Dropping off offsides completely would just ruin the game. Look at older soccer games and then you will see why the offsides were introduced.

I do agree, however, that the rule needs to be changed in favour of the offense. It's too common for weaker teams to play offside trap and just kill the game.

Regarding the clock, well, this rule has changed a bit because now the ref does say how much time he is adding to the game. From what I know, in the MLS it's a bit different (or at least was in the beginning) that the clock would stop during every injury/foul/offside, and the ref would end the game when 90 min exactly have passed (which I found very silly). I think it's a matter of mentality.


Originally posted by Aristotle
Basketball is becoming VERY popular in Europe.
This is untrue.

Although the quality of players in Europe has become much better, the popularity of the game has never been so low. During the 90's and before, all the major teams would have sold out all their season-tickets before it ever started, and now the only places where stadiums are full (or anywhere near it) are Spain and Israel. Take Italy or Serbia - while there are great players and great players there, the stadiums are almost always empty. As for Greece and Turkey, which used to have a very "hot" atmosphere, there's nothing left of it. and if the stadium is half full - it's amazing.