> I remember watching the World Cup many moons ago. It was just after I started to get interested in hockey. I was aghast at how awful the sport was. It's hockey in slow motion.
>
> It was as if someone took a hockey rink, took away the ice to slow down the players and -- if that didn't make the game drag on long enough -- make the rink about four times bigger so it takes even longer to go from goal to goal! The only way to make that game go any slower is if instead of playing on grass, they played on a one-inch thick layer of rubber cement.
>
> -Faux "Lamas strains as he takes a step forward... he's finally made it to the ball and freed his right foot to line up for the catch! He connects-- but the ball's now stuck to his leg! How's he going to get that freed without touching it with his hands? Oh, no, now he's unbalanced and falls face first into the rubber cement!" Pas

Here we actually do have a Cup where they play soccer in a swamp. Anyway, what makes soccer better than ice hockey is that you have time to build to game, so that playing requires some "eye" for the game, too, not just good physical condition. Soccer is also less violent game than ice hockey. Sure, you can hurt yourself really bad when you aren't wearing any protecting clothes, but my point is that players usually don't fight with fists in a soccer field.

Juho