2008 Woodie Awards
European football grabs attention at UT
Sarah Alfaham
Issue date: 6/9/08 Section: News
Cheers and boos came from the Student Union Building South Lounge TV area on May 21. As students walked by, they seemed surprised to see the area almost filled with different backgrounds and nationalities of students watching a soccer game.
The final game of the Union of European Football Associations Champions League was held on May 21 in Moscow, where Manchester United won against Chelsea in overtime penalty kicks.
The Champions League is a tournament for European soccer clubs.
Jon Floering, a junior majoring in music performance, came a week earlier to watch the Manchester United vs. Barcelona game in the Student Union Building TV lounge area on April 29.
Floering is a Toledo native and said his family became interested in soccer after his father went on business trips to England.
"My family has been a [Manchester United] fan forever," Floering said.
Having played soccer for 19 years, Floering has tried several times to introduce the game to his friends with no luck.
"They don't understand the build-up tension from it," he said, adding that there may be other reasons why.
The first reason is it's not an American sport, he said, and the second is it doesn't have enough action.
"It's fast moving, but not a high scoring sport," Floering said.
Brad Evans, head women's soccer coach at UT, agrees with some of those reasons.
Evans said in some circles, because Americans didn't invent the game, it is seen as something other people play.
Some also might not like soccer because of the low scoring, Evans said.
However, he argues that being a low scoring game isn't a reason for people not to be interested.
"It's not easy to score, that's why it is so exciting," he said. "Because when you do score, it's such an amazing thing."
Evans compared soccer's low scoring to a baseball game. A baseball purist may argue a 1-0 game is more exciting than a high scoring game, he said.
The final game of the Union of European Football Associations Champions League was held on May 21 in Moscow, where Manchester United won against Chelsea in overtime penalty kicks.
The Champions League is a tournament for European soccer clubs.
Jon Floering, a junior majoring in music performance, came a week earlier to watch the Manchester United vs. Barcelona game in the Student Union Building TV lounge area on April 29.
Floering is a Toledo native and said his family became interested in soccer after his father went on business trips to England.
"My family has been a [Manchester United] fan forever," Floering said.
Having played soccer for 19 years, Floering has tried several times to introduce the game to his friends with no luck.
"They don't understand the build-up tension from it," he said, adding that there may be other reasons why.
The first reason is it's not an American sport, he said, and the second is it doesn't have enough action.
"It's fast moving, but not a high scoring sport," Floering said.
Brad Evans, head women's soccer coach at UT, agrees with some of those reasons.
Evans said in some circles, because Americans didn't invent the game, it is seen as something other people play.
Some also might not like soccer because of the low scoring, Evans said.
However, he argues that being a low scoring game isn't a reason for people not to be interested.
"It's not easy to score, that's why it is so exciting," he said. "Because when you do score, it's such an amazing thing."
Evans compared soccer's low scoring to a baseball game. A baseball purist may argue a 1-0 game is more exciting than a high scoring game, he said.
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