FIFA – Football Is Freakin’ Awesome!
So, we’re in FIFA season now. A time I await for 4 long years. For most Indians, it’s cricket that takes priority, better say – the most popular sport in the country. But a large mass has been following FIFA too as evident from their posts and updates on Social Networks.
As far as Social Media universe is concerned, Copa Mundial 2010 will be the 1st to be played out in the Facebook/Twitter era!
So, here are top 10 reasons why I am fond of Football than Cricket.
- Game Duration: Each football game lasts for 90 mins (max to 4 mins extra on certain cases) as against 4 hours of a 20/20 or 8 hours of an ODI Cricket match. Even in a single 20/20 match duration, 2.5 FIFA matches would have been over!
- NO Adverts/Commercials: The best thing about this game is you get seamless viewership and unlike cricket where the feeling is like seeing the Match within the Ads & not the other way round. You see them to the extent that lest you missed a wicket fall, you have to catch the replay- only after the ad!! Worse, you may even miss the 1st ball of bowler’s forthcoming over. But in case of football, even during the breaks, you get to hear from John Dykes & see Mayanti Langer & not the fashion-faux-pas hit Mandira Bedi!!
- Players don’t laze around: Now, this is a game where not a single player, out of 11, gets bored like the fielders at the boundaries/gullies and at times the ball never reaches them even after a couple of overs. Every single player, right from the Defender, Mid-fielder, Striker keep running from pillar to post. Even the goalie keeps jumping as to make sure he doesn’t fall asleep. (Like Portugal’s goalie in FIFA World Cup 2010 where #POR pumped 7:0 vs #PRK)
- Referee/Umpire: Have you ever seen a big-bellied referee in a football match who’s emotionally challenged due to his obesity? Forget referee, even the linesman needs fitness more than the players.
- Commentators: Just one commentator. And simply gives you an adrenaline rush. Unlike cricket where you have multiple commentators (now Field Umpires/Players too :O) who at times go to chat about their housewives or the cricketer’s latest crush (let’s keep Harsha Bhogle out of this)
- Crowd/Fans: If you have seen a FIFA or any football match per se, it would be needless to explain the 300+ million fan following across the entire globe. And my my, the fanciful face-paintings, the craze, the beauty, the mass singing/dancing/jumping/tub-thumping, roars (be it the deafening Vuvuzela =====<() )…even after so much to be offered from the game, we still stick to the game! Not to mention the footballers who don’t leave themselves behind when it comes to fashion with all the fanciful tattoos and hairdo.
- Conduct: Cricket is relatively a game with gentlemanly conduct until we see more of Sreesanth(s), on & off the field. But football does have frequent spats, verbal hurls, faking fouls against the opponents et al. Not to forget the perfect Zidane head-butt and the recent Kaka Red card vs Ivory Coast.
- Nations Count: Out of 400 football playing nations, around 208 nations are FIFA national soccer teams. Out of these, only 32 make it to the World Cup! Whereas, you have only 10 major cricket playing nations (alongside Holland/Afghanistan/Kenya) out of which 4 are already playing FIFA WC 2010!
- Ease of game: I can even make my mum understand it without much worrying about explaining her the intricate Duck-worth Lewis methods & other cricketing jargons from the bowler’s/fielder’s/batsman’s and umpire’s end! However, the irony is she says, she understands cricket but fails to understand football. So, all I told her that two teams run with the ball to put in the opponent’s post! That’s it. Done. 🙂
- Match seldom stops: The tenth and one of my best reason is that a football match never stops even if it rains! Nobody runs with a huge thick polymer sheet to cover the turf! Rather the soccer players look all the more wildly sexy with their wet look and muscles flexed visible through the drenched jerseys (No, thanks I am straight). The match still goes on and on until the ball floats.
I do not like FIFA World Cup. I simply love it. 🙂
N.B. My personal opinion, agreements (from Soccer fans) n disagreements (from hard-core Cricket fans) are most welcome! 😀
~~Biswajeet's Blog~~ 
nice one….especially i like the tenth point … i wasn’t aware of it.
Thank You Subh! 🙂
2011 mein cricket world cup start hone de… phir dekhna, facebook and twitter pe everyone will talk abt that as well… :)…
but jokes apart, reasons no 1,2,9 and 10 are major contributors to the game’s popularity…
Ha ha…sure man! i ws wonderin bout how wud SNs be n wud love see hashtags #worldcup (with d willow) on twitter n updates floodin on FB. 😉
Well, The post is one of ur best posts i must say…All points why one should lubh FIFA(“Football Is Freaking Awesome”) rather thn cric…the pts abt game time,ease to understand the game,no commercials to drop inbetween every 5 mins during the game n yeah the match nvr stops during rains are the best points that u brought to notice that people often tend to 4get!!cool post…indeed 10 BIG REASONS why one should go 4 FIFA rather than cricket…:)
Thanks so much lady! It wud be so much fun catchin a FIFA match together, now that that the craze in u n me resonate!
Agree completely just to add to reason 7 -Cricket is gentleman’s game whereas football is ‘real’ man’s(asli mard) game 🙂 ….
Cheers!!!
–Dhiman
LOL…well said. How often U see cricketers bleeding like footballers? 😉
Even women bleeds 4 days every month 🙂
Does it mean they are Madrd (‘real’ man)
liked the third note 😀
U need to be dere coach! Immediately!
Shows ur real love for the game,this post has your fascination for the game kicking(its one of the few jargons I knw abt football [:P]!
I loved the last point,I just hope something- Rain Gods play cupid so that i get to really enjoy a nice game of Footy[:)]
Cheers!!
ha ha….hmm. Well, already gurls in ma FB profile went bonkers seeing Ronaldo with a wet look, all drenched in the rains during Portugal match against North Korea.
10 reasons why I hate Cricket as of now.
1.No sachin playing these matches.
2.Most players look like they are only hogging and have forgotten jogging, i.e. no fitness.
3.The recent IPL controversy.
4.All the members of the BCCI are not board members but mafia.
5.Because of cricket all other sports are sidelined and hence even the national sport has been well forgotten.
6.Cricketers are not players but god even if they sell shit that will sell and I say no body not even shreeshant is an exception to it.
7.Most players are always injured, even if their nails get chipped while playing they will sit back and enjoy.
8.Sports and glamor do go hand in hand but in crickets case, glamor has taken over the game.
9.The game has lost its essence completely, its only about money.Even losers like Ashish Nehra are making more money that Nehwal what a shame.
10.I hate their guts.Their refusal to play for the Asian Games proved their arrogance and greed.
OMG! Manji….ROFLMAO. U gave me a stomach-ache! I’ll buy ur comment here. Specially #2,3,7. Well said on the plight of ‘real’ Cricket in India.
Count me in too, Nowadays I hate to see any cricket match or players. Why I hate because of media and TV rooms. Man they only know sports = cricket. Somebody has to slap on their face and reminds me that “cricket” is not the only sport to cover, India’s national game is hockey go cover it.
Football has an energy, a vibe, you feel goosebumps on your body as player enter the field. Cricket and Cricket player – both has become lousy and money oriented. Man I hate cricket more than ever now !!
Go Football or any sports-cricket !!
Richa
U hav summed it up well Richa. All I can say is Hi5!!! Me rooting for Arga as always!
Soccer is life.If your born with it you’ll die with it and play it for the rest of your life.
hi5 Mike! well said.
Give me a backlink
what is it that you want? a back link is present in ur browser.
I don’t understand why people compare football and cricket. Why not compare football and hockey or Tennis or any other sport.
All the points mentioned makes me feel like we tend to compare Apples and Oranges. I am also FIFA fan and die hard fan of cricket too.
And if you don’t know why match stops when it rains (in case of cricket ofcourse), i will tell you. It becomes practically impossible to bounce the leather ball on the tracks then and needless to say. Crcket pitches are carefully made and once shattered by rains, it takes time to get the same texture again. And in international venues, i suppose they tend to cover the pitch even when the filed is not in use. And only pitch is protected else where u can run like hell like in football.
One good thing is that Cricket has just one name unlike Soccer.
fairly speaking. All your points are kind of very lame and are can be challenged reasonably. They are just originating out of FORMAT of the game. Again, lets not compare Apples and oranges just because they are fruits.
Enjoy WC 2010 and Enjoy WC 2011 too…
Cheers
At d outset, Thanks for ur views. Here I’ll ans. ur questions.
1. No we don’t compare wit othr games cos my post basically restricts to 2 most popular games..one in India ..one in World. And two most coveted WCs n focussed by media.
2. On the pitch(turf) thingie…U think I dint know about it? 🙂
3. Ok, Here’s a video that can tell U why Soccer has it name like it n as per u..’many names’ – http://bit.ly/aZwD4U
4. U think #2, 6, 7, 8, 10 also relate to format of the game? Btw, if I wont tak the format into consideration…u think a ‘vs’ wud be fair???
I am sure can be challenged. And am sure u missed readin the N.B. too 🙂
I think do not think that cricket is only popular in India. whole Aussies are mad about cricket OK, i do agree that number of countries participating in Cricket is less but that does not make it void on world map. Many countries have tried their hands in cricket but not so successful. Every world cup, we hear 2-3 new names and they go off. And frankly telling, given the format of the game, it is very difficult to maintain the quality of cricket. And it may be possible that one generation of cricket may not get chance to play against sme other country…Lolz.. The idea itself is dreadful. hehe
And lets not talk about Media(at least not Indian Media)- It will cover common wealth games too to such a depth that we will know which player is attending nature’s call where. hehe
And pitch thing was bit sarcastic- my apologies 😛 and watever be the reason cricket has only one name :P.
Okie now
#2 -. yess it is for the reason of format. In football it is constant action, they can not give commercials. And in cricket. they get ample time to show commercial even after evry ball (atleast for a pacer). And test matches (which is real cricket), is still not that polluted.
#6-> watch sme India-pak or Aus-Eng ashes, we too see lot of passion. And again T20- u bet it will match to some extent the passion of football . IPL is the biggest proof. A lil change in the format increased the craze.
#7 -> In Football, its neck to neck game. one ball for everybody all players of both teams on field rubbing their wat not unlike cricket, where u need not push until its Gambhir running towards the bolwer. You see some action that time. Don’t you. So cricket format does not allow all these thngs.
#8 as already mentioned, 400 nations start playing cricket, how many series can ICC manage. Its not possible. we played today with Ghana and then after a decade next match. SO, selecting 208 and then 32 is impossible coz of long duration.
# 10 -> for the pitch reason, it has to stop else how would u play and main part of cricket deals with pitch only.
and yeah..i did nt raead NB.
So now its square 🙂
Njoy WC 🙂
Oh man! That comment almost came out akin 2 d length f ma blogpost. 😉
I think you’ve assumed that I don’t follow cricket at all 😛
I know wht, I really admire ur blind defense for Cricket. But let me tell ya frnd, U hav squeezed ur purview, just to contradict but I dont think I’ll agree with most of ur points cos they sound lame to me now!
I dunno when u started watching cricket, but when I was a kid n learnt about cricket, they dint have commercials, save half-time!
IPL? Dint u see the murk? What are we doing here- Feeding the billionaires at d cost of one of our National Games? You will be interested to catch one more blog post of mine under Cricket tag “When Cricket Catches Capitalism” on all IPL stuff. I wont elaborate much on something that has less of Cricket and more of what we all know. And U cannot make Indian Media a step-mother here 🙂
India-Pak Asia cup ws played during FIFA. I dint see anybody discussing..neither in office, nor in Social Networks except only one hard-core Cricket follower like ya.
FYI, ICC or BCCI are not recession-struck that they can’t manage more teams playing. Cricket is definitely not as simple as Football when it comes to expertise. BTW there are more than 100 cricket playing nations.
As I said before, U cannot expect me nor anybody to draw a comparison on Cricket n Football without considering the format at all!!!!!! Rather a format is the soul of any comparison. Now don’t tell me U expected me to compare Jabulani with Leather Ball.
I am good with counter-challenges too. Just that this thread will not end. 😉
Bottomline: I have no sympathy for any sport! I like it for what it is and how it is…currently! I haven’t seen the future. May be’s n would be’s are beyond the scope of my discussions.
Enjoy the FIFA. I am already nuts about Argentina. And it’s almost a Final with #Arg vs #Ger. And I say #Arg will win n history(2006 FIFA WC) wil not repeat.
I rest my case here. Your comments are much appreciated. Thanks 🙂
hey. Sorry for being late in reply but i was njoying my long week end out here. SO did not get a chance to post anything
Well, i am not assuming that you do not follow cricket. But i am having an idea that u do not njoy cricket now for the the obvious (as per u) resons. And i am not defending crciket blindly. MOre than watch cricket, We live crciket
To me your points are lame
for you, my pints are lame
SO no one finally to blame
sit back and njoy the game ..
Lolz..
And yeah.. this discussion will be never ending. SO, i woudn’t comment further (but that does nt mean that i can not :P).
Cheers
Actually the commentary during the WC was bad..they kept saying the wrong players’ names etc..
And the vuvzelas- crazy things.
Hmm…was it?? Haven’t heard or come across any such blunders but John Wood was good at it on ESPN.
YOu are simply great..Rana..
Paddy! C’mon…Am jus a wee-bit!
Nice write up 🙂 A football(er?) fanatic like me totally agrees with u! 😉
Muchas Gracias lady!
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Nice counter post on Cricket there.
#2 – The exchange of Jersey is a display of Sportmanship – more here : http://yhoo.it/9naZ4l
#3, 4, 5, 6, 8 – I cannot just hold my laughter at the moment. 🙂
nice points posted ! congratulations to spain
Thank you. Viva Espana. 🙂
Hey dude…a dil-se post for sure !!!!
U r a blogger …and so am i…u love Soccer and so do i…u have a post…and so shall i .. 🙂
An 11th one to your post, as i am again reminded of WC’10….and of course, also for the the FB’s we shared….
A batsman waiting for the ball to be pitched…eager eyes watching out….all the expectations set on a 4/6….and thats it !!!! Cricket over guys….yeah..he has hit a sixer…but the point is you see him hit it. And thats the end of it.
Now check this out….a long pass…the ball, the feet and the speed in unison…defenders on their way…as you run for the post guarded zealously by the so called keeper……the nation…the nation of soccer lovers on their feet…some about to spill out the energy within and some, waiting and praying for a second to go wrong..just a second of it…and zoom goes the ball…headed for the traget..the so called mastery and skill at display…the tackle and the guile…the freedom unleashed as the ball touches the net…voilla…its a goal. The point is…you play with them as they play and you score as they score…as Liverpool rightly puts it..”You shall never walk alone”…
Cheers!
And we as spectators will always be there to watch and applaud! 🙂
What shit is this ?? What kinda jackass wud say “I love football more than cricket bcoz the referee and the linesman are fit and run around whereas in cricket the obese umpires stand in the same position all day”. Crap man !!
Do you have hard time understanding satires?
The referees in a football match are much more interesting akin to Howard Webb( you can Google if u dont know why I mention him here) than any Cricket umpires. Unlike Cricket, the warning and punishments(match fees slash etc.) are not deferred, after the match is over. Rather, it’s then and on the spot.
Satires I can understand. Frivolous reasons to undermine something, I cannot. And then when people try to pass this as ‘satire’ it is absolutely difficult to fathom.
Howard Webb may be one of the best referees ever, but that, by no stretch of imagination, makes a Harold Dennis Bird or a Simon James Arthur Taufel incompetent at what they do.
And there we go again… one more frivolous comparison! Allow me to explain.. In soccer, since there is a lot of physical contact and a high rate of physical injuries, the punishments are much more severe and immediate. Imagine someone saying – “I like boxing more than soccer because in boxing they disqualify a boxer immediately when he hits the opponent below the belt”
Incidentally, soccer also has the rule of 5 yellow cards = 1 match suspension (deferred punishment) but let’s not go there!
@Chirag: Dude, understand your passion for cricket. But fail to understand your nitpicking on points like Umpires/Referees and going down to indoor games by dragging an outdoor game. You see I haven’t mentioned about ‘bleeds’ in my 10 points cos am not that gore lover but on my comments.
I did have a nice discussion with Shaven above that I enjoyed and made sense! But what is it your saying? I have hard-core cricket lovers appreciating my post. Just because you find that point lame, doesn’t change my love for football! So, lemme say after 9 points – 10th “frivolous” point was a filler? If that doesn’t shatter your love for Cricket Umpires 🙂
I mentioned Webb not because of his repute but because of this display of card-colors in the finals of FIFA WC 2k10.
Football – Lotsa fun. Little fuss! Appreciate your passion 🙂
N.B. I have a pingback to my post by a Cricket lover above. He’s mentioned his love for Umpires too. You may love to check’em out – “Reasons why I like Cricket more than Football”- http://bit.ly/9CR148
Fifa Sux… Cricket Rockzzzz .. i don wanna fight
Comparing the two sports, I think one aspect in which cricket is better than football is the commentary. It’s very fascinating to listen to commentators in cricket where we have the likes of Harsha Bhogle, Ravi Shastri, Tony Greig and many others sharing their thoughts on the microphone. Whereas in the FIFA WC it was very boring to listen to the commentators..!!
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Cricket’s the only sport I hate, it’so damn lame.
Cricket sucks bad
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Cricket Sucks. Soccer rocks.( The most beautiful game played on the planet)
boss i love u .. nobody was watching cricket so they invented 20-20 where actual essence and skills are lost ( it is not me but real cricketers like rahul dravid etc. are tellingit). Now to make interesting they are making ground smaller so that more sixes and fours can be hit . totally favourable to batsmen . Bowlers are guinea pigs. As i tell verytime India is a crap country where peoples are crap and because of their crap mentality they choose crap leaders , their civic sense is crap , back stabber, timid, plotters and above all crap media which always overhypes crap things from Rahul gandu to Shikhandi Manmohan to dogvijay singh to pakistani SRK and this crap game of cricket. because Indians are crap and in larger context this subcontinet is crap, poor, illiterate assholes they love this crap game of cricket.
i agree with u. I love football ur all points are fact that says football is best
yup..100% agree with you…you should add one more thing -> cricket is a copy cat game…we saw them copy our premier league champions league and now look at the champions league trophy they copied..its the same as uefa champions league’s….
it is the best site
Who said all indians love cricket…? Football is the best…