heck yeah!
Watching soccer is like watching paint dry.
heck yeah!
When they start playing with the decapitated head of a vanquished enemy like in the old days, I might start watching.
Just because the rest of the world enjoys soccer does not mean the US must. Yes, it is a big sport elsewhere, but it just hasn’t caught on in the US. I remember some collegiate soccer matches as far back as the 1960s. Soccer has had its chance. I find it boring. Apparently other Americans do as well.
War Eagle!
I will tell you why Americans do not embrace soccer.
It starts in the youth leagues, where most people have exposure to the sport. They have choices:
Football is a high-commitment sport;
- the equipment is expensive
- practice 5x a week + 1 game/week
- player size is very important
- individual skills need to be developed
- the team will fail where there is a weak player
Basebell is a medium-level commitment:
- equipment is inexpensive
- few practices, but 3-4 games/week
- player size is not that important
- individual skills need to be developed
- the team will struggle where there is a weak player
Soccer is a very low-commitment sport:
- the equipment is inexpensive,
- practice 1x a week + 1 game/week
- player size matters little
- the skill set to participate is minimal (running), and
- a youth team can do just fine with one or two clueless players on the field.
So which sport will the non-devoted parents choose for their smallish, non-athletic child? In America, there are parents who want their kids to get exercise. So they choose soccer.
I’ve coached soccer for many many years. To the non-comittal parents, soccer is a chance for little Johnnie or little Susie to run around for an hour. The parents don’t have a clue about the sport. Nearly all parents and most coaches couldn’t tell you what offsides is.
On top of that, the liberals have taken over the sport. They don’t keep score until the kids reach 10 years old, so that no one’s feelings get hurt. They have something called “silent sidelines” where parents are not allowed to say anything during a game, so no one’s feelings get hurt. If one team doesn’t have any substitutes (because not enough players showed up), a coaching strategy to give players a rest is to have a player untie a shoe when a ref isn’t looking - then when the ref does look, take his time tying the shoe so his team can rest...which is possible because a loose shoelace is dangerous and is not an unnecessary delay.
American soccer fails at the youth level. Thus Americans don’t embrace soccer.
My favorite sports are Hockey and football, both of which don't have that much more scoring than Soccer. Basketball has too much scoring, and baseball is basically sitting around for 3 hours with a couple of minutes of excitement.
After cricket, and baseball, the world’s most boring sport is soccer.
The sport for 14 year old overachieving girls.
#5
Metrosexual game. Boring.
I had two daughters who played high level travel soccer, just below elite, and the training was tough - run, run,and run some more. A serious soccer player is in great shape!
The funniest story of my oldest daughters career was of a club game in mid june in the New jersey heat and humidity. Think it was when they were in 9th grade- we were down to just 11 players due to injuries, the other team consisted of about 70% girls who - how should I say this nicely-might have fit in well on the football team at linebacker. Our girls were lean and fast. Being at their place, they were physical and the ref let it go- and they wore us down. Still 0-0 with ten to go, our top defender passed out from the heat. A lady down, we give up a late goal and lost 1-0.
The coach, a big, tall, soft spoken guy, called the girls together and said- “well girls, that was a tough loss.But look at the bright side - at least you’ll all be going to the prom”
Here’s a game that’s just as exciting. Like rugby only players used to be able to punch each other in the face;
http://www.economist.com/node/2204483?story_id=2204483
Here's an idea of what it's like on the field:
Euphonium Cam
This ain't 'marching band', any more than high school soccer is Colorado Rapids soccer.
In matches that end with scores of 2-3, even a squirrel can find a nut once in awhile.
That's not to say games with high scores are any more decisive. You can tune into the last 10 minutes of a basketball game, and either find it to be a blowout, or a matched score of 89-91.
I agree with Rush Limbaugh when he says that the most exciting thing about a soccer game is the riot by fans of the losing team.