liie Battalion
Sports
Page 3 • Monday, July 12, 1999
ihei
no loJ
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lost its iaj
said thevj
botball vs. Futbol
is soccer gains fans, football faces a challenge to its supremacy
ome days, it just
seems it’s the United
States versus every-
e countr ono else - Bein 8 the bi g8est,
civil n baddest nation on the
panic re block has its advantages,
rnment.
but it also has its disad-
Chris
HUFFINES
|v vantages.
conveniiM M an y times foreigners
lica] for Jn criticize or just make
re renreseW 1 wbat tbe y see as
Yankee idiosyncrasies.
nt tobe J ^ 00 t ba ll-
•uscSi Fore ig ners always point to their “football”
"You h V soccer — and attempt to rationalize why it
alify fort
Pagel
me studf
il concer
is better, while Americans stick by the true
Bnerican pastime of football.
I So, which is better, soccer or football?
I Part of the problem with that question is
■e two sports are so different while being so
similar. Both involve teams of 11 people on
large fields. Both are extremely physical
games, which lead to extreme spirit among
■eir fans.
s hut a J 01 course, there are differences. Football
tends to emphasize raw power, while soccer is
a finesse game. Football is more of a con-
nev Boiled brawl moving up and down the field,
•bile soccer is running with some competi-
ion thrown into the mix.
limes em football can be played by individualists while
lation lm soccer team that is not flawlessly integrated
• Mill get beaten almost every time. And of course
ise the» soc cer, you only score one point at a time.
ie infer
orrect tl
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sicians a.
inks to I:
he idea
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learcluna’i
n Texas,
But which is better?
I Soccer is better for a variety of reasons. Soc-
■er is easier to learn but harder to excel at. Soc-
gjer is more of a strategic game, with only three
[substitutions allowed per game and longer
Itretches on the field, making it a game for the
long haul.
I Soccer also breeds less hostility on the field.
It probably has something to do with not trying
fto kill your opponent during every play.
I However, football could also be viewed as a
ibetter sport than soccer. Football is actually
^afer than soccer. The pads actually do work.
Football is visually more exciting. It is a tac
tics-oriented game, where individual plays tend
to make the difference.
Also, football is not as physically demand
ing as soccer. Players do run but not nearly as
much or as far.
Of course, soccer stinks for a lot of reasons.
First among these is that it is illegal for every
one but the goalies to use their hands.
Another defect of soccer is that it is not a
high-scoring game. There is very little chance
for the great athletes to prove themselves the
way many other sports allow.
There are Michael Jordans in Major League
Soccer and other leagues, but soccer is not a
sport where players are judged by their stats.
Football isn’t all that good for some of the
same reasons. There are too many crack-
GABRIEL RUENES/Tm: Battalion
smoking, wife-beating superstars. They tend
to outshine all the good works the rest of the
players are doing.
In addition, football has become an indus
try, something that has not happened to soc
cer — yet.
So, which is better? Here at A&M, both
NCAA teams, football and soccer, are nation
ally recognized and both help bring students
to the University. Which is better? It really
does not matter. Everyone’s opinion will be
different. The important thing is to know why
the opinion is held.
Oh, I like soccer better, but that’s because I
play it.
Chris Huffines is a senior
speech communications major
Soccer Club looks
to raise membership
BY RUTH STEPHENS
The Battalion
For those Texas A&M students
with an interest in playing soc
cer, or for those who just like to
watch, the TAMU Men’s Soccer
Club is gearing up for another
season.
Junior landscape architecture
major Bryan Warne said the
team is making an increased ef
fort to recruit played this year.
“My freshman year the
turnout was
"This year we’re
hoping for good
quality and more
numbers”
— Bryan Warne
Men’s Soccer Club player
not spectacu
lar,” Warne
said. “Last
year we had a
lot more. This
year we’re
hoping for
good quality
and more
numbers.”
Club athlet
ics gives stu-
dents an op
portunity to play sports that are
not offered at the varsity level.
In Texas, these teams are pro
moted and developed by the
Texas Collegiate Sports Associa
tion (TCSA).
Even though A&M does not
have a varsity men’s soccer
team, Warne said he still thinks
Texas is one of the best states in
the country for soccer.
The A&M club soccer team is
one of 32 men’s teams in Texas
sponsored by TCSA.
Last year the Aggies competed
in the University Division which
consisted of the 32 men’s soccer
teams sponsored by TCSA.
After a top-eight finish in the
University Division last year,
A&M will compete against the
other seven ranked teams in the
Premier Division this year.
“We haven’t played the best
teams in the past,” Warne said.
“This year we’re in the Premier
Division with better schools.”
Eastern Conference members
along with A&M are Southwest
Texas State University, Rice Uni
versity and Sam Houston State
University.
The Western
Conference in
cludes the Univer
sity of Texas, Bay
lor University,
Texas Tech Uni
versity and Ange
lo State Universi
ty-
Warne said
their schedule in-
eludes extensive
travel. The team
plays two games every weekend,
one at home and one away. They
will start this year’s season with
an away game at Rice.
At the club level, Warne said
it is a constant challenge to find
enough money for uniforms,
equipment and travel funds.
Warne said they receive some
money from the University, in
cluding gas money for travel, but
the majority is raised by the
players.
“Our main fund raiser is our
annual 12th Man Invitational
Tournament in the spring for
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