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Soccer is a low scoring game. It's not a "statistical problem", it's a feature. Treating it as "an experiment to determine which of the teams is the best" is n
by cromulent 17y ago
Soccer is a low scoring game. It's not a "statistical problem", it's a feature.
Treating it as "an experiment to determine which of the teams is the best" is not a good approach. There are a thousand contests in 90 minutes, but probably only two or three of them result in a goal, one of which may be from a penalty anyway.
High scoring games are much better at determining the best team on the day.
I believe that one of the major reasons for soccers massive worldwide spectator popularity is the low scoreline. You watch the game even if your team is obviously outclassed, as you can still win, and you can still win with just a few minutes left in most cases.
- ovi256 17y agoI can't remember how many games I stopped watching 5 minutes before the end, because I was disappointed, only to later discover that the team I supported scored. Even better are score, counter-score, then score again.
- frossie 17y agoDamn right it's a feature. This is why you shouldn't let physicists come up with sports rules The point of the format is to give a team a chance to win even if they are not the best team. That's what keeps people interested - the chance that their team will win, even thought it is the 2nd, 3rd or 10th best team. When Greece won Euro 2004 against all odds, the psychic energy was just incredible. When Germany wins, it's like "Well, there we go, no surprise, let's go have a beer".