@kosar_for_president said:

Alexander the Great was gay....and he conquered the world.

@the-gipper said:

Gip sure knows a lot about gay stuff.

@diehardbrownsfan said:

There were two levels of play in the World Cup. There was group round play, where 4 teams were in a group and played a round robin. The best two teams from each group then went to the elimination round, where it is lose and out. You can lose in group round and be eligible to go to the elimination round, like the US did, as long as you had the best two records in your group.

@gftchris said:

Isn't the World Cup a play off scenario? Teams can lose and still advance? Can't do that in real FOOTBALL, (The NFL).

(While I wanted Argentina to win the soccer thing, I preferred to have the game decided by an actual goal scored than by the stupid penalty shootout....at least the situation was not a complete travesty).

@pumpkin-eater said:

So only undefeated teams ever reach the playoffs in the NFL? Huh, learn something every day.

@mld-woody said:

OK, well, as I said, I think soccer would be improved to allow freer substitution. I think it would make the player fresher, and more will to be aggressive.

The fact is a lot of why games are 0-0 is passivity.

By the time you get to that second 30 minutes players would have already run over 8 miles

@mld-woody said:

I would be for the 30 like it is now, then a 30 golden goal. They'd have to allow more sub's for the last period though. Like an extra 3 or 4.

You can't play indefinitely though without risking injury. Well, there's always a risk, but that would be an unnecessary increased risk

@gftchris said:

Here is the quote from that article that I like best:

One notable exception occurred in semi final of the 2006 World Cup when the Italian team believed that they would lose to the Germans in the penalty shoot-out. They threw everything at the Germans, hitting the post and bar in the first two minutes of extra time and played with an exciting reckless abandon that eventually saw them get goals in the final minutes of extra time.

This semi-final was frenzied, exhilerating football that recalled an earlier game in the tournament, Australia vs Croatia, in which only the winner would progress to the next stage. Sadly, this game is remembered by most people for Graham Poll's refereeing blunders, but this was another helter-skelter ride and probably the best game in the competition.

I believe that if you played by the rule that a game was won by scoring the "Golden Goal", it would vastly increase the excitability and the efforts of the teams involved. Until a goal is scored, no one wins. That would lead to urgency on the part of each team to score. It would cause them to be aggressive and attack the goal.

Laying back and playing patty cake like these teams seem to do sucks the life out of the game. You say guys would get tired? Too damn bad. Guys get tired playing hockey....and eventually that "tiredness" may lead to a breakdown in a defense and a score. So, good, let them get tired. The team that is most aggressive, in the best shape should win. Again, it is done in NHL hockey, it should be done here....at least in the elimination rounds.

Anyway, have a read through this, it details a load of ideas. Which would you be in favour of?

http://www.penaltyshootouts.co.uk/alternatives.html

@the-gipper said:

Yea, like basketball.

Yeah, pretty much. More elaborate, but pretty much the same basic concept

If you enjoyed that, please go to your local geneticist and have yourself tested for Down's Syndrome.

@mld-woody said:

Yea, like basketball.

@mld-woody said:

OK then, why don't we just allow soccer players to grab, tackle, punch, kick each other with no penalty.

In fact, lets change soccer so that the motherfuckers can use their hands.

After all, after our brains the single most important thing about human beings is that we have hands.

(the answer is: they have already done that, it is called Handball and is mostly played in Europe. It is essentially soccer held on a smaller court with a softball sized ball)

@the-gipper said:

Uhmm, right. The NFL is a far more specialized game. That is why I say the intellect in football must be at a high level. Each of those "specialists" have their own tasks to perform, but they must be performed in concert with what each of the other specialists are doing out there in order for the entire team to perform properly and to make a play come off as designed.

Not every position in football requires one to be a great tactician. Not every person needs to be perfect each play.

Plays happen in soccer too, they're just on the fly and with a smaller number of players involved.

@the-gipper said:

Every single pitch of a baseball game could result in some significant action, be it from a home run to a strike out. Every pitch is mano a mano.

The hardest skill in any sport I know of is to hit a round ball with a round bat.

I mean, what changes could you suggest to make the game more exciting? Tossing the ball underhand? Playing in kilts? Using a golf ball?

Please, tell us.

Percentage wise, it's harder to save a PK.

Idk. I find the sport so incredibly boring to begin with I'd have to make massive changes. Ummm... Allow contact and allow guys on the field to block the runner on the way to the base. Make it like crazy kickball and allow an unlimited number of players on each base. Collisions at every base. Still playing when there is a light drizzle... Adding more athletic elements

@the-gipper said:

Every single pitch of a baseball game could result in some significant action, be it from a home run to a strike out. Every pitch is mano a mano.

The hardest skill in any sport I know of is to hit a round ball with a round bat.

I mean, what changes could you suggest to make the game more exciting? Tossing the ball underhand? Playing in kilts? Using a golf ball?

Please, tell us.

Steroids and HGH.

@mld-woody said:

Every single pitch of a baseball game could result in some significant action, be it from a home run to a strike out. Every pitch is mano a mano.

The hardest skill in any sport I know of is to hit a round ball with a round bat.

I mean, what changes could you suggest to make the game more exciting? Tossing the ball underhand? Playing in kilts? Using a golf ball?

Please, tell us.