Your opinion/perception of soccer

[cmoneyr]

Originally Posted by cybsball20

One of the biggest defensive strategies is to fool the other team into going offsides... What fun is that?

You mean like a snap count in football? I guess that's an offensive strategy, but still.

[DaddyMac]

Originally Posted by aconngemini

Thanks so far, I guess I should explain. I'm writing a book on the subject of soccer and globalization...and one of the chapters will be on the (generally) negative perception of soccer that the USA has. It would be helpful if you gave me some feedback of what influenced you to have such opinions on soccer, and why they differ so much from people outside America.

for example: "soccer is boring/sissy/lame/gay" is something heard only here (in the US), what brings this opinion towards this sport. I'm looking for the opinion of those born in America ONLY.

US is an "instant gratification" society.

Euros seem to get a thrill out of the rushes during a soccer game. I don't know what the number would be, but it seems like the overwhelming majority net no result (scoring). You don't really get that in US sports - save hockey. But let's be honest - most people's interest in hockey has nothing to do with talent or scoring.

Big plays in FB, BB and baseball usually result in a benefit (yardage, scoring and such). Not to mention there is often much more of it in most games.

Also - if FB games ended 1-0, 2-1; or basketball ended 10-8, or you only saw 1 HR in any average baseball game - I think there would be a little unrest in the traditional US sports. Baseball even somewhat addressed this (supposedly) and put more offense into the game. Play-clocks, shot clocks all for more offense.

[cmoneyr]

I used to be an adamant soccer hater. But I got hooked on the UEFA cup a few years back and have loved it ever since. I'd love to be able to go to a game in England at some point.

[sclotz]

Most Americans don't have the patience for soccer. Most American sports fans want the quick NFL 5-8 seconds of "flash" and then 30 seconds of waiting, then another 8 seconds ending in a "knock your helmet" off paralyzing hit. I attribute it much to our culture/society in that most Americans don't like to wait for anything. I think soccer is a more mature game with the NFL and NBA (I do love American football also) likens more to a teenager mentality.
Much of the rest of the world likes more of a continuous, consistent, and low scoring game...you probably can tell that I love soccer as well as American football.

[cybsball20]

Originally Posted by cmoneyr

You mean like a snap count in football? I guess that's an offensive strategy, but still.

Nah, I would compare it to the intentional foul at midcourt on a fast break... Only you penalize the offense...

[NIowaClone]

When I see soccer on ESPN, my finger never moves faster for the channel button to get away from that as fast as possible. So, yeah, soccer is not my thing.

[ajk4st8]

Football also requires... blocking, running, tackling, catching, throwing, kicking.... and so on.

Soccer is running and kicking.

[josh777]

I'm a huge fan of Amer. football but watching the highlights of the Saints/Chargers game that was played in London, I tried to see the game for a minute through the eyes of a non-American. I can see where one could objectively see how boring football was with the short bursts of action followed by 30-40 seconds of inaction, all the timeouts, replays, etc. Growing up watching and playing fball I'm familiar to the intricacies involved such as down and distance compared to time left, line calls, strategies, rules, what penalty will follow a flag, etc. but to someone foreign to this (like my wife) I can see where it may be boring.
I have watched enough soccer and played a little but mostly learned from foreign friends the strategies involved. This does make it more interesting. However, there is no comparison to football as it's just not in my blood. I can watch the World Cup but outside of that I only watch my 5 year old son play.
I think it's a practical sport that can be played anywhere with little to no equipment (friend from Brazil said they would play with a coconut if didn't have a ball) and this is why it is everpresent throughout the world. Some of you have said soccer is tough to play, yeah, but it's a different kind of tough...endurance based. Playing football is a whole other kind of tough that comprises strength, power, and speed used to make powerful collisions.

[cmoneyr]

Originally Posted by cybsball20

Nah, I would compare it to the intentional foul at midcourt on a fast break... Only you penalize the offense...

How you would compare it to that?

[aconngemini]

Originally Posted by DaddyMac

US is an "instant gratification" society.

Euros seem to get a thrill out of the rushes during a soccer game. I don't know what the number would be, but it seems like the overwhelming majority net no result (scoring). You don't really get that in US sports - save hockey. But let's be honest - most people's interest in hockey has nothing to do with talent or scoring.

Big plays in FB, BB and baseball usually result in a benefit (yardage, scoring and such). Not to mention there is often much more of it in most games.

Also - if FB games ended 1-0, 2-1; or basketball ended 10-8, or you only saw 1 HR in any average baseball game - I think there would be a little unrest in the traditional US sports. Baseball even somewhat addressed this (supposedly) and put more offense into the game. Play-clocks, shot clocks all for more offense.

Do you think that indoor soccer, a high-scoring game, would fate better than traditional soccer in the US?

[djkent01]

I didn't care for soccer until my kids played. They both loved it and played several years on club teams. There is so much going on. To be able to understand those things you have to be educated about the game.

Anybody that claims they don't like soccer because it's low scoring had also better be a fan of the DH. Strategy versus scoring. And in low scoring intense games, there's always the suspense and thrill of the game changing on a single play. It's very intense when you're into it.

There are sports I don't enjoy, so this is not a generalization. But many people that don't enjoy soccer simply don't understand the intricacies of the game and have never sweated out the end of a 1 - 0 or 2 - 1 game.

FWIW - I hate the flopping also. It's a joke. I don't think it's a coincidence that the biggest floppers in the NBA are European players.

[aeroclone]

Soccer just doesn't translate well into a television product, which is why I think it doesn't catch on here. The game is very slow paced, and as Stumpy said, most of it is played in the midfield. In all of the other major sports, the majority of the action takes place with one team on the verge of scoring.

It also doesn't have the pick up and watch factor of the other major sports. Everybody that claims to enjoy watching soccer will claim that others can't because they need to get to learn the strategy and the technicalities to enjoy it. Most Americans will watch some guys jogging around a grass field for 5 minutes and move on, they won't give it a chance.

That isn't to say that understanding the details and strategy of football, baseball, basketball, or hockey doesn't add to the viewing experience, but I think there is a more exciting product on the surface to keep people engaged and then they learn the details as they go.

One other issue that I see is the lack of a big professional league and the fact that our best athletes ignore the sport. This is sort of a chicken and the egg issue to me. If we had a big flashy high profile soccer league then maybe more athletes would choose the sport. That said, if we had a higher calibur of talent in the league, maybe MLS would be a bigger profile league.

That said, I think the game is terribly slow and boring. I also think it is viewed as a sissy game because it is less physical than other sports and there is tons of flopping. I don't think it will ever be relevent in the US and I never watch games when they are on TV. And I will watch just about anything, from tennis, to golf, to bowling, to curling, and so on, which gives you an idea of just where I put soccer in my viewing hierarchy.

[StormnClone58]

Originally Posted by ajk4st8

Football also requires... blocking, running, tackling, catching, throwing, kicking.... and so on.

Soccer is running and kicking.

not trying to pick on you but there is tackling and throwing in soccer ....

[aconngemini]

Originally Posted by ajk4st8

Football also requires... blocking, running, tackling, catching, throwing, kicking.... and so on.

Soccer is running and kicking.

Would you say that this perception of soccer as "running and kicking" (which I've heard a lot btw) comes from ignorance or a sense of superiority of our sports for being more evolved than what other countries can manage?

[djkent01]

For those that doubt the physical rigors, soccer has the highest incidence of serious injury of any major sport. It's tough.