Written by Athlists
I like my beer cold, my TV loud, and my grill flaming. I’m as red-blooded American as they come, and one of the biggest sports fans you will ever meet. I consider myself a human database of football stats, basketball trades, baseball figures, NASCAR victories, and even the current cricket standings.
There is one sport, however, that has always taken a back burner here in America . . . despite being the most popular game in the world.
Soccer, the beautiful game, futbol, football, or whatever accepted term is used to describe it will never be embraced in America. It’s a sad truth, but it’s a conclusion that’s inevitable and can be completely explained.
Admittedly, my passion for soccer was born my junior year of college while playing FIFA 06 with some roommates. Being junior varsity lacrosse and basketball players, we wanted to test our skills against the best of the best just to find out how tough the game really is. Our competitive intramural team name was FIFA 06 (With Multi-Tap), and we got our asses handed to us in the playoff semi-finals.
So after playing “the beautiful game” on the field, on all gaming consoles, and in arenas, I decided I would take a shot at watching a couple of games on the television. I hate to say it, but I just couldn’t take it. HD didn’t even help.
Although the majority of readers will take offense to this article, just hear me out. There are 7 reasons mainstream America will never embrace this game, and they are absolutely undeniable.
1. Americans don’t have the Attention Spans.
Soccer is a continuous game that is heavily influenced by a team’s endurance and stamina. Unfortunately, Americans do not understand that concept. While one of the most popular sports in the United States involves watching a car go around a track for 600 miles, soccer is players running constantly for 90 minutes. Unlike soccer, however, NASCAR also involves the elements of horrendous crashes, pit stops, and fan favorites. Football also stops after every play, and during the four quarters of the game. The same goes for the innings of baseball, and the quarters of basketball.
2. Low Scores.
Because soccer is such a competitive and trying sport, the scores remain relatively few and far between. Americans like scoring, in all ways, forms, and meanings. Look at every other sport and their average scores, and then compare them to a high scoring soccer affair involving 5 – 6 goals. While scoring a goal is exciting, you have to remember spectators endure 90 minutes of passing balls and running in order to witness the goal.
3. Americans are Fat.
The average weight for American men is 191 pounds, which is 20 pounds heavier than men 40 years ago. The childhood obesity problem doesn’t help either, with nearly 20% of children between the ages of 6 – 12 being overweight. Simple logic will tell you that being overweight means being unhealthy, which probably means you can’t perform well in stamina sports such as soccer. Other sports, however, rely on the big man to take the post, block and tackle, or mash a bomb out of the park. Soccer’s not a big man’s game . . . and a nation’s sports interest that is fixed in an unhealthy lifestyle will likely focus on sports that don’t require healthiness or losing weight.
4. There are no Individuals in Soccer.
Although there are players like Henry, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo the majority of great players and teams rely on teamwork more than any other sport in existence. Football, baseball, and basketball can all stand to have a weak link during game play. Although the weakest link can be exploited in these sports, the offense does not suffer from their mishaps and great players can more than make up for them. Players like Peyton Manning, Lebron James, and Randy Johnson can single handedly take over the game and produce a win. However, soccer requires extreme teamwork and patience. One weak link could mean a collapse in offense as well as defense. Americans like a hero . . . and it’s hard to be a hero on the soccer field without losing it for the team.
5. The Lack of Stats.
In all athletics, stats are crucial for the sports junkie. Being able to rattle off batting, FG, or QB ratings bring joy to millions of Americans. In soccer, the only real stats are passes, tackles, goals, and saves. Of course there are the occasional corners and cards, but the stats simply aren’t as meaningful nor interesting as other mainstream American sports. I could not tell you the passing percentage of Spain in the UEFA Cup, but I can tell you the ERA of most NL pitchers. The same goes for most of Americans that follow any sport closely.
6. No Rivalries in America.
The MLS boasts an unimpressive 16 teams in 16 cities here in America. There are only 2 conferences, and their marketing has done little to focus on city rivalries. In other sports we have Carolina v. Duke, New York v. Boston, USC v. UCLA, and so on. In the MLS, there is hardly any gut wrenching rivalries to partake in. No, Houston vs. Dallas does not count . . . does the nation stop to watch these two teams battle? I think not. In Europe it is the complete opposite, where hundreds of teams have city rivals, as well as their country rivals. Until there’s some flare, American soccer will remain on the back burner.
7. Americans love exactness.
When a player drops a football, fans scream. They also do the same for dropped baseball, pucks, basketballs, or even when a NASCAR driver misses his line and falls behind. We love perfection and our team never turning the ball over. Which explains why Americans could become very frustrated while watching a game of soccer. Because the soccerball is handled by the feet and can be extremely hard to control, precision is hard to come by during a match.
I completely agree, but you should also add how soccer players (even the good ones) tend to flop. Americans prefer the athletes as warrior image and don’t appreciate the injury faking that goes on in soccer.
O my this is probably the worst post I have ever seen on here. All generalizations and extreme stretches of facts.
Comparing NASCAR or baseball to soccer is unfair. Even Americans think they’re boring sports.
Games such as football and basketball are much better than soccer, though. You forgot to mention that you actually run much more on a basketball court than you ever will in a soccer field. It’s a known fact, actually, soccer is a sedentary sport for most roles. Sports like football and basketball are also played at a much higher intensity than soccer. While every player participates in a play in basketball/football, 30% of the team does in soccer, therefore proving wrong your “you run more when you play soccer than other sports” theory.
u r a fkn moron.
You know, hockey is very similar to soccer in the way its played (continuous play, goal in net, etc). Why do Americans care more about hockey then soccer?
Who would invent a sport where you can’t use your hands?
And when you CAN use your hands (throwing the ball overhead from the foul line) you have to throw it like a girl.
I agree – really bad post choice. IMHO.
You sir are a ignorant fool who probably doesn’t even get girls or play sports. I am willing to bet you have girly arms. Your name, rich, is funny, you are likely poor.
Haha -laughs so hard-
^Agreed. Gay sport. Period.
You make some excellent points. I, an American soccer fan, admit that it is extremely difficult to sit through an entire match fully engrossed. I have a different theory for this, however, because the idea that we Americans have a much weaker attention span than the rest of the world is wearing thin on me.
It is this: Americans, by and large, are NOT WORLD CLASS FANS. World class supporters, yes, but first class fanatics, not even close.
A close look at fan bases will prove this.
For American (professional sports) fans, a game is a place to take in a game androot when prompted by the scoreboard or when the action on the playing field calls for it. At other times, the status quo is to relax.
For the majority of footy fans, being a fanatic is a sport in itself. Getting prepared and celebrating matchday, and this is important, is ALMOST ENTIRELY NON-CONTINGENT on how well the team is playing. You dress up in scarves, shirts and hats, and go ape shit for 90 minutes (and indeed well after that).
Now I know I’m referring specifically to ultras here, but regular fans as well support to support, not just because a team is doing well or not.
Americans are just not used to this concept at all, but changes are taking place. Many MLS teams have ultras groups, Section 8, Barra Brava, to name a few, as does the National Team (Uncle Sam’s Army).
I truly believe that making the fan experience less passive does wonders as far as sitting through entire matches, even 0-0 draws.
Besides, it’s fun as hell. Americans are catching on, and will catch on, as the evidence is showing. Give us time.
This could have done without the fatkid youtube linkup. Rather random and not exactly clever in its own execution. Distracting and added nothing. /shrug
To the poster at #8 – I disagree with a lot of what you said. See college football.
To the poster at #10
Stop proving this article right about short attention spans. I specifically mentioned that I was referring only to professional sports teams fans.
I, for one would know about college fandom, being a Mizzou student and a college sports reporter. It’s not just football either. See Cameron Crazies.
O man, HOCKEY. Dude, watch a few games. You won’t even realize you’ve been holding your breath until you start turning blue. It’s the high stamina sport AND it’s exciting!
I could be wrong here since I have done no research. But I think soccer is a much higher stamina required sport simply because it takes much less effort to skate on ice than run. Again I might be wrong about this since I am very ignorant to both sports and I don’t know any statistic for distance traveled and such for either sport. But off the top of my head, it seems that soccer players must be in better shape than hockey players to run the amount that they do.
Skating requires more effort and stamina than running. When you skate at full speed it drains your energy much quicker than sprinting on land.
What an arrogant and ignorant post. Your lack of understanding is obviously displayed.
Some british guy guest on an american talkshow said that attending a game og american sports reminded him of a picnic. Lots of eating and breaks in the game to buy food and chat. A soccer match is much shorter than baseball and football matches and can be harder to make a day out of it. soccerfans have to hang out in pubs before and after a game to make a day out of it.
I don´t agree with the part about the lack of stars or heroes in soccer. I think best soccer players are just as well known as the stars of football or baseball. I think worldwide Beckham and Ronaldo are much more recocnized names than Manning or Favre. I think the salary cap in some of the american sports make it harder to become stars.
I think you are right about reason number 2 and 5. Thats some of the major problems with soccer. I like american football because of the stats and because there is more than one way to get points. I just can´t get through a whole match because of all the bloody breaks and game stops in it. Maybe it feels different if you are there at the stadium.
Don´t know about nr. 7. Never thougth about it that way. They bought beckham who are known for his precision. Might be something about that.
And why would soccer not catch on i USA? Some years ago it was the country with the most registered soccerplayers in the world. Don´t know if that is true today though.
I think it would be more relevant to see a 7 reasons why baseball is being replaced with soccer.
Besides, I think that our so-called fascination with scoring works well with soccer. Getting chances and scoring goals are usually extremely dramatic and unpredictable. They don’t come cheap, that’s for sure. So when a goal IS scored, it is that much more exhilirating.
As for the much maligned 0-0 draw, I just saw Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake play to a 0-0 draw in front of a rowdy packed house. Guess what? It was fun as hell. There were many great chances to score and we were all on our feet for just about the whole game; it was that intense. While some goals would have been nice, it was a much better feeling that we didn’t lose with no goals, than if we had lost with five goals scored.
You really need to have a vested interest in a certain team to get into watching soccer on TV. It’s really like any other sport. As a Sox, Bears, Blackhawks, and Bulls fan, I really can’t sit through many entire regular season games that my teams aren’t playing in. I just have little to no interest. Same with soccer.
This is an absolute disgrace of a post. Pure twaddle displaying another American’s complete lack of knowledge about the sport.
At post 3
It is absolute nonsense to say that soccer is sedentary. Sure, when it’s palyed by amateurs in the park it is but if you watch a proper game, say in the English Premier League – not MLS – you will notice that players never stop moving. They are constantly re-adjusting positions, reacting to the other teams movement on the pitch.
Nike put a chip in a player’s boots to measure his work-rate. Over the course of the 90 minutes he ran over 10 miles and was at rest for less than 30.” And he was a striker- the guy paid to hang around up front waiting for the ball. Midfield players cover even greater distances.
And to say that one sport is better than enough is foolish. Football, basketball and soccer all have their finer points.
IMHO soccer it’s actually played by most people around the world (everyone is more involved with it), football hockey, etc.. are better described as spectator sports, so the stops ans scores make more sense in TV (and that’s why soccer looks lame in comparison)
This is the gayest article I have ever read in my entire life. 1st of all they dont let fat people play in pro soccer so that doesnt matter. And yes we know that soccer doesnt have individuals because its a team sport. Duh. Scores dont matter and neither do attention spans. There are many rivalries between america and other countries. If u would pull ur head out of ur ass maybe u would see that.
Ur article sucks. ty 🙂
Agreed xD
They just judge before they watch it, anyways, they’re too fat too play futbol, that’s why they just like the “easy” sports..
Dumb asses, soccer requires strategy, and every other part of the body, at least us futbol players have a decent sportsmanship, we don’t go around yelling and cursing if we lost, yeah, maybe a little, but at least we’d congratulate the opposite team..
*groans*
Los americanos son tan estúpidos, oh mi dios ..
-__________-“
Point 2 made about the scores… Sure in soccer you get 0-0 draws, but they can actually be exciting. Basketball can seem too much like I have a go, you have a go, running back and forward to each other’s net. You fully appreciate the skill in defence needed to keep a clean sheet when you have played any amount of soccer yourself.
You of course get scores like 5-0, 3-3…I think it’s easy to forget in football one converted touchdown is equal to 7 points and a game scoring 35-0 or 21-21 would been seen as fairly high scoring.
Manchester Utd for instance scored 80 goals this season, with 22 against, and they played 38 games, this is not including champions’ league, FA cup, and carling cup tournaments.
Teams always have their superstars that can change and control the pace of the game. To suggest there are no heroes in soccer is ridiculous.
I can fully admit there are some playacting sissy girls in the game, but soccer without ‘challenges’ and video judges means fouls unseen by the ref will go unpunished, players over act in hope of drawing the foul to get the field position, it’s unfortunate and can ruin a game. That isn’t to say all players are involved in it.
I do believe the stats are an aspect lacking from the sport which other American sports do play heavily into. This is being gradually introduced more with player ratings, team ratings, and after match video analysis. The truth of the matter IMHO is the exciting part of any sport should be the actually on field action; something which soccer supplies for 2, 45min periods uninterrupted.
Soccer is the most popular game (to watch and play) on the planet for a reason. It is getting more popularised in America and will be embraced. I for one can’t wait…of course if it’s lacking the physical contact of football, there’s always rugby!
i am an american. this country is fat and ignorant.
baseball players and football players are just a bunch of overpaid fatasses.
americans cant handle putting time and money into a sport where they cant be the best in the world.
it disgusts me that the national baseball tournament is called the “world series”. guess what. its not. noone else plays the dumbass sport of baseball any where else in the world because it doesnt take any athletic ability to play. so if u win? its like being the tallest midget. NOONE FUCKING CARES.
superbowl winners shouldnt call themselves world champions. they should call themselves pathetic losers.
i cant wait to move to europe.
I like 🙂
you people dont get it and never will stick to your passionless franchised crap and leave real football alone
Great post ! I want to know when you update your blog, where can i subscribe to your blog? 🙂 🙂 🙂
yo digo q se vayan a la verga todos.
arriba el soccer. 😉
Si haha, futbol por la vida!! <3 😛
You, my friend, are a Class-A RETARD.
Soccer is boring, gay, and a pathetic excuse for a sport. It’s the most dull thing I’ve EVER seen in my entire life.
All soccer “fans” think that it’s the best sport because you run around more. Do you REALLY think that running around makes something a sport?
Like you stupid Europeans always say about America and soccer, you only don’t like our sports because you suck at them.
SOCCER SUCKS
Why don’t you go and eat some doughnuts you low life American..
Soccer is better than the ugly mask you see yourself in every morning..
Hijo de puta, americano pedazo de mierda.. -disgusted look-
I think America has two classes of people.Great, open minded, and clearly educated thinkers, and then a majority of lowly close-minded people who wouldn’t even locate Mexico on the world map…. One of my greatest world cup moments come with watching USA getting beat.
Homosexuality is more popular than soccer in the USA, thats a fact.The real reason why Americans will never embrace soccer is the same reason why the rest of the world will never see homo-sexuality in as much positive light as Americans see it.Sissies!!!Obviously, Americans wouldnt field well in soccer matches after a good night of thier more popular gay romps…for obvious reasons.
Haha, I swear, you just got owned right there american bastard, you see this comment here, it just owned you’re little american ass down right! 😀
This article is gay.
“It’s a known fact, actually, soccer is a sedentary sport for most roles. ”
The average players runs between five and six miles per game and they only get to rest at the half, during penalties/injuries, or if they’re taken off the field. There may only be 30% of the players near the ball at any given time, but the rest of the team is constantly trying to mark up or get into passing position. All players (aside from the goalkeeper) are continually covering ground.
The reason Americans don’t like soccer isn’t because it’s boring, it’s because a) Americans have little patience for anything short of consistent victory – even for teams they love; b) it’s hard to follow English or European league soccer in the states (on TV, anyway); c) there are tie games; d) because we have a subconscious distaste for all other countries (we don’t even like Canada and it’s just about the same country); and most of all, e) lack of marketing. American culture is based on advertising and soccer isn’t profitable here.
Every sport is an acquired taste. Most football fans love football because they were raised on it. The same is true of soccer – not a lot of kids in the states are raised watching Champions League matches. The rest of those who truly do make up their own minds about which sports they like just have different preferences. I spent most of my life bored to death with all American sports. The attention span argument is true, but it’s entirely subjective. Sports like football and baseball are incredibly boring to me. I don’t have the attention span to watch something that requires one hour for the game and three hours mixed in for between-play and commercial breaks.
About scoring – American culture is based on instant gratification. We want to see points on the board. But if you really get into watching good soccer (not MLS), the buildup and anticipation is way more exciting. The fact that even getting that ball into the net just once could turn the entire game gets you jumping out of the seat when it’s even remotely close to the net. Furthermore, it’s not predictable. Offense and defense switch so rapidly, you never know who could score or when.
I’ll admit the injury faking is a turn-off, but the players do it not because they aren’t tough guys but in order to sway a penalty decision – soccer is a game where even the slightest advantage can get you the one goal you needed for the win and due to the flow of game, the reffing is relatively subjective. And if you think nobody really gets hurt in soccer, click the URI.
That Soccer Hooligans Photo is mine. Please give me credit and link to the original or remove it from your blog.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandrino/209714180/
Hey J-Fitz, fuck you, I am an American but everything you just said proves how ignorant you are. You are the red neck the world sees us as, saying shit like soccer is “gay” and “stupid europeans.” The only reason you don’t like soccer is because it requires skill, fitness, and endurance. I’d like to see one of your football players try to sprint non-stop for 90 minutes. Soccer owns and all Americans like you know it. I agree with Marie, I can’t wait to move to Europe.
Do any of you understand how much skill it takes to do what footballers do.
David Beckham can place a ball on a penny from about 60 yards away, using his feet.
All your sports involve your hands. I’m not saying i can throw it like them, but comparing it with the feet it’s a lot harder to kick.
Go on Youtube and watch skill videos, with the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Henry. They do it with their feet, then you try doing anything close to it.
soccer is for pussies
Andre, your an idiot.
soccer can not compare to the physical requirements of football. Soccer is for fairies and any soccer player would be destroyed by any football player. Football is a real man’s sport. Go ahead and move to Europe, one less bitch in our country.
and Marie. you are a dumbass, as well.
Football players are more athletic, physically fit, tougher, stronger, and any other adjective you can fathom to describe a real man. Soccer is a bitch “sport” with nothing but running up and down a field kicking balls at eachother. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all start doing what they are used to and catching the balls in their mouths.
>I, for one would know about college fandom, being a Mizzou student and a college sports reporter. It’s not just football either. See Cameron Crazies.
You still wouldn’t know unless you’ve been to a big game down South.
>One of my greatest world cup moments come with watching USA getting beat.
But we really don’t give a shit! That is why the world gets pissed at us for not liking soccer. They want to rub it in our face that they beat us, but it’s not all that fun when we don’t care (if we even know) that we lost.
>fuck you, I am an American but everything you just said proves how ignorant you are. You are the red neck the world sees us as, saying shit like soccer is “gay” and “stupid europeans.” The only reason you don’t like soccer is because it requires skill, fitness, and endurance. I’d like to see one of your football players try to sprint non-stop for 90 minutes. Soccer owns and all Americans like you know it. I agree with Marie, I can’t wait to move to Europe.
I’ll try to refrain from getting pissed at the way you use a classist, bigoted term like redneck. I’d like to see one of your soccer players take a full speed hit from a 300 pound lineman get up and do it again. Basketball requires skill, fitness, and endurance. So does football, a different kind of endurance, the kind where you get tackled play after play and keep doing it. Americans don’t “know soccer owns”. We don’t really like it. Go move to Europe. We don’t give a shit.
Here’s the thing about soccer. You play for 90 minutes and the score ends up 0-0 quite frequently. And, they may try penalty kicks, but a lot of times they just leave it there. What the hell was the point of the game? You stay exactly where you started. To say we don’t like soccer because we are too stupid is also absurd. Soccer is pretty much the simplest team sport there is. They don’t even stop the clock, which gives basketball another dimension.
Us being doesn’t really have anything to do with it either. A lot of Americans play soccer, just very few watch it. It’s actually the most played sport by American kids, they just more often get into baseball, basketball, or football later on.
I’m not going to say soccer sucks, and I’m certainly not going to say it doesn’t require a lot of skill, because it does, though I don’t see how it requires any more skill than most other sports. I just don’t understand what makes it so great. Honestly, if I went to Britain, I’d find the fans more entertaining than the game.
fair enough jt…thats the best attitude i’ve heard from someone who doesn’t like the game of soccer…
you make it clear that you don’t know much about soccer so you won’t make too strong of judgements on it…i appreciate that attitude…
to the rest of the people bashing soccer here with comments like, “soccer is for pussies”…
when you say things like that you honestly aren’t embarrased by yourself?…thats something a 13 year old would say. did your brain never develop or what?
you may not like soccer but to discredit it as an easy sport or pussy sport is just stupid…sure its not even close to as physical as football or rugby, but its still way more physical than baseball or basketball…anybody been watching the nba playoffs… a finger on a players back equals a technical fould nowadays…and since when did a sports “toughness” determine whether a sport is good or not…i suppose gladiators were the best athletes of all time using that logic?
and to the person who said soccer is a sendantary sport…wow just wow, i have a hard time believing someone can know so little about a sport yet comment on it so confidently as if they know what they’re talking about…its comical at best…in a face to face argument you would embarrass yourself…luckily any old idiot can post ridiculous things over the internet. and in my experience thats the one thing i hate about the internet…
you discover there are a whole lot more idiots in the world than you thought…
I think it just comes down to the fact that every person has their own likes and dislikes. What is so complicated about that?
I like certain types of music and I don’t like others. So what? I can’t tell you exactly why I like them, I just do. They appeal to me for some reason, that’s all. I don’t really care why other people agree or disagree with my preferences. If they like baseball, that’s great – whatever makes them happy. If they hate soccer, fine, don’t watch it. Everyone is different and why try to force people to like or dislike something they already have an opinion on?
Also, it’s even sillier to try to explain why a group of MILLIONS have a certain opinion. There’s just no collective reason. They all have their own reasons. Maybe it’s just because we, as Americans, have a different sports culture than other countries, so we naturally gravitate towards the sports we are constantly exposed to while growing up. The rest of the world does the same thing.
Really, I don’t care if most Americans don’t like soccer (football). It’s not like the sport is going to suffer from it! It’s all over TV nowadays and there are a million and a half ways to watch it online. I’ll keep watching it and ignore the sports I don’t care about. I’m not going to make fun of those other sports or put down their fans or players. It’s just counterproductive.
Ok I’m not going to blab on about how “Soccer’s for pussies” or “football player’s are lethargic” and all of this but I have to ask why can’t anyone take at least somewhat of a neutral view? Alright so soccer players arn’t as tough as an NFL lineman and could never stand getting actually checked/tackled but an NFL lineman could NEVER keep moving constantly for 45 minutes. This is because he is trained differently, he is trained to go fast and hard for a very short amount of time while soccer players are trained to move at a jogging pace for 45 minutes at a time, it’s all about how you train. NFL players are given very little credit by soccer fans because they hardly move and they arn’t good athletes and all this stuff, but I would like to see a soccer player just try to tackle a pro Quaterback even, just try. Both athletes are amazing but they are trained differently, it takes a lot of skill to come straight off the line with about a 2 foot start and knock your opponent down, it also takes a lot of skill to beam a ball top shelf from 20 yards away. Everyone is so caught up in which sport is better that they won’t even consider how goo the other athletes are. I mean no matter what the sport I doubt any of you even has the slightest chance of competing with a pro in it. Now come on have a discussion don’t just constantly slam the other sport.
Soccer is occasionally enjoyable to watch, when the camera pulls back far enough so I can see the flow of the game. But watch it in a stadium-never. No matter how hard I try I just cannot care about it. Boring mmmm perhaps a better term would be subtle like baseball. The winning is in the details.
Imagining a scenario in which soccer becomes a major sport in the US is next to impossible. Now it might happen in 50 years but not in 10.
I would like to say that “Joe” is a complete tool. Clearly he lacks any experience in playing a game of soccer, or else, he plays like a tard. There is hardly ever a time in the game of soccer where you should be standing still. True, you don’t have the ball very often at all. But you should be making runs to get the ball, to create space for who has the ball, or to draw a defender away. If the opposing team has the ball, you should be running with your check (who unless he plays like “Joe” will be running), chasing the ball down, or hauling ass to get back and defend. The only position that doesn’t run throughout a game is the keeper. At a professional level, the average midfielder, over a full ninety minutes, will run 12-15km. This is sprinting, jogging and walking, but personally, i’d like to see an american walk 2-5km without worrying about a ball and 20 other guys on the field.
why are we arguing i like both sports and they both require alot of skill i have a little analogy for people who like to argue, ” arguing over the internet is like running in the special olympics, you may win but your still retarded” not trying to offend mentally handicapped people but stop arguing and admit that both sports are hard as fuck to play and get on with your life. ty =D
Now when you think your attention span, NASCAR is worthless, watching a car go around in circles for 3 hours and crashes happen rarely, thats just stupid. And football, very manly, a 6 second sprint followed by a 5 minute wait just to do another 6 second sprint.
ian, you look at most football players, notice how many of them are fat asses that can barely run, how is that more physically fit?
I happen to love both American Football and football (soccer).
I have played soccer for 25 years, and are now in my 30s. As an adult soccer is a very fun sport to play. You are active, and have responsibilities through 90 minutes of play. I hate being on the bench/sideline, (just like Allan Iverson in basketball) and it is much fun to be involved.
Soccer is a lot about skill and endurance, and very team-oriented just like football.
I am also very much into football, so I will try to explain some simularities, and some insights into the mechanisms of soccer.
Teamwork is necessary in order to move the ball and set up your team mates, who are in a better position than you. No running back can outspeed 11 defenders for a TD, but if his teammates blocks well it might happen. The same goes for soccer, where Messi (the best individual player in the game) can be double-teamed and closed down for must of the match. However, if his teammates are also skillful and can get into a good position with the ball on their own, then the opponent is in trouble. Just like basketball/football’s “pick your poison”.
Skills with your feet and understanding of the game (soccer IQ) is required for all 11 players, otherwise you will loose the ball to the opponent way to quickly. This is a problem because, it is more enduring to play defense than offense, particalurly against teams with very gifted players. When the opponnent has many gifted players (like the Spanish national team), then your team needs to more much and cover a lot of ground in order to protect being exploited by the opposition. After 60 minutes of running around chasing the ball you will create more and more space and time for your opponents to set up a goal.
Okay, hence that controlling and passing skills are important, because it is better to keep the ball to give your defense and midfield a break. This is very simular to football, where you don’t want 3-and-outs which could eventually expose your defense that gets tired.
Turnovers are not just turnovers…
It is far better to create a takeaway close to the opponent’s goal rather than in your own zone. Doesn’t this sound familiar to football.
Soccer IQ is about understanding the dynamics of the game. When and which teammate is in a suited position, and what situation increases the chances of scoring. Every soccer player has decisions to make when possesing the ball, just like the quarterback has to scan the field.
Soccer IQ is also like basketball, where anybody can take a shot at the ring but where you would rather have Shaq take a shot near the basket, than setting him up for a 3-pointer, right. The same goes for soccer, where you want to set up your best players for a goal chance.
A succesfull 90-yard-drive for a touchdown normally requires even a few running plays, and short passes for no gain. However, your team is “on a mission”. The same goes for midfield play in soccer. When distributing the passes, and passing the ball around is like waiting for the opponent to open up. Much like running the ball in football will make the defense play “honest”.
Yes, there are not that many goals in a soccer match (typically an average of 2,5/per game), but again in football you will often have a quarter with only a field goal or even scoreless, and maybe just 2 or 3 TDs in a game.
Yet I love watching both football or soccer (on TV or at the stadium).
Soccer is more joyful to watch, if you appreciate good ball handling skills, teamwork and climax (goals!).
Football is more tactical (many in-game coaching decisions), more explosive (big collisions) and has more suspense/drama.
Both sports can be highly unpredictable with deflected shots at goal, muffed punts, turnovers, you name it.
Many believe that soccer is just about running and kicking the ball around.
But the margin of error is in fact very small, particalurly if it occurs in the wrong parts of the field, or if the opponent is able to exploit it quickly. A defensive error from one player, or a missed chance in front of the goal can end up costing the entire game. This is a little like a defensive TD’s or special team TDs can be game-breaking in football.
You have “a window of oppertunities” in soccer, and you need to capitalize from it, in order to succeed. The more dominant you play your opponent the bigger the “window” gets.
Which sport is more “manly”. Football is definitely more physical, however in order to play soccer, you need to be able to run freely, and wrecklessly like a wide receiver or cornerback. However the hits you do take in soccer match are fewer. But those you do take are flying two-feet tackles, high-speed collisions with the oppenents goalkeeper or brutal central backs, or jumping battles in heading situations, where elbows are flying high too. And this without any real protection.
After every 90-minute-match I have played in my career apart from being sore in my whole body from all the running and movements, I have always taken a few hits on my legs, head, rips etc. You need at least 2-3 days to recoup, but it is true that it takes longer in football. Basketball, hockey etc. can be played every day. This is definitely not possible in soccer. I guess that explains a lot.
Soccer is not a sissy/gay sport as you can definitely intimidate your opponnent with physical play, and end the other guy’s season with one deliberate dubious tackle.
I hope this explanation have enhanced the chances for some of you who did not understand the fascination of soccer. But I still LOOOOVE watching football too.. 🙂
Soccer is the greatest sports football is a bitch sport always need water fat people runing arund and shitt wtf is that america is wack soccer all dayyy we need to pick up on the gameee any1 got a problem come at me
Americans fail to appreciate the beauty of soccer because they are too ignorant and don’t want to. As an American myself I cannot stand our dumb sports like baseball and american football. Basketball is a great sport because it is continuous like soccer, they have a natural flow to the game. Baseball… what other sport can one wear a belt and sunglasses? What other sport can you eat as many sun flower seeds and drink as much gatorade as you can handle? I wish i played baseball it must be fun in the dugout playing with yourself. American football… What other sport on the planet actually rewards one to be a 350 pound fat ass? What other sport do you need 100 players on the sideline ready to come just in case a fat ass on the field needs oxygen after one 5 second play.
The fact is Americans like to sit down on their couches with beer and fast food and watch more commercials of beer than they are of an actual game. They cant understand the fact that scoring isn’t everything in sport, or appreciate the work it takes to score a goal in football. Scoring is of course how you win, but the beauty lies in every second of play. The passing, tackles, calls, saves, 1v1s, moves, skills, shots, and teamwork.
The beauty of football is everything about it, the simplicty of it. All you need is a ball… No medieval armor or helmets, no sunglasses or belts, no high powered car, no hoop, no stick. Just a ball and a desire to have fun, that is the beauty of football. There are no restrictions to make you great, You dont have to be 6’8, you dont have to weigh 430 pounds, it doesnt matter how much you can bench press or how fast you run 40 yards… It matters how you control the ball, what you do with the ball and what you do off the ball.
I hope one day my fellow Americans will end their myopic view of the beautiful game, the worlds game, and take part in it more. Joga Bonito, Viva futbol.
Americans fail to appreciate the beauty of soccer because they are too ignorant and don’t want to. As an American myself I cannot stand our dumb sports like baseball and american football. Basketball is a great sport because it is continuous like soccer, they have a natural flow to the game. Baseball… what other sport can one wear a belt and sunglasses? What other sport can you eat as many sun flower seeds and drink as much gatorade as you can handle? I wish i played baseball it must be fun in the dugout playing with yourself. American football… What other sport on the planet actually rewards one to be a 350 pound fat ass? What other sport do you need 100 players on the sideline ready to come just in case a fat ass on the field needs oxygen after one 5 second play.
The fact is Americans like to sit down on their couches with beer and fast food and watch more commercials of beer than they are of an actual game. They cant understand the fact that scoring isn’t everything in sport, or appreciate the work it takes to score a goal in football. Scoring is of course how you win, but the beauty lies in every second of play. The passing, tackles, calls, saves, 1v1s, moves, skills, shots, and teamwork.
The beauty of football is everything about it, the simplicty of it. All you need is a ball… No medieval armor or helmets, no sunglasses or belts, no high powered car, no hoop, no stick. Just a ball and a desire to have fun, that is the beauty of football. There are no restrictions to make you great, You dont have to be 6’8, you dont have to weigh 430 pounds, it doesnt matter how much you can bench press or how fast you run 40 yards… It matters how you control the ball, what you do with the ball and what you do off the ball.
I hope one day my fellow Americans will end their myopic view of the beautiful game, the worlds game, and take part in it more. Joga Bonito, Viva futbol.
Okay, this post is a lot of worthless invective. “Blah blah blah, Americans are fat, lazy and stupid, blah blah blah.”
But I wanna go though each “reason.”
1. If this were true, baseball and football would never be watched. Games take much longer than a soccer game. Soccer games run about 90 minutes, but baseball can easily run twice that. All the starts and stops also make for tedious play. Yes, they present opportunities to get up, grab a snack, take a leak…and be social! Hey, what a novel concept. Also, as it’s been pointed out, basketball and the increasibly popular ice hockey are also continuously played so that reasonably rules out this argument.
2. Low scores are neither here nor there. Baseball scores *can* be low, it’s not unheard of. Same with football.
3. Americans are fat? What, all 310,000,000 of us? Not a handful of people in a handful of cities for a handful of teams? This is just a worthless insult, and not a rational argument. American men are 20 pounds heavier then they were 40 years ago, and 40 years ago American men still didn’t give two shits about soccer. Go figure. This also doesn’t explain why soccer is so popular in places like Britain and Germany. Dude, Germans are fucking HUGE! So don’t give me this garbage.
4. There are no individuals in soccer, but you name…individuals! Jeez, I wonder who that David Beckham guy is. Soccer is a team sport. Football is a team sport. Baseball is a team sport. Basketball is a team sport. Hockey is a team sport. Shit, NASCAR is a team sport, and I’m loathe to even call it a sport. Again, this doesn’t explain anything.
5. Again, you contradict yourself. No stats, yet there are stats. But keeping statistics is a byproduct of enjoying a game, not the reason for enjoying the game itself.
6. There are no rivalries because the sport isn’t popular enough in America for rivalries to develop. Sports aren’t built around rivalries, rivalries are built around sports.
7. This is the only argument of the bunch approaching a reasonable argument. But no, turnovers in football and dropped balls and low batting averages in baseball tend to disprove this argument.
There is pretty much only one reason why soccer isn’t popular. It’s because there are already plenty of sports here to keep us occupied. Baseball, football, hockey, basketball, etc. etc. etc. Why do we need another one? All these sports serve our collective sports fix as it is so soccer is simply crowded out.
Individuals might have their particular reasons for supporting or not supporting a particular sport is one thing, and certainly any one of the reasons above could very well be applied to any one person taken out of a crowd, but to try to ascribe them to a nation is just silly and juvenile.
Soccer will gain popularity in America. It’s already considered a major sport, albeit not the most popular sport in the United States. But it’s still considered a major sport, among the top 5 in the United States. And America is a multi-sport country and Americans are very social people. Some Americans give their country a bad name/image by responding harshly against anyone who is ‘different’ than them. My friends, simply ignore these people because they are of no use, not even in their own communities.
Don’t be fooled by some of the ignorant Americans around here. There are many good Americans who love to embrace Soccer and anything that is physically and mentally good for them.
To whomever said Basketball players run more than in Soccer, sorry but you’re mistaken. It’s a ridiculous argument.
1. The soccer field is greater in area than the basketball court.
2. Soccer is 90 minutes long whereas basketball is only 48 minutes.
3. Soccer has only one break in-between whereas basketball has more.
Fact of the matter is, soccer is a wonderful sport for those who appreciate it.
And that part about it being a low-scoring sport is a cliche. Also, what do you expect from an outdoor game?
If you want to see a high-scoring soccer game, watch indoor soccer or beach soccer, which are equally as fun as the outdoor version.
Having said that, soccer is a beautiful sport most the time. The average number of goals per game is 3.5.
I dont know about you but whats to interesting in seeing two teams score every 24 seconds like in basketball? Wheres the excitement in that? Theres nothing to shout for. Eventually you just get bored and the whole arena becomes silent, even when the players are scoring 2-pointers or 3-pointers.
Sports were never about a goalfest. Sports arent entertainment. Its not WWE. Its about winning against your opponent. Thats what people ultimately forget. What if an NFL game said 21-14? The numerical value does not represent the fun factor of a game. Luckily in soccer you get wins, defeats and stalemates. Thats what its about. Its about the build up, trying to break into the barriers, etc.
Sometimes it seems to me modern America is acting like the American native tribes of the past, i.e. by isolating themselves from the world. Its why they never wanted to embrace a world game because America was always isolated from the world. That and because soccer was invented by the English and many ignorant Americans – until this day- use that as an excuse to hate soccer, even though their game of American footall originated from Rugby football and their game of baseball originated from early forms of rounders, cricket and British baseball.
For those who say Soccer is gay, I dont see you a professional NFL player so do us a favor and shut your traps. Walk the walk, dont talk the talk. Most of these people cant even put up a good school yard fight let alone endure the physical pain of demanding sports.
American football has way too many stoppages. The game is actually played for only 11 of the 60 total minutes. And the running time of 60 minutes is divided into a 3 and a half hour scheme. Total waste of time. Didnt Americans come up with the saying, “time is money”?
People call soccer an unfair game yet American football’s outcome can change completely with one interception or fumble. People call soccer penalty kicks useless where basketball has free throws.
I am happy to say this is ultimately changing. America is finally opening up to the world. The ignorant people like Cenk Uygur and his buddies in TYT are a dying breed.
You either like a game or dont like it. But to take a militant position against something, like what some ignorant Americans are doing these days, is uncivilized. And how ironic is it that they come back from the Middle East or Africa, claiming that those parts of the world are uncivilized where in fact many of them cant even put rational arguments about a SPORT.
Take a look at this article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/why-soccer-sucks_b_24781.html
How ignorant could one get? The rest of the world underdeveloped? Talk about arrogance.
And Soccer a game of one chance? Im sorry but last I know Soccer had so many chances. Its a teams own fault if they dont take the dozens of chances they had and score. In the end, you can have a million chances and lose. Thats because football is about taking your chance, not bragging about playing good football but ending up in defeat.
And as if American football matches dont have changing outcomes by one silly interception or fumble error?
I rest my case. Some people are damned with a low IQ.
Wow, what a loser lol if u took one minute to read again what u wrote, you would realize how dumb u r. “All soccer fans think that it's the best sport because you run around more” hahaha u my friend act as a true american, like not the fake ones in movies, no no u represent real America, the stupid, dont wanna accept other people's opinions or facts, the people who think that thier shit” sports, food, cities, system, …etc is better than the whole world. hahaha because ur country that is compared to the whole world would know better right? like dam the whole worled are dumb and they watch and play dumb soccer.. congrats my friend I am gonna use ur lil line there in my next speach about what americans think of international sports
i guess america is full of bitches……jajajajajjajjajaj
Haha, yeeaaah xP
More like potato couch, now I know why there are so many McDonald’s.
-laughs-
There are numerous logical reasons why Americans don't gravitate toward soccer. Why on earth you felt the need to put down other american sports is beyond me. Football, basketball, baseball, and hockey all require extreme fitness and training in their own unique ways. You insinuating anything less hurts your argument and makes you seem arrogant.
The main reason soccer isn't popular is because it comes with a negative stigma. In the south, where the big three American sports have their biggest following, soccer is looked upon as a lesser, “gay”, sport. I played soccer growing up. I was called a pussy and grass fairy. It sucked. When all the best athletes seem to shy away from a sport at a younger level, it effects the nations perception of the sport as a whole.
Personally, i love to play soccer. I find it to be one of the most natural, fun sports to play. that being said, i can't watch a full soccer game. i also can't watch NASCAR at all(which, along with golf, isn't a sport) or baseball. It's boring. Again, fun to play, boring to watch.
Last but not least, the sport that requires the most skill is by far hockey. One has to skate well(most people can't even skate in general) constantly while getting knocked around and has to hit a tiny puck with a stick. think about it. No contest.
its called football not soccer dnt no wer u americans gt dat from and in american football u hardly use ur foot and a known fact football or wat u call it soccer is the best and most watched game
all of this is true, but it really just highlights why the game of soccer is so impressive as a sport. soccer is a beautiful game, an art. hopefully i haven't already been written off as gay for thinking of sports in this way but the truth is that a soccer game is an intricate, living, evolving thing, thus making it a fscinating artform.
No. 2 is te truest point, but for me, that is the defining trait of the game: the goal is sacred. low scoring makes scoring tha much better. I am from Pittsburgh and by birth i bleed black and gold. I've enjoyed a superbowl and a stanley cup all inthe matter of six months ( yes a cried for both). i would never say that all of that elation could never match how i feel for my US national team, but i will say that while i was in attendence at the US mexico world cup qualifier (2-0 yanks), i felt something i feel very few americans get to feel: natinoal pride through sport…i'm goingto stop there because this isn't the point i want to make.
for me, football fails next to soccer because:
you don't have to necessarily be an athlete to play football. i wouldn't call a 300+ lb man who plays for no more than 10 seconds for 3-10 seperate plays, then sits on a bench and sucks on an oxygen mask for another 10 minutes an athlete.
in soccer, every player possesses, at very least, the same base fitness, and skill level in order to play. also, every player plays together. football (which i've heard to be called the ultimate team sport) has players that would never ever be on the field simultaneously. i could probably go on.
basketball fails here:
really? 100+ points a game? what's the point? is it a sport or just a competition to see you can miss the less. i don't understand the intrigue of a game that just seems like fishing with dynomite. also, if you're tall you already have an ENORMOUS advantage(no pun intended), but tht doesn't seem in the nature of sport so much as natural selection.
i also have beef when i hear that soccer is not phyical when i watch basketball and i don't even understand why a foul is called.
the last tweo minutes of a basketbal game last 15 minutes. the last two minutes of a soccer game last 2 minutes.
i read a couple comments and came across the gem that said basketball players run more that soccer players. wow, man. 8 miles a game for a soccer players. 5 tops for a basketball player. much less stoppages in a soccer game as well.
baseball… holy shit!
not a team game
requires little to no athleticism (only skill)
miserably boring (and for 162 days straight)
hockey is a wonderful sport. like soccer requires skill, athleticism, strength, fitness. its only popular here because hey changed the rule for more goals and it is violent.
i'm tired and i apologize forspelling errors
this is stupid…all you're really saying is that am
I've never seen so many people wrong about so many things in these comments …
Football, American football, baseball, basketball and hockey all require immense, immense abilities that none of us will ever attain. We will never be as fast and skilled with our legs as football players, as strong and intense as American football players, be able to throw a ball 100 MPH, be able to shoot a ball in a basket from 10 meters away with a 6'9 man's 7'2 arms in our face or be able to withstand the physical beating of hockey. To put it short – all of these sports are so hard to do on a professional level, that no one should say otherwise.
For the poster who argued the sports of football versus American football, there are many wrong statements and some odd base-reasoning:
“in soccer, every player possesses, at very least, the same base fitness, and skill level in order to play.” I look to this as the most telling difference between popular American sports and soccer – American sports require specifically talented athletes in various sports: The quarterback in football who can throw 60-plus meters, the running back who can run a hundred meter dash in 10 seconds and have 220 lbs of muscle, the 300 lb-plus lineman who is stronger than 99.5% of humanity, and so on. Does having consistent weight, stamina and size constitute a better sport? Well, for you it does, apparently.
As for basketball, lets get one thing straight – being tall isn't enough. It has never been enough, nor will ever be enough for success. Despite the stereotype, you need legitimate skill and strength to do well. And while fouls may be touchier than most sports, that's to protect players from getting knocked down by 6'10″ 250 lb giants onto solid-wood floors, where (and yes this does happen), players get concussions, teeth broken, arms broken, knees popped, etc. Still, injuries happen in all sports (all the ones we're talking about, any way).
On baseball: Well, if you don't like the sport, you don't like it and there's nothing me or anyone else can change about that. But on no athleticism – wrong again. No, it's not to the level of other sports, but those sports also don't require as much precise skills. Does that make it better or worse? Can't really be said.
I think I agree most with the poster who mentioned that the reason soccer isn't popular the U.S. is because there's a stigma attached to it, which polarizes younger athletes. Is it wrong? Absolutely – the game is simply fantastic. However, SO ARE ALL THE OTHER SPORTS. And this comes from a person who avidly follows all of them.
And to the people who make the fat remarks, those are mind-bendingly stupid generalizations of Americans and attribute no factual grounds for argument. It exhibits a straw man fallacy at its best, and only makes your opinion appear more narrow.
It isn't a question of which is better. Soccer (or football as we call it in the UK) is like any other sport: you can only understand it fully if you have grown up with it. Soccer has a grace, elegance and artistry that no other sport can match. But that's just my view as a Brit. I wouldn't expect US sports fans to agree, and why should they, when they have their own great sports and sporting traditions to enjoy?
Great post. Screw all the @$$***** who are trying to degrade your freedom of speech/press? I'm not as big of a soccer fan as I would like to be because (holding true to the American pioneer spirit) I like using my hands 😉
***And hooligans, please don't rip this comment apart saying that's the beauty/art of increasing difficulty of the game using less precise appendages, b/c as the author established, I'd rather see perfection (or as close to it as I can get – Armando Gallaraga)***
Oh and also I hate not being able to see LeBron-esque breakaway GOOLLLAAASSOOOOOOs b/c of a little cherry-picking/game-changing/exciting factor adverse rule known as off-sides *shudders*
You are using my image, Watch Soccer Hooligans, without permission or attribution. This image is copyrighted and you are violating my copyright. I demand you remove the photo immediately.
Alessandro Abate
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandrino/209714180/
Dude, it's been a year. No one's going to credit you or remove the image. Move on.
What's all this noise about Americans and football? All over the Internet there are Americans whining about how they hate football. Who's asking you to like it? And why do you spend so much time talking about a sport you hate? Why do you send your team to the World Cup then? Do you see the rest of us going to the baseball World Cup? NO! The rest of us couldn't give a rat's fart about American sports. Why don't you do the same to football? This is just another instance of the legendary American nosiness, if you ask me.
If soccer guys are so good then why dont they tryout for a American football team As a kicker? They will get paid more. O I know why they don’t. Because they are weak! One hit they are fucking toast.They would not make any team! Not even the LIONS!Yes they can run around a field for 90 mins. Kick the ball with perfection. ok cool. great gj. now what? thats it? run and kick? come on Brits. No hate here but you got to realize that there is no contact. That is what Americans and Canadians want to see. A fight! Canadians more so hehe. But to call American football no talent,weak,fat or lack of skill compared to soccer is just wrong.We where pads to protect each other from killing each other. Our guys battle so hard they get carried out of games all the time. seriouse injuries that make them unable to finish a season you guys run and kick lol. Golf and Nascar is totatly dumb. I admit they should not be considered a sport. Golf is a game for old men and Nascar is a hobbie for hillbillies.Soccer is so boring to watch on TV. Im sure its way better at a major city game. On Tv it sucks total ass. Ill watch fucking bullriders before a soccer game.
me and my cousin were arguing on facebook on obviously if soccer sucks of not. i was for soccer and he an advid american sprorts fan not for soccer…heres what he said after i sent him this article link…all fair responses…..
1 americans love baseball & golf…thats out 2 hockey and baseball…thats out 3 let someone say that to my face…..thats out 4 bball football de norte americano and baseball plus hockey all team sports that are better then soccer…..tha…ts out 5 lack of stats yup okay valid…..6 as a red sox fan can you really include this?….thats out as for 7 NO we LOVE EXACTNESS we love percision we like it when are favorite players execute, not when they spend 90 minutes kicking the ball past each other never actually doing anything and then being happy with a tie….face it a tie is kinda like making out with your sister…..so now i have blown up 6 of your 7 reasons ready to come back to the real sports world yet? lol lol later lil cuz bed time lol its been real
I agree for the most part with you. However, I find you left out one important reason. Americans desire complexity. I will keep it short: soccer has very few rules, and football has a ton of rules. What I can say for a fact, is that I am an American and I like complexity. Simpliciy bores me.
One more thing… I can understand why Americans do not enjoy soccer, but why hate it? It is not by any means a gay or sissy sport, which is usually the defence by the idiots that hate it so much. It is beyond me why Americans exert so much hate on a sport that they don’t have to follow at all. I don’t care about soccer myself, but I do respect it as a sport. The idiocy of the people that inhabit my country dumbfounds me. I love my country immensly… but the hot-headed fools that reside it depresses me. It’s nice to vent sometimes.
I agree with Marie, and Viva Futbol, and all the people defending the sport futbol.
No offense, but you Americans are so last year.
Seriously, at least try watching the game before you go around judging it.
I’m originally from Spain, and I enjoy American sports, but you guys shouldn’t go hating on futbol, because, with all honesty, it is the best sport in the world, and it has EVERY country, we don’t leave out nobody. At least we made a damn American futbol team for you idiots, in my opinion, you guys don’t deserve it.
_Jacob_
Adios 😛