And yes, you are correct.......every sport has judgement calls......just most of our sports "politics" are based on betting and who did what to determine the outcome rather than the outcome determining some other kind of agenda for governments..........I'm getting too far into this thing........I like quote unquote American sports....that's all.
Why most Americans don't like soccer.
- Thread starter dabears32
- Start date
And yes, you are correct.......every sport has judgement calls......just most of our sports "politics" are based on betting and who did what to determine the outcome rather than the outcome determining some other kind of agenda for governments..........I'm getting too far into this thing........I like quote unquote American sports....that's all.
I would contend it is because most Americans are afraid of soccer and it being an international sport not developed in the US, and therefor one "we" should avoid.
Almost everyone that I know that didn't used to be a soccer fan, after having watched a few games, have come to realize how great and exciting a 1-0 game can be.
Soccer is a great sport - one that has been described as a continually moving chess match. As an American that loves football (NFL and college), college basketball, and occassionally golf and tennis, soccer is great sport to both play and watch!! 10x the action of a baseball game; similar in many ways to hockey.
Try it, you may like it...
Almost everyone that I know that didn't used to be a soccer fan, after having watched a few games, have come to realize how great and exciting a 1-0 game can be.
Soccer is a great sport - one that has been described as a continually moving chess match. As an American that loves football (NFL and college), college basketball, and occassionally golf and tennis, soccer is great sport to both play and watch!! 10x the action of a baseball game; similar in many ways to hockey.
Try it, you may like it...
I, for one, agree - but to me, an even better sport is Rugby - also watched by hundreds of millions outside the US and played by some tough son a guns!
exactly. Soccer apologists are as much to blame for the vocal opposition as the opposition. There's only so many times in a man's life he can hear a kid in the stands behind him at football tell him how much better a sport soccer is, and how soccer players are superior athletes and the rest of the world recognizes the superiority of soccer but they call it football so what I'm watching is really handegg not football and...
It grates, and it gets a response.
Coming from someone who has played some form of organized soccer here in Iowa for the last 15 years, I can tell you that the support from schools and the lack of "importance" of soccer has pushed it to the back burner for most all children in the US. In almost every other country, the best athletes all play soccer where as here in the US all of our best athletes who might play soccer as a kid are encourage/forced to play the more popular sports of football/basketball/baseball. With this mentality and the children in the US not growing up with soccer, there is no way we will ever get a level similar to the Spain/Brazil/Argentina's of the world.
One of the best parts of soccer is that with a ball, or something that can substitute for a ball and an open space, you can play soccer. No other equipment or gear is really needed. Is there another sport that this is true? Even the poorest of poor neighborhoods in Africa have kids running around kicking a soccer ball.
We are on a path to atleast legitimize Soccer in the US, with youth academies, similar to basketball prep schools, and a somewhat respected professional league where our players can build their skills. There is no way soccer will ever pass football with its popularity in the US, and thats fine, but a few minor changes will make us relevant in the soccer discussions of the world.
1. Get more youth soccer programs set up in inner city areas, similar to the baseball and basketball initiatives that have happened over the last 10+ years
2. Keep our stars (Landon Donovan, etc) in the MLS and make it something that people can get excited about.
3. Host an upcoming world cup. With bids in place for 2018 and 2022, odds are good that we will get one of these and the excitement that goes with a world cup can only increase the relevance of soccer in the years leading up to it.
4. Have both the MLS and English Premier league (as well as other top foreign leagues) have more games shown on TV. Every other sport...including NASCAR somehow...gets better TV coverage then soccer, and regardless of the non-fans opinion of a lack of action-slow paced-flopping-low scoring game, there is no one who could watch the last 5 minutes of the US vs. Algeria game and not be excited, so yes, it can happen. Just like how watching the last minute of a 1 point basketball game or a tied baseball game in extra innings, a TRUE sports fan really just enjoys a great competition and is intrigued by a competitive game.
5. For those Americans who say soccer is a boring sport/only wimps play, sign up for an adult league in your area (I personally know Ames has a very good summer league) and see for yourself that not just anyone can play soccer and it requires just as much skill as any other sport you might claim is better then soccer.
These are just a few ideas, and because the thread has over 100 posts, I haven't made it through all of them to see if this has been said.
One of the best parts of soccer is that with a ball, or something that can substitute for a ball and an open space, you can play soccer. No other equipment or gear is really needed. Is there another sport that this is true? Even the poorest of poor neighborhoods in Africa have kids running around kicking a soccer ball.
We are on a path to atleast legitimize Soccer in the US, with youth academies, similar to basketball prep schools, and a somewhat respected professional league where our players can build their skills. There is no way soccer will ever pass football with its popularity in the US, and thats fine, but a few minor changes will make us relevant in the soccer discussions of the world.
1. Get more youth soccer programs set up in inner city areas, similar to the baseball and basketball initiatives that have happened over the last 10+ years
2. Keep our stars (Landon Donovan, etc) in the MLS and make it something that people can get excited about.
3. Host an upcoming world cup. With bids in place for 2018 and 2022, odds are good that we will get one of these and the excitement that goes with a world cup can only increase the relevance of soccer in the years leading up to it.
4. Have both the MLS and English Premier league (as well as other top foreign leagues) have more games shown on TV. Every other sport...including NASCAR somehow...gets better TV coverage then soccer, and regardless of the non-fans opinion of a lack of action-slow paced-flopping-low scoring game, there is no one who could watch the last 5 minutes of the US vs. Algeria game and not be excited, so yes, it can happen. Just like how watching the last minute of a 1 point basketball game or a tied baseball game in extra innings, a TRUE sports fan really just enjoys a great competition and is intrigued by a competitive game.
5. For those Americans who say soccer is a boring sport/only wimps play, sign up for an adult league in your area (I personally know Ames has a very good summer league) and see for yourself that not just anyone can play soccer and it requires just as much skill as any other sport you might claim is better then soccer.
These are just a few ideas, and because the thread has over 100 posts, I haven't made it through all of them to see if this has been said.
Okay to be clear, soccer is its own sport. People don't compare baseball to basketball and claim to make any sense, so stop comparing soccer to anything. It is called soccer and not foot-ice-sket-ball.
Offside is called when a player on the attacking team makes an attempt to play the ball when they are behind the second defender (usually the goalie and one other player) and not until that point. Since all of you want to compare this to an "american sport" consider football, where a defender can run around the offensive line until the ball is snapped, and is not consider offsides until that point in time. Hockey's offside could be considered similar in that if the player is on their half of field (i.e. behind their blue line) they cannot be offside.
Also, these Vuvuzela's are a traditional south African instrument, and are only becoming "popular" as of this world cup. Most every player, coach, referee, and normal fan HATE these things and the chance of them EVER being allowed again is really small.
How about a wide receiver who beats the defensive back by getting past him (without the ball, which may still be in the quarterback's hands) to make a good play. I'm glad that's not a penalty in real football. But in soccer, an offensive player is not allowed to get beyond the defense because something exciting might actually happen.
Wow really. It Grates on you that a minority of people support soccer, over football? This I do not understand. As a kid I went to a small school that did not have football, so our only choice was soccer. So I can't say I got that I ever got razzed or made fun of by peers for playing soccer, and I come from an area where soccer success is beyond the football success so we got plenty of support from the community. Even with this support, the fast majority of people I met who played other sports and never played competitive soccer would laugh and make fun the instance I told them Soccer was my favorite sport. It grates on you, that a kid says soccer players are real atheletes? Imagine being that Kid who was told by everyone. Soccer players are pansies, oh look at them they fall over all the time. It SOOOOOO Boring, every chance someone got when they were a kid. You ever think that the over the top response that comes from soccer supporters in the United States comes from years of put downs and disrespect?
Okay fine, I tried to be civil with my statements but you and your little soccer buddies have your own ******* discussions because I'm done trying to reason with you. Have fun with your "once every four years we're relevant" sport........and I'll stick with my mainstream sports and we'll all be one happy ******* family!!!!!! :yes:
Why is it that all the players on the team have to come set before the ball is set in "real" football? Wouldn't It be more exciting if they could run at the defense?
Great point.......but that's irrelevant because American football sucks so bad and there's only 5 minutes of real action!!!
I was a Grade 8 FIFA soccer referee throughout high school. Basically all that means is that I reffed the competitive/traveling teams and took a 120 question test to get my license to ref soccer games (for a lot more money than what the rec teams would pay).
Anyway, Offsides is when an offensive players is behind the defender when the ball is kicked to them. That is the easiest way to put the rule. The key is where the offensive player is before the ball is kicked.
If, in this order, the offensive player is in front of the defensive player, the ball is kicked to them, and the offensive players is still in front of the defensive player. Then they are on-sides.
If, in this order, the offensive player is in front of the defensive player, the ball is kicked to them, and the offensive player is behind the defensive player. Then they are on-sides. This is because they were on sides when the ball was kicked and most likely the offensive player is faster than the defense or the defense was standing around. This is why you sometimes see players 5-10 yards ahead of everyone else.
If, in this order, the offensive player is behind the defensive player, the ball is kicked to them, and they are still behind the defensive player. Then its offsides because they were behind the defensive player when the ball was kicked to them.
There are some exceptions to this rule, for example, if the offensive player is in an offsides position but it not involved in the 'play' (lets say he's playing with the corner flag while the ball is being bounced around the goal), this is not offsides because he is considered not to be involved in the play.
I hope this helps!
when the play started he was onside, therefore it was a legal play. if he so much as flinches before the play starts, everything stops and the play cant continue. how is that ANY better then the soccer offside rule? Both seem to limit the spaces that players to go to when they dont have the ball huh?
1) no. I said that it grates on me when soccer fans come to football games and spend the whole time talking down the sport I'm there to watch. I never said it bugs me that they enjoy the game more than mine.
2) again, no. It grates on me, again, that they take my football game watching experiences and turn them into chances to talk down my favorite sport.
3) absolutely. Reread the first full sentence of my post.
Nope, it's plenty exciting without gimmicks. Players are set before the ball is put in play, before the action begins. In soccer, the ball is always in play (while in bounds). Unfortunately, that doesn't mean there is always action as players aren't allowed to beat the defense, unless, as soccer supporters in this thread explained, players aren't part of the action.
Great point.......but that's irrelevant because American football sucks so bad and there's only 5 minutes of real action!!!Don't you know, if you don't run up and down the field with no purpose at all, it doesn't make sense???? Besides, who wants to score anyways......that's overrated!!!
After all, who wouldn't want to watch a 2 hour France-Uruguay, 0-0 snoozefest?? when you could be watching.....oh say a certain 51-45 game between the Packers and Cardinals in the NFL playoffs that could be the most exciting playoff game ever??
"beating the defense" is not what you mean I don't think. A player in soccer is unable to cherry pick by the goals, and as has been mentioned in this thread, sports like basketball do not limit this. A player can beat the defender any time her or she is able to get past this defense and will then beat them. Offside only prevents players from being too far removed from action.
the issue comes when offside is called improperly, as has happened a few times in key situations this world cup, or when it is not called, see mexico vs argentina. Because of the human aspect of this rule, it is very hard for people to fully understand it, but you dont see people complaining about how baseball is no action because 7 of the players arent doing anything for 90% of the game, or that football has no action because 75% of that game is standing in a huddle talking about what they are going to do. Things happen on the fly in soccer, errors are made just like in any other sport, and because of that there will always be controversy but that doesnt make it a bad sport.
American football is all about beating your man so you can score, soccer is all about letting your man beat you so they can't score. Big Difference!!!!
"I like things to be black and white with little to no gray area"
Ah, I see. You mean like calling fouls in the paint in basketball. Or holding in football.
Ah, I see. You mean like calling fouls in the paint in basketball. Or holding in football.
