Soccer's popularity

Post #40,289 by bluke 5/29/02 8:34:00 AM Reply	Soccer's popularity There is such excitment around the world about the World Cup and yet I find it hard to understand why so many people are so interested in Soccer. It seems like such a boring sport to watch compared to other major sports. Can someone explain the appeal of soccer around the world, and why Americans find it so unappealing to watch?
Post #40,293 by bluke 5/29/02 8:55:30 AM Reply	The appeal of different sports Growing up in the US, I loved to watch baseball, football, and basketball. Each sport had unique appealing aspects. Here are some random thoughts about each of them. Baseball - Untimed game, different from the other sports, the game is never over until the last out. While it is a team sport, the battle between pitcher and hitter is fascinating, how the pitcher tries to set up the hitter for various pitches etc. Football - A chess match with human players. It is by far the most sophisticated game (teams like the Rams, have well over a hundred offensive plays, and each play can be run from multiple sets) and the coach makes or breaks the team. A tremendous blend of brains and brawns. Basketball - non-stop action, great athleticism Maybe Soccer has some or even all of these elements, I don't really see it.
Post #40,375 by boxley 5/29/02 4:37:25 PM Reply	I think it helps if you played as a child We all played or attempted to play what was on the tube. Baseball, football basketball etc. When we get older we have the usta couda's. Imagining yourself sinking 3 from the outside against the lakers etc. If you never played soccer it is not so interesting to watch? thanx, bill TAM ARIS QUAM ARMIPOTENS
Post #40,396 by bluke 5/29/02 5:37:35 PM Reply	I actually played a little as a kid ... and many American kids these days play soccer, yet, they still don't become soccer fans.
Post #40,682 by Meerkat 5/31/02 4:26:11 AM Reply	Almost all sports bore me to tears But Gridiron especially so. I mean, what a pack of wusses - all shoulder pads and body armour. People in plastic clothes, playing on plastic grass, with two seconds of action per 5 minutes of huddling, adverts, and wandering around aimlessly. Where's the entertainment in that? Soccer, is 'non-stop action, great athleticism' just like basketball, if not moreso. Soccer players have a much larger area to cover, looks like they're running all the time. On and on and on and on, and on and on and on goes John.
Post #40,407 by pwhysall 5/29/02 7:10:57 PM Reply	The rest of the world can't be wrong, surely? Football is by far the most played sport on the planet. The appeal is, I think, in its simplicity. You don't need a lot of kit to play it - just a patch of ground, something to serve as goalposts, and a ball. The rules are simple. Even the offside rule is simple. Gross generalisation follows. It seems to me that the American public doesn't like sports that (a) don't have double-figure scores, (b) weren't invented there (golf and tennis are notable exceptions) and (c) don't break into quarters. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal]
Post #40,409 by bluke 5/29/02 7:24:25 PM Reply	Why not? The fact that the game is so simple and requires no equipment except a ball, certainly helps it out in poor parts of the world. As for your comments about the US a) is clearly wrong as baseball is the American pasttime (and the scores are almost always in single figures) c) is also not true again from baseball, (innings), college basketball (2 halves) and also from hockey where you have 3 periods.
Post #40,504 by boxley 5/30/02 9:23:00 AM Reply	perhaps its where it started reverse snobbism from when we weaned ourselves from the mothership? Also note that cricket is revered in many commonwealth nations but unheard of here. thanx, bill TAM ARIS QUAM ARMIPOTENS
Post #41,169 by SpiceWare 6/4/02 5:17:48 PM Reply	Sure they can just look at Microsoft's ruling of the desktop. No better proof that "everybody else does" is not a valid argument. Darrell Spice, Jr. [link\|http://home.houston.rr.com/spiceware/\|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
Post #40,737 by orion 5/31/02 2:02:48 PM Reply	Simple to explain Americans or rather US Citizens like Baseball and Football (American Football to other countries) and even Hockey over Soccer (Football to other countries) because of the marketing of the other sports. Baseball is as American as Apple Pie. We hardly see any Soccer marketing in the US, and hard any mercandice. Yet we have Soccer Moms who drive kids to play PeeWee Soccer, etc. Soccer should be more popular, but doesn't have the money the other sports have. *I am free now, to choose my own destiny.*

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