[b]ecker's blog - the becker photography blog

anne hi becker.. you are a great guy.. but i really have to disagree with you about fussball (german) being boring. the whole world loves that sport.. only in the usa it is not very popular. i am german.. so for me fussball has a huge tradition for me!! Fussball means a lot to us germans.. the wonder of bern (TOR TOR TOR)!! We loves fussball already when you could only listen to a game on the radio! And thank god that there is NO commercial break every 15 minutes of the game.. it would drive me nuts. what is the super bowl really about.. the game or the commercials??? I wanna see those guys sweat for 45 minutes straight.. and I love overtime.. what sometimes happens in those 3 minutes they get.. is amazing. But i totally agree with the world cup rule of being allowed to tie in the first round, being stupid. I didn't like that myself! Maybe look a little more into the history if this game.. and you will understand why so many countries call this game the most popular!!! (07.19.10, 01:32pm)

julia Why does every American suddenly have an opinion on soccer? You guys hardly understand the rules and if you don't get it, just leave it alone. Stay with your very very very boring American Footbal and baseball! (07.18.10, 06:14am)

phillip I was looking at you phots of brother One fether and I and wanted to know if you got back out to do a photo shoot of him and his van. .I love this guy. I used to hang out with him when I worked there (07.16.10, 11:53am)

vahagn Photographer WOW,, I just watched this idiot TOSH video, this guy is a frikin iddiot,, Idiot mentality, NO U MORON TOSH,, FOOTBALL is FOOTBALL,, NFL is NOT FOOTBALL.. MAN THIS DUDE TOSH should really STFU ,, TIts guys like tosh that make this cpuntry so hated, so embarassed, people like him running our government and that is why we are were we are in the world.. Sorry and becker I hope u post all my posts and dont delete them thanx (07.15.10, 12:19pm)

Vahagn Photographer And another thing,, u guys talk all this crap about FIFA on here,, how bout the NBA,, what a joke of a league,, how MLB,, DRUG USE,, Con on,, FIFA is the real league,, makes other leagues seem laughable (07.15.10, 12:15pm)

Vahagn Photographer heheheh WOW,, I guess you need more skill to hit a ball with a stick and run a little round the bases, or the NFL,, The most overrated sports of all time, NFL is a joke, i dont know why its gets so popular. Basketball is ok, to many touch fouls and to many stoppage of game though, timeouts, commercials, takes u out of the game, why do they need so many time outs,, but the real FOOTBALL is a sport, u know how hard it is becker to run up and down the feild controlling the ball, defending, scoring, u know how hard it is to score a goal vs hit a ball with a bat, u my friend got this one backwards, youtube search MARADONA,, then tell me if this is boring,, hehe just my 2 cents (07.15.10, 12:11pm)

Vahagn Photographer Heheh,, my opinion, i think baseball is the most boring sport next to golf. The game og FOOTBALL is action packed, no commercials, action never stops. its true, the players of yesterday we much better than current, ex, Maradona, Pele. Zidane, Its a shame the people over here dont fully appreciate football. (07.15.10, 11:57am)

Mike I grew up playing hockey & football and hated soccer. I could never imagine actually watching a soccer match. That was until I was in a pub in a small England town during a match between England & Scotland. The atmosphere was amazing, it was one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever watched. I came home determined to learn how to see the sport the way these people saw it. Today (15 years later) it's the sport I follow most. To me it's the most exciting sport to watch. That being said, like any sport, there are boring matches. And the Final was one of them. Becoming a fan of watching soccer has made other sports much less interesting to watch. Do you know that there are 8-10 min of action during a NFL game. That means we sit through the rest of the three hours listening to commercials & commentary. Now that is boring! (07.14.10, 03:00pm)

sachin khona Great post Becker! Really interesting to read your opinions on the game!! But the only reason ''Soccer'', is not big in the US is because there arent enough ads. Plain and simple. If there were more ads, more money could be made from it, more companies would be interested in promoting and more people would watch it. But 45 mins without a single ad is money better spent elsewhere in the US unfortunately. Most US sports are broken up by continuous ads. I love nba, hockey, the nfl, but man, if im not at the stadium, its hard to watch it on tv without a beer in my hand (ok maybe not for the nba). I struggled to keep up with one team whilst living in Canada out there. I felt reduced to only watching one or 2 games a week because of the length of time for the games. How can you be a fan of an NHL team when they play every 4 days for 3 hours.. (and then try and keep up with an NBA team and an NFL team. Its impossible isnt it?) I can watch football any time of day and be in love with little touches of genius, a flick or a pass that can make the game exciting. Its the subtleties of football that make it the beautiful game. The genius of the game is that you can have a 0-0 or a 1-1 result. Did you see Arsenal v Barcelona in the champions league? I saw that game end 2-2 and it was probably up there with the best games I've seen live. Incredible! I agree with some of your comments on fouls tho. Its sad that diving has become part of the game but teams like Spain winning the world cup through passing and moving shows that its going in the right direction. Viva Espana! (07.14.10, 03:04am)

Amanda Totally agree! So funny and so true. (07.13.10, 03:59pm)

tim I want to second Kristina's comment about baseball! Becker, you can't knock soccer fans that love that boring-to-watch-sport since you adore baseball... I mean wait-ball. Where the ball is actually in play only 2min 38sec in a 9 inning game (disclaimer: 80% of statistics are made up on the spot). It's a SPORT, does a guy need any other reason to love watching it? Must he also defend it's deficiencies? (07.13.10, 11:49am)

tim First: Can I say that I love Daniel Tosh? Well I did. His response to people who don't live in SoCal who say "but you don't have seasons": "Yes, we do we just skip the ones that suck." Second: I played soccer growing up, loved it, my brother stills coaches and is obsessed with the sport. IT IS STILL A BORING spectator sport... exciting on the world cup stage, but boring beyond that. I think FIFA should implement your suggestions... all of them... what do they have to lose? It's win-win, if one doesn't work change things back. It's called progress people. (07.13.10, 11:43am)

Eric What are your thoughts on baseball? To me, baseball is the most boring. It's ridiculous that a "perfect game" in baseball is one in which nothing happens! (07.12.10, 11:30pm)

Gregg I played soccer for 12 years and I loved it. But when we were kids, nobody faked an injury. I never once grabbed my shin and screamed in pain because a guy got the ball from me. You got a yellow card for going for a player instead of the ball...never because you inadvertently ran into another player as you were going for the ball. Last night's game was embarrassing. The game was completely taken over by the ref. Even the announcers were saying how boring it was. Every other pro sport has evolved over the years to make it more interesting and more competitive. It's time for FIFA to figure that out, starting with putting 2 more refs on the field so they can actually make calls based off of real contact rather than a guy going to the ground with a fake injury. (07.12.10, 10:54pm)

Kristina Can't help but to comment on this one. I agree with MANY of your points re: the crapiness of some of soccer's rules, but I have to disagree with the fundamental "soccer is boring" premise. I just totally disagree. After spending the last 5 years married/dating a foreigner and watching more than my fair share of rugby and soccer, I have to say that it is actually AMERICAN sports that are boring. Take football ... the players STOP the entire game after each and every play. Who are pussies now? They really need to take a minute-long breather every 20 seconds? Really they are so very lame. And don't even get me started on baseball - the only game in the world where you can literally be a giant fat ass and still play professionally. I just don't get it. Just watch more soccer, becker, you'll learn to love it as I have. (07.12.10, 05:43pm)

[ b ] e c k e r amy, this has nothing to do with photography, why do you ask? this blog is about my life... not just photography. (07.12.10, 12:21pm)

Jon I agree with you Becker. I played soccer for about 10 years as a kid, but just can't watch it now. I find it like Golf, fun to participate but hell to watch. (07.12.10, 12:20pm)

Amy Saw your twitter post...& am not surprised you got some negative comments. You did use some pretty strong language and choice words. In what way does this relate to photography anyway? (07.12.10, 12:18pm)

Luis Godinez Sorry [b} but your argument seems a tad weak. 1) Offsides is completely necessary. Without it, teams would just camp on each other sides and there would be no movement or playmaking with the ball. 2) Soccer is quite physical. There is so much pulling, flying elbows, & body checks that it get lost with the finesse of the footwork. 3) No argument from me. Players do flop but I feel it comes from all the physical play that goes by without a call. Players feel the need to sell the foul. 4) Ties are awesome in soccer. I know that sounds weird, but I can't think any other sport where you want a scoreless game so it could to penalty kicks. Imaging if there were ties in NBA and the game would be decided by a dunk contest. Soccer is like that. 6) Refs aren't bad, I just feel they need more. I can't think any other sport where the refs could keep up with the players. Soccer refs are running back and forth w/ the players. Every time I see a baseball ump, I feel he might pass out when he has to get up from his squatted position. I think if they add two additional side refs in soccer it would fix a lot of the blown offsides calls. 6)Soccer is so consistent with timing that you schedule your day around it. a soccer match lasts 90 +/- 5 minutes plus the additional 10-15half time.A soccer match does not last longer than 125 minutes. 2 halves works awesome. 7) See no. 6. As far as celebrations, soccer guys are awesome. I think FIFA cracked down on excess celebration by giving players yellow cards. but see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTMubKRHACE 8) Location, location, location. If this was held in a European or So. American country you hear the OLE's. (07.12.10, 11:56am)

Esther You are a lucky man! You didn't grow up being forced to see soccer games (here in Spain we call it football or "futbol") two days a week. You don't have to see your city collapsed by football fans celebrating every 9 months. And most of all, you don't have to learn to sleep rocked by the sound of the "vuvcelas". I HATE FUTBOL!! (07.12.10, 10:51am)

Lacy Dagerath Holy Moly!!! LMAO "I had to make sure my house wasn't infested with bees" HAHAAHHAHA That was the worse part... and I totally agree with this post. (07.12.10, 10:11am)

Jonathan Thrasher HEAR HEAR!!! Couldn't have said it better myself. And... for the love of God....add instant replay to check for all the botched calls. (07.12.10, 09:05am)

Rob I love it as much for the skill, as the score. when games are decided (most often) by a single goal... it keeps you anticipating to the very end. (07.12.10, 07:53am)

Bob So, how do you really feel? (07.12.10, 07:37am)

Chris H I'm completely with you b. The offsides rule would really spice it up, but I don't expect that to change. The flopping and the time keeping is what really turned me off. I tried hard to get into it. I really did. But when you can just flop your way through 15-20 minutes because the clock doesn't stop, I just think about how that would never fly in America for football or basketball. Can you imagine scoring in the beginning of the 4th quarter and then just faking injuries to run out the clock for the rest of the game?! Basically, you can cheat your way to victory. No thanks. And pick a time and count down. If it's tied, shoot out. No arbitrary +1 minute. Also instant replay anyone? It's 2010. Ok. Rant over. I'll try again in 4 years, but if the rules are the same, I won't even bother. (07.12.10, 05:07am)

Cathy Crawley It is boring isn't it! I'm glad it's all over, I don't understand all the hoopla. It's just as tedious and dull as cricket.....snore! (07.12.10, 02:47am)

Carlos Bruno @Scotty: MATE, try to get over about this american "superiority" you can't win ... NOTHING they can win it's good enough or worth enough their time, EVEN THOUGH it's the most played sport in the world! You're SO right about baseball ("it's exiting as watch fresh painting dry on the wall" - words from an AMERICAN guy) but you forgot to tell that the "INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE" of their "ALL THREE" sports here is played only by ... AMERICANS! And they insist to call FOOTBALL a game played almost exclusively by HANDS an "eliptical projectil" ... ball since I know is ROUND ... so, forget it ... it's better for you try to win a discussion with a Jewish sales man. (07.12.10, 02:39am)

Irwin Why do Americans continue to embarrass ourselves with this type of talk?! (07.11.10, 10:12pm)

Valdecir Carvalho Ohhh Becker! This was the most stupid post EVER!!! Come on! I can bet that you never ever played FUTEBOL (I simple can't call it soccer) in your life! How can you call a game like Futebol [ b]oring if you can watch NFL games and all the other [b]oring AMERICAN games - pls don't include NBA on it - come on - if you said that only watch futebol on the World Cup - every 4 yrs! Try to watch it regularly and you will have another vision of it. Pls don't just [b]lame and say [b]**it if you don't know anything about it! Keep on with the photography posts, poker and everything, but PLEASE don't talk about what u don't know.You just loose 10 points with me! -- valdecir - são paulo, BRAZIL. The (07.11.10, 08:15pm)

Rudy Arpia It's just not a sport you grew up with... just like I didn't grow up with baseball and it's the most boring thing on Earth for me. (07.11.10, 07:50pm)

Morgan Bahahaha, love it! And I totally agree. I watched maybe 2 hours in total of various games. My boyfriend loves soccer, but hates World Cup for reasons # 2,3, and 5. I actually think he may have won and not watched any. (07.11.10, 06:10pm)

Max Oh come on, you watch Indy car, baseball, football!!! Run, stop, run stop. Change palyer. run, stop. Come on... and you call yourselves World champion when you win the superbowl. But isn't it AMERICAN football? Soccer, resistance is futile (07.11.10, 06:00pm)

Kellee Well said [b]. As a fellow soccer hater, I have a few extra points to bring to the table. #1 Calling everyone that qualified ‘finalists’ is crap. The finalists are the top 8 at most. Calling everyone finalists is no more relevant than calling me an Olympic swimmer for winning a swimming race when I was 5 but didn’t make it to the finals. #2 Qualifying for the 2014 cup pretty much starts tomorrow. It never ends. #3 Australians who think we have a chance at winning now that we’ve qualified twice. The only reason we even make it now is because they’ve got us in the asian pool. If you can’t beat the south Americans to qualify…you’re not gonna win. Stop kidding yourselves…and stop waking me up at 4am to watch. (07.11.10, 05:56pm)

Marylse Hear hear! With you all the way from Holland on 2 and 3! And the ref was BAD indeed... My kids are heartbroken but hey, we'll live!! (07.11.10, 05:47pm)

Scotty How can you say soccer is boring when you giuys watch baseball......jeezz. A couple of hours of mind numbing hitting a ball with a bat and then running round on some stumps on a field. Get real dude. Soccer is the biggest and most watched sport on the planet for one very good reason....it's exciting to watch. Scotty. UK. (07.11.10, 05:34pm)

mark byrne Hahaha good comments becks ( apart from the making a game 4 quarters - that'll never catch on ! ) As an englishman I couldn't agree more - soccer was dull this world cup. The players are fairies and the whole game needs to be brought into the 21st Century. Don't even get me started on vuvuvela's ! They should make you the president of FIFA ! Trouble with US games like Baseball, Basketball and your American Football though, is no one else really watches them outside the US. We just don't even hear about your other sportsmen ( ok apart from Tiger Woods....and even then not for the right reasons ) All the best man Mark (07.11.10, 04:53pm)