfitters.

Fix

Oh hi.

Good one.

So you didn't have an NBA team prior to the Thunder going to OKC?

First answer nailed it!

No need to dilly dilly dally dally.

Hopefully you're right. Have a buddy who used to coach. He's told me you would not believe how many parents will bitch and moan about their kids not playing, even if they suck. And the politics of sitting the rich kid. But that's really not even the biggest problem. It's good that they're bringing inner city kids out of the neighborhoods to play, but there needs to be a shitload more inner city youth development. It's just mind boggling that for a sport that's so inexpensive to play that we can be this bad at filling the pipeline with this talent.

Billay doesn't like soccer so he starts a thread about soccer.

Billay = Dipshit troll

Has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the tournament was played on the other side of the world making it nearly impossible to catch a live game. :rolleyes:

Sure, the casual fan doesn't watch b/c the U.S. isn't playing, but the time games were played was a huge factor, as were the early exits of superstars and powerhouses.

A bunch of wannabe euro hooligans.

Damn you're ****ing dumb.

You admit to following a sport you give no shits about.

What a waste of time and energy

I like football more than soccer - but I do have quite a bit more fun at Sporting KC games than Chiefs games.

Still not as gay as wrestling.

^

It really depends on where you are playing. You're right that a lot of select teams are dominated by wealthy suburbanite white kids. That's a holdover, imo, from the days of soccer being seen as a "rich" prep school type sport. In areas with large Hispanic populations, though, the sport is absolutely dominated by those kids. They may not all play in travel teams, but they're playing in local leagues that are highly competitive, and the high school with the most of those kids on their teams are the ones who seem to dominate.


There are two cities in my area with two high schools. In both, one school is rich and white and the other school is poorer and hispanic. In both, the poor hispanic school kicks the shit out of the rich white school in soccer. Football on the other hand...

Bitch about soccer. But watches baseball or the baseball all star game.

Soccer ratings in the USA would probably rise if they added more commercials, because judging by every other sport we just love watching commercials.

Umm, why would you hate on people supporting the top level of sports?

You arent very bright and have behavior issues. It's amazing you're a mod. My view of soccer is irrelevant to the link posted in the OP.

Serious question: did you happen to go to school in rural Missouri? You intelligence certainly reflects it.

Do you respect the Red Sox fan from Blue Springs who swarm into Kaufman stadium every year...yet they've never been to Boston. Ever. I do not.

As the great Al Pacino said in Any Given Sunday - "It has to be more than about winning".

Oh, you must believe in "fan loyalty," helping millionaires' shitty teams earn money for over a century.

True fan right here.

If they have a reason for rooting for them, no.

Everyone embraced the Japanese guy who was a royals fan no problem.

Who is your NBA team? If you have any answer other than none it is wrong by your logic.

Japanese guy should be fan of his home Japanese Baseball squad. Not Royals. That is against the rules. BTW - think he was Korean. Good news - there is a Korean Baseball league! http://eng.koreabaseball.com/

As far as NBA, I really wasn't a fan until Oklahoma City got a team. I did not allow myself to root for the Nuggets, because I hate the Denver Broncos and Chiefs have a rivalry with them. I've always like the NBA. Nothing wrong with going to a game. But buying jerseys, expressing you are a fan of said team out of no relevance to geography or family ties is ridiculous.

Oklahoma City is the closest team. If you root for the closest team to your demographic area, that is all that I ask. Just don't root for a team because "they win and are popular". I assure you, if Kansas City ever got an NBA team I will renounce my quasi OKC fandon in a moments notice, even if they go 10-72 every year. Have a ****ing backbone for god sakes.

If you have any other questions regarding to allowable fandom, please don't hesitate to ask me. I'm the Czar of such subject.

Thanks

ManU fan, myself...do you like Mourinho as their manager? I love the guy, but many dislike him.

I started following ManU back in the days of Eric Cantona...hard to follow back then when there was no EPL on TV and internet streaming was near impossible.

I love the fact that I can see every game now. Im glad they dont put ManU behind their paywall on NBCSN...

Questioning my intelligence. ROFL

I never got why this is such a big deal for some people. If someone follows a team year-in and year-out, win or lose, who cares whether or not they have any connections to the city/region?

I know people that latched on to players on the other side of the country as a kid and became lifelong fans of the team. That doesn't bother me so long as they stick with the team.

Now people like my jackass buddy who was a diehard Lakers fan ten years ago, and is now a Golden State fan, those guys I have a problem with.

And before some genius says, "That's what I would expect a Sox fan in Denver to say", my family is from New England originally.

The only NFL game I have been to in person was in Seattle, to see the Chiefs play. I started watching football when Dad was stationed and Omaha and KC was the local team.

That is why I am also a Mariners fan and a Devils fan. Dad was stationed where they were the local team when I started following the sport. Well, the Devils were just on TV all the time so I became a fan and the closest team, the Caps, stunk at that point in time and were never on TV.

12

Yeah I live and die with KC as much as anyone else. I'm a Chiefs fan til I die. Just because you don't root for a local team doesn't mean you were chasing winning or hopping on some bandwagon. It's natural to want to watch the best players in the world.

If the PGA Tour was not around and the European Tour was all that existed, I'm supposed to only care about the Web.com tour and it's players? Hell yeah on the Devils, btw.

Being a fan of the LEAGUE is different than being fan of a TEAM. No issues with someone liking the EPL so they can watch the best soccer in the world. When they start being emotionally attached to Manchester United, wear their jerseys and say "we", then we have a problem.

Being a golf fan is general fandom, and acceptable. You can also just be an NFL or NBA fan in general, as long as you are not emotionally attached to a given team outside one's region. I'm glad I could clear that up for you.

As a kid, I went St Louis -> Omaha -> KC -> Des Moines, all before 3rd grade. After college, 18 years in Minneapolis. Now in San Diego. Who am I authorized to root for in the 4 major sports?

We have no problem.
Thanks for telling people what to do. I'm sure they were quite lost without your sage guidance.
Posted via Mobile Device

Hi Shag,

I'm glad you asked. Since you grew up in both KC and STL, you are allowed to pick MLB between the Royals and Cardinals or the Rams & Chiefs in NFL. You are not allowed to change allegiances once you have acquired at least two bobble heads or two articles of clothing from said team. Under no circumstances are you able to be a Cub's fan unless you spent at least 51% of your childhood in Des Moines.

How long have you lived in San Diego? Either way, since you grew up entirely in Midwest, this bars you from being a fan of San Diego teams. The only allowable NBA team is the Timberwolves.

So you have to be a fan of KC/STL sports + Minnesota Timberwolves. It really is that simple. Good luck.

Love BWillie

Dear BWillie,

Thank you for your insightful reply - it's good to finally understand my expected fandom. Thankfully, as luck would have it, I've fallen within the established guidelines. However, you've failed to address the second most important major sporting league - the NHL. My Wild fandom hangs in the balance.

Nervously awaiting your reply,
Shag

What if you're a 30 something, born and raised in KC. You realize the Chiefs have always sucked and you don't want to support a losing ****ing franchise anymore. What then?

Why would you support the Chiefs when the high school down the road has a team?

You're gay

Then you get the chair. http://yac-factory.org/uploads/incre..._SXS_19876.jpg

You're the biggest closet homosexual on this board. I bet you have a corncob up your ass right now.

Someone come get this fragile pillowbiter

Can we talk Wayne Rooney?
Dude is on a roll.
I know people aren't hep on soccer, but this play has been sticking with me all week.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ARE YOU KIDDING US, <a href="https://twitter.com/WayneRooney?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WayneRooney</a>????? AMAZING!!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DCvORL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DCvORL</a> <a href="https://t.co/Iys5sJBDOs">https://t.co/Iys5sJBDOs</a></p>&mdash; Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS/status/1028827728298954752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Fast break, goalie up on offense. Old man tracks it down and has the composure to lob in a perfect strike. Amazing play whatever level it happens on.

But he's turning a moment into a run

https://deadspin.com/old-man-wayne-r...mls-1828381513

Those who paid attention know, Wayne is as close to my spirit animal as there is in sports. Good to see him continue to thrive.

That's some awful footballing.

1.) How in the blue hell did the Orlando guy on the break not avoid that tackle? I mean WTF? He could have done a million things differently and instead he just keeps going straight into the tackle. A pro level player should NOT be stuffed right there.

2.) Sure, Rooney made a nice cross....but it was a lob that went 40 yards slowly in the air with 3 on 4 in favor of the D. None of them could even get up and challenge strong in the air? That attempted header on d was WEAK.

3.) WTF was the keeper doing? He was just standing in no man's land while the header was struck.

4.) For the celebration, the loser forward didn't run over to Rooney and give him props for a great set up. No, he jumps into the stands like he did all the work. F that guy.

What IS awesome is that someone like Rooney, an older, very well paid, very accomplished player decided to hustle balls out on D more than anyone else on the team at that point. THAT is awesome.

Is the world cup still happening?

For me, it shows the entertainment value soccer allows in taking advantage of opportunity.

The fluidity of soccer and the inherent difficulty of the task [doing everything with your feet with 11 opponents on the pitch] means there's perhaps the biggest chasm between sensing a weakness and doing the exact right thing to take advantage.

The forward may have ended up making a poor effort to maintain the ball, but you still have to act with resolve with no one behind you to win the possession.

The inswinger may have been easy to defend in an optimal situation, but you still have to have the balls and presence of mind to pull the trigger with precise placement and timing. The slightest mistake wastes every ounce of that great effort you just expended.

Part of the 'fairness' of soccer is that it's always a team effort. Great teammates don't automatically make your job easier, nor does inferior opponents.

Soccer isn't as clear-cut a gameplan as other sports. You can't count on lobbing it to Lebron in the paint, or heaving it to Tyreek down the sideline, where the odds say physical talent and training creates an near-automatic win. It's not even like golf where the objective is a static whole in the ground that you can practice until you are nearly guaranteed to achieve it.