not really all the interested. MY brother in law is a soccer coach, but video games are really one of the only competitive fields ive really grown interested in (that and beer pong :P), most standard sports dont interest me, though I do watch basketball when I can.... WAIT.... NINJA WARRIOR!!!! YEAH THATS THE SHIT. I watch ninja warrior all the time, thats the best sport in the world :P
the coverage just isn't there to make it convenient to follow and i have no emotional investment in any team or player except for the swedish national team because i just like to root for sweden in sports.
i like to play fifa sometimes.
yeah, it's a cool game. the dudes who play it must be in crazy good shape to run around so much.
but, yeah, ice hockey is the coolest game on earth.
The sport I'm shocked we are a top 25 country in since soccer gets our D level athletes. I'll watch the end of a close match with two top countries in the world cup, outside of that? I'd rather gouge my eyes out.
Wow. Reading through this is actually kinda funny.
Here in England, whenever I ask someone for their opinion on American Football, they come up with the same responses as you, that it's really boring. The lack of coverage and English players are another reason too I guess.
I love to both play and watch it as often as possible. The kind of people who I sit with at Arsenal would probably stab me if I spoke to them in any other place. So the social aspect of it is pretty awesome. Especially going to away games where you basically jump around and sing/chant/hurl abuse for 2 hours.
I think soccer (football) is a hell of a fun sport to watch, but I've only been to one (amateur) match my entire life. I've seen a couple of matches on TV (being Salvadorean makes me obligated to root for the home team) but I enjoy it.
" omgomgomg one more thing: i don't see how someone could call soccer boring and prefer american football and baseball over it. at least in soccer the ball is moving for most of the game's duration...not something that's true for football and baseball: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406.html "
Yeah but at least people score a lot in football and baseball. In soccer you can watch the ball move the entire game but only see somebody actually score 2-4 times.
@JB16: why does scoring alot matter... if anything it reflects badly on a sport if it needs fireworks and sirens and cheerleaders every few minutes to keep people interested. A good soccer match is 90 minutes of tactical exchange, a good crunching tackle or a really great passing move is what keeps people interested throughout. A goal is a truly pivotal point in a game, which completely changes how each team goes about the game.
a 5-4 game would be met with criticism of both team's defense, even if it was entertaining, players on the pitch were definitely not doing their job.
" @JB16: why does scoring alot matter... if anything it reflects badly on a sport if it needs fireworks and sirens and cheerleaders every few minutes to keep people interested. A good soccer match is 90 minutes of tactical exchange, a good crunching tackle or a really great passing move is what keeps people interested throughout. A goal is a truly pivotal point in a game, which completely changes how each team goes about the game. a 5-4 game would be met with criticism of both team's defense, even if it was entertaining, players on the pitch were definitely not doing their job. "
The same can be said about American football, if an entire game goes by with only one touchdown then it's the defense that is praised. You can't honestly believe that soccer is the only game that can be seen as tactical do you? Football is all about tactics/strategy with the coach as the general, the coach chooses a play that he believes will bring the game in his favor. In fact you could say American football is WAY more tactical than any other sport out there since essentially its the ONLY popular sport that's played in a turn-based fashion. Soccer is just constant running while in football ythe game is essentially paused, the coaches adjust their strategy then they play it out and repeat.
@JB16: no i wouldn't say soccer is the only tactical sport, i was just saying that scoring doesn't equal entertaining. also i do like watching the superbowl just to be clear.
I see your points though, but what makes soccer so exciting tactically is that it doesn't stop, players have to use their ingenuity on the fly, there's no stopping and thinking about, it is carving your way through a defence with two deft touches and a drop of the shoulder for example. perhaps tactics was the wrong word, soccer i guess is far more to do with individual skill and creativity rather than team togetherness and knowing your role tactically. that's why i guess the tackles and the passing movies i mentioned are exciting i guess.
anyway the point i was making was the build up is what makes soccer, not the end result. Some of the best soccer games in history have ended 0-0 or 1-0, when two great defenses go up against two great attacks, it is the battle between the individuals that is exciting.
" @JB16: no i wouldn't say soccer is the only tactical sport, i was just saying that scoring doesn't equal entertaining. also i do like watching the superbowl just to be clear. I see your points though, but what makes soccer so exciting tactically is that it doesn't stop, players have to use their ingenuity on the fly, there's no stopping and thinking about, it is carving your way through a defence with two deft touches and a drop of the shoulder for example. perhaps tactics was the wrong word, soccer i guess is far more to do with individual skill and creativity rather than team togetherness and knowing your role tactically. that's why i guess the tackles the passing movies i mentioned are exciting i guess. anyway the point i was making was the build up is what makes soccer, not the end result. Some of the best soccer games in history have ended 0-0 or 1-0, when two great defenses go up against two great attacks, it is the battle between the individuals that is exciting. "
I can definitely see your point there. In all honesty I never watched a full game of soccer because even if I did there's no one I know who watches it so I'd have no one to talk shit to and brag about my favorite team, maybe that's why I have such apathy towards it.
" I love it. It sucks to be a fan in the U.S. because our teams are rubbish and we don't see much European football coverage. I end up having to watch games in Spanish or watching it over the internet. "
No coverage... what kind of packages do you have? there is plenty of coverage in the U.S. for the European football Leagues... here are a few channels...Gol TV, Fox Soccer Channel, ESPN, Setanta Sports. Gol TV has both English and Spanish Commentary... If you have direct TV
@JB16: for sure. which is why maybe soccer could get bigger after the world cup, i mean the usa have a pretty big chance of getting into the knockout rounds with england this year.
maybe it's not meant to be though! you've already got a whole load of sports you seem to love.. and there's only so many hours in a day.
@cap123: soccer is probably more tactical, but american football is more strategic. Thats why coaches are so critical. I had the difference btwn strategy and tactics explained recently. Strategy is what you plan to do before a play happens and how well you execute that plan. Tactics is more about the minute to minute response to changing situations on the field. It takes place on a smaller level, around individual players.
About the scoring. You mentioned how a high scoring game for both sides would be viewed negatively as fans would complain that both defenses performed poorly. By that reasoning, american football fans are only being consistent. If a high scoring game indicates bad defense, then a 0-0 game indicates bad offense. American fans dont generally want to see a blowout game, but a 0-0 game is seen as an exercise in futility. Thats the same score as if the teams hadnt bothered to play at all.
One of the things that bothers americans about soccer games is the sense that alot of time is just wasted. There are of course high action moments, but theres too much time just spent dribbling back and forth with no momentum change. There are also too many cases of teams playing lockdown defensive games that while effective are not that fun to watch. Further there is a sense that sometimes soccer teams play to tie, because a tie may give them all the points they need rather than risk a loss. That makes it seem like they arent trying their hardest, which is a major turnoff to US fans.
@Supermarius: yeah, playing to draw is perhaps a negative on soccer, however that's generally only when a team is hugely outclassed by the other, say wolves versus manchester united or more brilliantly someone from whole leagues below.. for example i don't know, barnet.f.c where half the players have actual jobs in their spare time... you could have someone who is a milkman going up against someone who represents their country and is paid 500 thousands pounds a week. Perhaps the game is a little dull, but the spectacle takes over. When a team of local tradesman go up against the best the world has to offer in a stadium that can only hold 5000 or so, the spectacle takes over and the anticpation on upset is the real drive of the game.
If it's another premier league team, like wolves, then the spetacle is less of course, but a 0-0 is still a great achievement and all viewers who know where the teams rank can appreciate the game for more than the actual performance. It's still a 25k a week player going up against a 500k a week player and if anything, it's the anticpation of bragging rights if the big team can't managed to get past the rubbish team.
also alot of time wasted?? sorry but american football is really guilt of that isn't it? according to that guys link in this thread it is 90% sitting around doing nothing.
" @JB16: no i wouldn't say soccer is the only tactical sport, i was just saying that scoring doesn't equal entertaining. also i do like watching the superbowl just to be clear. I see your points though, but what makes soccer so exciting tactically is that it doesn't stop, players have to use their ingenuity on the fly, there's no stopping and thinking about, it is carving your way through a defence with two deft touches and a drop of the shoulder for example. perhaps tactics was the wrong word, soccer i guess is far more to do with individual skill and creativity rather than team togetherness and knowing your role tactically. that's why i guess the tackles and the passing movies i mentioned are exciting i guess. anyway the point i was making was the build up is what makes soccer, not the end result. Some of the best soccer games in history have ended 0-0 or 1-0, when two great defenses go up against two great attacks, it is the battle between the individuals that is exciting. "
Absolutely. It's unfortunate that the two games share the same name because they couldn't be much more different. The excitement of American Football comes from the big play and the score, while in Soccer the excitement comes from getting so close to getting that goal, then either getting it or not. It's like the last drive of an American Football game on every trip down the field. They are both fantastic games that I love watching whenever I get the chance, and they shouldn't have to be pitted against each other like this.
" Like all sports, it's dumb, boring, pretentious and would probably be done better by a dog. "
Air Bud FTW!
Also I don't really understand how any one can think that a pretty constant flowing sport like football, can be boring compared to "american" football. When they stop to have a drink and hug each other after every godamn minute.
Honestly, most Americans don't think about Soccer as a spectator sport. A lot of kids play it in school, but pretty much as they grow older and start getting into American football (sometimes referred to as "handegg" by a few of you overseas), they forget about it. This isn't 100% true for everyone, of course, but it's popularity in the States is below that of basketball, baseball and hockey.
I think the problem most Americans have with soccer is not enough scoring. Also any game that can end with a tie score of 0 to 0 is one we can't wrap our heads around.
Boring to play, boring to watch, and boring to endure. What I really don't understand is why there are so many soccer moms and so little interest in soccer itself, though I suppose I answered my own question.
If we're to talk any sport, it's hockey. That's the best sport around.
" I love it. It sucks to be a fan in the U.S. because our teams are rubbish and we don't see much European football coverage. I end up having to watch games in Spanish or watching it over the internet. "
I find it boring as all hell to watch on TV, but then I don't really pay attention to sports in general. Though, my little brother is waaay into soccer, and that game is a TON of work to play well, so I have a great respect for soccer players. It's just not for me.
As for Americans in general... I think it depends on where you are in the states.
I like all white people of certain worldliness and stature like the idea of liking soccer because it's European an therefore cool. Actually liking soccer... ehhh, not as much I prefer hockey or baseball.
Soccer's awesome, especially the World Cup. Too bad we Americans haven't gotten on this train yet. It's too damn hard to get any coverage of the sport here though.
the idea that if a sport has more scoring, it's better is so stupid and i don't know who got it in their heads that that's true. sorry to be so blunt about it, but seriously:
just consider basketball. there's a goal scored on what seems like nearly every play and i can't think of a sport i'd less want to sit through an entire game of.
low-scoring games make it so much more exciting when someone DOES score and makes it so much more tense because the scores tend to be closer.
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