1. Pick up the damn ball and run with it. 2. Hit somebody. 3. Don't line up next to each other and hold your nuts. 4. It's a Communistical game designed to take red-blooded American boys away from their God-given obligation to play real football. 5. It's foreign. Football, baseball, and basketball were all created right here in the USA.
Some questions aren't fit to be reduced down to 1 or 2 specific things, especially when they're part of the bigger picture, culture. It will take a catastrophic collapse by the big 3 for any other sport to sneak it's head in.. and even then, we have golf, tennis, college sports, NHL to act as a deterrent against soccer to make any gain. All these sports are the bread and butter of the American sports culture.
In the 2006 World Cup there was an average of a bit over 2 goals per game. In the 2008 NFL season there was an average of around 44 points per game. I enjoy soccer, but NFL games average 6 TDs per game (based on points), and probably closer to 10-12 actual scores per game. I would guess that the premiere Euro Leagues average more than 2 goals per game, but it is hard to find those on TV.
MLS stands for minor league soccer haha I thought Beckham signed a 250 million contract with the LA Galaxy.
Well, NASCAR guys can pull some crazy tail in cities like Nashville, but not nationwide. I'm sure NHL guys do well in Canada and in places like Minneapolis and Buffalo. MLS is a step behind. Most the stars are foreign and the only household name is Beckham. I can see dudes in high school could theoretically start racing cars or join the local hockey teams (though not here) in hopes of someday banging the head cheerleader. It's the same reason guys learn the guitar and start a band. All that work is for the hope of fame, fortune, and women. I don't think that happens with soccer here in Texas. Until soccer can get you laid at the same rate as baseball, football, and basketball, it will never attract the same level of athletes that those sports do.
As a soccer player for nearly 30 years, I fully understand some of the reasons given for not liking the sport. Most don't like what they don't understand. It's ok. I've quit arguing with people that call it boring, etc. That said, this is by far the worst reason not to like the game... Flopping sucks. However, flopping in the NBA is in no way related to flopping in soccer. It's been going on as long as there has been a professional game. There's some form of it in every contact sport.
Sorry, should've expanded on that. When I say "luck", I mean no matter how well you execute your gameplay, you can still be off by just a bit and not score. Or vice versa. Because the margin for error, whether you're passing or especially scoring, is so low. Even the best players cannot aim accurately when they're flying down the field. Now, I know you're going to tell me that luck exist in all sports. I don't disagree. BUT, the thing about Soccer is that luck plays the largest role, because soccer scores are lowest among any of the major sports. So yes, in basketball a team may get a lucky bounce here or there. But it matters little in the grand scheme of things. Whereas the difference of one goal is astronomical. Anyway, that's my take on the subject, based on the ~10 world cup games I saw back in 2002(?). And I watched them with 3 soccer fans who explained the intricacies of the game in detail to me. So I did try to get into the game. But in the end, I just couldn't stand the agony.
That must include endorsements and all sorts of other stuff. His guaranteed salary for the 2009 season is 6.5 million dollars. In contrast, the TEAM salary for the Dynamo is well under 3 million dollars in 2009.
i understand what you are saying here, but again i think you still have to ask why soccer has not been able to enter into american sports culture. i think the obvious response is that because it originated in europe, but cultures are plastic entities which absorb foreign influences at a sometimes alarming rate. so i think the question of the op is a valid one, look how popular soccer is in some non-european countries even though it was formerly a foreign tradition. just as you said, maybe the american sports culture is already saturated and cannot take on any new influences, maybe there's something about the nature of the game that doesn't appeal to our sensibilities, but i think it's something worth discussing instead of dismissing.
This is Landon Donovan's wife (he's considered one of the best American-born players)... Actually, you just don't know enough about the game to know anything about it's strategy. It's a lot less random than you could imagine.
Dude, that really wasn't necessary. Notice I asked why they don't like it not why isn't it popular. People actually don't like it and some would go as far as to say they hate it. That to me has more to do with something than just culture. What in the history of the sport in the US would cause people to hate it? If you ask someone in Europe about american football I'm certain they won't respond that they don't like it or hate it. They just may not have an opinion on it because they were never exposed to it. Or they might say they don't understand it (many people don't). I would never asked why don't Americans like cricket because I don't think that they don't like it. They mightn't have an opinion of it because they were never exposed to it. Indifference isn't the same as dislike. And I did learn about culture. I apologize it wasn't focused on Americans and their view of football.
This is the second time you have used reason and logic to call out one of my posts. Don't let it happen a third time!
I don't know how many shots on goal there were. Should we count each ball hit to the warning track in baseball as a "scoring chance"? Each guy thrown out at the plate? Each dropped pass in the end zone? Each fumble inside the 10? Each missed field goal? Soccer doesn't have an exclusivity on scoring chances. Again, I enjoy(ed) playing and coaching soccer as well as watching it, but a typical American football game has more scores AND more scoring chances than the typical soccer match.
Here's a challenge for you. Go to a bar in Midtown on Friday or Saturday night with a buddy. Your buddy will search for five girls in the bar who think Brad Ausmus is hot and know what position he plays. Your job will be to find two girls who know who Landon Donovan is and can name what MLS team he is on. The one who finishes last buys all the drinks that night.
Does that necessarily mean it's more exciting? Aren't 0-0 playoff baseball and hockey games much more exciting than 8-7 games?
