America's Growing Interest in Soccer/The World Cup a Sign of 'Moral Decay', claims Ann Coulter

Daily Mail UK ^ | June 27, 2014 | David Mccormack

[sevinufnine]

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter believes that the country’s growing interest in soccer – fueled by Team USA’s success in the 2014 World Cup - is a sure sign of America's ‘moral decay.’

Coulter’s reasons for hating soccer include that individual achievement is not a big factor, it isn’t rough enough, and the fact that ‘it's foreign.’

As a conservative she argued that liberals only love soccer - and the metric system - because they're both 'European.'

[Fuzz]

“Soccer is one of the plans of the left to make us the third world or euro trash country they envision in America.”

And the Olympics is making everyone gay with those rainbow rings. Cats and dogs living together! It’s madness!

[sphinx]

Soccer has been an easy target for tongue-in-cheek jibes for a long time, but its roots in the U.S. are now deep enough that the joke has gone stale.

I didn't grow up with soccer but I have two soccer playing daughters and have watched enough to have begun to figure out the game. At this point, I prefer soccer and baseball to football and basketball, which have degraded themselves in pursuit of tv dollars to the point that they are poor imitations of what they used to be. Soccer and baseball have stayed true to the game; I don't like the designated hitter, interleague play, or MLB playoffs, but the game on the field itself hasn't changed. Neither has soccer. And the athletic quality of soccer, as a pure running game, puts any other major U.S. team sport to shame.

U.S. women's soccer, btw, is among the best in the world, and has been for decades now. (That's probably due to Title IX, which has other problems, but it certainly boosted women's sports, though at an unnecessarily great cost to the men.)

The U.S. men's team is now a respectable middling power, ranked 13th in the world going into this World Cup. We're a long way from being a recognized power, but if this were college football or basketball, we'd be one of those consistently dangerous mid-majors that no one can afford to overlook.

I'm delighted that American sports like basketball and, to a lesser extent, baseball have put down roots in other parts of the world. Soccer putting down roots here is no different.

[Army Air Corps]

In your list you have Australia. I have to admit that I like Australian Rules Football. It is a fast-paced sport that has some truly amazing plays.

[Doctor 2Brains]

No, those are the sheep-dolts who have good instincts but still voted for the kenyan because Katie Couric told them it was a historic vote.

[sevinufnine]

Two brains....I can read and still find it beyond fantasy to think liberals (or anyone else) are ramming soccer down our throats. That’s completely crazy. Myself/my conservative friends and family love it because it’s an awesome sport. I cannot believe liberals love it only because of France, or Europe, or any other country for that matter. (The best players IMO are from Mexico and South America anyway.)

[needmorePaine]

Hardly boring at all. MUCH better than American football where it takes 4 hrs. to play a 60 minute game. Or baseball where all they do is pick at their groins and spit tobacco juice everywhere.

Soccer is boring, dreadfully boring. Fans of it talk about how there is continuous action, but they are wrong. There is continuous movement, not necessarily action.


Football is stop and go, which can be frustrating, but that is because each down is a mini-conflict within the larger conflict of the game itself. While individual plays can do very little, they are a step in the process toward some goal, and there is the potential during each play for a breakout moment that doesn't necessarily need to be a score: a big gain, a big penalty, a big stop, a fumble, an interception, a sack, etc. If there isn't a score, then a big play can set up a score.

With soccer, if there is a rush to the net and no goal, then oh well, back to kicking the ball in a circle somewhere in the midfield...

Baseball is slow, but not boring. It is built on anticipation. Instead of having to watch a bunch of ants milling about until something happens, you again get to watch a mini-conflict between pitcher and hitter, and there are definite and potentially game-changing outcomes each time.

But of course, it's all a matter of taste, so we all should just lighten up a bit.

[Dr. Sivana]

A Miata in Europe is one thing, wide farm equipment in rural Wisconsin is something else altogether.

[sevinufnine]

Thank you!!! Very, good comment by someone who can think. Awesome.

[Doctor 2Brains]

Have you noticed that liberals hate football? Have you detected a liberal conspiracy to crush football? If you can’t see that, then we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

[oh8eleven]

Every 4 years we get silly articles touting America’s supposed new love for soccer. Once the US is out of play, the interest in it will drop to nothing.
Agreed. I think most Americans hate soccer because ... 1) it's BORING to watch; 2) Americans play to win - too many ties in soccer.
Actually it's no different than Prius owners or vegans, etc., always trying to shove their liberal looney "cause celeb" down our throats. Only they do it every year.

[Vaquero]

statistics are something that changes depending on your viewpoint. no such thing as value free statistics in this day and age. you can ‘look up’ just about anything.

I have found the contrary in many places on line, but my favorite is Rush Limbaugh’s rants against soccer....including the safety issues.

love to watch the little kids running around like little nuts playing soccer. but you want them to take on grown up sports when they get older....

[sevinufnine]

probably we should lighten up, but you’re dead wrong about soccer being boring and not having continuous action. Have you noticed the ball is in play the entire 90 minutes? Not so in American Football or baseball. Basketball much more so....I’ll give credit there.

[Vaquero]

bingo

[1rudeboy]

No, those are the sheep-dolts who have good instincts but still voted for the kenyan because Katie Couric told them it was a historic vote.

Leading to the question: if they are "sheep-dolts" marching to the tune of Katie Couric (with their Revolutionary War flags), what does your "opposition" to soccer accomplish?

[sevinufnine]

I live near Va Tech where Blacksburg is certainly the most liberal area in south-western Virginia. They LOVE LOVE LOVE American football. So I’m confused how liberals could hate what I see they clearly love to death.

[VanDeKoik]

Ok, now THAT picture is awesome!

It’s nice to see a bit of real American swagger in the stands and less “why cant we be more like Europe”.

[Doctor 2Brains]

Read again: I never said I was opposed to soccer.

[Doctor 2Brains]

Are you saying that you’ve not detected a liberal hate for football? You’re unaware of a liberal attempt to destroy football? I don’t often cite Limbaugh, but you might want to check out his rants on the subject.

[1rudeboy]

There is a fair deal of irony on FR World Cup threads. Conservatives making excuses for not cheering for the USA . . . .

[sphinx]

I think the tranny is right on that soccer is boring and mostly non white, but it has high individual achievement.

Mostly non-white? Did Anne say that? This would be an odd observation coming from an All-American NFL/NBA fan.

Soccer is played everywhere in the world and the players kinda sorta look like the countries they come from.