Posted on 08/19/2012 10:47:26 AM PDT by Jakarta ex-pat
I have just finished watching an absolute scorcher of a game between Manchester City and Southampton (the current league champions won 3-2) and would like to state my case why America needs to embrace this game ASAP.
1) Football (soccer) is THE premier spectator sport in the world.
This doesn't mean baseball, basketball, Ice Hockey, cricket, American football, rugby, Australian rules etc don't have a place at the table. But week in and week out, the thought that David can and does beat Goliath makes it genuine.
2) It can be played anywhere.
Unlike most team sports, no equipment is required to play except a ball. And I don't necessarily mean a football. The kids at my school use "paper" balls, and when I was a kid, we used sweaters for goal posts.
3) It is an international language.
With the chances of our children traveling internationally becoming far more frequent, to be able to communicate with others is a huge asset. Yes learning languages is important, but that's no good if you have nothing to talk about. The EPL is represented by almost half the world. Moreover it is the most watched league in the world. Having some knowledge of its stars and traditions does no harm.
Once again, I'm NOT saying other spectator sports are boring ( well ok basketball and baseball). But in this shrinking world, if you don't know Rooney from Drogba, Pele form Maradonna, or Juventus from AC Milan...you are left with talking about ....
When they start playing with the decapitated head of a vanquished enemy like in the old days, I might start watching.
Yahtzee uncles gave us Eisenhower?
What the eff are you talking about?
Just because the rest of the world enjoys soccer does not mean the US must. Yes, it is a big sport elsewhere, but it just hasn’t caught on in the US. I remember some collegiate soccer matches as far back as the 1960s. Soccer has had its chance. I find it boring. Apparently other Americans do as well.
War Eagle!
I am simply using your logical standard.
My Dad was a Spurs man too, from Palmers Green, although after he moved here he became more of a baseball fan. We occasionally see people in their kit over here but not nearly as often as Man U, Arsenal, or even Chelsea.
I will tell you why Americans do not embrace soccer.
It starts in the youth leagues, where most people have exposure to the sport. They have choices:
Football is a high-commitment sport;
- the equipment is expensive
- practice 5x a week + 1 game/week
- player size is very important
- individual skills need to be developed
- the team will fail where there is a weak player
Basebell is a medium-level commitment:
- equipment is inexpensive
- few practices, but 3-4 games/week
- player size is not that important
- individual skills need to be developed
- the team will struggle where there is a weak player
Soccer is a very low-commitment sport:
- the equipment is inexpensive,
- practice 1x a week + 1 game/week
- player size matters little
- the skill set to participate is minimal (running), and
- a youth team can do just fine with one or two clueless players on the field.
So which sport will the non-devoted parents choose for their smallish, non-athletic child? In America, there are parents who want their kids to get exercise. So they choose soccer.
I’ve coached soccer for many many years. To the non-comittal parents, soccer is a chance for little Johnnie or little Susie to run around for an hour. The parents don’t have a clue about the sport. Nearly all parents and most coaches couldn’t tell you what offsides is.
On top of that, the liberals have taken over the sport. They don’t keep score until the kids reach 10 years old, so that no one’s feelings get hurt. They have something called “silent sidelines” where parents are not allowed to say anything during a game, so no one’s feelings get hurt. If one team doesn’t have any substitutes (because not enough players showed up), a coaching strategy to give players a rest is to have a player untie a shoe when a ref isn’t looking - then when the ref does look, take his time tying the shoe so his team can rest...which is possible because a loose shoelace is dangerous and is not an unnecessary delay.
American soccer fails at the youth level. Thus Americans don’t embrace soccer.
Soccer low-commitment, etc.???? Perhaps at the AYSO level, but very different at the club level.
Here’s why soccer is about to take off, Clint Dempsey is about to sign a huge contract with some EPL team....when more Americans start getting big paydays for playing in Europe, that will attract more youth to pursue the sport.
It has gotten so bad, that players are now acting like all-star wrestlers for not even the slightest contact. It is a laughable affair, and really, the only thng going for it anymore.
Unless it's top-flight English Premier League game or the famous El Clásico rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, two teams that hate each other for competitive, political and cultural reasons.
My favorite sports are Hockey and football, both of which don't have that much more scoring than Soccer. Basketball has too much scoring, and baseball is basically sitting around for 3 hours with a couple of minutes of excitement.
After cricket, and baseball, the world’s most boring sport is soccer.
The sport for 14 year old overachieving girls.
#5
Metrosexual game. Boring.
#68
lol. Too many hipsters like Soccer. That alone is a dealbreaker for me.
Also, Soccer is too European for me. Next they’ll start encouraging us to wear Speedos.
I had two daughters who played high level travel soccer, just below elite, and the training was tough - run, run,and run some more. A serious soccer player is in great shape!
The funniest story of my oldest daughters career was of a club game in mid june in the New jersey heat and humidity. Think it was when they were in 9th grade- we were down to just 11 players due to injuries, the other team consisted of about 70% girls who - how should I say this nicely-might have fit in well on the football team at linebacker. Our girls were lean and fast. Being at their place, they were physical and the ref let it go- and they wore us down. Still 0-0 with ten to go, our top defender passed out from the heat. A lady down, we give up a late goal and lost 1-0.
The coach, a big, tall, soft spoken guy, called the girls together and said- “well girls, that was a tough loss.But look at the bright side - at least you’ll all be going to the prom”
Re your post #80, which ended with “Sheesh, how lame do you have to be to feel pride in the feats of others?” As I often say with regard to high school, college and professional sports, it all comes down to: Our goons can beat your goons.
The only sport that I watch is baseball and I’m not rooting for any team (well, one exception: I am for any team opposing the Yankees), I’m enjoying the skills of the players and team strategy. It’s a pleasure to see the game played well.
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