[pike]

Uh...hmmmm....ok.....

so Football sucks and soccer is great, gotcha. We're suckers, I agree, gotcha.

But your comparison of controlling 11 men on defense in Football to controlling 11 men on a soccer pitch is very flawed. You said the 11 guys all have different assignments---isn't the same true in soccer? As for being absurd that you only control 14% of the players on defense.....um, that's how it is in nearly ALL sports games, not just football. Yeah, in baseball you only need to mostly control one player at a time, I'll give you that one.

As for playing defense not being fun.....fair point, but again I think that applies to most games. I personally love playing D---it's just as much a thinking game as any sport, including soccer. You are required to make an educated guess as to what the offense is going to throw at you. You are required to pick the right scheme, the optimal play, and then make adjustments at the line according to what you see on the field. ALOT of thought to that, at least for the players who care enough to play the game correctly. But playing D in whatever sport is not considered fun by most, not just football. I'm not understanding why you feel the need to point out the one sport. Yes, there's some twitch involved, though I find that it's not bad at all if I set up my defense correctly---and doing that is something I doubt many folks here are doing, and may be why some find defense too hard. Personally, I think it's fine so long as the CPU doesn't decide it isn't going to lose and goes superman on me (happens once or twice per season so far in 2009).

As for the suckers comment.....well you will find plenty of those in the baseball and basketball categories as well. Ask the folks who bought MLB 2k8 this year about that......or NBA Live the last couple of years.

And I really want to comment about your last paragraph ("starry-eyed..."). What's your point? That football sucks? That no one knows what's going on? Uh....maybe in New York my friend, but here in the south---or in many parts of the midwest, west, etc people know their football. It's ludicrous to suggest they don't. And for the moms and casual fans.....do you think they understand what the heck is going on in soccer? Or why the sport tolerates 0-0 ties? To most, it looks like a bunch of guys in shorts running around kicking a ball like a bunch of middle schoolers during recess. I realize there's more to it than that, but here in the USA that's the dominant mindset, and a big reason why the MLS hasn't really caught on. I'd love to know where you got your facts about this lack of knowledge among football's fans? If you need proof of my argument, get on AOL radio and listen to the call in shows around the country. And made-for-TV? What's that supposed to mean exactly?

Your article is interesting, if not a little non-sensical and flawed. Basically a football bash by a guy obviously more interested in other sports (which is fine)----if nothing else it's interesting to hear the point of view.

If I have completely missed the point of the article, I apologize.