Why do people hate Soccer/Futbol? (Topic 4 years old)

This World Cup, by any measure, has been fantastic. We've had goals, great matches, dramatic comebacks and drama. You couldn't really ask for more in terms of the spectacle of sport. All that being said the haters seem to be out in full force. I'm not one of those people who say soccer is coming along. I don't try to sell the sport to my friends who don't like it but the ones who dislike it really seem to hate it. The argument that Americans only care about Soccer every four years is valid but the same can be said about the Superbowl. A lot of people watch with out having watched a down of NFL football.

Because it makes them realise that Handegg is actually not that fun and just a children's version of rugby?

I guess when something nationwide is considered lame, people just don't take the effort to see if it's something they like and just run with the crowd.

Personally i love it, but i'm from a soccer loving country :p

From a American's point of view

Not enough scoring

They play for ties.

Both equal a boring sport.

Because 3-2 is an abnormally high-scoring game

Why do people ask questions? People like and dislike things. Why do you need those people to like what you like? Soccer is plenty popular especially now we've had an entire generation play it as a "youth sport" and understand it more readily.

If you want to know why it isn't on TV far more, it is because the way the marketing is locked up in the US. Or in other words, it is harder for companies to sponsor and advertise in soccer due to the laws (as in laws of soccer). In other sports there are frequent breaks which makes companies feel like they have better buy-in where that doesn't happen so much in soccer. A 3 hour block of TV is more valuable to the "station" as a basketball game instead of a soccer game.

I never really understood its appeal, living in the UK. It was weird growing up with friends that absolutely loved it. I remember there was a year at school where I pretended to love it just to fit in. That was pretty miserable. Its always just seemed kinda dull. Lots of people running back and forth kicking a ball. I've never seen anything beautiful about the so-called beautiful game.

Because they feel their opinion matters. It's fine if you dislike it, but don't try to put down the sport or people who enjoy it. I've had a blast watching the World Cup so far.

I don't care about the World Cup because Canada doesn't have a team and i don't know any of the players. I still watch the Montreal Impact because that's the local team for me. Especially since they moved up to the MLS 3 years ago. They're terrible this year though.

I think mostly because of all the diving/rolling around like a child. I love football but it is the one thing that makes me cringe. I think this puts Americans off because they like their handegg rough and tough even though you have to get dressed up like RoboCop before you go on the field.

I think also people think there isn't a lot of action because the scoring is low compared to other sports. I don't see this as a problem, in fact it adds to the magical beauty of each goal. Sports like Basketball just seem silly. Score after score just become irrelevant and boring.

I think generally it comes down to what you were bought up with, although this World Cup does seem to be converting a lot of people. Personally I couldn't give a rats ass if Americans get into football. If they do great but I don't see why football has been so obsessed with 'breaking America' for so many years. (apart from money) It's the biggest sport in the world - let the Americans play what they want. I thought giving the US the World Cup in '94 was as big a disgrace as giving it to Qatar in 2022.

Is this serious? Here goes a dive into the hornets nest.

Disclaimer: I can be somewhat entertained by sports involving balls (or some other inanimate object) but I suck at them all.

• Endurance is just as important as sprinting really fast unlike in football, basketball, baseball and maybe hockey (which also is a low scoring sport)
• No all-star games and no draft system
• Few showmanship gameplay elements like slam dunks, homeruns, full kickoff return (although penalty kick might be similar)
• No mid-game commercial breaks :P

Because they didn't grow up in a soccer crazed household.

Or they are more fans of advertisement than sports. Sports do tend to have the most impressive of ads so I can't blame them.

I'm from the UK I find it utterly tedious to watch and I much prefer American sports. The leagues are all just won and lost through capital, I hate the posturing that goes on every time someone falls over and despite England contributing some of the best players to the sport our national team is incapable of playing together.

The offside rule is garbage as well. It'd be a much better sport without the offside rule.

@negativecero: That's sorta the thing that bothers me. It seems that the people who hate it in the US try to put down the people who really like it. I became a fan after the 2008 World Cup and I haven't looked back.

@extomar: I know that's why marketing doesn't like it but that's probably why I've grown to like it. Two long stretches of play and a short break in between. 2 hours of your time compared to the usual 3 in the US.

@leebmx: I can see that. At that point the sport was dead in the US. It's changed since then so maybe in the end it was a smart decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZaGWGAMjus

I don't mind it, I used to hate it, but have grown to understand it.

The lack of finish most players have is the main reason the scores are kept so low. I still cringe when a player has an open net and sends the ball rocketing up into the sky.

The flopping bullshit is bullshit.

Soccer could do well in the US. Let's face it, Americans like what the media tells them to like, and the media tells them to like football.

Football, basketball, baseball, all of these sports have huge potential for commercial breaks every ten minutes.

Popular American sports games play at a pace of an MTV music video. Lots of action, break, action, break. It's easier to consume those quick plays than watch a guy run across a zillion yard field.

Because a lot of time it is absolutely boring. That's ok, a lot of sports over the years I now find boring and I really just watch MMA now and playoffs of American Football and Basketball (sometimes)

Offsides are in a lot of sports because they want the ball/puck/whatever to be passed (at least one serious pass) instead of just lobbed wildly at the goal from beyond half field.

Soccer is boring, American football is boring.

I'm more of a handball guy, but any sport where stuff actually happens more than once every 30 minutes is gonna be better than fucking Soccer. Also, soccer players are assholes. The famous ones anyway...

I find it boring to watch. It's often slow paced, with not many big plays coming. It's not presented as interesting, intense or dramatic. It's low scoring. People play for ties. Players dive all the time and ham it up. It goes on FOREVER.

The good thing about things like the NFL and the NBA is that they go away for part of the year and there's basically no equivalent to them. You get a break from them, so that when they start up again it's exciting. When it comes to soccer, at least in Europe you have the premier league and the lower divisions, the champions league, the european cup, the world cup, the bundesliga and la liga. The game just does not end.

This clip sums it up pretty well.

@nictel: That was pretty funny. On topic, I don't mind it. I usually like to watch sports (except for Tennis) with other people; however, it's kind of hard to find someone who's not a fanatic about his/her favourite team. It just takes the fun out of it.

Some hilarious answers in here, but I'm not going to judge you, because you just don't know any better.. Oh, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion or something like that.

Well, thanks for the input but I'm literally none the wiser as to where your opinion falls. So you don't like football?

As an Englishman, I'm gonna commit sacrilege and say that football sucks. I much prefer handegg.

The argument I always here against handegg is that it's "stop-and-start." I happened to see a game of football the other day that was doubly so, for reasons that were outside of the game's rules. Every thirty seconds or so the ball went off the pitch or someone fell over so everyone had to stop and fanny around or something. Yawn. At least the pauses in handegg are there for a reason and not due to archaic implementation of rules.

I think like any sport if you don't understand the rules or the culture behind it you would probably think of it as something not for you. For the longest time I hated watching soccer because I just did not understand some things. Such as why that defender was offside? Why did that European player collapse like he just got shot even though on the replay he wasn't even touched? These things kinda pissed me off so I didn't follow soccer a whole lot. I did the show up to watch the world cup thing but that was kinda it. One thing I knew about soccer was passionate each teams fans were and soccer/football/futbol was the popular sport in the world compared to the other sports I followed.

The one thing that kind of changed it up for me here in Seattle was the introduction of the FC Sounders club back in 09' I got dragged to a match by a friend which was a great experience. I think if you are in the right atmosphere and with a friend who can explain shit then it got me kinda hooked. Nothing better then being able to associate yourself with a team.

Meh, this is just like "Why do/do not people like video games?" It is ultimately best not to figure out why irrational decisions are not more rational.

New York City FC is an upcoming American professional soccer team based in New York City that will compete in Major League Soccer (MLS). Its just got 1 player so far I think and that's David Villa. :) Really cool to see new teams forming.

One thing to note is that its called New York City FOOTBALL CLUB. And its American. :D

Every time something popular happens that a lot of people enjoy there are people who don't like it and have to tell everybody. Simple as that.

I enjoy soccer but the FIFA being the biggest scumbags in the history of everything is making it increasingly hard to watch. Fun Fact: The FIFA is listed as a "Non-Profit Organisation" and therefore pays little to no taxes. They generated about 950 million USD in revenue in 2006 and figures are probably rising.

It's just a matter of what you are growing up with, I grew up with soccer, almost every kid here (Netherlands) plays it. If I was born in the USA I would probably like American Football. I never watched a full game of that, only snippets and I don't get it. The part I like about soccer is that some of the players can really make the difference with their skills, but also a very good team effort can win a match.

If you want a really bad old sportswriter reasoning on it

I don't really get why some people like some sports and actively hate others but I'm a guy that watches stuff like hurling and Aussie Rules Football despite only having a lose grasp on the rules and tactics. So maybe I'm the problem since I actively seek out ways to watch like Sepak Takraw and Bandy.

There are a few football clubs (FC) in MLS.

• Toronto FC
• Seattle Sounders FC
• FC Dallas

Also that will be the second NY club. You already have the New York Redbulls.

Yeah, I see that it's really not that clear, but I absolutely love football. Been following Bayern Munich religiously since I was a kid and I've been glued to the screen almost every time my team is playing, there are some big club matches, when there's Champion's League, World Cup and Europa Cup. I can see why some would find the sport boring, but I find it to be the most thrilling and exhilarating sport out there.

I was not trying to sound condescending in any way, but I really found a couple of the comments very funny. Your comment about the offside rule (not sure if you were serious, I'm guessing you were) was one of them and some of the comments about how the teams are playing for the tie.

History of American Football
"...Early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional "mob football" played in England, especially on ShroveTuesday when they used a lemon instead of a ball.

This. Us U.S. folks are usually raised to think football is the bees knees and soccer is something dirty foreigners like because they are weird.

I've never understood this as an argument. Surely if people are scoring every 20 seconds or so it loses all power or excitement? Sure sometimes we end up with boring 0-0 draws. But I think the end of the 2012-2013 season where in the space of about 3 minutes the title swang back and forth between two teams was one of the most exciting things I've ever seen in sport.

A lot of MLS teams have taken naming traditions from the english premier league. D.C. United is probably the most obvious one.

In Canada, it's mostly diving that makes it unpopular. We are a hockey nation, a sport that like american football, is known for athletes being tough and shrugging off injury. We're also a nation with 5-6 months of winter, so outdoor events are limited to the summer months. Even though diving is actually a tactical play for extra time, it comes off as weakness to many north american crowds.

Personally, I've grown to really enjoy the World Cup. The athleticism on display is just ridiculous by these world class futbol players. As a sports fan it's a ton of fun; wish it wasn't only every 4 years. However the flopping and faking injuries and purposely burning the clock(no timeouts for injuriesWTF?)is super annoying to me. Not a deal breaker by any means but it really stands out as a detraction. And some others have noticed too:

:D

Mostly a cultural thing. From someone that lives in a soccer-centric country, many people's lives revolves around soccer. They go to every match, friendships got broken because of teams, families got split, etc. Ok, maybe that is a little hyperbolic, but you get my point, right? Fans are not made, they are born and raised in families of fans, which perpetuates it for future generations... I believe that is truth for every competitive sport, in America they just got the generation baggage of other sports, like we have on soccer.

By the way, if people are not into soccer, the World Cup is probably the worst moment to try to get them into it. While it displays a level of skill and drama that is not commonly found in most local leagues; during the months of the World Cup, soccer is on all the time... Its like trying to make someone to like some food by shoving them pounds of it down their throats, for days...

@zelyre said:

That is actually a pretty good point. I haven't seen enough about American Football or Baseball but, from what I have seen, a game can last for several hours, with time of actual action being reduced to few minutes. That leaves a lot of time to grab a beer, change seats, let the players get ready and, of course, have the TV signal interrupted by a lot of time worth of advertisement.

Soccer, on the other hand, can't interrupt the transmission for as long as the game is on (each period lasts 3/4 of an hour, with a single 15 minutes break of "ad time").

There are no stats, there is nothing to talk about, it's boring 95% of the game, I'd honestly rather watch people play ultimate than soccer.

This is pretty damn insulting. I know it's popular to claim that Americans are dumb and that we are a bunch of sheep that only listen to what the media tells us, but that's not really true.

America just wants things to be super fast paced.

The only time I hate football is during the world cup, I just hate how it's is absolutely everywhere, same with hockey during the playoffs and handegg during the superbowl. I have no interest in sports as a whole.

Really? Really???

Dumb American here. The USA/Portugal game was probably the first full game of soccer I've ever seen from beginning to end and I thought it was pretty awesome. If you had asked me like a week ago, I probably would have told you that soccer is dumb or something but I totally get it now.

Also, I can tell you exactly why soccer has never caught on here in the states. No commercial breaks. It's no coincidence that our most popular sport is football where there's a commercial break every 5 minutes.

"If God wanted man to play soccer, He wouldn't have given us arms." - Mike Ditka

http://www.soccersucks.net/

• I don't get your get your endurance argument.
• All-Star Games? Watch the World Cup - Champions League, etc. Then you have teams Barcelona, Madrid Derby, Manchester Derby, etc. Draft system? How about the transfer window seasons? They're crazy fun.
• Fantastic Skills from players like Ronaldo, Neymar, Ronaldinho and then fantastic plays from players like Messi and then the showmanship from the most confident of players in that of Ibrahimovic who loves to scores spectacular bicycle kicks, etc. The dude uses his taekwondo knowledge within the game!
• Yup.