The "Just how little does the average American man know about soccer?" thread

thejokeriv wrote:

There is a professional soccer league in the US. I have been on the Metro (the DC subway) when there was a soccer game going on - the train was PACKED with latino immigrants heading down to the game.

I am just not a fan - the game bores me to tears. Give me some FOOTBALL (American football that is!) any day!!!!!! The NFL (National Football League) is the biggest professional sport in America. As mentioned, the low scoring, size of the field turns off a lot of Americans who where raised on football and baseball. Plus, we think "Football" (Soccer) is the national sport of the third world.

Interestingly, the other two big professional sports in the US, Hockey and Basketball, are variations on soccer.

The NFL is becoming more and more popular among young people (late teens, young adults) here in Denmark, but if you ask me, THAT game bores me to tears - I do know all the rules, and still I just can't seem to get interested in it - No matter how much I try to watch it, it just seems like it follows this formula: Start, man runs with "ball" for about 5 seconds, gets tackled. Start again. Man runs with ball for six seconds, then gets tackled! - They start and stop that freakin' game constantly!

What you americans must understand, is that goals are not everything - it's just as intersting to watch the build up, how the team works together, and watch the shots fired at goal - the saves the keeper makes, everything. I agree that a soccer game can be VERY boring, but it can also be edge-of-your-seat exciting.

Mglaffas81 wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

There is a professional soccer league in the US. I have been on the Metro (the DC subway) when there was a soccer game going on - the train was PACKED with latino immigrants heading down to the game.

I am just not a fan - the game bores me to tears. Give me some FOOTBALL (American football that is!) any day!!!!!! The NFL (National Football League) is the biggest professional sport in America. As mentioned, the low scoring, size of the field turns off a lot of Americans who where raised on football and baseball. Plus, we think "Football" (Soccer) is the national sport of the third world.

Interestingly, the other two big professional sports in the US, Hockey and Basketball, are variations on soccer.

The NFL is becoming more and more popular among young people (late teens, young adults) here in Denmark, but if you ask me, THAT game bores me to tears - I do know all the rules, and still I just can't seem to get interested in it - No matter how much I try to watch it, it just seems like it follows this formula: Start, man runs with "ball" for about 5 seconds, gets tackled. Start again. Man runs with ball for six seconds, then gets tackled! - They start and stop that freakin' game constantly!

What you americans must understand, is that goals are not everything - it's just as intersting to watch the build up, how the team works together, and watch the shots fired at goal - the saves the keeper makes, everything. I agree that a soccer game can be VERY boring, but it can also be edge-of-your-seat exciting.

That is what we would tell you about Football - lol!!!! It's the set up, the short passes, the long passes for the long touchdown, the 20+ yard run for a TD, the blocking, the tackling, the big hits, how they plays set up the "big plays". Sounds like you are watching a boring game with all short runs.....

He must be watching the 49ers............

I'm the only person at my entire school who doesn't know the rules / watch American football. I like soccer much better.

Mglaffas81 wrote:

but what do you average (well...sorta) Americans actually know about the greatest sport known to man?

I know that Hockey's still the best.

holydiver97595 wrote:

I'm the only person at my entire school who doesn't know the rules / watch American football. I like soccer much better.

Join the club. Never been a football guy. On Super Bowl Sunday I feel like Kyle on "South Park" when he sings the song about being a "Lonely Jew on Christmas"

I'm a huge sports fan and I don't know awful lot about soccer, and I'm not even American! I don't mind the actual concept of the sport - there's a ball and a goal, get it in without using your hands. Sounds like a fun game. But I don't like the non-contact part. You're not supposed to touch the opponent. And if you do, the other guy falls down and acts like he's been shot. That's a sport? Really? It's more a game than sport. I think I have better balance with a ball than those soccer millionaires. I like playing it with friends sometimes though, but you have to allow playing the body at least a little bit.

Anyway, there are only a few countries in the world where soccer is not the most popular sport. Finland just happens to be one of them and that's where I'm from. I'm a huge hockey fan. Greatest game ever invented. I love it. Combines the finesse of skating on ice, dangling and stickhandling the puck with the brute force of full contact sport full of hitting and fighting. Much like heavy metal! Finesse and brute force. In a good team sport you have to use your hands, too. Not just in throwing punches in a fight, but didn't the scientists say hands are the parts of our bodies closest to our brain, making a sport where you need precise puckhandling skills, very cerebral? Not to mention it's borderline combat-sport-manly how when you have a problem with the other guy, you can settle it one-on-one and it's all good.


On an average NHL season, there's about a thousand fights. Not to mention minor leagues where guys are hardcore. The Chicago Blackhawks are my team. And I think Finland, Canada, USA and maybe Sweden are the only places where hockey is more popular than soccer. Then there are places like Australia, where one of my colleagues is from, where people play something silly like cricket. In cricket there are only two innings per team and still one game lasts for five days.

Lari wrote:

I'm a huge sports fan and I don't know awful lot about soccer, and I'm not even American! I don't mind the actual concept of the sport - there's a ball and a goal, get it in without using your hands. Sounds like a fun game. But I don't like the non-contact part. You're not supposed to touch the opponent. And if you do, the other guy falls down and acts like he's been shot. That's a sport? Really? It's more a game than sport. I think I have better balance with a ball than those soccer millionaires. I like playing it with friends sometimes though, but you have to allow playing the body at least a little bit.

Anyway, there are only a few countries in the world where soccer is not the most popular sport. Finland just happens to be one of them and that's where I'm from. I'm a huge hockey fan. Greatest game ever invented. I love it. Combines the finesse of skating on ice, dangling and stickhandling the puck with the brute force of full contact sport full of hitting and fighting. Much like heavy metal! Finesse and brute force. In a good team sport you have to use your hands, too. Not just in throwing punches in a fight, but didn't the scientists say hands are the parts of our bodies closest to our brain, making a sport where you need precise puckhandling skills, very cerebral? Not to mention it's borderline combat-sport-manly how when you have a problem with the other guy, you can settle it one-on-one and it's all good.


On an average NHL season, there's about a thousand fights. Not to mention minor leagues where guys are hardcore. The Chicago Blackhawks are my team. And I think Finland, Canada, USA and maybe Sweden are the only places where hockey is more popular than soccer. Then there are places like Australia, where one of my colleagues is from, where people play something silly like cricket. In cricket there are only two innings per team and still one game lasts for five days.

Now that's what I'm about.

Soccer is the most boring sport on the planet IMO. If opposing players could clobber each other I'd be much more interested. I don't follow hockey either but that's only because my poor eyesight prevents me from following the puck. Love the fights though!

IMO, soccer will never catch on as a major sport in the US until 2 things are changed: Players are allowed to kill each other and a 0-0 tie is impossible.

tohostudios wrote:

Now that's what I'm about.

Soccer is the most boring sport on the planet IMO. If opposing players could clobber each other I'd be much more interested. I don't follow hockey either but that's only because my poor eyesight prevents me from following the puck. Love the fights though!

IMO, soccer will never catch on as a major sport in the US until 2 things are changed: Players are allowed to kill each other and a 0-0 tie is impossible.

I dont know - golf and tennis just bore the living daylights out of me. I think the NHL is doing a better job now since coming back from the brink. Speeding up the game and making is more offense friendly has really opened up the skills part of the league and the ratings are growing. The All-Star weekend was pure marketing genuis.

I enjoy football, baseball, college basketball and hockey. I am avid for my locals teams and I dont see a reason to have a favorite - its all good

Golf isn't a sport in my book, it's a game.

And tennis frequently features young women in short skirts running around. What's not to like?

tohostudios wrote:

Golf isn't a sport in my book, it's a game.

And tennis frequently features young women in short skirts running around. What's not to like?

in theory that would sound good but watching it isnt...

The saddest thing about soccer is how its antics have permeated other sports now in the U.S. In the NBA there are European and Latin American players who have taken flopping (regarding the charging rule) to an all time low. In fact it's disgusting... Where did they learn that? Soccer/Futbol. In the NFL, you have Latin American place kickers who flop when a guy gets within two feet of them for a block on a kick attempt, so they could possibly draw a penalty.

I know that soccer/futbol is a cerebral game with athletes, but of the major sports, it is so far down my list. The only reason it's the #1 sport in the world, is because it's a poor man's sport. What I mean is, you need a ball and that's all. If you don't have a net, which most third world countries don't have, you design your own markers for where you have to kick the ball. Even if most countries enjoyed American football, hockey, baseball, or basketball more, they wouldn't have the funds to participate. So, this is why in continents like South America, Africa, or remote parts of Asia love soccer, because you can participate if you have two legs and can run all day.

Here's one of the Sally's/floppers that tried to make his mark in the NFL, and failed miserably after this pathetic injury. It's one of the all time hilarious moments in sports. I know that Jim Rome had a field day with this when it first occurred.

Bill Gramatica....pffftt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK81Ej5hm8s

tohostudios wrote:

And tennis frequently features young women in short skirts running around. What's not to like?

I used to feel that way until the Williams brothers came on to the scene.

So the reason why americans don`t like soccer is the lack of violence and the fact that the rest of the world loves it?
Writing it off by calling it a poor man`s sport sounds both arrogant and ignorant. It is the most popular sport in many countries that are much wealthier than USA.

Olafsto wrote:

So the reason why americans don`t like soccer is the lack of violence and the fact that the rest of the world loves it?
Writing it off by calling it a poor man`s sport sounds both arrogant and ignorant. It is the most popular sport in many countries that are much wealthier than USA.

My words exactly - Sorry, but that statement was just plain dumb. On another note, saying that football (soccer) is not a contact sport is incorrect - you can tackle and push with your shoulder as much as you want, as long as it is done legally - if you slide tackle another player, the tack is legal as long as you hit the ball first. There's lots of physical contact in soccer. All the statements I read above just proves that some of you just know nothing about the sport. And if you really think that soccer is boring because of lack of contact, what about basketball? The defending team can't do jack sh!t to to other person, he has to intercept the ball without touching the other player at all, which results in the endless amount of goals. It's requires great skill for a soccer player to charge and dribble around the opposing defence.

That statement about soccer being a poor-man's sport is just stupid.

I'm not knocking you americans or your sport, I just think you're being a bit ignorant.

I think the biggest knock on soccer in the US is the relative lack of scoring. It's just wrong to American sensibilities that a 0-0 final score is acceptable. We want a winner and a loser.

Mglaffas81 wrote:

That statement about soccer being a poor-man's sport is just stupid.

Well, that statement might hurt, but it's true. There are just certain parts of the world where other sports are just not an option. Do I actually have to list the reasons why?

Basketball: You need either a gymnasium or an outdoor hard court. You need preferably two basketball goals (though one could suffice by playing half court) basketball shoes, and a ball.

Baseball: You need bats, balls, gloves, helmets, cleats, a baseball diamond, a fence to delineate what is a HR.

Football: You need a football, pads (numerous kinds), helmet, a field w/goal posts, cleats, mouth piece.

Hockey: You need a rink with two goals, skates, pads, helmet, puck, stick, sweater....

Tennis: A court, a net, tennis shoes, tennis rackets, balls, tennis shoes....


Soccer: You need a ball, and some cleats, w/some pylons to designate the area you're playing on and where the demarcation for the goals.

Please, tell me again how economics don't play a part in why certain sports take off in poorer countries and other don't...

tohostudios wrote:

I think the biggest knock on soccer in the US is the relative lack of scoring. It's just wrong to American sensibilities that a 0-0 final score is acceptable. We want a winner and a loser.

Exactly...

...And when you have instances where you have total incompetency with your referees, then there is a problem. I watched a little bit of the World Cup this past summer, and there were at least 2-3 times where there were disputed goals. In each one of these situations it was shown that the referee should have signaled that a goal was scored. When you have scores of 0-0, 1-0, 2-1 in your games, there is simply no excuse for getting these calls wrong. When you have a sport that lacks offense (in terms of scoring production), then it's simply absurd that you can't get these calls right.

metalinmyveins wrote:

Mglaffas81 wrote:

That statement about soccer being a poor-man's sport is just stupid.

Hockey: You need a rink with two goals, skates, pads, helmet, puck, stick, sweater....

And if your playing it outdoors.... You need ice...... or your playing field hockey.

chewie wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

Mglaffas81 wrote:

That statement about soccer being a poor-man's sport is just stupid.

Hockey: You need a rink with two goals, skates, pads, helmet, puck, stick, sweater....

And if your playing it outdoors.... You need ice...... or your playing field hockey.

well you can play street hockey with two goals, a ball and hockey sticks.

exact33 wrote:

chewie wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

Mglaffas81 wrote:

That statement about soccer being a poor-man's sport is just stupid.

Hockey: You need a rink with two goals, skates, pads, helmet, puck, stick, sweater....

And if your playing it outdoors.... You need ice...... or your playing field hockey.

well you can play street hockey with two goals, a ball and hockey sticks.

True.... I played a lot of streetball as a kid. Cars hurt when you run into them.

I dislike all sports. I just could never really get into any sport and watching them is just too boring. I need drama in my entertainment and unfortunatly sports isn't about that. To me reality is boring and I only get true entertainment from movies, TV shows, and pro-wrestling. I know this is why I don't like sports because I do enjoy sport movies. Give me a reason to care for the characters and let the game be fodder to the story and I'm entertained.

I did enjoy baseball when I was a kid but for me it was about collecting the cards, following the statistics, and throwing a ball around. I loved buying packs of cards and finding cards worth more money than regular ones. I also liked looking in the paper and seeing who was up and down in HRs, ERA, AVG, etc. Another thing I would do if I didn't have my friend John to play with is throw a ball into the air in different directions and try to catch it. I'd also throw a ball up into the air and hitting it with a bat. I would also get a tennis ball and throw it against a wall, garage door, or fence to practice pitching and catching. I'd also pretend to be different ball players in a game pretending home runs, strike outs, outs, etc. I would also play RBI baseball on Nintendo. However, I could never watch a game all the way through.

Another sport I had participation in was wrestling. I wrestled in high school and enjoyed it for the most (I never got used to losing-I lost a lot, but I never got used to it). However, I couldn't watch it without getting bored.

As for American football, I joined athletics in middle school (football, basketball, baseball) but I never played because I ended up quiting. I was constantly getting picked on by the sfincter bullies, all of which happended to be part of it all. I probably would have enjoyed it had I gotten into baseball but I couldn't last that long (I probably would have beaten the cap out of them with a bat in my hand). To this day I always associate football with assholes so that is a factor to me not liking football.

I think sport fans are ridiculous about their passion for the sports they watch. Their team looses and their whole week is shot. In that respect I'm turned off from sports because of people that take them too seriously. IMO it's just a stupid game and people need to get over it. Soccer is worse because people not only get depressed when their team loses, they get violent and riot. The closest thing to a sport I follow is pro-wrestling. Yeah, it's fake and over the top but if my guy (team) loses I get over it quickly because I know it for what it is.

One of my favorite sports time of year is March Madness.

Every year there's some tiny school no one has ever heard of that makes it into the tournament and knocks off a more highly-ranked and recognized opponent.

That's why I save some vacation days at work because the first rounds of the tournement usually start around 11 am.

For my money, nothing in "soccerworld" comes close to March Madness. Hell, nothing in "soccerworld" comes close to watching grass grow in my world.

I am not a huge soccer fan, but I did enjoy watching the American team make a decent showing for awhile in the World Cup. I understand the game and I realize that there are strategies and plays that come into the action, but I still don't choose to watch it most of the time. I don't think the "low scoring" argument really applies, at least not totally. Hockey, for the most part is a low scoring game as well, but is fairly popular in the US, as many of you have argued here. I think its the perceived lack of action in soccer. Hockey is much faster and more action-oriented than soccer tends to be, mostly because its on ice! But the fast action outbids the lower scores. I realize that those of you who come from a soccer tradition would argue that there is action, but remember, I said a perceived lack of action! I also kind of agree that soccer is popular in many places because it doesn't take much equipment to play it. Anything resembling a ball and a couple of markers for goals and you're in business! That's not a bad thing and doesn't make it a "poor man's sport." Actually, its pretty brilliant when you think about it! Having said all that, I tend to watch a lot of basketball and football, mostly college level. The players tend to be less jaded and more likely to be playing for the love of the game. Though that's not always the case either, especially in Division I schools, but that's a whole other discussion!