Kenyan Arsenal fan hangs himself after Man Utd defeat

[unothadeal]

I marked this as news because soccer isn't a sport.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-championssuicide&prov=reuters&type=lgns

By Humphrey Malalo

NAIROBI, May 6 (Reuters) - An Arsenal fan in soccer-mad Kenya hanged himself wearing his beloved team’s shirt after their defeat to Manchester United in the Champions League.

Like elsewhere across Africa, Kenyans pack bars for English Premier League and Champions League matches, especially those involving Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Suleiman Omondi, 29, was found hanged at his home in a middle-class Nairobi estate shortly after leaving distraught from the pub where he had watched Arsenal lose 3-1 in their Champions League semi-final at the Emirates on Tuesday.

“He took some drinks and broke down in tears within the final minutes of the match,” a fellow bar patron, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

Police said they were called to Omondi’s house on Wednesday morning. “What we are gathering is this suicide is related to the Arsenal and Manchester match,” local Embakasi area police chief David Bunei told reporters.

Bar attendants said they had to intervene after Omondi lunged at a man who suggested Arsenal would not recover from conceding two early goals. They also lost the first leg 1-0.

Brawls are common in Kenya during football matches and there have been other related suicides reported in the past.

[MIAdragon]

I marked this as news because soccer isn't a sport.


rep

[MIAdragon]

I marked this as news because soccer isn't a sport.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-championssuicide&prov=reuters&type=lgns

I got to say I felt like this in 2003 (Fu#$%*g Boone) walking around the Bellagio.

[Bugeater]

rep
this

[Fritz88]

I am not a huge soccer fan but it's a fun game to watch. Sure it beats the heck of MLB in terms of funness.

MLS by no means is a reflection of true soccer.

here are some great soccer moments

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p2zFqqskFM4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p2zFqqskFM4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[Crush]

As a casual Manchester United fan, I can confidently say that I moderately hate Arsenal.

[SPATCH]

I marked this as news because soccer isn't a sport.



thanks jim rome.... that's played out....

i've never played.... but i appreciate the sport and skill that it involves

[unothadeal]

thanks jim rome.... that's played out....

i've never played.... but i appreciate the sport and skill that it involves

There's skill involved in running a lot and missing a 50 foot net?

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Just think if he'd been a Chiefs fan.

He'd never made it this long !

[pr_capone]

I don't think of soccer as a sport but the players are most certainly athletes.

[Bugeater]

thanks jim rome.... that's played out....

i've never played.... but i appreciate the sport and skill that it involves
ROFL

[SPATCH]

There's skill involved in running a lot and missing a 50 foot net?

i'm not sure what you speak of...

[unothadeal]

http://www.soccersucks.net/soccer_perversion_9.jpg

[wild1]

if all your experience is with your kids' tee ball games, you wouldn't like baseball either

[KcMizzou]

Of course soccer is a sport. It's not one that I particularly enjoy... but to say otherwise is absurd.

Pick on golf, bowling or something.

[Saulbadguy]

Of course soccer is a sport. It's not one that I particularly enjoy... but to say otherwise is absurd.

Pick on golf, bowling or something.


Come on now, any sport where you can eat and smoke cigarettes while playing is clearly superior to soccer.

[SPATCH]

Of course soccer is a sport. It's not one that I particularly enjoy... but to say otherwise is absurd.

Pick on golf, bowling or something.

or mother fucking NASCAR.... if it involves machines, it's not a sport

[KcMizzou]

Come on now, any sport where you can eat and smoke cigarettes while playing is clearly superior to soccer.For, me to play... absolutely. Soccer involves far too much running.

You wont catch me running 'till something I'm afraid of is chasing me.

[FAX]

Soccer is a good sport. It just doesn't work very well in the US of A. Soccer involves a lot of random running around and back and forth and bonking the ball with your noodle. America likes sports that are more ... coherent ... and cogent. You know, orderly ... like football.

For example, in football the offense gathers together and devises a plan. Then they go out and execute that plan. Sometimes the plan works and sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't work, they have another meeting and come up with a new plan. But sometimes, the plan works so well, you get points. So, the better the plan, the more points. The more points, the better the plan. And that, my friends, is what America is all about.

FAX

[KCChiefsMan]

I'm not a fan of soccer, but it is a sport. You have to be in great shape to play it. Nascar, is not a sport.

[Valiant]

Soccer is niche in the US, but it is 1000x more of a sport then golf, bowling, nascar or tv wrestling..

Or tennis..

[Braincase]

DAMMIT! I was involved in a business transaction helping that assclown get 35 million out of the country. There goes my fortune!

[Pants]

Soccer is a good sport. It just doesn't work very well in the US of A. Soccer involves a lot of random running around and back and forth and bonking the ball with your noodle. America likes sports that are more ... coherent ... and cogent. You know, orderly ... like football.

For example, in football the offense gathers together and devises a plan. Then they go out and execute that plan. Sometimes the plan works and sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't work, they have another meeting and come up with a new plan. But sometimes, the plan works so well, you get points. So, the better the plan, the more points. The more points, the better the plan. And that, my friends, is what America is all about.

FAX

Soccer also doesn't allow networks to have a commercial break every 3 minutes. It's all about patience, flow and creativity with pre-planned strategies and tactics. It's quite deep actually, just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it's simple. Football on the other hand is less about constant flow and creativity and more about executing a play designed by the coach (on offense) and reacting to it (defense).

To people bagging on soccer - the skill and coordination involved is immense, but you would never know that seeing as you've never played it. It requires a lot more skill and god given talent than the majority of football positions, which on the other hand require good athleticism.

A nice example of good soccer is going to be the ECL final between Manchester United vs Barcelona in a couple weeks.

[Pants]

I'm not a fan of soccer, but it is a sport.

You do to a great extent but not as much as people think. You're walking around the pitch half the time. It takes incredible skill to be even semi-good...

Seriously, go grab a ball and try and do this:

<object width="425" height="344">


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FXiTdjn5ZVY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>

[FAX]

Soccer is niche in the US, but it is 1000x more of a sport then golf, bowling, nascar or tv wrestling..

Or tennis..

I suppose that, if you evaluate sports based merely on things like stamina and speed, Mr. Valiant, then soccer kicks bowling's ass. But bowling is just as much a sport as any other ... way more than synchronized swimming. I have no doubt that most professional soccer players can't bowl worth a damn. They'd probably break their toes on the ball by the second or third frame.

By the way, you probably know this; in synchronized swimming, if one swimmer drowns, do they all drown?

FAX

[KcMizzou]

By the way, you probably know this; in synchronized swimming, if one swimmer drowns, do they all drown?

FAXOnly if they're really, really commited to their sport.

[bdeg]

probably lost a bet

[beavis]

Soccer also doesn't allow networks to have a commercial break every 3 minutes.

This is why it will never translate to America.

A live match is unreal though. I didn't have a real appreciation for what phenomenal athletes they are until I saw an EPL match in person.

Arsenal sucks balls anyway.

[FAX]

Soccer also doesn't allow networks to have a commercial break every 3 minutes. It's all about patience, flow and creativity with pre-planned strategies and tactics. It's quite deep actually, just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it's simple. Football on the other hand is less about constant flow and creativity and more about executing a play designed by the coach (on offense) and reacting to it (defense).

To people bagging on soccer - the skill and coordination involved is immense, but you would never know that seeing as you've never played it. It requires a lot more skill and god given talent than the majority of football positions, which on the other hand require good athleticism.

A nice example of good soccer is going to be the ECL final between Manchester United vs Barcelona in a couple weeks.

Your point is very well made, Mr. Metrolike. Very well made, indeed.

I imagine that, if I knew more about the strategies and subtleties of soccer, I would enjoy it much more. It's not a sport I grew up around and, with the exception of little league soccer, one that I have had very little personal experience with whatsoever.

Like many things in life, were I in the company of peeps who knew soccer and who could teach the game to me, I would likely enjoy it more. Unfortunately, all my friends are your basic football/baseball peeps ... you know ... Americans.

FAX

[Spott]

I marked this as news because soccer isn't a sport.


Are those two dudes in your avatar wrestlers?

[KcMizzou]

Are those two dudes in your avatar wrestlers?athletic supporters

[Silock]

As a casual Manchester United fan, I can confidently say that I moderately hate Arsenal.



Arsenal sucks balls anyway.

Fuck you both! Go Gunners!

[Silock]

Your point is very well made, Mr. Metrolike. Very well made, indeed.

I imagine that, if I knew more about the strategies and subtleties of soccer, I would enjoy it much more. It's not a sport I grew up around and, with the exception of little league soccer, one that I have had very little personal experience with whatsoever.

Like many things in life, were I in the company of peeps who knew soccer and who could teach the game to me, I would likely enjoy it more. Unfortunately, all my friends are your basic football/baseball peeps ... you know ... Americans.

FAX

Little league soccer is NOT professional soccer any more than tee ball is Major League Baseball.

[DJJasonp]

For what it's worth....I was a traditional 3-sport athlete through High school days (Football, basketball, baseball)..

I've dabbled in Tennis and I'm a terrible golf player.

But, I picked up indoor soccer seriously in my late 20's (play goalie)....and I can honestly say, I have more fun playing soccer than I do baseball or basketball (football is still great).

Indoor soccer is fast-paced, physical (yes, I said physical)....and it takes some crazy coordination to be able to dribble and make moves, shots, etc. (that's why I play goalie).

I get how it's fun to make fun of soccer (for those who dont know or understand the game)....but english premiere league (and world cup/champions league for that matter)....their fans and intensity of their fans/followers....blows away the NFL. It's just that simple.

[DaFace]

Your point is very well made, Mr. Metrolike. Very well made, indeed.

I imagine that, if I knew more about the strategies and subtleties of soccer, I would enjoy it much more. It's not a sport I grew up around and, with the exception of little league soccer, one that I have had very little personal experience with whatsoever.

Like many things in life, were I in the company of peeps who knew soccer and who could teach the game to me, I would likely enjoy it more. Unfortunately, all my friends are your basic football/baseball peeps ... you know ... Americans.

FAX

I've found that you can't really start to truly enjoy a sport until you get to the point that you start seeing what it is to be good at the sport. I've managed to make Hockey my #2 sport and Soccer my #3 in the past few years. I had a lot of trouble getting into them at first, but once I started to be able to see a play develop, suddenly it wasn't just a bunch of guys hitting a puck/kicking a ball toward a goal and hoping it goes in.

[FAX]

Little league soccer is NOT professional soccer any more than tee ball is Major League Baseball.

Certainly so, Mr. Silock. I mention it only to underscore my ignorance of the sport.

Frankly, I think that Mr. Metrolike makes an excellent point in respect to the difficulties the national networks have when it comes to broadcasting soccer. I suppose the same thing could be said about rugby which has also never really caught on with the American mainstream. The thing is that there are a vast array of sports that are relatively unpopular in America ... Cricket, Jeu de Paume, Bog Snorkeling, and Octopush (underwater hockey) all come to mind.

We Americans are very close-minded about many things. It seems to me that settling back on the sofa with a bag of chips, a cold beer, and tuning into the Bog Snorkeling championships would make for a fine afternoon.

FAX

[Silock]

Certainly so, Mr. Silock. I mention it only to underscore my ignorance of the sport.


Oh, I know. I'm just reiterating that people who make fun of soccer have likely never watched it at any real level or played it.

[Pants]

Your point is very well made, Mr. Metrolike. Very well made, indeed.

I imagine that, if I knew more about the strategies and subtleties of soccer, I would enjoy it much more. It's not a sport I grew up around and, with the exception of little league soccer, one that I have had very little personal experience with whatsoever.

Like many things in life, were I in the company of peeps who knew soccer and who could teach the game to me, I would likely enjoy it more. Unfortunately, all my friends are your basic football/baseball peeps ... you know ... Americans.

FAX

Yeah, I totally understand people not liking soccer. What I don't understand, though, is the tendency (mildy put) to question the skill/athleticism of soccer players and make fun of the game.

As far as being a fan of any sport - one of the more important things is to have a team to cheer for, IMO. Otherwise, it's hard to get into it and fully enjoy it.

[KC Dan]

**** you both! Go Gunners!Agreed and as I hate the NY Yankees, I hate ManUre!

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Played football, basketball, and soccer growing up...

...soccer was hands down the most enduring...you don't get timeouts to catch your breath.

[FAX]

To me, it's about exposure, Mr. Metrolike.

For example, the main reason behind my interest in football was because my father and brother and uncles loved the sport and I watched them enjoying it at a very young age. They watched the Chiefs on TV at every opportunity and played backyard touch whenever possible and as time allowed. Simply put, I became caught up in their enthusiasm.

So, it was completely natural for me to attempt to learn more about it, develop an interest in playing it, and eventually follow my family's "team" through the years. (To my everlasting regret, by the way.)

I guess we just weren't soccer peeps. Heck, my high school didn't even offer the sport.

FAX

[bdeg]

americans love the violence of football, that's why it will always be #1 here(obviously there are more violent sports such as mma and boxing, but they don't offer everything football does(team game, 250 lbers running full speed head on and laying each other out, etc.))
soccer can be physical but there's a lot more diving than real contact

[beavis]

Agreed and as I hate the NY Yankees, I hate ManUre!

Chelsea = Yankees

[Pants]

soccer can be physical but there's a lot more diving than hits

This has really become a plague in the last 10-15 years and it's ruining the game.

[Valiant]

americans love the violence of football, that's why it will always be #1 here

soccer can be physical but there's a lot more diving than real contact

Violence?? That shit is going away.. Looks like Americans are going to have to come up with a new reason..

[Pants]

Chelsea = Yankees

Nah, Chelsea was a bottom feeder until a Russian billionaire decided to buy the club and pour countless millions into it.

[Valiant]

I suppose that, if you evaluate sports based merely on things like stamina and speed, Mr. Valiant, then soccer kicks bowling's ass. But bowling is just as much a sport as any other ... way more than synchronized swimming. I have no doubt that most professional soccer players can't bowl worth a damn. They'd probably break their toes on the ball by the second or third frame.

By the way, you probably know this; in synchronized swimming, if one swimmer drowns, do they all drown?

FAX

So football is just running into each other in pads then when you take out the speed and stamina??

[Pants]

To me, it's about exposure, Mr. Metrolike.

For example, the main reason behind my interest in football was because my father and brother and uncles loved the sport and I watched them enjoying it at a very young age. They watched the Chiefs on TV at every opportunity and played backyard touch whenever possible and as time allowed. Simply put, I became caught up in their enthusiasm.

So, it was completely natural for me to attempt to learn more about it, develop an interest in playing it, and eventually follow my family's "team" through the years. (To my everlasting regret, by the way.)

I guess we just weren't soccer peeps. Heck, my high school didn't even offer the sport.

FAX

Yeap.

My transition to American Football was a bit different, though, seeing as I had 0 exposure to it until I was 13 years old. Having a hometown team I can watch and read about and learn the sport from led me to the fan path however.

Once I learned some of the intricacies of the sport, I fell in love with it. I will never understand the game to the extent someone who had grown up with it and had played it will, though. It is enough for me to feel like absolute shit when we lose or feel the elation of a win and that's all I ask for.

[FAX]

So football is just running into each other in pads then when you take out the speed and stamina??

Pretty much, Mr. Valiant. If you wish to see what football looks like sans speed and stamina, just watch tapes of the 2008 Chiefs.

Still, there's the planning part. I think that's important. America is all about planning. We plan roads and bridges, we plan buildings, we plan retirement ... heck, we plan just about everything. Football is a microcosm of the American way of life. Make a plan, then bang your head against something.

FAX

[Sully]

My buddy and I have come up with our rules for what makes a sport a sport or not.

If it takes rare athletic ability to do well, and is judgedby something objective, like a goal, points, etc. It is a sport.

If it is "judged" by someone sitting in the stands, it is not a sport, but an athletic event.

[Mr_Tomahawk]

There's skill involved in running a lot and missing a 50 foot net?

Ya and Maurice Greene is a scrub... :rolleyes:

[Pants]

My buddy and I have come up with our rules for what makes a sport a sport or not.

If it takes rare athletic ability to do well, and is judgedby something objective, like a goal, points, etc. It is a sport.

If it is "judged" by someone sitting in the stands, it is not a sport, but an athletic event.

Competition for the sole purpose of winning = sport, IMO.

[wild1]

why exclude things as sports? to me the dividing line is if there is a score, a clear winner (like in a game or a race), or if it's judged. if it's judged, then it's an athletic exhibition.

based on the number of people in the word who live that sport i would bet that the best soccer players, in england or wherever, are as highly skilled if not more than athletes in any other sport because it's not like baseball or football where only a corner of the world knows this game, soccer is the game of the entire human race. you have to be a lot better at soccer to play it at a high level than you do at anything else because of the competition of the whole rest of the world.

look at this guy, obviously he's a little nuts to kill himself over a loss, but these people are not even in the same hemisphere and it's life or death to him

I wonder if he didn't lose a big wager on the game or something

[Fritz88]

I've found that you can't really start to truly enjoy a sport until you get to the point that you start seeing what it is to be good at the sport. I've managed to make Hockey my #2 sport and Soccer my #3 in the past few years. I had a lot of trouble getting into them at first, but once I started to be able to see a play develop, suddenly it wasn't just a bunch of guys hitting a puck/kicking a ball toward a goal and hoping it goes in.

That is 100% true.

You can never judge a sport by just watching random highlights of it. (Just like reading an article or watching a movie or even interacting with a person).

You need to sit down and watch a full game with a knowledgeable person around you who can explain obscure things to you. This is when you start to understand the game. I have some friends who watch football and go "WTF is this, people hitting each other"

But after you take them to a Chiefs game, enjoy the atmosphere, learn the rules, etc, they start to enjoy the game.

[Jethopper]

Soccer is not a sport.

[bdeg]

you're not a sport

[the Talking Can]

what a pussy

did anyone hang themselves when Herm was hired?

no

we just gave up hope

[wild1]

what a pussy

did anyone hang themselves when Herm was hired?

no

we just gave up hope

we had already died on the inside.

[hishighness]

I marked this as news because soccer isn't a sport.Here Here! I can't support any sport where 1-0 is a blowout.

[ChiTown]

what a pussy

did anyone hang themselves when Herm was hired?

no

we just gave up hope

ROFL

[unothadeal]

Are those two dudes in your avatar wrestlers?

Yeah, why?

[Buck]

Here Here! I can't support any sport where 1-0 is a blowout.

1-0 Isn't a blowout.

n00b

I cant wait until Man U vs Barcelona on Wednesday