Why Americans Don't Like Soccer

American Thinker ^ | 6/25/06 | Steven M. Warshawsky

[RepublicanPatriot]

My theory is that Americans have neither the belief system nor the temperment for such a sisyphean sport as soccer. We are a society of doers, achievers, and builders. Our country is dynamic, constantly growing, and becoming ever bigger, richer, and stronger. We do not subscribe to a “zero sum” mentality. We do not labor for the sake of laboring. And we like our sports teams to score.

[Ditto]

They need to change the rules. Cut the field in half and get rid of half the number of players allowed.

They tried that with professional indoor soccer, and it flopped.

IMHO, America does not have room for another major team sport. Baseball, football, basketball and to a lesser extent hockey have the entire calender booked.

I played soccer when I was young and enjoyed it. But I really do not have much desire to watch others play.

[isthisnickcool]

Couldn't you try a sports bra?

Good one! Funny! But actually might not be a bad idea since that might take care of two out of three things down there.

[Blue Jays]

Hi saalebhosdike-

Most thought it was a cameo appearance but in reality it was an actor who looks remarkably like the real David Beckham!

~ Blue Jays ~

[nikos1121]

Exactly! It's great to play, but sucks to watch....

Then make the goal bigger...and get rid of the off sides rule...at the professional level....

[redgolum]

We called it Jungle Ball.

It was banned after I cracked one of the varsity players ribs. Coach was pretty mad at me.

[Lady Heron]

Until Americans start playing Buzkashi (the brutal--and I mean brutal--ancestor to polo), we have no right to say that any sport is 'sissy.'

Unfortunately I do have the right to say that soccer played in the world cup is sissy since I sat through all those University of Tennessee soccer games and practices for the 4 years my husband played for them, a team which by the way won the SEC 3 of those 4 years he played for them.

He was the one pointing out to me all of the sissiness during the world cup game and commenting that it is the reason soccer would never be as huge a draw here as it is around the world.

[ashamedtobefromparkridge]

I'm sick of other countries putting us down because we don't like soccer.

Maybe they are the idiots because they hate american football.

American football and baseball is catching on worldwide more than soccer football is catching on here.

The Chicago Fire did get a boost because they played in the upside down spaceship that the Bears call home for 2 seasons and you can't get Bears tickets so people went to Fire games to see the old/new place.

They should have stayed there.

[Blue Jays]

Hi All-

For anyone who thinks that soccer doesn't have a "draw" for viewership, just read this brief Forbes.com article. They predict a BILLION people will watch the final on television this upcoming Saturday, July 9th @ 2:00 p.m. ET. Be there or be square!

~ Blue Jays ~

[Blue Jays]

Hi ashamedtobefromparkridge-

Approximately 15% of the global population will be focused on a single event the afternoon of Saturday, July 9th...and that is the World Cup Final.

I don't believe a larger audience could be drawn by a televised landing on Mars, the coronation of a new king, Britney Spears dancing nude on primetime, and certainly not a baseball/football game. According to the experts there is simply nothing else that draws so many worldwide viewers as World Cup soccer.

~ Blue Jays ~

[JRios1968]

And 99% of America still won't care. Is that still going on?

[Commander8]

It's not a man's sport, that's why.

[AlexMart]

I've been very entertained by the postings on this forum, but at the risk of being flamed, here is some food for thought:

(1) Take a look at ABC's TV Ratings - the U.S. vs. Italy game -earned higher ratings (4.4) than the past Stanley Cup playoffs over the past 10 years. The ABC ratings are just below NBC's US Open Golf Coverage and NASCAR Ratings on FOX. If you add in Univision's Spanish ("Copa Mundial") coverage (1.7), you're not too far from the NBA Finals. Not bad for a sport that's not popular in this country, and it's only growing. Here's my source:
http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,272%7C%7C%7Csports,00.html

(2) Soccer is socialist- Consider the following. A football coach pulls together a playbook outlining where each and every player will go on the field. The coach tells the quarterback which play to run and when - the exception is the player that, on infrequent occasions, is allowed to improvise, or, gasp, call an audible. That sounds like centralized socialist planning to me.

Think about the NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL - if you're the worst team in the league, you get to pick the best new player in the draft out of college. No real penalties for incompetence because we all share revenues and have salary caps. All in the name of preserving "competitiveness" because, God Forbid, we wouldn't want one team becoming dominant. Also, don't forget, we must rely on State and Local governments to fund our stadiums with enough luxury boxes because all of us taxpayers should subsidize billionaire owners to pay multimillionaire athletes.

You might want to compare this with European leagues where, if you have a bad year, you are relegated to lower divisions - equivalent to moving the Kansas City Royals down to Triple AAA because they have incompetent managers, players and/or owners. And no, no salary caps over there. No drafts either, you develop your own youth players to play in the major leagues. If you're a team that wants a new stadium, generally speaking, you can pay for it out of your own pocket. That sounds like capitalism to me.

(3) As for the game itself - I can think of no other sport less socialist than soccer. A coach can select 11 players for a team, but each of the players need to be able to adapt their style of play to the situation on the field. Teams that have players that are physically gifted, technically skillful, but most importantly, can think independently are, more often than not, the most successful teams. (As opposed to robots who must follow the coach's plans as dictated.) With only three substitutes a coach can replace a player in a limited fashion, but just like the business world, teams must succeed with the players they have in a competitive situation.

Yes, there are few goals in soccer - a goal is actually a major accomplishment, and should be treated as such. People (yes, including some of us Americans) treat soccer as a life-and-death experience because a goal means real success, as opposed to the quick fix, quick high, that is all too prevalent in our short-attention span society.

(4) Last I checked, there are no time outs in life - just a brief rest at halftime.


Yes, I'm one of the kids who started playing soccer in the suburbs 25+ years ago - I played through college, and I still play today. I was one of the first who dreamed about playing in the World . . . Cup, instead of the World Series, when I was younger. I was a reasonably good basketball and baseball player through high school - I didn't fall into soccer as the only sport I could play.

Now that I'm a little older, I'm proud to be one of the 30,000+ who traveled to Germany to cheer for the U.S. There are more of us out here than you imagine. There are more of us than you imagine.

In writing this, I'm not expecting to change too many minds on this forum. But Ain't America great? - No one is holding a gun to your head making you watch a game. However, you might actually enjoy going to a crowded bar and experience the atmosphere of a World Cup telecast.

One final thought relevant to this forum - the Mainstream Media has been biased against us from the beginning. Does that sound familiar?

P.S. You're smoking crack if you think there are very few superstars in soccer.

[Rummenigge]

hope you enjoyed your stay ...

If Klinsman will train your next national team real football will be the number one game in america also.

Your team doesn't need to hide anyway - I guess theres more talent to be discovered in the next years.

But I doubt these postings about 'hey I am ignorant and will not get the idea of football - not even the word' will stop - at least this is an online posting board and there's always people asuming their lack of interest is the news of the day.

[Still Thinking]

Hmmm. Could it be...cause it blows?

[spanalot]

funny

[Stoat]

funny

Thank you   :-)

[CSM]

Great post!

[lakey]

Soccer reminds me of playing kickball in grade school.

[dervish]

Also, I can't stand the whining and histrionics over ticky tac injuries." No American sport has so many crying men.

[rekounas]