re: My biggest problem with following soccer or the World Cup.

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Why would there be more stoppages?

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You are arguing for more precise time. That would involve stopping the clock every time the ball is kicked out or a player is hurt or someone is fouled.

When you stop the clock, they insert ad breaks (see the new "hydration breaks" created for this world cup and the ~$800 million in ad revenue they will generate in the US alone).

With a running clock like soccer has, there isnt normally a chance to insert ad breaks during the game.

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If you’ve watched enough soccer, you know exactly when the whistle is about to be blown.

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Exactly. When the clock runs past the +7 minutes, the ref gives the team with the ball their final attacking chance and if the defense is able to gain possession or clear the ball out, the whistle is blown.

In a 90+ minute game where the clock is running we dont need a precise ending down to the tenth of a second where the offense tries to rush an attack to get the ball across the goalline before the clock hits zero. Its more similar to baseball and coming down to the final out. That out happens when the defense stops the attack.

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But it’s not really random. If you’ve watched enough soccer, you know exactly when the whistle is about to be blown. You develop a feel for the game and every experienced soccer viewer knows the moment in the game when the whistle is coming. It may seem odd to you, and it was to me when I was new to the sport.

But once you develop the feel for the game, the full time whistle is so natural.

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You realize that your "feel" is subjective completely

Time is the time. The game is 90 minutes. The clock stops every time the ball is not in play and then restarts when it is. The game ends at exactly minute 90

Any other argument is just "we've done it this way"

Can you imagine if in American Football the refs were just like here's an extra 5 minutes, trust us

and then that 5 minutes goes by and they are like "psyche, keep going" because one team is in the redzone

its totally absurd

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If it aint broke dont fix it

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Its broke.

its not accurate, subjective, arbitrary, and can lead to games being fixed.

This isn't 1967

We have the technology. Stop the clock. The game ends at minute 90

The end

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Soccer fans dont want clock stoppages because we dont want commercial breaks.

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we just want our leagues names be those commercials for us

Like basketball somehow has a commercial break every single time the clock stops? Or football? Like what

I don’t have a problem with them allowing the throw in at the end of the game that led to the score. My issue is that the same ref ended the first half where we had the ball in the same scenario.

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Think I’m just being unreasonable, but I like games I can see how much time is left.

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Well, this isn't one of those games.

I find it crazy how inflexible some people are. It's just different rules that aren't governed strictly by a time limit...like baseball...or golf...or bowling...or tennis...or motorsports...etc.

It’s supposed to be continuous action, no stoppages. This hydration break thing is brand new and the fans are booing it half of the time. They add extra time for injuries and stoppages like that. Judgement call by the ref.

Also, look at this way. These guys run an average of 5-7 miles per match. So they will take an opportunity to catch their breath by staying down a few extra seconds after a hard tackle.

We understand American Football intricacies, so we enjoy the strategy and don’t mind that they stand around and do nothing for the majority of the running clock in the game. In the huddle, at the line of scrimmage, or after a play. It’s just familiarity.