Some newbie questions . . .

I have a question. It's not really about rules or tactics but about supporting certain teams. . .

I'm from New York and football, although its played a lot, is not exactly a sport that people usually grow up with unless their parents are immigrants or something. For example, I grew up as an American Football fan and was born in NY and my parents rooted for the New York Jets so therefore I did. The natural response would seem to be to support the New York Red Bulls but I hate that the team is named after the energy drink and besides they don't even play in NY but New Jersey.

So I wanted to know if someone could give me advice on teams or leagues to follow. My great-grandpa is from Scotland and supported the Celtics in the SPL, but I'm not too keen on the sectarian aspect of it. My buddy, who got me into the sport, supports Chelsea in the EPL. I really have no clue. Maybe this seems silly to people on here, but I want to be careful about what club I support.

TL;DR: What team or league should I follow/support?

Well, I would suggest you simply try to look at matches from different leagues without having to support a team at first. Then you can decide for yourself which of the leagues' styles is most pleasing to your eye.

And if you figured out which of the leagues you like best, then you can always pick a team that looks most pleasing to you.

Mind you, watching football from a neutral perspective at first can be very fascinating, too - so why committing yourself too fast to one team?

As for leagues - it is probably sensible to try and catch one (or more) of the four big leagues
- England's Premier League
- Spain's La Liga
- Germany's Bundesliga
- Italy's Serie A

As for what team is the best for you - well there are always choices for people who like their teams to be most successful, most stylish, hipsters' choices etc. It really depends on what you are looking for in a team to support.

rwo power wrote:Well, I would suggest you simply try to look at matches from different leagues without having to support a team at first. Then you can decide for yourself which of the leagues' styles is most pleasing to your eye.

And if you figured out which of the leagues you like best, then you can always pick a team that looks most pleasing to you.

Mind you, watching football from a neutral perspective at first can be very fascinating, too - so why committing yourself too fast to one team?

As for leagues - it is probably sensible to try and catch one (or more) of the four big leagues
- England's Premier League
- Spain's La Liga
- Germany's Bundesliga
- Italy's Serie A

As for what team is the best for you - well there are always choices for people who like their teams to be most successful, most stylish, hipsters' choices etc. It really depends on what you are looking for in a team to support.

Seems reasonable. I'm not looking to rush into it. It's just confusing. It's like a whole new world just opened up to me

Well, I think you can feel very fortunate then - all the new things to discover!

By the way, as I'm supporting a German 4th division club, I can nicely follow the matches of all Bundesliga clubs as neutral and that's actually pretty fun. That way I have a lot to root for when they go against teams of other countries in the Champions League or Europe League.

For you it might be a little more difficult as the MLS clubs are probably not as prominent and don't get into the CL and EL for not being European, but as we have some MLS fans here, they can maybe shed some light on how they deal with this "problem".

KevinNYC wrote:I have a question. It's not really about rules or tactics but about supporting certain teams. . .

I'm from New York and football, although its played a lot,  is not exactly a sport that people usually grow up with unless their parents are immigrants or something. For example, I grew up as an American Football fan and was born in NY and my parents rooted for the New York Jets so therefore I did. The natural response would seem to be to support the New York Red Bulls but I hate that the team is named after the energy drink and besides they don't even play in NY but New Jersey.

So I wanted to know if someone could give me advice on teams or leagues to follow. My great-grandpa is from Scotland and supported the Celtics in the SPL, but I'm not too keen on the sectarian aspect of it. My buddy, who got me into the sport, supports Chelsea in the EPL. I really have no clue. Maybe this seems silly to people on here, but I want to be careful about what club I support.

TL;DR: What team or league should I follow/support?

MLS
MLS
MLS
MLS
MLS

If you really can't get over the name thing with the NYRD (seems a bit nitpicky tbh) then wait a year or so and New York CIty FC (funded by the Premier League club Manchester City who are in turn the play-toy of a very rich Abu Dhabi investor) will join MLS as well.

I would follow an MLS team, probably LA Galaxy, but where I live you have to buy an extra satellite TV package to get MLS games.

NBC Sports shows about 1 MLS match a week (at least... just the other day they had a doubleheader) and ESPN also shows at least 1 match a week when there aren't major tournaments like the World Cup or the Euros going on.

You can also subscribe to MLS Matchday Live online.
In their own words:

What is MLS LIVE?

MLS LIVE allows you to watch up to 233 live action-packed games from outside your local market. Here is your opportunity to catch your favorite team or players click by click, live and online.
Key Features:

DVR Functionality - Rewind to review a great play or catch something you missed.
SLOW MOTION - Click to view any part of a game in slo-mo; it's like creating your own highlight.
LIVE Button - If you rewind to review a great play, go back to the live stream in one click.
Key Event Markers - We'll mark every goal and foul on the timeline for you so you can go back and watch great plays with a single click.
Facebook integration - Keep tabs on the MLS social scene during a live game.
Real-Time Stats - Get up to the minute game and team stats.
Formations - See who is on the field for each team.
Blackout check - From the schedule page, you can find out if a game will be available in your area with a single click.

Usually many of the matches will be on black-out live but they're almost all available to watch one or two days later online.




And then there's the less... legitimate means of watching matches live. Though I'm sure no one on these forums would happen to know which sites you could find such streams on or be willing to share with you via PM if you should ask them (also via PM).

RedOranje wrote:NBC Sports shows about 1 MLS match a week (at least... just the other day they had a doubleheader) and ESPN also shows at least 1 match a week when there aren't major tournaments like the World Cup or the Euros going on.

Thanks.  I'll keep an eye out for MLS games . . . .

ETA:  Just searched and you are correct:  found two MLS games on Friday and Sunday on NBC and ESPN2.  Thanks for the tip!!!

Glad to help.

I was watching the 2013 NCAA Women's Championship between FSU and UCLA and saw the long throw-in of Megan Campbell (FSU). I did some searching and found that Rory Delap (Stoke City) used to execute the long throw-in and was so good that opponents would rather offer up a corner-kick than a throw-in against him. While watching the WC I didn't notice anyone mention a player known for his long throw-in. Is it a lost art? Maybe it's not that effective so no one trains for it?

FYI . . .

I noticed during NCAA play that the clock is a "count-down" clock.  Here are the NCAA rules from wiki:

Rules

While similar in general appearance, NCAA rules diverge significantly from FIFA Laws of the Game. If a player accumulates five yellow cards over the period of one season, he or she is banned one game. A manager may make unlimited substitutions; however, a player cannot re-enter a game in the same half that he left in. All matches have an overtime period if the game remains tied after 90 minutes. As opposed to a classic two half overtime, a sudden death rule is applied. If neither team scores in the two ten-minute halves, the match ends in a draw (unless it is a playoff match, then it would be penalty kicks). College soccer is played on a "running clock" that is constantly counting down unless the referee signals for the clock to be stopped by injuries, the issuing of misconducts, or when he feels a team is wasting time. The clock is also stopped after goals until play is restarted. In most professional soccer leagues, there is an up-counting clock with the referee adding injury time to the end of each 45-minute half.

BartFargo wrote:I was watching the 2013 NCAA Women's Championship between FSU and UCLA and saw the long throw-in of Megan Campbell (FSU).  I did some searching and found that Rory Delap (Stoke City) used to execute the long throw-in and was so good that opponents would rather offer up a corner-kick than a throw-in against him.  While watching the WC I didn't notice anyone mention a player known for his long throw-in.  Is it a lost art?  Maybe it's not that effective so no one trains for it?

Video of Rory Delap's amazing throw-ins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7-mGH6X3PI

OK, it seems there are no offsides for a throw-in. Is that true?

Yes, no offsides for throw ins. Can stand where ever you like.