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I'm not insulting anybody just telling the truth. In soccer, much like in hockey, there's a lot of movement with the sole purpose of trying to teach the opponent to do one thing in reaction to you so that later in the game you can do something he doesn't expect catch him out of position and get a scoring opportunity. And historically American sports audiences don't like that kind of subtlety, they don't enjoy sports where tilting your shoulders one way is all about setting the other player up for an embarassment in 20 minutes.

Just about everything in soccer and hockey is more subtle than the difference between an 0-2 and a 2-0. In the world of flow oriented sports there is nothing about baseball that's even remotely subtle.

In soccer, much like in hockey, there's a lot of movement with the sole purpose of trying to teach the opponent to do one thing in reaction

You have heard of a "pick" in basketball, yes?

Soccer is not shunned because it's beyond the American sportsfan to fathom, but because it's boring as hell for a spectator.

We Merkins crave two things... anticipation and scoring (we settle for fisticuffs in hockey).
Soccer provides N.O.T.A.

"...And historically American sports audiences don't like that kind of subtlety."

Well, this is a ridiculous statement. Do you know how many people go to baseball games and watch signs being flashed for sacrifices, hit and runs, straight steals, and actually try to intrepret them?

For years, nearly everyone in the ballpark was keeping score - down to the very last detail. I'll bet you could take 20,000 scorecards out of a game at Ebbet's Field, and they'd all read the same at the end of the game.

Yeah, Americans don't get the "subtlety"....we've been watching "pivot plays", "double steals", "williams' shifts" forever. They are "subtle" to you maybe, but they are part of an EXCITING game to the rest of us.

I had the pleasure of going to two WS games last year. The one, where Alex Gonzalez won the game, was the most exciting sports moment I've ever witnessed.

And that includes countless PSU/Nebraska, PSU/Alabama, PSU/Pitt, PSU/ND football CLASSICS.

Baseball is our National Pastime because it's timeless. What gets overlooked is that when played right, in the right moment, it's the most exciting game ever created. Soccer on the other hand, is hopelessly boring, regardless of it's "subtlety." We can handle "subtlety", we just don't like "BORING."

Dangit boy! That stuff you just put out is what we try to avoid steppin in Texas, But, if you think boring is nuanced, well bless your little heart.

I'm not insulting anybody just telling the truth. In soccer, much like in hockey, there's a lot of movement with the sole purpose of trying to teach the opponent to do one thing in reaction to you so that later in the game you can do something he doesn't expect catch him out of position and get a scoring opportunity. And historically American sports audiences don't like that kind of subtlety, they don't enjoy sports where tilting your shoulders one way is all about setting the other player up for an embarassment in 20 minutes.

Just about everything in soccer and hockey is more subtle than the difference between an 0-2 and a 2-0. In the world of flow oriented sports there is nothing about baseball that's even remotely subtle.

No, every sport has subtlety and misdirection. In football you run run run, then hit them with the play-action pass, or run the same route several times early on then lure them on the same one before cutting the opposite direction. In baseball pitchers set up certain pitches innings in advance; base runners play cat-and-mouse games with fielders/catchers/pitchers. Soccer's lack of popularity here has nothing to do with its subtleties; American sportsfans enjoy them in whichever sport they follow.