Mark Madden

Mark Madden

The Super Genius of Pittsburgh Sports.Full Bio

 

A TIE’S A TIE

The World Cup is underway, and America’s soccer haters are taking their predictable digs at the beautiful game’s nuances. 

After the United States’ 1-1 draw with Wales on Monday, the usual suspects bleated crap like, “I can’t believe the U.S. played to a tie. How can a game end in a tie?” 

If the score is level after 90 minutes, a tie is a just result. That’s why. 

Soccer isn’t like baseball and football, where lesser athletes spend too much time standing around waiting for the game to start again after it (frequently) stops. 

Soccer isn’t like basketball, where the teams substitute freely. Or hockey, where the teams substitute constantly. 

In soccer, the players are always moving. That’s what makes it a better game.

It’s also why you can’t play indefinitely to a winner, or even add 30 minutes of extra time to break ties in group-phase games during a tournament where matches are played so close together. 

Soccer has been around longer than any American sport. The laws and method of the game are tried and true. 

So, mind your own business. Go get bored to death by watching games that stop and start constantly. STFU about the real football. 

Soccer is a better game. No need to do what America wants. America is a second-rate soccer country. 

In the World Cup, a tie’s a tie. Until the knockout phase, when they get broken by penalty kicks. 

America doesn’t like that, either.

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Photo: Getty Images


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