Soccer is too subtle for most American sport's fans, hockey has the same problem. People get irritated by movement without scoring, they don't understand flow and positional mechanics. Add to that the fact that the TV networks hate sports without regular and predictable stoppages of play for commercials and you've got a sport that will never crack the top three.
That being said I don't understand why so many people on both sides of this discussion have to be such insulting doofuses. So you do/ don't like a sport, who gives a damn, neither position makes you special or interesting.
Now you sound like Michael Moore.
What is more subtle than the difference between an 0-2 count and 2-0 count?
Wow, the game's over . . . No, we must first play seven minutes of "injury time" after the clock has run down to 00:00!
This is not entirely true. The issue for many Americans is that we prefer a good play actually produce a valuable result. The best pass in history is essentially worthless if it doesn't lead to a score. The vast majority of the good plays in "football" are expected to stand on their own.
Just watch a basketball game to understand this thinking. When a player makes an incredible pass or move to the basket, the fans are extremely disappointed, if not actually angry. In "football" the fans will cheer wildly for a play that ultimately has no impact on the score.
I wonder whether "positional mechanics" applies to ice hockey. My sons are avid ice hockey fans, but this is because they play roller hockey. Whenever I watch the NHL, all I see about 80% of the time are pucks being shot out of the reach of team mates "in position" for a better shot on goal. There seems to be an awful lot of skating around in ice hockey that is pointless.
Nonsense. Baseball is a far more subtle sport and has enjoyed fabulous popularity for over 100 years.
I agree. I think soccer is boring, and I should know, I watch baseball, NASCAR, and golf.
But soccer is too large a sport worldwide for anyone to claim it sucks, and those that claim it's un-American are just plain silly.
There may not be a lot of action in soccer, and there is not alot of scoring, but it takes one hell of an athelete to run up and down a field for sixty straight minutes with no breaks or time outs. It takes major athletic ability to handle the ball with the feet like world class players can. It takes amazing teamwork to run offense/defense at the top levels.
Back when I grew up playing football/baseball in the 70's-80's, there were no soccer leagues until one reached high school. Because of Pele, I wanted to learn to play, but had no where to go. Now, my semi-rural Georgia county has a soccer complex, and the sport has taken off here amongst the kids. And I, for one, am glad to see it.
About another ten years, and pro soccer will overtake NBA basketball in revenue/fans. Let America win a world cup and see what happens.
I suppose that our lack of appreciation for subtlety applies to auto racing as well. Watching a Formula One race where the driver who is in the lead at the first turn of lap one will win the race is far too subtle for American audiences. We prefer watching 20+ drivers running bumper to bumper three wide at Talladega all trying to figure out how to get to the front without getting hung out to dry or wiping out the whole draft.
No, it's just boring. I guess American Football is too complex for you.
I agree with you about the soccer bashing...I just dont get why some people have such a hatred for it..its JUST a SPORT.
The author of this article has obviously never watched a English Premiere League game in NYC...every pub showing a live game will be PACKED and they are NOT in "obscure" or "out of the way places". What a dufus.