Why Americans will never accept Soccer as a "real" sport.

Well, I'm American and soccer is my favorite sport. 
 
Edit: I could have responded to this post earlier but decided to go Hardgamer's profile and read his minibio.  

@PenguinDust said:

Americans are only interested in sports we invented.  Baseball, basketball, American football.  End story.

Technically Canada made basketball, the Canadian that made it just moved to the US when he made it.

@Bones8677: no he did not

Who gives a sizzling shit about what Americunts think?  I hate Scoccer bawl ad have no interists in it.   All americants think is how many beefgurbers can I have in the interval and get home and firing six shootars and robbing anyone with darks kins of theyr oils.

If you think you're watching violence with American Football try watching Rugby. 

It really makes no sense to explain a sports games popularity by the games rules. Americans wouldn't like it any better if matches would end 13-0 (which they do alot in womens matches, btw).
 
edit: Have you seen the Konami stuff from GB? They didn't know that it was Lionel Messi talking in that PES trailer. That blew my mind a little.

I think American football and Baseball are boring as hell, as well as football (soccer) so the boring argument doesn't really work. They are all equally boring for anyone who doesn't care.

@NickL: Eeeh...the Italians are the whiniest fucking fakers on the pitch any time they play. Last I checked the big boot was attached to the European continent, but I could be wrong.

@shinigami420 said:

Hah, great map =P

I thought you were gonna talk against soccer but you ended up supporting it. Yay!

I've always kinda found the its boring argument to be funny, especially from football people. Dont get me wrong I love football, but football has the least action of any other sport, except for maybe baseball. Football is a 3 hour sport that somehow only consists the average of 11 minutes of actual playing time. That's both insane, and kinda sad.

Its funny though cause most kids grew up playing soccer, but then at a certain point interest just completely drops. I think one of the reasons it just hasn't caught on is the same reason hockey hasn't either, which like others have stated is low scoring outcomes. We're kinda offensive minded which is really to bad. Im kinda sick of people shitty on a hard fought defensive game (in any sport.) If there was only 1 touchdown then game was "boring," nba game ends 81-83 "BORING." People even find no hitters boring. I feel like respect in sports is kinda lost, no one really understands the talent and difficulty of play of what they are seeing. I think most people just find soccer "empty," and because they don't understand it they think nothing is really happening. It doesn't help people aren't really willing to give it a chance, and that in the US its kinda hard to catch games on TV. You would think fans would embrace a ad less sport though.

@shadystx said:

I love football, Obviously as I am English, And I am from the North East of England where football is part of our culture, I am a Newcastle United fan, I never choose to be a Newcastle fan it was instilled in my through my parents at birth, I could have choose to support another team like Man Utd and be a glory supporter but I dont as I am proud to be a toon fan as its my local team, Most football fans across the world support the team that is local to them. I would disagree that the italian league is one of the biggest in the world as its not its probably more on par with the german bundesliga, the English Premier leauge and the Spanish La Liga are the two biggest leauges in the world based on viewers across the world and revenue. I really could not say why americans have never embraced football, My guess would be they are a proud bunch and so choose to stick with their own sports which is fair enough, But the way I look at it if american football was allot more fun and exciting than real football more people across the world would adopt the sport but they dont, Football is by far the greatest sport in the world and all the facts support this whether it be viewers or revenue the stats dont lie. Allot of people I know find American sports boring just like the americans think football is boring, yes maybe their is only an average of about 3 goals per 90mins(not 3hrs as someone mentioned, shows how much they know) but the skill level in football is way higher than its is in American sports IMO, its allot easier to do something with you hand than it is with your foot, But i have supported and played football all my life so of course i am biased towards it, I love most sports so if i enjoyed more american sports i would say and i have tried to watch them, Maybe if i moved to the U.S it would be different i would probably start going to see a local team then supporting it. Also those stupid horns are not a big part of football at all, they are not used in any stadiums across europe(maybe the odd one here and there) and you will never here them in an english match, You will here songs,cheers etc, the atmosphere at an english football match is unmatched in anything, the vuvulvuvuvuv whatever its called is a african tradition so for that "writter" to mention it as if every match has them just shows the lack of knowledge and research that guy did. Its always makes me chuckle hearing someone say football is a sissys game considering basketball for instance is based on a womens sport netball, even american football is a variation of rugby which is much more manly than american football, you dont see no huge plastic pads and helmets in rugby, Baseball is basically rounders, And Nascar is just terrible, I get the feeling they enjoy that because they have a chance at seeing a terrible car crash. Also about the lack of goals, I think a game like basketball becomes a bit meaningless when its 97-117, The game is boring IMO, it goes like this you score, i score, you score, you miss, i score etc etc etc, During a game the cheering for a basket gets less and less untill the end when the last few baskets become more meaningful, American football is ok but the amount of time that is spent setting up the teams and actually not play football is crazy. I like americans and aplaud the fact they have their traditions and sports and choose to stick with them just like we do, Everybody to their own.

Geordies unite. I believe soccer hasn't really taken off due to poor quality of the MLS. If you want to watch high level football/soccer watch the EPL more often it's probably the best and most physical league in the world. I don't mind watching american football but it's just too stop-start for my tastes however the actual sport is fun to play.

Why Football (as in, actual football where you kick a ball with your foot) is a "real" sport:

Like all other sport it is pointless, boring as shit and played professionally by convicted rapists.

It will never be popular in America because television networks won't push it. And that's because there aren't lucrative opportunities for advertising since the game doesn't stop every 5 seconds like American sports do. There is one 15 minute break in 90 minutes (plus stoppage time) of play. Even if you don't have in-studio pundits reviewing the action at half time, you're going to have a maximum of 15 minutes of adverts in nearly 2 hours of TV. American TV networks want to push out adverts every 5 minutes, and have as many as possible. With football, you can't do that. And without TV networks telling people to watch it, people aren't going to watch it.

Also, there are too many draws. Americans like a decisive ending. They want one team to win. They don't want a tie. There are plenty of draws in footy. That's also why Cricket isn't popular over there. The very idea that you can play a game for 5 days and still have a draw at the end is crazy to Americans.

Or maybe it's the fact that some key soccer players are falling dramatically if someone so much as whistles at them (Christiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez etc). I'm from Europe, but these days I'm far more interested in the NBA then in soccr/football.

I would disagree that the italian league is one of the biggest in the world as its not its probably more on par with the german bundesliga, the English Premier leauge and the Spanish La Liga are the two biggest leauges in the world based on viewers across the world and revenue.

@shinigami420 said:

@MikeGosot said:

@EuanDewar said:

@billnyethesciencepie said:

Its because there usually 2 goals a game through the entire 3 hours Its boring as FUCK

3 hours? What?

It's like your obsession with American football or baseball which is odd to us in the United Kingdom, and I suspect many parts of the world.

To us, American football is just a form of rugby but with fifteen layers of protection and baseball is just rounders. No offense to those sports, to me they've always been a great representation of America in creating sports that are their very own with their own personal identity. Nothing against them personally, though American's hate for Soccer is a little odd considering so many people adore it around the world. Have wondered if it's just their attempt to find their own identity as a nation and not follow in the footsteps of other countries.

Which in respect, I think is a good thing.

This thread is so confusing. Too many inaccuracies and discussions going on.

@billnyethesciencepie said:

To everyone quoting me: I know a soccer games 90 minutes but with the whiniest players ive ever seen in a sport, it extends the length to at least twice that

You are thinking of soccer players from latin america, and yes, I agree, fuck those whiny bitches.

European players don't whine nearly as much, if someone hits you, you don't lay on the ground and whine, you go hit them back.

That's what real soccer is, fuck latin american soccer.

I think most sports are far less interesting to watch if you do not care about the teams playing the sport. I'm a supporter of my local football club (soccer team) Sheffield Wednesday F.C. and if "Wednesday" lose a game I feel rubbish until the next match, but if the England national team lose I'm just a bit disappointed for a few hours!

Adults who are into a sport will tend to stick with that sport but if kids play football (soccer) in school and then also start to support a local team they will probably stick with it.

On a side note I found it interesting in the opening post that football (soccer) is being promoted in American schools a lot. Maybe parents and teachers find a game which is about playing for the ball rather than taking out the man is a better influence on children?

If you think you're watching violence with American Football try watching Rugby. 

As an American, soccer interests me, but its hard to get really into. We all play it when we're 6 and we know the rules, but we stop when all of our friends start playing little league baseball. And once high school rolls around; football, baseball, basketball, and in some states, hockey are all people care about. If you're an athlete, would you rather play in front of 30 people or 3,000? And if you're a 16 year old boy, which one will get you the most girls?

Who's our best player, Josie Altidore? He's a sub on some middle-tier English team right? None of our best athletes play soccer, so our league and our national teams stink. We get into soccer every 4 years when the world cup rolls around, after we beat up on the Jamaica's of the world, and say "this is the year". But eventually, we get dominated by a real team and are sent home after a 20 min game against Ghana (we tore 46 ACLs, luckily the magic spray was there to fix everyone up after they rolled around for 10 min at a time). We respect the game and know it, we just stink at it and it pisses us off when we play a floppy nation.

@Contro: American football is actually a softer version of rugby. It was becoming too dangerous in the united states so they had to add more rules and such to it.

Football came first, then rugby was 'invented' when a student: William Webb Eliss picked up and ran with it during a soccer game in an english school.

American sports are great but most of them are taken from other parts of the world and changed oh so slightly.

@arca said:

Football came first, then rugby was 'invented' when a student: William Webb Eliss picked up and ran with it during a soccer game in an english school.

The William Webb Ellis story is a myth. Rugby pre-dates Football by about 50 years.

@Buck_Sexington said:

Football cannot be accepted in the US because you're shit it at it

Mabie Yes. Mabie Not. It depends on how suck-able we are at it.

Soccer is more accepted in the US than American Football is in Europe. Why is anyone complaining?

@Winternet said:

Soccer is more accepted in the US than American Football is in Europe. Why is anyone complaining?

That's because we have rugby and don't see the need for something very similar.

@arca said:

@Winternet said:

Soccer is more accepted in the US than American Football is in Europe. Why is anyone complaining?

That's because we have rugby and don't see the need for something very similar.

No the UK has rugby the rest of Europe dont give a shit about rugby

Hey, I don't want to blow your mind, but people like the sports they grow up with and get emotionally invested in.  Do you know why soccer is the most popular sport around the world?  Most of the world is poor and all you need to play is one ball, and 20 people can have fun.  It being the world's game of choice doesn't make it better or worse.  Maybe if everyone had the opportunity the world's favorite sport would be polo for all we know.

In football you can't be overweight.
 

Hey, I don't want to blow your mind, but people like the sports they grow up with and get emotionally invested in.  Do you know why soccer is the most popular sport around the world?  Most of the world is poor and all you need to play is one ball, and 20 people can have fun.  It being the world's game of choice doesn't make it better or worse.  Maybe if everyone had the opportunity the world's favorite sport would be polo for all we know.

I like sports only in video games

@yakov456 said:

As an American I respectfully ask you to check your head. I would argue that football is a slower, more boring sport. Run a play, 40 second break, run a play, timeout, run a play, tv timeout(commercial). Oh yeah and I just love the challenge calls where they take a 5 minute break to review a play. Soccer IS more exciting. Don't judge a sport by it's scoring.

You are on the right track, I guess. Good Soccer player run about 6 miles in one game (depending on their position)

Its because there usually 2 goals a game through the entire 3 hours  Its boring as FUCK

As an American and an avid (American) football fan, maybe I can add  some plain reasons as to why I don't enjoy soccer (which is how I will be referring to it for the remainder of this post).
 
1) Scoring: Yep, it's been mentioned. And yes, the single score in a 1-0 game is going to be pretty exciting when it finally happens. But how long do I have to sit through people endlessly kicking the ball back and forth with no hope of scoring in order to see that point? And yes, in basketball there is too much, making individual scores meaningless for the most part. I think there is a happy medium between meaningless scores every ten seconds and only one score through an entire game with nothing but watching guys running around chasing a ball to fill the rest of the time. In football, scoring is rare enough that it is always hugely exciting, but never so rare that the game becomes a drag. Also, in football, every single play, even the simplest running play, is potentially a scoring opportunity. Watch some highlights from guys like Frank Gore, Chris Johnson, and Adrian Peterson, and tell me you can't get excited to watch someone like that.

2) Specialization: Soccer players are great athletes, but they would never last a season in the NFL. Essentially every player, except the goalie, has the exact same skill set - running and kicking the ball. Maybe an oversimplification, but you get the point. In football, every single player has a unique specialty that only a few other people on the team, if any, are capable of performing. Powerful lineman battle in the trenches, speedy receivers and corners are in a constant game of cat and mouse, bruising linebackers make hits, finesse running backs find holes in the defense, and of course the immensely talented quarterbacks run the show. Not to mention punters, kickers, return men, and everyone else who contributes to the game. It's like a well-crafted RPG.

3) Strategy: The biggest reason that I LOVE American football is the amount of strategy that goes into every single game. Maintaining an offense in a four down system is one of the most complicated but beautifully simple things. Call me a dumb American, but I'm just not seeing that in soccer. The ball changes hands constantly, and true "offense" is limited to a few seconds in which you have possession of the ball within twenty yards of the opposing goal. With football, if it's 4th and short you can pound it right at them, or you can fake the handoff and hit someone on a quick crossing route. It's constant risk-reward calculations, and at the end of the game the strategies in football are unlike any other sport. Watching a skilled quarterback run the two minute drill is the most exciting thing I have ever seen in sports, ever.
 
So yes, I consider soccer to be a kid's sport for the most part. Simple to understand the rules, and a good way to get exercise, but definitely not what I would choose to watch as entertainment. I think that if it were broadcast around the world, a LOT more people would come to this conclusion. The problem is that football doesn't get any exposure outside the States. I would be curious to find how often those of you who are in Germany, Spain, South America, the Netherlands, etc. actually get the opportunity to see a game.

american sports seem to be aimed at spectators with very short attention spans.  
 
something need to happen every 5 seconds to hold the attention of the spectator or they will get bored an wander off.  can you imagine an american sport that lasted for 90 mins and ended with no score just a 0-0 draw.  

american sports seem to be aimed at spectators with very short attention spans.   something need to happen every 5 seconds to hold the attention of the spectator or they will get bored an wander off.  can you imagine an american sport that lasted for 90 mins and ended with no score just a 0-0 draw.  

John Cleese says it best.

@BlatantNinja23 said:

I've always kinda found the its boring argument to be funny, especially from football people. Dont get me wrong I love football, but football has the least action of any other sport, except for maybe baseball. Football is a 3 hour sport that somehow only consists the average of 11 minutes of actual playing time. That's both insane, and kinda sad.

Its funny though cause most kids grew up playing soccer, but then at a certain point interest just completely drops. I think one of the reasons it just hasn't caught on is the same reason hockey hasn't either, which like others have stated is low scoring outcomes. We're kinda offensive minded which is really to bad. Im kinda sick of people shitty on a hard fought defensive game (in any sport.) If there was only 1 touchdown then game was "boring," nba game ends 81-83 "BORING." People even find no hitters boring. I feel like respect in sports is kinda lost, no one really understands the talent and difficulty of play of what they are seeing. I think most people just find soccer "empty," and because they don't understand it they think nothing is really happening. It doesn't help people aren't really willing to give it a chance, and that in the US its kinda hard to catch games on TV. You would think fans would embrace a ad less sport though.

I love American football and one of the best games i ever watched was Steelers Dolphins in the rain final score 3-0

@skinnyman: I live in Norway but subscribe to NFl.com, so I've watched several matches each week and the entire playoffs for several seasons. I love NFL for all the reasons you described, but I also really like "soccer". I disagree with some of your points regarding soccer.

1. Soccer players do not all have the same skillset. The difference is much larger than in football because all players must have a level of endurance, but that doesn't mean they're all the same. Some are good in the air, some can shoot really precise and hard, some are strong, some are fast, some have precision passing the ball, some are great at distributing the ball, some can dribble really well, etc.

2. This seems hard to grasp, but well played soccer can be very exiting to watch between goals. Great demonstrations of skill happens all the time, dribbles, shots, passes. So even though scoring can be low, the match may still be exiting. Especially since the large player group makes the best players unbelieveably skilled. I also don't understand your comment that soccer players wouldn't last a season in the NFl. Of course they wouldn't, they haven't had the training. The same thing applies the other way around. Just watch Chad Ochocinco try out for MLS.

3. There is considerable strategy in soccer as well, though the game obviously does not allow for such direct planning as in football. Do you attack to wrap up the game, or do you lay back and protect the lead? Which formation do you choose? Do you use a tall attacker and dump the ball in the goal area, or use a fast dribbler to attack along the ground?

Again, I probably enjoy football a little bit more than soccer, but soccer is still very enjoyable. The problem with football spreading is that the barrier of entry is just too damn high. In order to start playing you need expensive equipment, lots of training, and the rules are complicated. It's really hard to acchieve a game as enjoyable as soccer with such a low barrier of entry. Also alot of people will have a problem with all the breaks and commercial breaks in the game. Soccer gives you 45 minutes of uninterupted entertainment.

Because a lot of them are just ignorant and/or retarded, which won't stop Texas from executing...
Oh wait...there are 149 generic comments about American ignorance before this one.