When one lives around Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, one becomes very
aware of the 2 aspects of the weather which seem to have the greatest
impact on how soccer is played in our area:
The Heat and the Wind.
I've seen consecutive mid-June days which were 113, 112, 112 degrees,
July and August are typically hotter, and if they aren't actually hotter,
August certainly feels hotter after we've been beaten down by two hot
months. Two years ago the "LOW" temp here in DFW stayed above
80 degrees for all of August, while the "high" was in the high 90's and
low 100's during this time. The bottom line is that there is little break from
the heat, particularly when the high for the day isn't reached until after 4pm.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
June 29, 2002 page F1
I don't think Americans realize just how good the Brit's have got it over there.
For the most part, Europe enjoys conditions which make playing and watching outdoor
soccer an absolute pleasure. I've watched English and Scottish matches played in August
where the players late in the game were playing as intensely in the later 10 minutes of the
match as they were in it's first 5 minutes. (I'm always blown away by the intensity displayed
by Premiership players.) Then I realized that everyone in the stands was wearing a coat,
and I saw that the coach was wearing a coat. In AUGUST!!!!! Playing soccer at 50 degrees!
Now, I'm not saying that every MLS and WUSA team plays in Texas conditions. Across the
board I'd guess the average temperature of an MLS game will still be 80 degrees, much higher
than the 55 degree average enjoyed by the English Premiership. My point here is that all things
being equal, a soccer match is much more entertaining (particularly in the second half) when
played at 55 degrees than at 80 degrees.
If you have a problem with this concept, ask any distance runner what the optimum temperature
would be in which to run a mini-marathon. They'll tell you between 45 and 55 degrees. Until
the day comes when every MLS and WUSA game can be played in and around chilly San
Francisco, the English Premiership will always enjoy this substantial advantage over American
Professional Soccer.
Finally, another reason I'm so aware of the Texas weather reality is a recent battle with the
"Forces of FIFA: Dallas Chapter" over a proposed rules change which was going to limit
substitutions to 3 per game in the youth leagues. The argument they were making was that the
'spirit' of soccer world-wide was "our best 11 can beat your best 11", not the Americanized
attitude of "our team of 18 can beat your team of 18." We were being told that we needed
to get back in line with the rest of the world. I was surprised just how far the proposal got,
but my argument on the subject warned that soon local coaches would be approaching parents
with the following:
"Mrs Smith, I'm sorry that your son is hospitalized with heat exhaustion, honestly, but
the league has limited me to 3 substitutions per game. I had to use those subs earlier in
the game to replace 3 boys who weren't as fit as your son, so your boy had to play on.
You must understand that my hands were tied."
No need to waste your time, but the full text of that e-mail is at my page "Sub_Email".
Fortunately, sometimes common sense does overcome the
pressure to march to FIFA's tune!
Mike "I Want My 5 to 3" Kimbro
To return to the same spot, hit your back arrow button, or: Visualize High Scoring Soccer
PS-To get an idea of the narrow mindset held by many in regards to substitutions in soccer, please consider the following quote found at the web site www.livermorerefs.org in an article entitled "Soccer Rules are Brilliant" by Stanley Lover:
"A major reason for hesitating to fix team numbers was the complication of substitutions. It had been the custom for years in amateur matches to allow substitutions for players injured during a game, to maintain numerical equality. It was also customary to withdraw one player if an injured opponent could not continue and a replacement was not available. Fair play indeed!
Substitutes were not allowed in competitions as it was thought that the character of the game would suffer. The arrival of televised soccer influenced a change of mind when several important matches, e.g. FA Cup Finals, were spoiled by images of injured players continuing to play although obviously handicapped. For youth competitions only a 1956 law amendment allowed substitutes for a goalkeeper and one other player provided both were injured during play. Two years later the door was finally opened to all competitions, subject to the approval of national associations.
The qualification of injury was dropped in 1967 and, although the spirit of the original concession remains, the use of up to three substitutions for reasons other than injury has become common practice. The character of the game has certainly changed, some say not for the better, because players have less chance to enjoy a complete match. Also, at professional level, the current system favors rich clubs able to afford large squads of quality players."
So to recap, we have television to thank for a viable substitution policy. If you need evidence of the purist's tendency to put his head in the sand when faced with the evolution of the "laws of the game", one only needs to reread that last paragraph:
"...and, although the spirit of the original concession remains, the use of up to three substitutions for reasons other than injury has become common practice. The character of the game has certainly changed, some say not for the better, because players have less chance to enjoy a complete match."
But ultimately evolution will come, for even as the purists battle change, it's as "The Borg" are so quick to remind us:
Resistance is futile.