I am a casual fan of the Seattle Sounders and have watched many of their games, on TV. Still, I am nowhere near a hardcore fan. I am elated that they won the MLS cup and put Seattle in the soccer spotlight. That said, I wish to present my plan to make soccer better:
1- widen and raise the goal by 2 feet. Goalies (sorry, Keepers) have grown in size and ability over the decades. The size of the goal area should adjust for this.
2- Allow for more than 3 substitutions. Let's get fresh players out on the field (rather, pitch) to keep things moving.
3- If you are down on the ground for more than 5 seconds, you are out of the game for 5 minutes, with no substitution.
4-moving goal: If you don't wanna make the goal mouth bigger, fine, lets have the goals move back and forth, say give it 2 total yards (sorry, meters) of play. this should liven things up. you can shine lazers in front of the goalie (crap, keeper) to let he/she know where it is at any given time.
5-HandBaller: in addition to the keeper (hah, got it right that time), one other player on the pitch can be designated the handballer (yes, that's the name). this player can use their hands to punch, spike, hit, knock, but not throw nor carry the ball at any time.
6-Rolling Twitter feed: in addition to the ad boards along the sideline, lets add another row that allows for rolling twitter feeds and commentary from fans. oh my, it could get ugly, but very entertaining. My first tweet would be "Hey, Rod Spencer, told you this was a great idea"
7-MULTI BALL: We like it in pinball so we will love it in Soccer. For a five minute segment in each half, let's have em play with two balls on the field. ef it, this is really the only change needed. okay ladies and gentlemen...get ready for MULTI BALL!!!. Oh and if one team is down by 3 or more goals, one of the balls would be a gold ball worth 2 goals.
So there you go. Soccer is now fixed. let me know what you think.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Tips to attending a professional bicycle race.
This is the first in a series of blogs offering suggestions on how to best enjoy the experience of attending a professional bicycle race as a fan. Drawing upon my years of experience as a Traveling course marshal mascot at races such as the Amgen Tour of California, Tour de Georgia and USA Pro Challenge, I hope to provide fans with tips and tricks to get the most out of your live viewing experience.
Preamble (cuz monkeys like to preamble): The challenge with watching a bicycle race live is that it is fleeting. Unless you are watching a circuit race or time trial, you are likely to see the race only once, and for a very short time. For the American sports fan, this can be frustrating as we are used to attending events where we can watch it in it's entirety. In order to fully enjoy a cycling event, you may have to tweek your live viewing paradigm just a wee little bit. Okay, mayble more than a wee bit. With American venue sports, the entertainment you are provided is carefully crafted by marketers as much as coaches and players in the game. Everything is coreographed to provide you the most bang for your buck...actually, lots of bucks. We pay a lot of money to go to games in the US. In cycling, your entertainment is limited by your own imagination and creativity and best of all...IT'S FREE TO ATTEND. So let's get started.
So...you are ready to attend your fist pro bicycle race. If you merely show up at the side of the road to wait and watch the race, you could be severly disappointed for a couple reasons: first, you usually need to wait for an hour or more before the race arrives and second, when it does arrive, it is gone in less than a couple of minutes. What is a fan to do? In this series, I will do my best to provide suggestions that will lead to a greater enjoyment of attending a professional cycling stage race. This series will break down the race from start to finish and all points between. With a little preparation and planning, your live race viewing experience can be quite rewarding.
For the neophyte, the tips and tricks in this series revolve around a multi day stage race. Each day is comprised of a point to point race starting in one city and ending in another. The race travels along roads that you or I would use in our daily lives and involves a rolling closure of those roads. To illustrate, imagine a yard stick (Outside the US, think a meter stick) where the left end is the start of the race and the right end is the end of the race. Now, get yourself a standard 12" ruler (maybe one day we will go metric). This ruler represents the race caravan (racers, support vehicles, motor marshals, etc.). The portion of the road from one end of the ruler to the other is closed down. Place the yard stick and ruler side by side and slide the ruler along the yard stick. everything outside the ruler is business as usual on the roads, everything inside the ruler is closed as it roles down the road/yard stick. I will not bore you with the logistics of closing roads, etc. , let's just say it takes a lot of coordination.
Okay, enough of the preamble. Let's begin. Your first question to answer is Where to view the race. The answer to this question will be the focal point of my discussions. That and your enjoymet, of course. Your first step is to pull up the race route. On the route, you may note the following: START, FINISH, SPRINTS, KOMS (KING OF THE MOUNTAINS) AND FEED ZONES. Make note of towns along the route as well. I will break down all the components of the route throughout this series. Toady, we will focus on the START TOWN.
START TOWN:
If you enjoy unique experiences, what better place to begin, than the start? If you enjoy slow build-ups to a satisfying climax (and who doesn't), the start town is the place for you. Enjoy the raceday buildup by arriving a couple hours early; from course set up to team arrival and everything in between, you will see lots of folks involved in the race show up and suddenly the town goes from a sea of tranquility to an ocean of storms (in a good way) as fans and race participants arrive. Most start venues are near bakeries or coffee shops so there should be time to enjoy and early morning meal. Bring a backpack with water and maybe a small chair as you never know where you may want to plop yourself down for a bit. If you want to see the athletes, this is a great time to do so as you will have access unlike any of the major American sports. Simply locate the team bus area and wander on in; again, no tickets required. It doesn't take a whole lot of luck to obtain a good glimpse of the athletes. Take this opportunity to get some photos of the participants; you may be able to get an autograph or two as well. Please note, that while the racers may be "right over there" they may be prepping for the race and getting their "game face" on. Being respectful of the athletes is a must. Always analyze the situation and act accordingly; if it appears the riders are giving autographs, go for it. If not, hold back a bit and snap some more photos.
All the racers are required to sign in prior to the start of the race. This occurs near or at the start line. This may be the best place to get autographs. TIP: ask the security folks where the sign-in is located. A lot of the riders are ammenable to signing autographs at this time. Be forwarned, it is likely to be a little crowded here so pay attention to where the riders are walking from and you should be able to get yourself a good spot.
Sometimes, start towns will have special events to coincide with the race. From bike expos to charity events, keep an eye out for added entertainment. In addition, there may be some cycling vendors hawking their wares; this would be a good time to window shop. If this is your first visit to the town, take an opportunity to explore any shops that may be open. This is a big day for the locals who take pride in their community.
As the start of the race approaches, it's time to locate your spot to watch the pregression. Unless you like crowds, it is not important to be right at the start line. Everyone along the route will see the same race. TIP: go ahead and walk down the course a bit as the start time approaches and find yourself a less crowded area to perch yourself. You know the race is coming when you see an increased amount of motorcycle traffic; from motor marshals, to police to camera crews. Don't worry about the race going by too fast at this point as most starts are in a neutral status until they get to a point down the road when the Officials let them go. Cheer the race on as the riders pass. be aware that once the riders pass, the action does not stop...at least not yet. There will be many trailing vehicles, most of which are the team support cars. Be sure to cheer them on as well as they have a long day in the car ahead of them. Finally, when you see a vehicle with brooms, this is the broom wagon and denotes the end of the caravan. And there you have it, you have enjoyed the Start venue.
Keep in mind that major races like the Amgen Tour of California and USA Pro Challenge are televised in over 200 countries. This is your chance to be part of the show and exhibit your pride in your state. By lining the course, fans from all over the world see your enthusiasm, which may lead them to thinking "hey, I may want to visit that place sometime". A Stage race is not only a sports spectacle, but a 4 hour + advertisment about the beauty of your state. So bring a flag or wear colorful clothing and enjoy your small part of the show.
I am sure I missed some things. If you have other tips, let us know as we are all in this together to make cycling a successful venture.
The World Chimp.
Preamble (cuz monkeys like to preamble): The challenge with watching a bicycle race live is that it is fleeting. Unless you are watching a circuit race or time trial, you are likely to see the race only once, and for a very short time. For the American sports fan, this can be frustrating as we are used to attending events where we can watch it in it's entirety. In order to fully enjoy a cycling event, you may have to tweek your live viewing paradigm just a wee little bit. Okay, mayble more than a wee bit. With American venue sports, the entertainment you are provided is carefully crafted by marketers as much as coaches and players in the game. Everything is coreographed to provide you the most bang for your buck...actually, lots of bucks. We pay a lot of money to go to games in the US. In cycling, your entertainment is limited by your own imagination and creativity and best of all...IT'S FREE TO ATTEND. So let's get started.
So...you are ready to attend your fist pro bicycle race. If you merely show up at the side of the road to wait and watch the race, you could be severly disappointed for a couple reasons: first, you usually need to wait for an hour or more before the race arrives and second, when it does arrive, it is gone in less than a couple of minutes. What is a fan to do? In this series, I will do my best to provide suggestions that will lead to a greater enjoyment of attending a professional cycling stage race. This series will break down the race from start to finish and all points between. With a little preparation and planning, your live race viewing experience can be quite rewarding.
For the neophyte, the tips and tricks in this series revolve around a multi day stage race. Each day is comprised of a point to point race starting in one city and ending in another. The race travels along roads that you or I would use in our daily lives and involves a rolling closure of those roads. To illustrate, imagine a yard stick (Outside the US, think a meter stick) where the left end is the start of the race and the right end is the end of the race. Now, get yourself a standard 12" ruler (maybe one day we will go metric). This ruler represents the race caravan (racers, support vehicles, motor marshals, etc.). The portion of the road from one end of the ruler to the other is closed down. Place the yard stick and ruler side by side and slide the ruler along the yard stick. everything outside the ruler is business as usual on the roads, everything inside the ruler is closed as it roles down the road/yard stick. I will not bore you with the logistics of closing roads, etc. , let's just say it takes a lot of coordination.
Okay, enough of the preamble. Let's begin. Your first question to answer is Where to view the race. The answer to this question will be the focal point of my discussions. That and your enjoymet, of course. Your first step is to pull up the race route. On the route, you may note the following: START, FINISH, SPRINTS, KOMS (KING OF THE MOUNTAINS) AND FEED ZONES. Make note of towns along the route as well. I will break down all the components of the route throughout this series. Toady, we will focus on the START TOWN.
START TOWN:
If you enjoy unique experiences, what better place to begin, than the start? If you enjoy slow build-ups to a satisfying climax (and who doesn't), the start town is the place for you. Enjoy the raceday buildup by arriving a couple hours early; from course set up to team arrival and everything in between, you will see lots of folks involved in the race show up and suddenly the town goes from a sea of tranquility to an ocean of storms (in a good way) as fans and race participants arrive. Most start venues are near bakeries or coffee shops so there should be time to enjoy and early morning meal. Bring a backpack with water and maybe a small chair as you never know where you may want to plop yourself down for a bit. If you want to see the athletes, this is a great time to do so as you will have access unlike any of the major American sports. Simply locate the team bus area and wander on in; again, no tickets required. It doesn't take a whole lot of luck to obtain a good glimpse of the athletes. Take this opportunity to get some photos of the participants; you may be able to get an autograph or two as well. Please note, that while the racers may be "right over there" they may be prepping for the race and getting their "game face" on. Being respectful of the athletes is a must. Always analyze the situation and act accordingly; if it appears the riders are giving autographs, go for it. If not, hold back a bit and snap some more photos.
All the racers are required to sign in prior to the start of the race. This occurs near or at the start line. This may be the best place to get autographs. TIP: ask the security folks where the sign-in is located. A lot of the riders are ammenable to signing autographs at this time. Be forwarned, it is likely to be a little crowded here so pay attention to where the riders are walking from and you should be able to get yourself a good spot.
Sometimes, start towns will have special events to coincide with the race. From bike expos to charity events, keep an eye out for added entertainment. In addition, there may be some cycling vendors hawking their wares; this would be a good time to window shop. If this is your first visit to the town, take an opportunity to explore any shops that may be open. This is a big day for the locals who take pride in their community.
As the start of the race approaches, it's time to locate your spot to watch the pregression. Unless you like crowds, it is not important to be right at the start line. Everyone along the route will see the same race. TIP: go ahead and walk down the course a bit as the start time approaches and find yourself a less crowded area to perch yourself. You know the race is coming when you see an increased amount of motorcycle traffic; from motor marshals, to police to camera crews. Don't worry about the race going by too fast at this point as most starts are in a neutral status until they get to a point down the road when the Officials let them go. Cheer the race on as the riders pass. be aware that once the riders pass, the action does not stop...at least not yet. There will be many trailing vehicles, most of which are the team support cars. Be sure to cheer them on as well as they have a long day in the car ahead of them. Finally, when you see a vehicle with brooms, this is the broom wagon and denotes the end of the caravan. And there you have it, you have enjoyed the Start venue.
Keep in mind that major races like the Amgen Tour of California and USA Pro Challenge are televised in over 200 countries. This is your chance to be part of the show and exhibit your pride in your state. By lining the course, fans from all over the world see your enthusiasm, which may lead them to thinking "hey, I may want to visit that place sometime". A Stage race is not only a sports spectacle, but a 4 hour + advertisment about the beauty of your state. So bring a flag or wear colorful clothing and enjoy your small part of the show.
I am sure I missed some things. If you have other tips, let us know as we are all in this together to make cycling a successful venture.
The World Chimp.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)