andrew luck and kobe bryant commercial

[SteelCityColt]

I find soccer to be a sport where the physical playing field to be much more even among growing kids as they develop. For that alone, I like it a great deal. You dont have to be 6'+ and have blinding speed....or be 300 pounds to get signed....or take HGH to get there.

 

Hard for soccer to compete, especially now that MLB and the NFL have ensured a style of league that promotes offense.

 

Not sure if I'd completely agree with you here as it's a bit of a debate over here that kids are getting more opportunity at youth levels because they're bigger/faster/stronger while not actually being better football players. I would say though that our method of developing youth talent is nowhere the level of the college/professional league set up. 

 

However I do think you're right in saying football is a great leveller when it comes to physical ability, football is a game played with your brain not your feet  

[JPFolks]

I played 3 sports in High School and College and I play several more in life after and I love all sorts of competitions, including nearly every Olympic event in the Summer and Winter games.  I have tried year after year to watch Soccer and I just can't maintain interest in games that can end 1-0 or 0-0 with a kick off type resolution.  Even the timing I find maddening in that no one knows what the "extra" time will be until it's added on.  For me it is like a super slow version of Hockey which I find close to unwatchable outside of the Olympics as well.  Golf seems exciting as does bowling compared to Soccer.  In fact, darts and poker are more enjoyable to watch.  I don't doubt that Soccer is a lot of fun to play and it is clearly a healthy sport for kids and adults alike and for poor countries with limited resources it is the perfect sport where a ball is about all that is needed.  But playing and watching are very different experiences and if I can find pleasure in watching Curling (which goes on for eternity sometimes) during the Olympics, I can't understand why I just can't bring myself to watch more than a match or two a year at most.  My older nephew played it as do all my younger nieces and nephews currently and with shorter time spans, those games can be fun.  And knowing a player/family member is in there makes it a bit more interesting, but it doesn't help in the professional leagues.  I think having Kobe and Andrew pitching it and sharing their love of it is perhaps the best effort yet made by Soccer to interest new fans resistant to watching, but it really didn't motivate me in the end.  I don't ever expect people in Europe to be interested in American Football, but I do know how annoying it is when a Soccer fans is indignant when learning I just can't get into it.  It's too ingrained in my DNA I think.  Cheers to those who love it.  Watching sports, especially in person, is a great life experience to enjoy and a healthy lifestyle if you can play it into adulthood.   Adult Soccer leagues I am sure could compete with Softball leagues and perhaps that is what they will be doing in Westfield.  

[The Best Ever Luck]

It is interesting to have two famous sports figures, from two different sports, come together and advertise a third sport.

 

Soccer is certainly getting bigger in my neck of the woods. My 6 old wants to play, and I have to admit that I don't really know the rules to it, so it is something I will be learning soon.

headers are not safe so make sure you don't let your kid do them in soccer.

[Poster X]

It is interesting to have two famous sports figures, from two different sports, come together and advertise a third sport.

 

Soccer is certainly getting bigger in my neck of the woods. My 6 old wants to play, and I have to admit that I don't really know the rules to it, so it is something I will be learning soon.

Andrew Luck is a pretty big soccer fan, and he and Coby Fleener were modeling some jerseys not too long ago. 

We all know Andrew is proficient in the art of the flop.

[SteelCityColt]

headers are not safe so make sure you don't let your kid do them in soccer.

 

Now now there's no proof for that yet though I can certainly see this being possible with the old style footballs. Most recorded concussions come from a clash of heads, but that's a risk in most contact sports. 

[lollygagger8]

They lost me at Kobe. 

[lollygagger8]

headers are not safe so make sure you don't let your kid do them in soccer.

[buccolts]

Its far more than a soccer complex. But its going to be awesome

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CCkQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibj.com%2F225m-westfield-project-in-works%2FPARAMS%2Farticle%2F41547&rct=j&q=grand%20park%20westfield%20cost&ei=g656U_z1N8KvyATTuYGYAg&usg=AFQjCNG2jkekS2J0ZVm0U67tXULonZHpug&sig2=cxMmsAaBOURZlnvQWrsbtQ&bvm=bv.67229260,d.aWw

 

Thanks for that article.

We just started the process of purchasing a home in Westfield a couple of days ago, and that's the best article I've seen on the topic.

We stopped by the park, briefly, over a week ago. It's huge already, and they're really early in the process.

[dgambill]

That place looks outstanding. If I had tons of money this is exactly the kind of venture I would get involved in. If done properly it would be great. I don't know why they wouldn't add indoor tennis and basketball facilities either down the road. I know the investment is higher with the buildings but with AAU tournements etc and sports camps it would be perfect venue. These sports complexes geared towards our children I can get fully behind. As more and more schools discontinue after school programs and you see these summer programs and leagues get bigger and bigger it would be nice to have facilities like this AND shopping and eating all on location. Heck they could even set up a small RV park too if they don't think it will support the hotels. This would draw in people not just from the community but all over the state to compete in tournaments etc here.

 

As for soccer itself...its a beautiful sport when played at a high level. Watching the control these guys have with their passes and the ability to dribble and some of the shots they get on goal...just amazing. I'm sure increasing scoring would be beneficial to some..I don't pretend to know what would be rule changes that would make sense and allow this but I do wish they would have instant replay in soccer. Sometimes the offsides calls I see get blown and reduce some great scoring opportunities drives me nuts. If it would help the sideline officials keep the flags down and let more runs go through and then get reviewed I would be up for that. Even if scores get taken off the board at least you get a few more minutes of exhilirating play. All too often I see them raise a flag when they couldn't even see if they were onside or not. All in all though it is a wonderful sport and I could watch premier league games all day. MLS...not so much.

[mintor]

My hometown of Evansville, just built a new soccer park, and they are popping up all over the country. I heard that Westfield just invested 200 million on a new soccer/baseball complex north Carmel, IN. To put that into perspective, the cost to build Lucas Oil Stadium was around 700-800 million. 

 called grand park .  Our multi-purpose fields—indoors and out—were designed to field champions in a variety of sports. Soccer, lacrosse, football, rugby and field all make their way to the Grand Park multi-purpose fields. For field rentals, tournament schedules

[1yrdandacloudofdust]

Luck has gotten a pass for all those ints. And his avg completion %

[JPFolks]

Luck has gotten a pass for all those ints. And his avg completion %

 

And the non-sequitur award goes to......