# Why Americans don't like soccer? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 29, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111 "2011-04-29T02:39:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/41 "2011-04-29T11:55:08Z")
Moving football thread from IMHO to The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/42 "2011-04-29T11:59:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Moving football thread from IMHO to The Game Room. But it isn’t a game, it’s a question about why soccer lacks popularity in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/43 "2011-04-29T12:17:46Z")
It doesn’t really translate on a TV. You see far away shots of what looks like a bunch of guys milling around. Plus the action is hard to pin down when it can happen. Hockey can be low scoring too but you have certain 2 minute sessions (power plays) set up that give one team a better chance of scoring. When I was in junior high/high school in the 1960s, my gym class just hated Septembers when the “Coach” had us play soccer.“Why can’t we just play football or baseball with this nice weather.” One thing I wonder about is if it would be more popular if you had an American Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan. Somebody who had the personality and skill to get casual viewers to turn in. I wouldn’t call cycling a major sport but it has improved its profile after Lance Armstrong. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/44 "2011-04-29T12:22:15Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > :dubious: > > They sometimes show NFL and baseball on late-night TV here in the UK. Whenever I’ve started watching it seems like they last for about 4 hours, what with all the stop-start bollocks. You can leave the game with 12 minutes on the clock, go and make a sandwich and a cup of tea, maybe go for a jog for half an hour, return to the couch and find the clock has reached 5:30. Baseball has no clock whatsoever (beyond the sun, in the days before lighted fields). But a fair point for American football. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/45 "2011-04-29T12:42:15Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > And the worst kind of Indian: Tea-drinking British Indians from Britain! They lull you into a false sense of Britishness while they hide their Indian-ness behind a veneer. (A veneer of British.) Sort of like Freddie Mercury? Except that Queen was awesome, and soccer is incredibly boring. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/46 "2011-04-29T12:45:58Z")
Soccer is a fun sport to play and doesn’t require great size and/or really big muscles, which is why it is very popular for young people in America. It is also in my opinion one of the most boring sports in history to watch on TV which is a killer as far as adult interest. And for the non-sedentary it’s a lot easier to get up a game of basketball than to scrounge a whole mess of players and a field for soccer. Something that gets little mention regarding major league soccer in the U.S. is that organizers seem determined to minimize the importance of league games and the league championship, interrupting the season so that the better teams play regional powers in other leagues for some kind of crown. This results in the better U.S. teams being beaten down by all the extra play so that they are too exhausted by the end of the season to win their league (at least, this seemed to happen to my local franchise which won it all a few years ago but has been victimized early in the playoffs the last couple of years). It’s as if the Yankees and Phillies had to go to Japan in the middle of the season to play powers there and risked injuries and travel lag, resulting in their missing the World Series. If the MLS doesn’t care about its own championship, why should I? Add to this the ridiculous over-commercialization around the world, where players are walking (or running) billboards for various companies, and even American soccer has teams named for products (i.e. the New York Red Bulls and (unbelievably) a women’s pro team called Magic Jack. Hurrah, Hurrah for Magic Jack!!). But it’s mostly the nil-nil ties and the vuvuzelas. Oh, and put a lid on the xenophobia, huh **pinguin**? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/47 "2011-04-29T12:59:10Z")
Baseball is nowhere near as low scoring as soccer. 1-0 in not a popular baseball score. And I would consider basketball, hockey, and even American football to be team games. Baseball is the one game where you have individuals. It’s batter v. pitcher, then runner v. fielders. One of the sides is always an individual. Also, I played soccer as a kid. It’s easy to kick something into a goal, at least as easy as throwing a ball into a tiny hoop. The hard part is the ball keeping the ball from being stopped by someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/48 "2011-04-29T13:12:20Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Baseball is the one game where you have individuals. It’s batter v. pitcher, then runner v. fielders. One of the sides is always an individual. Well, those are the _primary_ contests; strictly speaking there can be as many as four baserunners in motion at a time, and there are certainly plays in which the actions of at least two runners are interdependent. For that matter, the actions of both pitcher and batter can be interactive with those of runners and fielders during an at-bat. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/49 "2011-04-29T13:13:37Z")
Is this the “let’s piss on those horrible Americans” thread? Anyways, I’d wager it’s because soccer is fucking horribly boring to watch. I lived in London for a while and I can guarantee that I never once enjoyed watching soccer when I was in a pub. Not even while I’d had a good few pints. It’s just awful. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/50 "2011-04-29T13:23:02Z")
Soccer is really fun to play. I played keeper for 18 years and was pretty damn good at it, too. I loved it. That said I can’t watch professional soccer on TV. As others have mentioned, it doesn’t lend itself well to television. Its boring on TV. I think part of it is just how damn good the players are, how many players there are on the field at the same time (all spread out instead of in a formation like in football) and just how few scoring opportunities there are. In short: its boring to watch pro soccer on TV. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/51 "2011-04-29T13:42:05Z")
In the USA, kicking a loose ball is not something that is done. It is a sign of bad sportsmanship at the very least, and will draw a penalty or censure in every other sport. That, and designing a sport that doesn’t let you use a major difference between us and the rest of the animal kingdom is stupid. We have opposable thumbs for a reason - to grasp a bat. That and the fact that foreigners do it is why Merkins don’t watch soccer. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/52 "2011-04-29T13:44:02Z")
Yankees dont like to play it because in sports like Soccer, GAA, or Aussie rules there are very few breaks in play for the “athletes” to go and sit their lazy asses down to drink some gaterade. In soccer you generally have to be in constant motion for 45 mins at a time. This doesnt work well for such a sedentary culture, one that uses the handy excuse of advertising to mask the fact that they cant run for more then twenty seconds without taking a breather. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/53 "2011-04-29T13:47:39Z")
I agree that it doesn’t lend itself to TV very well. American football is _perfect_ for TV. Non-fans complain about the stopping and starting, but that’s what makes it great for TV. After every play, you get multiple replays to analyze exactly what happened on each play, from multiple perspectives and matchups. You can’t get that depth of analysis during the game from soccer. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/54 "2011-04-29T14:15:58Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Is this the “let’s piss on those horrible Americans” thread? > [@bucketybuck](#): > > This doesnt work well for such a sedentary culture, one that uses the handy excuse of advertising to mask the fact that they cant run for more then twenty seconds without taking a breather. It is, it is! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/55 "2011-04-29T14:18:26Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > It just seems _foreign_, and I think that puts people off. Don’t forget about the fact that many (most?) Americans think of professional soccer players as single-named, greasy, long haired Europeans (gen. Spaniards or Italians) or Latin Americans, or as some kind of Africans. Add to that the propensity for many soccer players to flail around like giant pussies when they get fouled, and it tends to turn Americans used to more clean-cut and tough sports like football and baseball off. (note: I think a lot of Americans would like English Premier League soccer a lot- it’s higher on the toughness factor than a lot of leagues, and it’s full of more or less clean cut white guys) ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/56 "2011-04-29T14:30:03Z")
There a couple reasons I don’t care much for soccer. 1. I didn’t grow up with it. Plain and simple, the small town I grew up in did not have youth soccer and it was not a sport that was featured on TV the way the big 3 were during my childhood. My interests in baseball, football and basketball were so strong and my knowledge of soccer was so weak that I just never cared much. Now that I have had adequate exposure to soccer, there are still some aspects of the sport that turn me off. So… 1. I just don’t think it takes much skill. Do not confuse skill with endurance. Soccer requires an insane amount of endurance. And like almost any “action” sport, speed certainly helps. But it does not, in my opinion, require the mastery of technique like other sports. I think this leads to the convenience of “soccer moms” dropping kids off at practice or games without much extra time dedicated to learning the sport. I think you can be a soccer star just by being fast. On the opposite end of the skill spectrum, in my opinioin, is baseball. You can’t be a baseball star by possessing speed or strength alone. Learning to hit a baseball takes lots and lots of practice. I’m know soccer enthusiasts will vehemently disagree, but it’s just my opinion. 2. This is not the same as a lack of violence, but there is a perception of a lack of toughness. I watch the world cup games when they’re on and the flopping that goes on in soccer makes NBA players look like amateurs. Again, I don’t need violence. Baseball isn’t really violent and it’s my favorite sport. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/57 "2011-04-29T14:34:46Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Don’t forget about the fact that many (most?) Americans think of professional soccer players as single-named, greasy, long haired Europeans (gen. Spaniards or Italians) or Latin Americans, or as some kind of Africans…(note: I think a lot of Americans would like English Premier League soccer a lot- it’s higher on the toughness factor than a lot of leagues, and it’s full of more or less clean cut white guys) Yeah, because baseball, football and basketball are just absolutely _dominated_ by “clean cut white guys”, which is why they’re big in the U.S. :rolleyes: One thing I don’t get about non-Americans resenting the fact that soccer isn’t real popular in the U.S.: if we ever did get fanatical about the sport, we have great athletic talent and lots of bucks to invest in developing it, and before long lots of the world’s teams would find their asses getting kicked regularly by “Yankees”. Be thankful soccer has never made it to center stage in America. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/58 "2011-04-29T14:39:50Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Anyways, I’d wager it’s because soccer is fucking horribly boring to watch. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Soccer is really fun to play. I played keeper for 18 years and was pretty damn good at it, too. I loved it. > > That said I can’t watch professional soccer on TV. I think this is it: soccer is fun to play, but boring as hell to watch. Americans—at least American kids—do like _playing_ soccer. But as a spectator sport, well, nothing _happens_! Or at least, I’m not educated enough to tell that anything’s happening. You could take a game of baseball or (American) football and write a long, substantial narrative, full of drama and suspense, describing what happened over the course of the game. For a soccer game, it would just be “A bunch of guys ran around a lot, and some of them kicked the ball one direction and some of them kicked it the other direction. The end.” ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/59 "2011-04-29T14:57:43Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > According to the venerable Hank Hill, soccer was invented by European ladies to kill time while their husbands prepared supper. > [@bucketybuck](#): > > Yankees dont like to play it because in sports like Soccer, GAA, or Aussie rules there are very few breaks in play for the “athletes” to go and sit their lazy asses down to drink some gaterade. > > In soccer you generally have to be in constant motion for 45 mins at a time. This doesnt work well for such a sedentary culture, one that uses the handy excuse of advertising to mask the fact that they cant run for more then twenty seconds without taking a breather. Sort of like how the Irish don’t like American Football because it doesn’t involve being oppressed by the English or denying women the right to an abortion. Hey, look at that! Being smugly superior about your country goes both ways. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111/60 "2011-04-29T15:00:02Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Is this the “let’s piss on those horrible Americans” thread? That’s the intention of all of pinguin’s threads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-americans-dont-like-soccer/580111.md?page=4)