Want to start watching Soccer.

CKRT · Post #1 » by **CKRT** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:23 am

Where do I start? I usually only watch Soccer for the World Cup but I'm pretty interested in watching (more than casually) the sport now that the NBA is locked out. No idea where to start though, kind of overwhelmed with all the clubs and players.

I think I'd be a fan of Liverpool, if only for my girlfriend's godfather owning the club.

EDIT: forgot to mention, I live in the US and I can't stream games very well but I will try and see how well it works. I have Dish Network, but I'm not sure what packages they have for soccer coverage.

BC_ · Post #2 » by **BC_** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:57 am

manchester united vs manchester city is on this weekend, they're the top two teams in england atm so you could start there.

Post here and ask questions, it's the easiest way to learn to to understand it and to love it

Post #3 » by **Sleepy** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:57 am

The new Football Manager gets released this weekend. Master that game and you've mastered soccer.

Post #4 » by **5DOM** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 12:51 pm

Pick a team and just keep watching their games. I would also recommend downloading BBC's Match of the Day every Saturday and Sunday if you decide to follow the Premier League. It's a highlights+analysis show so it shouldnt be boring. Once you get familiar with the players and the system, playing Football Manager like Sleepy suggested can be very fun. And of course keep posting here

BC_ · Post #5 » by **BC_** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:26 pm

Personally i'd recommend watching lots of teams until you find one that you like, rather than choosing one blindly. :dontknow:

jerrod · Post #6 » by **jerrod** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:24 pm

BC_ wrote:Personally i'd recommend watching lots of teams until you find one that you like, rather than choosing one blindly.

yep, although that's easier in the offseason when fox soccer just shows endless old games.

just make sure you get fox soccer and you'll have games to watch. if you can get espn3 to work, that's a great option too.

your girlfriend's godfather is lebron?!!!!! :wink:

Post #7 » by **LittleOzzy** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:28 pm

Depending where you live in the States you might have an MLS team near by.

The quality of soccer is not as good, but it's your best option to see a team live and support them.

The MLS playoffs start the last weekend of the month, it's a great time to jump on board.

Post #8 » by **magik9113** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:58 pm

a friend of mine has dish and fox soccer channel is 149 i believe.
They show a good amount of premier league games each weekend, along with a few serie A.
and they also have beat espn last year for the rights to champions league matches

My recommendation: join the Juventus bandwagon

and Liverpool would be a fine team to follow

Foye · Post #9 » by **Foye** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 3:29 pm

Please don't pick one of the sheikh clubs. You'll lose my respect if you do, though.

jerrod · Post #10 » by **jerrod** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:38 pm

Foye wrote:Please don't pick one of the sheikh clubs. You'll lose my respect if you do, though.

isn't this all about having fun though? pick a team that's fun and not depressing.

Foye · Post #11 » by **Foye** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:19 pm

jerrod wrote:
Foye wrote:Please don't pick one of the sheikh clubs. You'll lose my respect if you do, though.

isn't this all about having fun though? pick a team that's fun and not depressing.

There are a lot of fun teams around that don't need a Sheikh and have a great history.
I can't respect teams who're only toys of their billionaire owners.
Manchester City, Chelsea (they do have a history - I liked the club prior to Abramovich, now all I have left is disguise). Paris St. Germain, Getafe, Malaga are also one of these newly rich teams that will be spending too much soon/are already doing so.

A lot of European teams obviously have billionaires but I despise those who clearly put in much more money than the club could ever generate on it's own. City and Chelsea would be meaningless clubs in Europe right now if it wasn't for their owners putting in hundreds of millions that the club could never gain on their own.
I don't have anything against teams like Manchester United or Milan. They have billionaires as owners but they're not reckless spending like ManCity currently does and Chelsea did a few years ago.
That's why I have huge respect for a club like Bayern Munich who have been consistantly a threat in Europe without ever having a billionaire owner. They did get a lot of money from adidas and Audi a couple years ago but most of it was actually used to pay back the stadium debts instead of buying temporary greatness.
They may not ever win the CL in the next 5-years because they're actually run like a business company but they'll always have my respect for competing among the top clubs in Europe.

jerrod · Post #12 » by **jerrod** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:54 pm

history was the last thing i considered when i was picking a team. i wasn't around for it, i didn't grow up with it so it will never mean that much to me.

Post #13 » by **5DOM** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:24 pm

jerrod wrote:history was the last thing i considered when i was picking a team. i wasn't around for it, i didn't grow up with it so it will never mean that much to me.

Same for me. I hopped on the Roman bandwagon in 03 when he bought Crespo, and it's been fun to say the least. I'm glad I didn't go for Liverpool's history for example (although the CL trophy would have been nice)

Batu7 · Post #14 » by **Batu7** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:37 pm

Try to play FIFA instead of Football Manager, the latter would be too boring/complicated for you if you just started watching the sport.

Post #15 » by **5DOM** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:53 pm

FM2012 is out.

edfmx86 · Post #16 » by **edfmx86** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:07 pm

ive never played Football Manager, i think im going to try it out this year.

to OP, Always nice to catch European soccer in the mornings, but if you live near a MLS soccer team, i highly recommend supporting them primarily. Nothing beats live soccer atmosphere. If you had fun watching the world cup, wait til you visit a MLS stadium.

bbms · Post #17 » by **bbms** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 1:38 am

I think English Premier League and UEFA Champions League are the best tournaments to start watching. UCL has the best teams, and EPL has a really fast pace of game, so big games are usually exciting. But I like Brazilian First Division and La Liga more than EPL.

CKRT · Post #18 » by **CKRT** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 3:46 am

edfmx86 wrote:ive never played Football Manager, i think im going to try it out this year.

to OP, Always nice to catch European soccer in the mornings, but if you live near a MLS soccer team, i highly recommend supporting them primarily. Nothing beats live soccer atmosphere. If you had fun watching the world cup, wait til you visit a MLS stadium.

Been to a few FC Dallas games, they were really cool atmosphere-wise but I had absolutely no idea what was going on in the field.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Definitely going to check out as much as I can. When is the soccer offseason?

BC_ · Post #19 » by **BC_** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 11:36 am

CKRT wrote:
edfmx86 wrote:ive never played Football Manager, i think im going to try it out this year.

to OP, Always nice to catch European soccer in the mornings, but if you live near a MLS soccer team, i highly recommend supporting them primarily. Nothing beats live soccer atmosphere. If you had fun watching the world cup, wait til you visit a MLS stadium.

Been to a few FC Dallas games, they were really cool atmosphere-wise but I had absolutely no idea what was going on in the field.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Definitely going to check out as much as I can. When is the soccer offseason?

Summer.

jerrod · Post #20 » by **jerrod** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:36 pm

BC_ wrote:Summer.

MLS Season 8-)

also, international tournaments.

we don't need no stinkin' offseason