# USA v Mexico - Columbus, Ohio **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 3, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891 "2005-09-03T14:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/21 "2005-09-05T17:39:09Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > The NFL is easily the most popular sport in the USA right now. Does _that_ make it Budweiser as well? It’s actually Coors Light, I think. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/22 "2005-09-05T17:43:18Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > It’s actually Coors Light, I think. As long as I get “the twins”. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/23 "2005-09-05T18:10:02Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Offensive zone is where, exactly? I thought there was an offsides rule in soccer, similar to hockey. > [@](#): > > You are trying to somehow, by defining soccer by the rules of American football(?), to say that there is no drama in soccer? Why would you think that? I’m not saying that at all. All I’m saying is that you can’t go from losing to winning in a single play, which limits the possibility of a last-second come-from-behind victory. I never claimed that that was the only way a game could be dramatic. > [@](#): > > The NFL is easily the most popular sport in the USA right now. Does _that_ make it Budweiser as well? Sometimes popular things are popular for a reason. I’m pretty sure MLB sells more tickets and has a larger tv/radio audience by season. So what do you mean by popular? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/24 "2005-09-05T22:06:07Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > I thought there was an offsides rule in soccer, similar to hockey.Why would you think that? I’m not saying that at all. All I’m saying is that you can’t go from losing to winning in a single play, which limits the possibility of a last-second come-from-behind victory. I never claimed that that was the only way a game could be dramatic.I’m pretty sure MLB sells more tickets and has a larger tv/radio audience by season. So what do you mean by popular? MLB also has 10x as many games. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/25 "2005-09-05T22:13:47Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > MLB also has 10x as many games. And? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/26 "2005-09-06T00:30:27Z")
Look at the audience for any given football game versus any given baseball game. How about for any World Series game versus the Super Bowl. Or any playoff game in either sport. I’d bet football always wins that competition. Baseball only wins when you count every single game that they play. There may be some local exceptions to this, and NYC might be one. But if you miss a Yankees game, so what, there are 161 other games to watch. If you miss a Giants game you might miss the crucial game that the season turns on. ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/27 "2005-09-06T00:41:47Z")
NFL is far more popular. The biggest signifier of this is probably the TV contract. It dwarfs the other sports. Hell, DirecTV owes its survival to the exclusive Sunday Ticket contract. Also, the valuation of NFL teams is enormous compared to the other sports. Which is indirectly if not directly a reflection of popularity. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/28 "2005-09-06T22:24:51Z")
Cripes almighty, who cares about the NFL’s come-from-behind wins, or whatever. That’s not what makes soccer exciting; you watch it because the margin of error is so small for every game that at any time a team that had been dominated but hadn’t yielded a score could put one away and find themselves winning. If you care about a team you’ll find yourself pretty tense the whole 90 minutes of the game. Enough about soccer-haters, they can go make their own thread. > [@brianjedi](#): > > Looks like a lot of red and green in that stadium, even with it being in Ohio. Sam’s Army, the US National Team’s supporters group, has chosen red as their color. Reports from the stadium estimate the crowd as being 70 percent pro-American. And Lavolpe whines way too much for a guy who wears blue jeans and a tie on the sidelines. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/29 "2005-09-07T01:39:29Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Anyway, my point was, though I undetstand your love of football, you arguing against “world football” is sort of like an Englishman sticking his nose into one of our NFL roundups and saying stuff like, “Sheesh, that game sucks. They stop it all of the time, half of the good plays are brought back on penalties, at least five players on either side is a fat slob who can barely be described as an athlete, it’s stupid to give 6 points for a single score, yada yada yada”. They’d be wrong, pro football is a beautiful, violent, compelling sport. Soccer is a beautiful, flowing game when played well. As a fan of both I don’t understand the Jim Rome’s of the world who feel a constant need to rag on soccer. It’s more a sign of insecurity. Don’t like it: fine, just ignore it. I think NASCAR is incomprehensible, but there must be something there or no one would watch it. Must be something to soccer if half of the world, literally, will watch the World Cup Finals in Germany next summer. Actually on soccer forums, I’ve heard EXACTLY that argument against American football. You can distill any game into an explination that sounds boring, even though it may be incredibly exciting in person. When people say 2-0, soccer is so horrible, your description of American football is a dead on counter. Well done. FWIW, I love both sports (as well as baseball and hockey). There is far more to any sport than the score line. You say a score line and it can be a great game or a horrid game (yes, a high scoring game can suck because of a lack of any defensive prowess). > [@Ellis Dee](#): > > I thought there was an offsides rule in soccer, similar to hockey. The offsides can occur anywhere from 1 foot beyond the half line all the way to the goal line. It depends on the positioning of players, not zones (as long as you are beyond the half line, which is about 99.9% the case). > [@](#): > > I’m pretty sure MLB sells more tickets and has a larger tv/radio audience by season. So what do you mean by popular The NFL sells FAR more tickets per game and has a much larger TV audience per game. The NFL is definetly more popular than baseball, but that doesn’t mean that baseball is unpopular by any means (then again, some of the younger generation don’t know how to appreciate the game). ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/30 "2005-09-07T01:40:40Z")
> [@eponymous](#): > > Score could have been easily 3-0 as Damon Beasley missed a chip-shot on a one-on-one with the goalie (Claudio Reyna set him up with a beautiful long pass). Slight nitpick (sorry), it’s DeMarcus Beasley ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/31 "2005-09-07T04:31:41Z")
_ISiddiqui_, My bad - must have confused his name with Damion Easley (played 2nd base for Angels and Detroit Tigers). I’ve got lots of useless sports information swirling around in my brain… ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891/32 "2005-09-07T04:40:55Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Slight nitpick (sorry), it’s DeMarcus Beasley Super duper nitpick (I can’t help myself, either), it’s DaMarcus Beasley. Or DMB. Or the f&cking MAN! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usa-v-mexico-columbus-ohio/319891.md?page=1)