Don't worry, soccer fever will pass

Sun Chronicle ^

[Gil4]

“...just below horseracing and just above lacrosse.”

I think horseracing has slipped well behind lacrosse and soccer, and is now in the curling range.

[al baby]

I never got the fever I am an American I’m immune

[o2bfree]

Having seen a World Cup game in person in Dallas in 1994, I can tell you I came away convinced. Soccer is a captivating sport.

If any sport is boring and tedious by comparison... its Major League Baseball. Most pro baseball players can play a whole game and not even break a sweat.

[MplsSteve]

“Soccer? Even curling is more exciting to watch.”

Hardly.

Baseball, the great all-American game, is quite boring to watch.

Soccer, for all its flaws, is a hell of a lot more interesting to watch than baseball or golf.

[Para-Ord.45]

Oh yeah, forgot about golf, and darts. Takes one hell of an athlete to smoke a butt and then sink a put or down a pint then toss a little dart at a board.

[Dallas59]

[dfwgator]

For me it’s NBA Basketball.

Kobe makes a twenty-footer
Kobe makes another twenty-footer
Kobe makes another twenty-footer
ad nauseum...

And every game comes down to the last two minutes, and that two-minutes takes a half an hour with all of the time outs.

[BigCinBigD]

Paint your wall. Then turn a video camera on it as the paint drys. Ninety minutes later rewind the tape and watch it. That, is more exciting that soccer.

[Will88]

Having seen a World Cup game in person in Dallas in 1994, I can tell you I came away convinced. Soccer is a captivating sport.

I agree that baseball is boring. I no longer watch it, not even the world series. But I agree with this article: Americans' interest in soccer every four years does not at all mean that it is about to become a popular, major spectator sport every year.

And as someone else said, these hundreds of thousands of American kids who play soccer do not become soccer fans as adults. There have been surveys to verify that.

Soccer will be played at all levels in the US, but won't become on par with football, baseball and basketball as a spectator sport.

And, I have two questions for anyone:

1. When is the soccer season? What months of the year?

2. How many games do pro teams here and in Europe play per season, and per week?

[dfwgator]

1. When is the soccer season? What months of the year?

European soccer leagues go from late August through May.

The English Premier League, which is the league I follow, has games usually on Saturday and Sunday. What's great is that since they are about five hours ahead, their games take place in the morning here, and usually end right when the football games start.

The MLS is a joke. It's like watching Single-A baseball.

[kabar]

The U.S. adds one international migrant (net) every 34 seconds. Immigrants account for one in 8 U.S. residents, the highest level in more than 80 years. In 1970 it was one in 21; in 1980 it was one in 16; and in 1990 it was one in 13. In a decade, it will be one in 7, the highest it has been in our history. And by 2050, one in 5 residents of the U.S. will be foreign-born.

Immigration, legal and illegal, will make soccer on a par with basketball, baseball, and football.

[Will88]

European soccer leagues go from late August through May.

Thanks, and man, that is a long season. Almost nine months. I knew it seemed like those European teams were always playing, month-after-month, when I'd check sports on Justin TV.

[dfwgator]

English teams, have the Premier League, then they have the Carling Cup, FA Cup, and then on top of that, the best teams have the European competitions, going on, and they occur concurrently.

So in one week, a team can play a Premier League game, an FA Cup match, then a Champions League game. All in all, the best teams can play up to 50-60 games in a season, in all of the different competitions.

[Will88]

Immigration, legal and illegal, will make soccer on a par with basketball, baseball, and football

Probably in a few states, but not nationwide in the forseeable future. And many immigrants begin participating in the more popular American sports.

[max americana]

the infamous Kaka bump, yep.

[Para-Ord.45]

Why not just spot the two teams 100 points and play 2 minutes :-)

[Para-Ord.45]

Soccer? Only thing exciting about it are the hooligans.

Funner watching green bananas turning yellow or better yet, watching mothballs evaporate.

[kabar]

Soccer is in their blood. They can play other sports and still love soccer. Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant are in South Africa attending the cup events. Bryant was raised overseas in Italy. Nash played soccer. (I know Nash is a Canadian) Every state is a border state when it comes to immigrants.

[Vigilanteman]

Or give them bats to hit the ball instead of just using the feets.

Just one reason why La Crosse is a lot more exciting to watch. The guys go at it like a hockey match-- very rough and lots of mayhem.

The women are grace and strategy. The refs are a lot quicker to blow the whistle on any roughness, but still there's a lot more action than soccer.

[richmwill]

I am 35 years old. If soccer becomes a popular sport in America at any point in my lifetime, I’ll literally eat my hat.