Why are Americans so against soccer?

Why are Americans so against soccer? (Full Version)

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stampinlady -> Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 12:40:42 PM)
I don't get it. I have been told by a few parents that there's no way they'd let their kids play soccer because it's not American. Yikes, what kind of answer is that? I noticed that the news hardly covers local soccer yet alone their own national teams. What's up?

Miss Giggles -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 12:46:17 PM)
That's hilarious. Our youth soccer leagues are pretty full here.

stellaluna -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 12:48:19 PM)
We have soccer "seasons" that start every six weeks to accommodate all the kids that want to play. I played for six years, all my brothers played (one still plays on an adult league), my niece and nephew, all my friends' kids play. It's very popular here.

stampinlady -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 1:44:43 PM)
Maybe it's just a few around here because we do have leagues. But the news coverage is always sparse.

Go24 -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 3:19:27 PM)
Simple ... it's "America-centrism". Not-caring is our defense against the fact that the best leagues & players in the world are not American. Sure, plenty of kids are being raised playing soccer (it's an easy, cheap sport to run for kids), but once they age out of community soccer and aren't good enough (or interested enough) to play in high school or college, there's little-to-no media coverage -- or any "hype" at all to speak of -- surrounding the professional leagues here, so it's easy to slide into "we don't care" mode.

vivalavida123 -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 5:03:04 PM)
I would have to disagree...there's plenty of good "American" soccer players... There's.... ... ... ... ... Well, ok maybe you do have a point.

Sideways -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 5:42:55 PM)
I think a lot of folks see soccer as a sport for children. dH says it's a "two dimensional sport", so that's why it's a good warm up sport before they start baseball or basketball. There just isn't the interest for folks to play much past middle school, although most large high schools have a soccer team. Soccer does seem reasonably popular with girls, as they are shut out of some other sports. I think we could have good soccer players, if we actually took the time to develop them into adulthood. But some areas of the country are heavy into football, some are into basketball or even baseball. But soccer doesn't really have a foothold anywhere in the US.

garsyt -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 6:26:54 PM)
Not a problem around here. There are several youth soccer leagues, each area middle and high schools have teams for both boys and girls, and local colleges have men's and women's teams as well. The league my youngest ds was involved in did have trouble getting the interest of a good number of boys to play so the teams were co-ed and there were WAY more girls on the team then boys. Almost 2 girls for each boy! My ds loved it! This was Spring soccer and he could have signed up for Fall soccer through another nearby league but we just didn't get him signed up in time. Blessings, Garsy

csl7037 -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 7:31:31 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Sideways I think a lot of folks see soccer as a sport for children. dH says it's a "two dimensional sport", so that's why it's a good warm up sport before they start baseball or basketball. I think this is exactly right. It's also somewhat unAmerican, though. But, IMO, baseball is unAmerican - or maybe it's just unSouthern. Sure, the Braves are an exception but I have the exact same feelings about baseball as soccer - can't sit through it. Maybe it's the "two-dimensional" thing that sums it up - not enough interaction, I guess.

Sideways -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/1/2008 7:49:34 PM)
When I said two dimensional, I meant it's played on a flat surface and with little kids, the ball doesn't leave that surface. That makes it easy for little ones. Baseball is up, down and all over the place as far as the location of the ball, and requires a great deal more hand/eyes coordination then soccer - and in terms of American history it way trumps basketball or football. Do you mean fan interaction or player interaction? I've learned to appreciate football (although I'll never enjoy it as much as baseball), but I have a very limited tolerance for basketball, especially professional basketball. [:'(] But garsy is right, it's much more a sport for girls then boys. But our ladies soccer team generally kicks some behind at the Olympics! [:D]

stampinlady -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 12:05:27 AM)
quote: There are several youth soccer leagues, each area middle and high schools have teams for both boys and girls, and local colleges have men's and women's teams as well. We have this also, with the exception of those I spoke about earlier, but what happens after college? Sideways, I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that it was a "good warm up sport."

VivaRonaldo7 -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 12:16:24 AM)
After college, if the guys continue playing they usually go to the United Soccer Leagues(USL), or the MLS, depending on who sees them play. quote: ORIGINAL: vivalavida123 I would have to disagree...there's plenty of good "American" soccer players... There's.... ... ... ... ... Well, ok maybe you do have a point. That's the problem! There are plenty of good American soccer players! Landon Donovan and Brian McBride for example. Most people just don't know about them because the local/national news don't usually mention them! Soccer would probably be a much bigger sport in the USA if the news mentioned them in their sports report like they do Football and Baseball.

rlj -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 8:18:00 AM)
People don't like to watch it because they don't like watching guys pass, kick, screen and work for 10 minutes to get an attempt to score 1 goal. There are very good American players I am sure but in the pecking order for athletes Football, Basketball and Baseball are more popular to watch and play. A professional athlete will make much more money in those sports than in soccer unless he wants to go overseas. Of course Americans seem to wonder why the world isn't impressed with football either when you cosider that we can't even give it a name that distinguishes it from football. [8\|]

mutinywxgirl -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 8:26:33 AM)
Don't get me started! I've been involved in the sport since 1975. It IS my passion (along with disasters and weather). American's don't like it because it's so beautifully simple and they can't appreciate the intricacies involved with the finer players. Get our US boys into some higher level leagues, and just watch their skills improve. But, the fact that the USMNT has made consecutive World Cups says a lot about our program. Unfortunately, I don't care for our current coach (too much nepotism with him, IMHO), so will be curious to see how far we go. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see what happens in the Olympics too.

lexie -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 8:38:18 AM)
quote: People don't like to watch it because they don't like watching guys pass, kick, screen and work for 10 minutes to get an attempt to score 1 goal. I fully agree with this. I have heard a lot of people say that it is a boring sport to watch. My response - are you kidding me? Not only are soccer players probably the most conditioned athletes out there, the lack of scoring makes it all the more worthwhile when someone does score because of the skill and precision it takes! I might be biased though. My father comes from a country that is known for good soccer and my husband comes from a country where every young child grows up playing soccer in the street. Their soccer team, while not the best in world competition, is known for it's flair and excitement. So a lot of soccer is watched in our household (where it is also known as football[;)] And your football is known as American football[;)])

mutinywxgirl -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 8:43:53 AM)
LOLOL - American football is lovingly referred to as "pointy ball" by many of my American soccer friends. My grandfather is from the Azore Islands. He was part of the US Amateur Teams champions in the 30's and 40's. I get it from him - it's truly in my blood. I'm first generation in the US on my father's side.

zoebob -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 8:47:56 AM)
My daughter has played 3 seasons of soccer. This year she was turned down for the community team. I find this upsetting. They will be having 2 teams for each level and gender this year. On the past teams she's been on they have only 1-2 players more than it takes to take a field. If a girl can't make a game then they have no subs. THey play against teams that have 2 full "teams" on each team so they have plenty of subs. No wonder we lose: our girls are running ragged because they play about 3/4 of the game or more. But then they have try outs for the community team and cut girls who want to play. I always thought the point of community teams was that everyone could play. Anyway, enough of that rant. I enjoy watching her games when it's not too cold. Spring soccer is cold here. It's barely warm by the end of the season. When I was growing up our school didn't have football teams so soccer was popular but only for boys...girls played field hockey. I never heard of girls' soccer till I went to college in western NY and there was a girls' team and some girls had played in high school. In my high school boys soccer was popular because it was the only boys' sport at the time. We had 3 teams: jr high, JV, and Varsity and you were on the team based on your age, not necessarily ability...ie a jr or sr was automatically on Varsity and they only took a fresh/soph if there weren't enough jr/srs who wanted ot play.

buckifn -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 8:53:23 AM)
My girls played soccer and I went to the games only to support them. I have never found it exciting the way football is and I think that it fizzled out by the time they entered high school. It's HUGELY popular here for the 5-12 yr. olds...the field is packed on Sat. mornings.

mutinywxgirl -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 9:07:53 AM)
There is a HUGE difference between the skill level of youth and the pros - so yeah, youth games can and will be unexciting...... Football, to me, is boring.........

Sideways -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 12:24:32 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: zoebob But then they have try outs for the community team and cut girls who want to play. I always thought the point of community teams was that everyone could play. Anyway, enough of that rant. Well, if they don't have enough players to give their main players a rest, then they should add more backup players. But at some level/age, I think kids should have to try out, and not make it if they're not good enough. The best athletes should have the opportunity to distinguish themselves and play against other top notch players. I personally get annoyed with this idea in American youth sports that we can't possibly hurt anyone's feelings, so everyone plays, everyone scores a run (if you're even keeping score at all, because loosing might make the other team feel bad) and everyone gets a trophy. It makes striving for excellence rather pointless. But I think I'm getting off topic.

VivaRonaldo7 -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 1:28:03 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: lexie Not only are soccer players probably the most conditioned athletes out there, the lack of scoring makes it all the more worthwhile when someone does score because of the skill and precision it takes! Exactly! Even the keepers are in as good(or possibly better, depending on the keeper) of shape as the strikers who run the entire 90 minutes. The longer is takes for a team to score, the better the game ends up being. Watching a game where one team beats the other 7-0(which happened in a Chelsea preseason friendly last week) is not as fun as it sounds. You actually start to feel bad for the other team. So watching a game where they don't score until the last final minutes is very exciting.

colliefan -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 11:01:44 PM)
quote: American's don't like it because it's so beautifully simple and they can't appreciate the intricacies involved with the finer players. Like hockey, the sport doesn't translate well to TV. In the foreign markets, people put up with "crawl" on the screen. Football, while it translates well to the small screen takes forever to play simply because TV is the beast that pays the pills. Things such as the "offsides trap" are difficult to see on the small screen. Hockey is an intense sport that mixes skating skill, puck passing, and brutal hiting. It doesn't translate well because the difficulty in the camera picking up the puck and the fact, like soccer, the play off the puck cannot be picked up. Maybe HD will make the sport "translatable" to TV.

Wonder_Woman -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/2/2008 11:56:57 PM)
People are crazy about soccer in my area. Soccer Mom bumper stickers are everywhere!

mutinywxgirl -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/3/2008 7:54:37 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Wonder_Woman People are crazy about soccer in my area. Soccer Mom bumper stickers are everywhere! *****seriously shudders at the thought of EVER being called a soccer mom**** Glad kids are playing - now we need to translate that into adults in the stands for professional matches.

zoebob -> RE: Why are Americans so against soccer? (8/3/2008 8:00:24 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Sideways quote: ORIGINAL: zoebob But then they have try outs for the community team and cut girls who want to play. I always thought the point of community teams was that everyone could play. Anyway, enough of that rant. Well, if they don't have enough players to give their main players a rest, then they should add more backup players. But at some level/age, I think kids should have to try out, and not make it if they're not good enough. The best athletes should have the opportunity to distinguish themselves and play against other top notch players. I personally get annoyed with this idea in American youth sports that we can't possibly hurt anyone's feelings, so everyone plays, everyone scores a run (if you're even keeping score at all, because loosing might make the other team feel bad) and everyone gets a trophy. It makes striving for excellence rather pointless. But I think I'm getting off topic. I am definately all for competition in sports and not for it to be all "feel good" However, I also feel there should be some outlet for kids who want to play but aren't necessarily real good. Since there are usually school teams and community/township teams for most sports then one should be open to all and one should be the competitive one.

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