site banner
PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2474 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 20, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Here my Euro background comes through, but focusing at the ball is very amateur level of watching soccer, too. Like, my dad used more unkind words when I said stuff like, I am looking at the ball. Yes, certainly be aware of the ball, but you don't focus at the ball. Watching the players' reactions is bit better as it is the losers' game, kids who only react to other players don't make it to a farm league. You are supposed to watch what they all are doing in anticipation where the ball and other players will be.

Concerning penalty shots: He was disappointed every time a game ended with a penalty shootout. Goalkeeper has only very few indications to go by, he is mostly guessing where the kicker will aim and if he gets it right, the goal is huge compared to dimensions of average human being on purpose. Every pro player knows how to kick the ball into one of the top corners where the keeper can't catch it. Mostly it is about whether the kicker loses their nerve or not. No longer about football, my father would say.

Looking at the puck is same in the hockey. But I though the complaint of not seeing the puck was about old 480p anolog tv tech. I can see the puck most of the time in the Youtube video you linked, except for the subsecond moments when it is flying. And when it is flying, it is about to get where its going before I can react, feels petty to complain about that. What I dislike the MMA part of the hockey (legal checking and sometimes tactical illegal checks).

but focusing at the ball is very amateur level of watching soccer, too.

The original question here was not "how does a true genius-level connoisseur watch sports" but "why isn't Hockey more popular?" The answer: because you can't see the puck. Saying "Well if you really knew hockey you'd know that watching the puck is for fools and amateurs..." doesn't really help when the audience we're discussing, the casual fans that make the NFL and NBA bigger than the NHL, are by definition fools and amateurs. All else being equal a sport that takes dedication to understand how to watch on TV is going to be less popular than a sport like basketball, which takes about five minutes to explain to an immigrant.

Like yeah, serious NFL fans know the right tackle is more important than the running back, but the NFL wouldn't be more popular if it was just a camera focused on Penei Sewell.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats