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

@GreggD said:

@monte said:

@FreakAche said:

Yikes! Click on HardGamer's minibio!

Holy Shit...

Seriously, wtf did I just witness?

What the chirst. It's like an essay!

Football is more popular than futball in the US because the US inherently prefers contact sports.  That is not to say that the US loves all contact sports, but even contact sports in the US that are not the big three are pretty well represented.  For how little natural snow our country has, we have a decent amount of people playing and watching hockey.  And there are rugby leagues for amateurs and pros. 
  
And the big 3, baseball, football, and basketball, all have moments where contact is permitted and encouraged.  (unfortunately, the nba is moving away from that, but i digress).  baseball has the least contact, but you can still slam into a catcher when running towards home base, and the ball itself hits players often enough with a lot of force. 
 
Football, because of the gear, size, and speed of the athletes, has the most violent contact outside of MMA (which is also very big and growing in the US), and the way most NFL athletes showcase their athletic prowess is through that contact.  in futball, ones prowess is shown through other things like skill with the ball. 
 
 
But really this whole thread is based on a misconception.  The US is very diverse in the sports it supports.  Many countries have fewer, but more dominant sports.  Major League Baseball is the biggest, but followed closely by the National Football League which is followed closely by the National Basketball Association.  And dozens of other sports have several leagues that are successful in terms of participants as well as revenue. 
Some of you mock NASCAR fans but that is just an example of how diverse it is here.  That futball is not a dominant monolith in the US is a good thing.

 
One major difference between soccer and football is the prevalence of the amateur version. College Football is essentially a unique phenomenon compared to other sports. 
 
  

football is for pussies i play baseball like a real man

I'm an American and I consider soccer to be a real sport. I just don't like it very much.

I actually went to a soccer game just a couple of weeks ago. It was the weirdest thing. The crowd had so many rituals that seemed crazy, and they all chanted and sang songs the whole game. Weirdest thing I'd ever seen. It was somewhat entertaining, but I prefer basketball.

@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.

I really liked Football as a kid, but the more I grew, the more I started to get bored of it. Nowadays I can't even finish a single match, no matter what the stake is. In my opinion, In-doors Football, or Futsal is much much more exciting to watch AND play. It's just a shame that there is not enough coverage of it, and it doesn't get the same fund and advertisement as football.  
Futsal is about the only sport I can watch entirely. Everything else bores the shit out of me. 

 
it's because it is nowhere near as violent, and The aeropostale wearing, Angsty white suburban teenagers perfer reckless violence over a coordinated sport.
why do you think Call of Duty is so popular?

@AchillesReturn: I would argue that the American system of linking education and sports is the unique thing. I mean it's the same with NCAA.

nah soccer's growing a lot. but having the World Cup in Qatar was fucking retarded.  
 
Just as Soccer is gaining momentum in the most potentially profitable region, they go and put it somewhere nobody ever heard of that already loves the sport... 

OMG DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE WORD MINI MEANS?!

@Toms115 said:

football is for pussies i play baseball like a real man

You like sports where you just stand around to avoid sweating, like a sissy girl? Now I know why you like it so much ;)

As a guy who doesn't follow sports regularly, but watches a scattered amount of everything i'll say this: Both American Football and Soccer are superior to the dumb, thuggish rugby and the arduous cricket we play here in Australia.

With regards to american sports, baseball seems like a sexed-up version of cricket, but that doesn't say much because cricket is incredibly boring. Basketball has points scored way too often to really get tension in it regularly, so makes it boring to watch for me as well.

When it comes down to soccer vs. american football (the two sports I watch the most), I think talent-wise soccer leads (way more technical skills for every single player, rather than just a select few of the players on the field). American football is way more tactically interesting.

Also, I think the low scores in soccer are a two-edged sword. They mean most games are CRAZY slow, but the high importance to each goal makes it many times more satisfying when your team does score. It's also this sort of crazy tension that probably leads to the more violent fan culture. Or just the english people.

In retrospect, my opinion was kind of unrelated to the question.

USA doesn't accept soccer because it's seen as European and Latino, and america can't support what isn't "American".

But I probably think this because (see map from shinigami420 on the first page) we tend to naturally generalize you all to a bunch of redneck texans.

One thing that annoys me about criticisms of football is how people talk about diving and vuvuzelas.

Vuvuzelas are gone. Sure they were around for South African World Cup but they shall be pretty much gone by Brazil in 2014 and sure as shit won't be heard in Russia 2018. Not ever single challenge in football is a dive either. Don't get me wrong; diving and cheating are some of the worst aspects of the sport but it's not like every time someone is tackled they then fall to the ground and roll around for twenty minutes. Anyone saying that clearly doesn't watch much football. I mean, it's hardly dropkicks to the chest left, right and centre but it isn't ballet either. Certainly older football and football in lower leagues is where you won't see any diving.

well this is a nice and friendly thread

 it's because it is nowhere near as violent, and The aeropostale wearing, Angsty white suburban teenagers perfer reckless violence over a coordinated sport. why do you think Call of Duty is so popular?

To be honest I think that the the whole basis of this thread is invalid. If soccer isn't considered a "real" (whatever that means) sport, why is it that the big European teams consistently have preseason tours in America? Also along those lines, why is it that the most amount of money spent for the 2010 World Cup rights was by ESPN for the US rights? Soccer is big here. Not as big as some sports, but the numbers are there.

Americans also voted in George W. Bush. 
 
TWICE. 
 
I really am not concerned at all what Americans think about anything at this point in time. 
 
Besides, Futbol is the most pure sport on the planet and the world agrees with me. 
 
EDIT: Oh dear GOD. I just saw some of the OP's bio...and I also managed to read some. It was bad. Very bad.

I consider soccer a real sport, I just not a huge fan of it. I'm not really a fan of any sport that doesn't revolve around some form of combat.

Soccer sucks. American football(real football) is better.

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

I think when it comes to it becoming more popular, the U.S. has a problem with it because sorry, but Third World countries brought it over, and we just don't like things un-Americanized. It's kind of like Americans going somewhere and taking over... with sports! It really always comes down to the history of America and everyone (even if just subconsciously) wanting to live up to the men and women that made our country great, and as time goes by, we want to change in our way, not by others interests and opinions. Americans like their independence as individuals, and a nation as a whole. By the way, "we" don't hate it. OK, I was kind of just talking BS, but it sounded plausible somewhere in my head.

@jrodrz said:

@Toms115 said:

football is for pussies i play baseball like a real man

You like sports where you just stand around to avoid sweating, like a sissy girl? Now I know why you like it so much ;)

fuck you it's the best sport ever invented i'd kick your ass tell me where you live

@Adamsons said:

@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?

I think when it comes to it becoming more popular, the U.S. has a problem with it because sorry, but Third World countries brought it over, and we just don't like things un-Americanized. It's kind of like Americans going somewhere and taking over... with sports! It really always comes down to the history of America and everyone (even if just subconsciously) wanting to live up to the men and women that made our country great, and as time goes by, we want to change in our way, not by others interests and opinions. Americans like their independence as individuals, and a nation as a whole. By the way, "we" don't hate it. OK, I was kind of just talking BS, but it sounded plausible somewhere in my head.

@Toms115 said:

@jrodrz said:

@Toms115 said:

football is for pussies i play baseball like a real man

You like sports where you just stand around to avoid sweating, like a sissy girl? Now I know why you like it so much ;)

fuck you it's the best sport ever invented i'd kick your ass tell me where you live

I live in punctuation, sentence organization, and correct grammar department. Care to visit me?

It's pretty arrogant to think that the rest of the world cares whether Americans like soccer or not.

@AchillesReturn said:

One major difference between soccer and football is the prevalence of the amateur version. College Football is essentially a unique phenomenon compared to other sports.

the lack of Nevadas win over boise last season makes this video less awesome

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