So Becham (sp?) is here and people in LA think he will be the savior of soccer in America. Well, I would put my money on soccer still being a very low attended and enjoyed sport here in America for years to come. One person just won't do that much for the sport. On ESPN radio on Friday night who ever it was had some really good reasons. One of them I really agree with was that you can't really tell how much of an impact one person has on a game unless he is scoring like 2-3 goals a game and that is so rare. There were some other reasons but I can't remember them.

I played soccer for 15 years growing up. I played on traveling teams and on varsity HS teams. If I were to change one rule that I believe would help soccer it would be the offsides rule. Any soccer fan give me ONE good reason for that rule. It is a lame and useless rule. The only excuse one soccer fan gave me was it prevents cherry picking.... ummmm ok so why doesnt the nba have and offsides rule. Lame reason. I always played forward and I hated that rule it took no skill and the opposing team and our team for that matter would just jump up once in a while to get the call. So dumb. But really someone give me a good reason. If they took that rule out here in America I bet we would see 2-3 more goals a game and that is one of the biggest reasons soccer is such an unpopular spectator sport. Just my two cents in the offseason of football.

The Offsides call is perhaps the most difficult of all calls in Soccer. Many do not understand the rule and therefore hate it. I'm sure those who play or coach soccer understand but others (mostly parents) do not.

In essence, an offensive player cannot be beyond the next to last defender when a ball is played. What that means it that they cannot be closer to the goalie when a pass is made (the goalie being the last defender). It's not when the pass is received, but when it is played. So many refs at the rec/AYSO/HS levels don't pay attention and make the call as the pass is received.

The rule probably has a lot to do with cherry picking but they call that advantage in soccer. Also, it takes skill to beat the defender and the goalie.

There is no offsides rule in the In-door league and small field summer leagues that my son plays in and there is a ton more scoring. In fact, the less skillful players can sit back or drift back undetected and get a good shot on goal.

I say leave the rule alone. Eliminating the off-sides rule would be like moving in the outfield fence in baseball to say 200 feet. Anybody could hit a home run and the significance to the game of a great player would be lost.

I think that Soccer will catch on in America when the 2nd generation is old enough to be corporate sponsors. My kids sit in front of the Soccer Channel all day and will watch just about anybody.

They are the second generation...

I'm a little surprised that this is coming from a soccer player, but to each his own. I play a lot of ice hockey and would never suggest eliminating the offside rule (or the icing rule) because it would drastically change the game as we know it. I was glad to see the 2 line pass rule go, but offsides is a totally different story.

One thing offsides does in soccer is it allows for great slicing runs, sharp through passes, and nice breakaways. Since "fastbreaks" are a little more difficult on such a big field as compared to basketball, offsides allows for fast counterattacks because the rule encourages the defenders to play high in order to trap the attacker in the offside position. Without offsides in soccer, offensive players would try to cherry pick near the goal and defensive players would be hanging around with them, which would clutter the goal area and not allow strikers to break in behind defenders. Offensive strategies in soccer as we currently know them would disappear as the offenses become a lot more like half-court offenses in basketball, which tend to be relatively boring.

Remember when the NBA moved in the 3-point line in order to increase scoring? That failed because the wing players would still bunch at the 3-point line (which was closer in by a foot or so). When the wing players passed in to the post men, the wing defender would collapse down, causing the post player to kick the ball back out to the wing player for an &quot;open&quot; 3 pointer. But because the wing player was camped out closed in, the defender who doubled down could make it back out in time to affect the 3 point shot. While everyone initially thought the shorted 3 point line would increase scoring, it actually had the opposite effect, and the line was moved back to the current location.<br><br>Post edited by: Mingjai, at: 2007/07/16 11:55

Some good thoughts, however I don't really agree with the comparison of moving the wall up because it would mean that the defense (outfielder) can do littel to prevent a HR, however taking out off-sides would mean an adjustment in the defense. Some have said to make the goals wider or taller which I don't agree with with because it does take away some to of the skill but taking out off-sides just means that faster players will be in more demand and it still involves skill.
As I stated in my last post I played soccer all through my youth and loved every minute of it but watching it is still hard mainly because I want to be out there playen' but I still don't think soccer will ever catch on, it is like watching baseball and their bats are one foot long and the pitchers are 10 feet closer--It is just too hard to score and not enought people understand/appericate the skill that these players have because there is just &quot;not enough scoring&quot; and therefore not enough to get excited about. Nevertheless, I enjoy watching it and could sit through a whole game but not too many people can say that and I understand why.
Yeah, your kids may watch it but paying money to go watch it is another thing.

I agree with BRex on the offsides being miscalled most of the time. I don't want to sound vain but I was quick enough to beat the defender when the pass was made and yet was called offsides frequently because of where I received the pass. Having said that I would take away the rule. The reason I would is found in the NBA where they keep changing the defensive rules to open up the scoring and teams just find a way around it and turn into the Pistons and the Spurs who keep winning titles with the most boring style of low scoring play ever!!!

The beauty of soccer is the understanding of the game that allows the specator to watch the build up of a play and see the culmination of it with a goal in the back of the net. Is it a game for everyone? NO! Just like hockey if you ask me. But is there a niche that can be filled by it in the USA? YES! Will stadiums be packed like overseas? I don't see that for many generations if ever. But will it be a viable sport that can be sustained by the fan base it has and will get in the future? Yes. I believe it will.

Having said that, I would offer these changes as possible improvments:

1) For every five (insert your #preference here) fouls called on a team during a given game the result would be a one on one PK but not the traditional place the ball 12 yards away and run and kick it. It would be a true one on one with the keeper like hockey where the ball is advanced from 30 or so yards out and shot within a prescribed time limit. Hopefully this would discourage the embarrassing flopping that takes place.

2) Like indoor soccer already does, impose a 2 minute man advantage for intentional/dangerous fouls. Allowing &quot;power plays&quot; would give the offense a chance to be up one man and hopefully score more frequently.

3) Eliminate shoot-outs to decide games. As a HS senior we (WX) played Bountiful for the state championship and it ended with a shootout with our asst. coaches son sending the ball over the posts for our loss. If the game cannot be settled on the field in a prescribed time frame the reschedule it. Or

4) Add more substitutions. This is one rule that needs to go for sure. Why have 18+ players on a team when the maximum you can play in a given game is 14 IIRC. (11 on the field with 3 subs max)

Otherwise, I love the game and will continue to watch and play as often as my time permits!

Go Cougs!!!

Some really good points Mingjai that I hadnt thought of. Still, it would be interesting to actually see how it would turn out rather than just speculating. I know that I would watch more soccer but your points are quite valid. But I still say soccer will never take off.
On a side note, the ESPN commentator said that he could go out on the soccer field and play a whole game and no one would notice that he has never played soccer before, but in football, golf, basketball, waterpolo, they would notice right off. He said he would just have to run around the field for 90 minutes and people would probable compliment him on his abilities. I disagreed but thought it was pretty funny.