Tag: courses

Soccer 202: Culture

Have you graduated from our Soccer 101 course? Blown through our Soccer 201 course on positions and logistics? Have your diplomas framed and on your wall? Great! Here’s your next challenge. Soccer 202: Culture is a five part email course with information about many of the more curious aspects of the culture surrounding the world’s favorite sport. Good luck!












  • What do the 20 most common strange soccer terms mean?
  • Why do soccer fans whistle?
  • Why is soccer so liberal?
  • Why do players blame the ball?
  • Playing good vs. playing well

Soccer 201: Positions and Logistics

Have you graduated from our Soccer 101 course? Have your diploma framed and on your wall? Great! Here’s your next challenge. Soccer 201: Positions and Logistics is a week-long email course that will bring you into the know in a number of ways. You’ll learn all about each of the positions soccer players can play — what each position’s responsibilities are and what characteristics are needed for each role. You’ll also become an expert on some of the most meaningful logistical details about soccer. Together, this information will fill in a lot of the gaps in the understanding needed to feel confident watching and talking soccer with the biggest of fans. Good luck!












  • How do substitutions work?
  • What are strikers?
  • What are midfielders?
  • What are defenders?
  • What are goalies?
  • What is stoppage time?
  • How do overtime and shootouts work?

Help set the curriculum for our soccer courses

Dear Dear Sports Fan Fan,

In the next week and a half, before the Women’s World Cup begins, I’m going to be releasing several email correspondence courses designed to help the beginner, intermediate, or expert soccer fan get more out of watching and following soccer. I’d love your input on what should be included. Here is my first draft of the contents. Let me know what I need to add, take away, or shift around! You can leave comments at the bottom of this page or send me email at dearsportsfan@gmail.com

Soccer 101

  • Why do people like soccer?
  • How do the basics of soccer work?
  • How does the World Cup work?
  • How do fouls in soccer work?
  • Why do soccer players dive so much?
  • Why do soccer teams spend so much time passing the ball backwards?

Soccer 201: Positions and Logistics

  • What are goalies and what do they do in soccer?
  • What are defenders?
  • What are midfielders?
  • What are strikers?
  • How do substitutions work?
  • What is stoppage time?
  • How does overtime work?

Soccer 202: Culture

  • Why do soccer fans whistle?
  • Why is soccer so liberal?
  • Why do players blame the ball?
  • Playing good vs. playing well

Soccer 203: Crime and Punishment

  • What is a penalty kick?
  • What is a shoot-out?
  • What are red and yellow cards?
  • What is advantage?
  • How does the offside rule work?
  • What is a set piece?
  • What kind of set pieces are there?

Soccer 204: Events/Leagues

  • How does European club soccer work?
  • How does the Champions League work?
  • Why is Major League Soccer like a New York City co-op?
  • What is El Clasico?

Soccer 301

  • How does the away goals tie-breaker work?
  • What is a nutmeg?
  • What are some common soccer formations?

Thanks for your help,
Ezra

Announcing Football 201: All About Positions

The Super Bowl is coming up quickly but there’s still enough time to impress your friends or family at their Super Bowl party! In Football 101 we went over why people like football, what down and distance are, how football scoring works, the inside scoop on fantasy football and football betting, how to decipher TV scoreboard graphics, and a great way to start having fun while watching football. Today, we’re announcing the release of our newest course, Football 201. This one is all about the mysteries of football positions. You’ll learn all about each of various positions in football: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, defensive back, and kicker. Our content covers the basics of how to identify each position when you watch football, what responsibilities players in each position are expected to fulfill, and what characters are usually attracted to playing or rooting for each position. At the end of the course you will get a fully unaccredited diploma of graduation, which you can hang on your wall with pride. If you enjoy the course, (and I hope you do!), I’d be thrilled to have you as a regular subscriber to our daily or weekly digests and for Football 301, coming soon! If you haven’t taken Football 101 yet and would like to, click here, or sign up in the form below.

Get started now












Thanks,
Ezra Fischer