re: when did this place get over run by soccer fans?

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athleticism can be tested by anyone, anywhere. it's a measure of your body's natural movements and abilities

if you have to learn how to do it, it's a skill

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damnit. according to Webster, he's right.

but only pedantically so. I still subscribe that athleticism and skill should be inherently tied together. they are nearly synonymous, in my mind.

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I still subscribe that athleticism and skill should be inherently tied together

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if you're judging players amongst each other in that sport? sure

scissoring a soccer ball isn't complicated either, it's eye foot coordination basically. where dunking is hand eye coordination. the thing that makes both of these things extraordinary is the athleticism it takes to control their bodies to accomplish it.

LETS PLAY SOME SOCCER

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Ok, so everything that I have gotten from you is that everything that can be done in "soccer" is a skill and can be learned opposed to everything in basketball is all athletic?

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no

i clearly said dribbling, shooting, passing, etc are skills and not athleticism (basketball or soccer)

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You're going to sit there and tell me that the things Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Messi, and Kaka can do is not tied to athleticism at all?

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no, i'm not saying that. they're all good athletes

but do you honestly thing that the best of the best in america couldn't beat them in triangular numbers? andre johnson, lebron james, allen iverson (5 years ago), garnett, etc

guys like messi and kaka are the absolute best in the world of soccer. i bet there's at least 10 CBs coming out of the draft this year who would have similar size with better speed/strength/quickness

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Chris Paul getting through defenders and scoring all these points on his athleticism IS EXACTLY the same as someone like Messi taking the ball from mid field and scoring.

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i don't really disagree, but chris paul isn't the best athlete in the USA

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the nba players would kill a 100 yard dash, have higher verticals, and smash basically every strength contest

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I'm not arguing that. I never said that one set of athletes were better or whatever, I'm just saying that everything SFP is saying is that what soccer players do is not based on athleticism but instead on skill, which is beyond false.

No doubt that Kobe would KILL Messi in veritcals but "soccer" does not require a player to be 6' 5". I guarantee you though that none of the NBA players could do or be good at the things Messi et al are.

It's one thing to have a 4.4 40, but to be able to do it while controlling a ball....much different. This whole arguement is rediculous and pointless because it's ticky-tack. Basketball players will be good at things required for basketball because they are taylor made for it; same thing goes for soccer players.

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I'm just saying that everything SFP is saying is that what soccer players do is not based on athleticism but instead on skill, which is beyond false.

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naw. they're not hockey players

i never said EVERYTHING they do is skill

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No doubt that Kobe would KILL Messi in veritcals but "soccer" does not require a player to be 6' 5".

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but verticals are the space between your feet and the ground, not your head

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I guarantee you though that none of the NBA players could do or be good at the things Messi et al are.

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in terms of what? i think you'd be shocked at watching a guy like lebron show his speed and quickness

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Basketball players will be good at things required for basketball because they are taylor made for it; same thing goes for soccer players.

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but i think the real point is that basketball players COULD be good at soccer, had they trained in it

hell, LBJ could be an amazing striker with sub-par skill solely by his threat of his playing the ball in the air. nobody in soccer could come close to his ability in the box. now imagine if he had trained in soccer his entire life

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but i think the real point is that basketball players COULD be good at soccer, had they trained in it

hell, LBJ could be an amazing striker with sub-par skill solely by his threat of his playing the ball in the air. nobody in soccer could come close to his ability in the box. now imagine if he had trained in soccer his entire life

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I totally agree, but now we're getting into a cultural thing. There is a reason many, MANY people say that if soccer was America's sport then we'd would be up there with Europe and South America in it. Sadly that's not the case, and we have arguements like this. For the record I understand what you are saying but it is all moot because at the end of the day basketball players are basketball players and soccer players are soccer players and they are both FANTASTIC at what they do.

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Sadly that's not the case

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Thank frick that's not the case, i wouldn't be into sports if i lived in a country where boring, socialistic, nihilist soccer is the most important sport