This is not a bash soccer thread but a legitimate question from a kid who grew up in American sports (the big 4). With the world cup kicking off (no pun intended) I feel it’s a good time to raise questions I’ve had for a long time. Just what is the draw to soccer? What is it that America’s not getting that the rest of the world does? Is it economic? Meaning could it be that soccer is the easiest game to play because all it takes is a ball? Is it historical? Meaning that soccer is much older than say baseball or hockey. Is it that the US sports are much more regional?
I have a couple frineds that have grown up in Europe and they LOVE soccer. One of them actually had a college scholarship here in the US. I have tried to get into it and I just can’t. I’m thinking that my American mind is trained towards sports that are fast paced and high scoring. But I also love golf. What am I missing out on here people? Please enlighten me!
You’re not alone. I personally cannot stand soccer. I mean, men kicking a ball around a field gets a bit tedious… and then you flip the channel for one second, flip back, and you’ve missed the one goal of the game!!
I’m not dissing people that do like the sport. To each their own of course. Give me good ole Aussie Rules footy anyday and I’ll be a happy girl.
Scores doesn’t matter as much as how the game is played. The game between France and Senegal was a beutiful game with many chances, fast gameplay and high skill.
It is all up to individual taste I guess, I can not stand a game like Cricket, but I’m sure there are millions who would disagree with me.
Soccer (or, as we call it, football) is universal for several reasons:
it’s cheap (you can start in a back garden with a tennis ball; you don’t need expensive equipment or massive pitches)
it’s easy to start (you only need 3 friends to play a basic game, and a couple of coats to mark out the goals)
the basic rules are clear (only offside is not easy)
any size can play (of course fast is good, but short is not a handicap)
it is already popular, so gets lots of media attention.
As I said, I like American football.
But look at its requirements.
You want only very big men for the line.
You want only very fast men for the receivers.
You need clever athletes for the quarterbacks etc.
Then they all need padding.
Then you need a special team and a kicker.
Then you need a lot of referees.
The game is perfect for US television, because of the frequent advertising breaks / time outs.
Why would a less wealthy country be interested in such a stop start game?
This is exactly what appeals to me about soccer. The stakes are so high that you must play full out at all times. American football (go Bears!!) is my first loves as far as sports go, but I don’t mind saying that I think soccer is the superior game.
Soccer is fun mostly because of what you CAN’T do during the game. The challenge of trying to score without using your hands makes it a terribly frustrating sport. Which, of course, is the main appeal to golf as well.
The other main appeal is the lack of scoring. Now, I know that in America this gets scoffed at, but think about it. In a game where teams rarely score more than twice, one goal can be vital. You play for 45 minutes without stopping, you get all of 15 minutes of rest, then you go back out and do it again for another 45, all in the hopes of managing that one moment of luck or brilliance or whatever it takes to manufacture a score out of slightly organized chaos. I cannot imagine there is anyone on the planet happier right now than Papa Bouba Diop.
Now, if you haven’t played soccer, haven’t attempted to kick the ball into the net from weird angles, haven’t tried to beat a defender one on one with an overstep fake, haven’t tried to stop a 65 MPH kick with your hands from less than 20 meters (I was lucky enough to field some attempts from a Mexican First Division player while working as a field announcer for the California Jaguars back in the mid-90’s), you probably find well timed tackles, great runs down the wing and even balls off the woodwork a bit boring. But trust me, it is exciting, aggravating, and, above all, fun.
When I was in Germany, in the army, The Royal Dutch Army was our host. We often joined them in sports competition. We kicked their ass at Basketball, Baseball was worse. They refused to play a second set of Downs when we played tackle football.
But when we played soccer, they scored three times in the first three minutes, after which all but one of our players were lying on the ground in utter exhaustion. They seemed to find it very entertaining.
I suppose it is all a matter of taste.
Tris
“You could park a car in the shadow of his ass.” ~ Geena Davis, in Thelma and Louise ~
I love soccer. I got up early to watch the start of the France-Senegal game (the goal was scored right before I left for school, so I got to report it to my fellow soccer lovers in Stat. I will admit that it’s easier to follow once you’ve played it (I did for more than 10 years), but after a while it becomes fairly easy to follow. I like the low scoring games because of the tension and the high stakes. Ever notice how in basketball it’s really only exciting when the close game enters the final few minutes? I can’t stand watching the first half of basketball games because the stakes seem so small. In soccer the game is nearly always on the line (most of the time the score is either tied or a one goal game).
I don’t understand the confusion. Soccer should be as appealing (or not) as any other sport – you’ve got two groups of players, competing against each other to see who can accomplish a certain goal, with various forms of limitations to make the challenge more suspenseful.
If ummm… yeah… doesn’t find soccer appealing but does like the Big Four American sports, I’d venture to guess that’s largely due to cultural conditioning – he doesn’t care for soccer because he didn’t have much exposure to it while growing up. And that is probably because soccer is a hard game to sell on TV – the action’s nearly continuous, so you can’t reliably schedule commercial time and draw sponsors. Lack of exposure turns into lack of interest, which turns into lack of Americans who get into the game.
Ya, I think that’s a lot of it. I did get excited when the women’s US team was in the world cup a few years ago. But I have seen games where one team intentionally tries not to score. They just go completely defensive. I saw a game a few years ago where a team did this through regulation and 2 OT’s. They were trying to win it on penalty kicks. I find that highly boring, though I understand the strategy.
I don’t think Americans feel any tension when watching soccer. I know that when I watch them kick the ball around the middle of the pitch, I’m bored to tears. I know they can’t score from back there, so it’s yawnsville. It gets very exciting when they’re near the goal, but otherwise it’s just so much back and forth passing.
In the big 4 American sports, you’re almost always one quick play away from scoring. Every pitch, every play, every time down court/ice, there is a possibility of something big happening. We don’t see that in soccer, just a bunch of passing way outside of the scoring zone.
That’s not to say golf and even baseball aren’t kind of boring to watch, too, but I don’t watch them very often. Hardly ever in fact.
However, in golf you know the players are going to at least get the ball into the hole 18 times each. And in baseball there is never, ever a tie game. You keep playing until someone wins.
And I did play soccer as a kid. I was bored then too. I was a fullback and we would just stand around for 5 minutes until the other team came downfield, kick the ball back to our offensive players, then stand around for another 5 minutes. What a thrill.
I was in a snooker hall in the Netherlands one time and all of a sudden everyone rushes in to the other room to watch a soccer match. I practiced my billiard shots by myself for an hour and 15 minutes then went to get another beer and see how everyone was doing. One fellow asked “You Americans aren’t much interested in Football, are you?” I said, “What’s the score.” He replied “Nil, Nil”, and I asked him “And how long have they been playing?” It was like a little light went on in his head.
There are probably quite a few reasons why Ummmm… yeah doesn’t get the sport…
He doesn’t like it because he can’t play it… He’s probably some tall skinny guy that can’t run.
He doesn’t see the importance of the team to the country which it represents. As he said, it’s a cheaper sport, so many countries that don’t have the luxury of having all the other sports with all the equipment, get the opportunity to play a sport and get represented. Just because the US is big and rich doesn’t mean that they should be the only country that gets all the attention with all the sports it has. Soccer allows these smaller, poorer countries to still get their name out there and be proud. Oh yeah… and almost never does the US win. I always cheer for the underdog.
Did I mention that Ummmm… yeah probably sucks at soccer?
Ummmm… yeah forgets that in the big 4 games there are out of shape, overweight players, and just because they can throw a ball or hit it, they get millions upon millions of dollars. I’m never seen a soccer player on tv with a gut.
There are probably quite a few reasons why Ummmm… yeah doesn’t get the sport…
He doesn’t like it because he can’t play it… He’s probably some tall skinny guy that can’t run.
He doesn’t see the importance of the team to the country which it represents. As he said, it’s a cheaper sport, so many countries that don’t have the luxury of having all the other sports with all the equipment, get the opportunity to play a sport and get represented. Just because the US is big and rich doesn’t mean that they should be the only country that gets all the attention with all the sports it has. Soccer allows these smaller, poorer countries to still get their name out there and be proud. Oh yeah… and almost never does the US win. I always cheer for the underdog.
Did I mention that Ummmm… yeah probably sucks at soccer?
Ummmm… yeah forgets that in the big 4 games there are out of shape, overweight players, and just because they can throw a ball or hit it, they get millions upon millions of dollars. I’m never seen a soccer player on tv with a gut.
