why americans don't take soccer seriously
 

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com...lt-341x380.jpg
caption: No goal : Roma's forward Antonio Cassano reacts after missing a goal against Modena at the Olympic stadium in Rome, during their Serie A soccer match. (AFP/Patrick Hertzog)

what's up with that?

honestly....the reason I hate soccer is this:

A guy will leg tackle someone or whatever the hell you call it, and the guy will roll around on the ground pretending to be so hurt he has to have his leg amputated. He either gets the call or doesn't, and then he gets up and starts running around again. Every soccer game I watch is like that.

It just does not strike me as exciting or entertaining in the least bit. Sometimes I watch the womens Us team, because they are hotter than shit, but even that gets old.

All I can say is: go outside and whack your shin with a hammer and then try to walk around.

Don't forget the trainer has some aerosol can that he sprays on a hurt player that magically fixes the severely mangled leg.

Wait a minute Spartak. I did not say it was impossible to get hurt in soccer. what I did say is they have guys rolling around on the ground on eminute, and then up and running around the next. They are faking it a lot for a call. It is ridiculous.

I am certain some people get seriously hurt in soccer, but every game I watch has more of the faking variety.

One word.
Boring


We'd rather play if anything. (it's like golf or baseball in a way)

Yes, play-acting like that is stupid, but soccer is a continious game, I mean in the NFL you can just take yourself out for a comple of plays (usually) until you feel a bit better. In soccer you have to go to ground so the trainers can take you off the field for a couple of minutes.

Also, I'm willing to concede soccer is boring at times (when one team has all of its players behind the ball defending and the results is a 0-0 draw for example), but when your favourite team (or better yet your favourite player) scores a goal, it's almost orgasmic.

lol.
thats a funny pic.
but i seriously doubt that some crazy italians frustrated antics are the reason Americans don´t take the game seriously.

this is a good point.
i´ve always found soccer to be a great game to play, but its boring to watch.
perhaps this is just another comment on the power of voyeurism in our societies.

another point may be that soccers place in society has been quite exclusive.
by that i mean that it hasn´t been thoroughly accepted (before the World Cup that was held in the states - i think that was a bit of a changing point) in all aspects of American society.

this has been the case in Australia. for a very long time Soccer was seen as a game for European immigrants. The game was brought into the public eye in Australia by the European refugees who came to Australia after WWII.
now i know this isn´t the best advertisement for Australian tolerance, but even when i was at school the game was referred to as Wogball (i´ve noticed, thankfully, that this isn´t the case anymore)... and even former Aussie soccer players have released autobiographies with titles that include the words; wogs, poofs and sheilas... (referring to the way the game was derided).
so what i guess i´m getting at, is that in Australia, soccer was seen (and sadly ridiculed) as a game reserved for a minority group, and thus hasn´t enjoyed popularity or institutionalisation that other sports have had.
now, i don´t know if this is relevant to American soccer... but hey, its a point.

how about basketball players "flopping" in hopes of drawing a charge. or football players exaggerating the effects of a facemask or pass intereference to make sure that a ref sees the penalty. batters fling themselves out of the box on an inside pitch to exaggerate the placement of the pitch. faking occurs in all sports. it increases the likelyhood (to some degree) that a call goes in favor of the faker, so i'm pretty sure it will continue.

it does not stop the games in other sports. Maybe I am wrong, but when I watch soccer, and someone "fakes" getting hurt, they stop play (I know the clock runs) and someone gets some sort of direct/indirect kick.

In basketball there is no whistle when that happens (unless an actual foul is called). In hockey, you can actually have a penalty called against you for diving, and it happens quite often.

Soccer's popularity can't be denied, but I just don't feel like watching for those reasons. I can totally see how people say watching baseball is boring, but I love it.

with shin guards on and thick athletic socks over them? sure thing. soccer players are athletic...but the sport is gayer than a 3 dollar bill. i mean...have you seen the kids version of the sport? they dont even keep score for christ sake.

should i be lucky enough to have at least one male offspring, and he desires to play soccer...i am going to make him play in a dress and carry a purse with him on the pitch. i think he will get the point pretty quick.

The thing I hate most about MLS is the camera angles. I like world league sky camera angles. You cant follow a soccer game with sideline shots and nba camera angles. Most of the interest in the sport comes from passing and setting up goals. You get none of that from that wack MLS angles

rouge your right


i think its fun to play but so boring to watch

Soccer also has a diving foul, punishable by a Yellow card (2 yellows = early shower), and play-acting injuries has been acknowledged by FIFA as a problem that must be stamped out.

Trust me man, when someone goes studs-up on you, you feel it all the way through the thin as hell shin pads. I mean these are not blocks of armour, they are little bits of plastic that as far as I know are just to prevent lacerations of the shin.

You should also be supportive of your son.. it's his choice after all.

Do you wanna be a Mazda exec right about now?

Hooray!! The good old s*ccer sucks thread returns.

It's really quite simple people. Football, that's s*ccer to you, is great because I say so.

I'm now leaving this thread for good. So, no matter what you say, I will be eternally correct.

Merry Crimbo.

I have no doubt that when I have kids they will most likley be playing soccer. That is just the fact. I live in hick vill USA and soccer is catching on here too.

I have to say that I personally dislike it because of the Europen fans. America gets so much crap for being a "Violent socity" but how many football or basketball riots do you hear about. Sure there are some, but damn. It seems like every time I see ESPN I see some balcony or fence colapsing and the anouncer talking about how many people died.

I was like most of you until I went to Europe this summer and actually learned something about the game. It's amazing to see how much the people talk about their team, know everyone on the other teams, much like American Football is here, only over there there are so many teams from different countries and so many different tournaments that it just makes the whole thing exciting to keep track of. Living in the States I'm lucky to catch the occasional game, but luckily I've found Fox Sports World. I think you really can't understand or appreciate the game until you've been over to Europe to see the excitement it actually causes in every person.

me, I think the sure way for the sport to catch on here is to arm the fans and show the riots- that would get some good ratings in the good ole U.S.A. .....

Soccer is a glorified marathon, inside an arena, in which sometimes a ball also goes into a net. Yawn.

Soccer is basically a pussified version of hockey on a bigger field of play. I mean I guess you could say the lack of scoring keeps it more interesting, but seriously what a bunch of pansies nothing physical about the sport, all it is is a bunch of dudes kicking a ball around up and down a huge field for 90 minutes.

Nothing physical about the sport? Unlike some sports (not hockey!) soccer is in fact a contact sport. Try taking a slide cleats up. Or getting clipped from behind sprinting full speed. Or standing in a wall when someone rips a shot at 60-75mph.

Hockey is a damn tough sport, please don't misinterpret my post. However you cannot compare the two. Soccer isn't a sport that thrives on fighting, cross-checking, and missing teeth. Soccer is very artistic, a controlled chaos if you will. It requires skill, PATIENCE, stamina, and poise.

And for the record I'm a big hockey fan, or at least when the playoffs roll around!

Let me take a stab at this: You have never played soccer, have you?

I don't watch soccer because I have the National Football League! That and 90 minute 1-0 games don't excite me that much...

I thought Americans didn't like soccer because it was boring. Look on the bright side, it's more exciting than golf.

I personally think soccer is for foot fairies.

Soccer is football, by the way.(a game played with the hands cannot be called football)

Football is a wonderful sport. Loads more exciting and competitive. And it's not stop-and-go play (like baseball or american football; downs or innings) so you get your moneys worth.

Im not saying american football and baseball are bad, I like both games, but I'd rather watch a Premeirship match rather than the World Series or Suprbowl.

To play game is to understand the game. If you think soccer is boring, have you watched baseball, golf, bowling, pool, even football is slow. One play that lasts 7 seconds and then basically a time out between plays. Try running for 2, 45 minute halves.

Some here think soccer is boring? Egads man! try and watch a NFL game or a baseball game and you will know what boring really is.

It's like any game, even board games or marbles or spin the bottle. When you first watch someone play, it appears totally abstract, with random moves and funny rules. If you spend some time with it, you start to get it. Only once you get it, can you then discover if you like it.

Soccer suffers in the US from too much competition for people's time. It's connection to kids today, however, bodes well for it's future.

Thanks for listening.

I agree with wwcd101 completely. If you haven't played a game, and you don't understand it and the intricacies of the sport then it can appear boring.

Soccer can be an extremely boring game. But it can also be an intense, exciting event. The game is continuous, which also can be tedious for those with low attention spans. Part of the excitement of soccer (and hockey for that matter) is the anticipation of a goal. The team is moving towards the goal, setting up...and..oh..good save, bad shot, simple turnover.

Take a look at the "favorite" american sports: American Football, Baseball, and basketball.

Each of these sports are pretty much one play then a break, one play then a break. Basketball can be quite continuous at times but for the most part it is score a basket...set up at the other end. Score a basket...set up a the other end. Baseball is a sudden play (if a person hits) followed by waiting for the next person. Football is play by play.

Everyone has their favorite game and criticisms of a game (like i have done above) when you don't truly understand the game or the mentality of the average fan..are simply not fair. Play the game, or if you can't do that, talk with a fan. You learn to enjoy the little things in the game and it changes it forever. I spent 6 weeks in the UK a couple of summers back and for 1 week, England was playing Australia in the Ashes (Cricket). I still don't fully understand the game but I was with a bunch of people that loved it and they explained the game to me. Now, I find the game facinating and try to watch it on TV if I can.

That's all...

Ok, say what you want about soccer being a contact sport, but stop saying it in comparison to or even in context with american football. there is NO comparison, and no annecdotal "i got a mean kick in the shins" story will refute the scientific evidence recently reported by virginia tech study that placed sensors used to monitor and deploy automobile air bags in football helmets.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/6976003

the result? football players sustain impacts with force equivilent to being hit by car, sometimes 30 to 50 times in a regular game. the hardest blows recorded in the study were in excess of 130 Gs.

so sure, soccer is more of a contact sport than badmitton, but just stop comparing it to football, where contact is an integral and intended part of the game. Really now, 16 out of the 22 players on the field at any time have only one job: to hit someone. Not throw the ball, not catch the ball, not kick the ball, not even touch the ball... their job is simply to HIT someone, as hard as humanly possible. there is no comparison, guys. sissies kick people in the shins, ok? it ranks with biting, scratching and pulling hair.

oh yeah, i've played soccer and still do once in a while. all that running winds me like a son-of-a-bitch, i have a lot of respect for guys and gals who can do that well. but i get damn sick and tired of hearing about how macho it is and how american football sucks.

I could see the excitment of NFL if they actually played. They stand around alot between plays that last 5 seconds. I mean how much actual playing do they do in a game? Maybe 10 minutes? It's a good thing they have replays. :)

I see the smiley face, but I still disagree... That's like saying wrestling is a pussy sport just because a whole match is only 6 minutes long with 30 second breaks every 2 minutes. "I mean it's only 6 minutes long! How hard can it be?!"

Anyhow, the reason I'm not that into soccer is because it is too low scoring and the excitement to "time spent watching" ratio is too low. I guess I have a short attention span. Also, I don't have any emotional ties to soccer, i.e., I don't know many people who play and our city's MSL pro team isn't much to be proud of. I'm sure that if I played in school I'd be a lot more interested in soccer than I am now.

It is stupid and verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry boring watch. Why would we like it?

Woah!

Let's (for the umpteenth time) try to put a bit of perspective on this whole 'debate'.

I think alot of whether you like one sport or another, or think one sport is tougher than another is to do with simply where you are from. To explain, how big is NFL in the states? and how many soccer teams are there that merit the same press and media coverage? None!

How big is Football (soccer) in Europe? Massive. How many American football teams get even the smallest mention in the European press and media? None!

Don't start giving it the old 'It's so boring' nonsense. The bottom line is that there are so many sports played on this big planet of ours, we can't like them all.

I'm not even going to take a swipe at American Football becuase as stated earlier, those guys are trained to hit VERY hard for short periods of time, that's the game. Football (soccer) players are trained to play their game over 90 minutes or more with only 1 official break.

Now stop bickering and accept that we're all different!

Please ;)

Injuries I have sustained:
Hyperextended knee
Fractured wrist
Cracked Ribs
Concussion
Cracked Jaw
Broken fingers
Broken toes
....and countless bloody noses and other undiagnosed ailments.

Injuries I have dished out:
Punctured lung & Broken ribs (same guy... he finished the game too)
Broken leg
Numerous gashes on the noggins

Other random injuries I have witnessed:
Compound fractured arm
EXTREME dislocated ankle (my buddy... it was nasty)

Moral of the story, soccer can be played tough. Anyone who argues otherwise knows nothing of the sport.

I occasionally enjoy watching soccer. One thing that would improve it (from a US-centric view) is if we knew when the game was going to end. They have a clock, but it reaches the end, then they have a random amount of "bonus time" depending on whatever the ref thinks would be good. That's lame.

The added time is decided by the 4th official, its basically a rough estimate of how much time was taken up by stoppages (injuries, fouls etc), because in soccer the clock is always running.

Most games I watch, round about the 89th minute they announce how much time is to be added on.

For the states, there isnt enough history for people to be interested or want to get involved. Plus if you havent played the sport, you cant really appreciate whats going on. There arent superstars that people can identify with and want to watch it. Americans also like alot of scoring and points. In the highest level of soccer, there arent too many chances to score. Thus not alot of scoring. But go across the seas and watch out now. Straight up soccer fanatics......

Yeah, I understand that, but why can't they give Official #4 a start/stop button, and have the clock pause? It seems like too much room for abuse if you wait until the end of the game, and no one but him knows when he'll stop.

But once again redlemon it just IS. It is the way the game is played. In fact, showing how much time left near the 89th minute is a relatively new thing. They didn't used to do that.

On the other hand, why does NFL have a 2:00 minute rule? Why are the last two minutes so different that the other 28 of the half?

Once agin..it is just differences in the sports. Each sport is unique and I'm sure most sports can be enjoyed and are enjoyed much more when you know and understand the game.

Check out college football for more on riots. I think for the NFL there is a huge disconnect just because each major city isn't fielding a team. A large number of states don't have professional teams.

On the otherhand, colleges are everywhere, and each state fields at least 2 division 1 teams. Then you get rivalries, upsets, and usually riots. Although since these riots are usually started by college idiots, they don't result in death, more property damage.

To misquote P.J. O'Rourke, the reason that American's don't get into soccer is because that the equipment does not cost enough. It takes a ball, a street (or a park), and something to set up the goals. Apparently we Americans need to pay a lot for our sports equipment...

/end sarcasm...but somehow believe that's true...

I'd say far more americans play soccer as kids than American football--primarily for the fact that A) it is cheaper and B) it is less dangerous (although Football as a kid isn't dangerous--you really don't have to worry much about broken limbs/necks until the highschool level).

American DO play soccer.
They just quit before high school and go into baseball/basketball/football.

I believe they are cracking down on "simulating" (faking injuries), although I think they should take a hard line and go through all games and give everyone who hollywoods when they werent even touched a wopping big fine.

Soccer HIGHLIGHTS are great to watch.. a lot of the goals are things of beauty.

But as for a whole game? Last time I tried to watch one, I fell asleep..

If they had more people like the Korean girl from the World Cup, maybe I'd watch more. :D

I got a question for all you non-yanks out there... Is soccer a profitable sport for the players? I know that David Beckham(sp) makes a killing and is a god among men, but how are they payed compared to our sports stars?

Actual pay rates are very hush-hush, but it is reported that top players can earn between 300,000-400,000 pounds a month, from wages alone.

Once you add in all their personal endorsments, ofcourse that figure grows substantially.

I'm really not so sure why i don't like soccer...

It has nothing to do with the lack of contact, because I love basketball, which is not supposed to have too much contact. I guess overall there just isnt enough action.

Basketball is definently 10x more contact then soccer, its just not full-on like football. I'd somewhat compare it to hockey, minus the hardcore checks.

The neutral zone trap in Hockey is turning it into Soccer

woe is me

i can't watch soccer on ice! RUN UP THE SCORE!!!!

I read a post somewhere here on the TFP from a guy that actually thought the trap was good hockey.
Bleh, the trap fucking sucks.


I don't think you can understand the beauty of soccer unless you actually played it.

Your kidding, right? If "10x more contact" means simply just fouling/picking then you MIGHT be close. See my earlier post.

any sport that doesn't require hand-eye coordination is not a sport...I'm going to watch REAL FOOTBALL in two weeks and be happy about it.

I'm going to go out on a limb and be a bit presumptuous, but isn't eye-foot coordination a lot harder to master than hand-eye?

Now, I'm not downplaying the skills of say, my-man Larry Fitzgerald of Univ of Pitt.... but isn't saying "any sport that doesn't require hand-eye coordination isn't a sport" highly ridiculous?

Injuries like that can occur in any sport. Your ever play in the paint? There's alot more to basketball then just throwing ups shots, or kicking the ball up a field.

Has anyone seen the episode of The Simpsons where soccer comes to Springfield?

The announcing is hilarious

and the neutral zone trap is killing hockey, not being good hockey.

and its impossible to say any given sport is tougher than any other sport, because they require entirely different skillsets

hell, an american football player couldnt play soccer for shit, just like a soccer player couldnt play american football for shit. Its all relative and there's no need to bash other people's sports, each to his/her own.

I disagree Ace_O_Spades..
If you're capable of running, as the majority of people in this world are, you can kick a ball, and therefore you're capable of playing soccer. You probably won't be GOOD at it.. but you can still play.

But for, say, hockey, if you can run, that doesn't mean you can skate. Assuming you can skate, then you have to consider stickhandling and puck work, which is an art in itself.

Soccer is THE easiest sport to pick up.. but it's not easy to be good at it.

man i can run fast, ~4.65 40yd time. and i play College football, but I can't play soccer at ALL. I cant kick the ball with any great force or accuracy, and my football training doesnt give me the endurance speed most soccer players have. I can hit a quarterback so hard that his girlfriend cries, but i cant kick a ball in the net.

I can also not shoot a basketball, or skate very well. Im specialized in my sport, and i play it well.

It is possible that I'm a unique case though, but i doubt it

Christ.... there is no question that soccer, rugby, football, and hot dog eating are all sports...
As is the porn olympics.
But is pool a sport?
If it isn't, then is golf?

Do you ALWAYS have to run for it to be a sport.
I think baseball is a sport, but much of it involves sitting on your ass. Yet baseball players are HUGE and can kick all of our collective asses.

Yet I could kick Michelle Wie's ass in boxing... does that make me a better athelete?

Is driving a sport?
If it is, then would video game driving be a sport?
Counter-Strike?

That requires hand eye.

Personally, I consider athletes to be people that I am in awe of athletically. That is, people that are extremely strong, quick, tough, precise, etc.

I don't care how dangerous it is, I'll never think that some fat fuck of a Nascar driver (not all are fat) is an athlete. There is a chance that I could be a Nascar driver. I'll never be an NBA center.

Its just not in the cards.
Some people swear that Nascar is a sport. Some swear that golf is a sport. Some swear that bowling is a sport too.

Is poker a sport then? Are these players athletes? Chess players?

There is no conclusive fucking answer people. Get over it.

wow, amen to that! it puts more precisely what i was trying to say earlier

as of right now

</thread>

wow you need to be shot

americans dont like football (soccer) because its non stop, all their sports have breaks in between where they can go to the bathroom, and refill their snack bowl. i guess they'll just never understand.

not like anybody cares really, let america play what they want

the world cup being the biggest sporting event in the world, came to USA and did pretty good, but maybe in 20 years or so they should try again

at least i can vouch for the canadian sports (hockey + lacrosse) as being as continuous as soccer

and those sports are popular in the states as well (lacrosse not as much, but its growing)

so you cant overgeneralize and say that all american sports have stops and the americans hate soccer because its continuous

it makes you sound childish and pigheaded... neither of which are good things in my books anyway, but each to his own

Please... the real reason that American's don't watch soccer is that we have 3 big sports already...
Hockey can't really even make it here.

Soccer's fun for me, in the World Cup, solely because of the stakes involved.

And yes, I played soccer for about 8 years or so, as do many american kids. If I lived in Europe, I'd watch plenty of soccer, because it is a fun group event to go to a pub, get semi-smashed, and watch sports.

Just like football.

I have only just discovered this thread and I am amazed at the amount of ignorance there is about propper football (aka soccer).

The first fallacy that I will debate is the arguement that soccer players are pussys. This is the same argument used by those faggy rugby league boys. Now that is harder than most sports but it doesnt have anywhere near the intellignec and skill that soccer has. The number of times I have heard from neaderthal rugby league player that soccer players are for poofters is uncountable. I would often ask them if I was a poof because I played soccer. They would inevitable say yes. I would then say "I am also a kickboxer. Am I still a poof". They then know that I am heaps harder than them and have to yield defeat. Now I have played almost every sport under the sun and soccer is one of the hardest games I have played. Heaps harder than Hockey. I liked hockey. I played hockey for two years and I couldnt believe how pussy it was. You have soo much protective gear on that you cant possibly get hurt (and I wore the least equipment in the league). As previously mentioned there are punishments for diving by recieving a yellow card. This is because it takes away from the game and wastes time. The reason that soccer players hit the ground so much is a case of biomechanics. If someone is sprinting at full speed (strikers usually run as fast as olympic sprinters) and they get hit full on at body level thenthey either stop dead or get hit backwards. This doesnt happen when the opposing force hits you in the ankles. Your feet, and thus base of support, is stopped but your bodys momentum continues. In such a situation the result is a pretty spectacular looking dive. It may look fake but it is the only thing that physics allows to happen.

Another point that has been commonly brought up is the low scores that are commonplace in soccer. This is a by-product of what I call 'the americanisation of sport'. By this I mean that the game is no longer designed for the players but for the spectators, often to the detriment of the game. Such examples are designated hitter rule, interchange rule, and scoring every 30 seconds. The interchange rule was experimented in both soccer and league and they realised it sucked. It took away a major strategic part of the game and denounced stamina as one of the pre requisits of the athlete. A winger averages over 11km per game (assuming he plays his position right). This means that a winger has to spread his sprinting over the 90 minutes of the game instead of the 2 minutes typically allocated to the athletes in american sports. The other point of scoring every 30 seconds like in basketball may be interesting as a show but it gets boring very quickly as tyhere is no suspense built up. Some of the best soccer games I have ever seen have been nill all draws because the entire time I have been on the edge of my seat. When two great teams are dualing then 1 mistake can cost them the game. In the higher scoring games 1 mistake can be easily remedied with subsequent opportunities. Ironically Americans use this reason to say Soccer is Boring but they find Cricket boring when they usually score a run every 30 second for 5 days. The desgniated hitter rule also fits in with the offensive/defensive teams of gridiron. A true athlete must be able to attack and defend. You dont stop a game to change your team because suddenly your not attacking anymore. It takes out the strategy of counter attack. It also lessens the quality of the athlete. It also breaks the momentum of suspense and thus amking the game harder to get into. Dont get me wrong. I think the american games such as gridiron, basketball and the canadian ice hockey have a lot of potential but you have to eliminate the americanisation of it. The game comes first.

Another point to raise is that soccer is the biggest sport in the world. They must be doing something right. The soccer world cup is second only to the olympics in media hype. True soccer fans that are found in europe and south america take their games so seriously. Countries have actually gone to war over a soccer game. You dont find that in many other sports.

As someone previously said soccer has the true claim to the title of football. Why? It uses the feet more than anything else. How can league, union or gridiron possible call themselves football when the ball spends almost the entire time in their hands. AFL could be accurately called a code of football but only as second to soccer.

The reason for stoppage time is to stop fakers from playing the clock and trhus getting advantage unfairly over the other team. The game must go on.

The people who rate gridiron as really tough should then try rugby league or rugby union. They do the same sort of hits but without helmets and their shoulder pads are paper thin. As previously said I hate league but at least I have to admit that it is harder than most sports.

I will admit that some soccer games are boring. Different countrys tend to breed different types of soccer. German soccer is as boring as shite. Spanish soccer is flairy but extremely brutal. Brazilian soccer define flair. English soccer whilst very good can appear boring if two strong defensive teams are playing each other. Dont just watch 1 or 2 games from the same league and then denounce all soccer as like that.

Thats my two cents anyway...

Intelligent post Lunchbox and you raise several key points which have not been fleshed out in as much detail

However, you need to realize that different sports produce different levels of athletes, utilizing different energy systems (endurance, short burst, and a mix of both) So it is pointless to say that one sports athletes are better than another sports athletes.

I am also going to look into your claim about strikers running 10 second flat 100m times, or 20 second 200m times... because that was not a fact I've heard before... Not that I'm saying you're lying, however I find it hard to believe.

I won't analyze your other comments, because trying to argue that one person's sport is better or harder than another is just a waste of breath... each to his own mate

cheers

Personnaly I have very little interest in Football in any form, but the proper form can hold my interest longer than the NFL anytime. As long as I do not have to hear "goooooooooooooooooooooooooal!", that kind of shit would have me changing the channel on my mythical televsion set in a heartbeat.

I understand what your saying about different sports have different physical requirements and thus different athletes. My point about soccer players being fitter is based on them needing more different types of fitness: sprinting, power, endurence, agility etc. The majority of other sports dont have as large a requirement for a variety of physical fitness.

When looking into the sprinting thing remember that strikers dont run 100m or 200M. They reach the same speeds but only need to sustain them over a shorter distance. If it helps you when looking look into the biomechanical design of strikers soccer boots compared to other players boots. Strikers boots are as light and thin as possible. They resemble sprint shoes they have been stripped down in weight so much. This position specific requirements are often overlooked when players are buying boots. Professionals have biomechanical specialists to design their boots in relation to their needs. Thats just a few things you can look into when researching to verify my claim. If you find out anything particulay coo[l in your research let us know. :)

indoor soccer = fast paced, lots of scoring, fun to watch.
outdoor soccer = none of the above.

uhh... wow, how can you take anything else OFF sprint shoes? they are basically a thin layer of fabric with spikes attached to the bottom

I actually have a professor at my university who has a doctorate in Kinesiology, who I think will field the question nicely.

I'll post the results when he emails me back

Indoor soccer? Never heard of such a thing.
Why does a game need to be high scoring to be fun to watch? I mean basketball is high scoring and it's boring as hell:)

have gone through this before, people who run sports TV don't understand it. and the MLS sucks with all the horn blowing, get a headache listening to it.
In fact the people who run TV sports don't understand any sports.

I got an e-mail back from the professor, and this is what he said:

And this seems strikingly familiar to something a Wide Receiver in american football would be capable of... in fact, Az Hakim used to be a sprinter for the USA before joining football...

although, it is once again a different energy system... so the argument rages on and on!

Glad I could shed some light on it though.

Cheers

The absurdity of this thread is in the buried in the fact that Americans do like soccer, but seemingly only at an amateur level. Its very similar in Australia. Over here, everyone seems to think we only play AFL, League and Cricket- but amateur association numbers show that Soccer is the most popular.
Anyway, i think soccer is a much better sport than most. Like others have said, you need to be an almost total athlete to compete effectively. You must learn to regualte speed, strength, endurance and a heep of skill. Anyone who thinks the game is 'soft' just hasnt played it competitvely. One reason why it is 'the world game', is that although it requires all of the above, it doesnt matter what general type of body you have. Really short guys like Maradonna (one of the best players ever) can compete as efficiently as taller players. Unlike sports like Basketball or American Football, where size means everything.
America has a shitload of top goalkeepers in the premier league at the moment. people have put this down to the amount of sports that require hand/eye co-ordination that are played over there. i personally dont think the US can officially and culturally ignore it for too much longer, as it is just so freaking huge everywhere else in the world. Then again....

Now, I am not a soccer hater. I am not a soccer fanatic either. I follow the US national team periodically and have a passing interest in leagues worldwide. With that background, here is a funny site, despite that it probably has a ton of fallacies and/or inaccuracies.

www.soccersucks.org

I meant a strikers soccer boots have been stripped down so much that they resemble sprinters boots which you have said are basically a thin layer with spikes on the bottom (studs in the strikers case)

I lived in the UK all my childhood, played football daily. Someone said football is artistic, and it really is. Its a pure passion. One vast difference from NFL for example, is European football clubs are much more local for most, so people have a more direct connection to the team. Just in the UK, a vast number of teams, in several divisions. I love sports, NFL, Baseball, so dont think i am putting one against the other.

During the last world cup, the games were on late at night, and TXStar has absolutely no interest in watching them with me. She sat through a few, and one one occassion, we where watching the USA team play Germany. As soon as USA scored, against these giants, TXStar became passionate about these 11 guys she was bored at just the day before, watching them "run after a ball for 90 minutes.... yawn". She then followed the team, read a little on some of the players history and got that little sparkle in her eye.

Every sport has its followers, and its critics.

I can get excited about any sport... it just took some exposure to the sport (Through FIFA 2004) to get me interested... Now i manage to catch at least one match per week on Sportsnet

they are fun

I didn't grow up watching it. When i was younger I idolized baseball and football stars. That's why soccer, for me, only peaks my interest during the World Cup only.

I am sure that soccer players are very talented athletes, nonetheless, I would rather take a good kick to the crotch then sit through a game. I just find in mind numbingly boring (same goes for hokey, its soccer on ice...zzzzzz). Its not for lack of trying, I have been to a number of matches, it just does nothing for me.

As Nick Hornby in his wonderful book "Fever Pitch" writes:

I agree 100%