Americans, how can you not like Soccer?
Please watch my videos below to see some absolutely amazing moments in soccer involving my team, Liverpool FC, over the past 5 years.
First of all it is not called Soccer. You do not play in your socks. Your version of football is played mainly with hands, so you have such a cheek to steal the name of the world’s most popular sports. Yet that’s right, the most popular sport in the world. The FIFA World Cup is watched by more people than the Olympic Games.
Anyway, my point is, it is only you Americans that are not big fans of it. Outside of America, it is virtually every country’s number 1 sport. It is number one, quite simply because no other sport is more exciting or thrilling to watch as a fan. Yes there only usually on average around 2 or 3 points (they’re called goals) in a game, but every goal is therefore a special moment. In American sports like NFL, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, there a tons of goals, so each time one goes in, the pleasure attained is such a small fraction of that of Soccer (I hate using this word!!!).
I am a Liverpool FC fan and I will give you just a few examples of the pleasurable moments I have witnessed over the past 5 years alone, and I would sure love to see some equivalents in your sport:
1) Gerrard Vs Olympiakos – Picture this. You go down 1-0 of the final game of the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious competition in World club football, and you now need to score three goals (because of goal difference) to go through to the knockout stages. The two substitutes Mellor and Pongolle get the first two giving us hope, then, with just a couple of minutes left and Liverpool looking like they were heading for the exit, Steven Gerrard, the Legend, pops up with this:
Liverpool go on to win the Champions League that year, in the most amazing final of all time, which brings me on to the next great moment.
2) Liverpool Vs Milan: Champions League Final 2005
In the final of this competition in 2005, Liverpool met the great AC Milan. To cut it short, at half time Milan are leading 3-0. Liverpool were totally outclassed by a world-class Milan team. Many fans leave the pubs, the bars, the stadium itself, many die hard fans even committed suicide. No one was looking forward to the 2nd half, and as far as most were concerned Liverpool were going to be slaughtered. What followed is considered the greatest comeback in the history of Soccer. In a 6 minute period Liverpool scored three goals. In extra-time the Liverpool goalkeeper made possibly one of the greatest saves of all time to keep it level. Liverpool went on to win on penalties. And as they say, the rest is history.
3) Liverpool Vs West Ham – FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final is the most famous domestic cup final in the world. In the 2006 final, Liverpool were down 2-0, they then levelled it 2-2. West Ham then got a third making it 3-2 to west ham. The 90th minute was approaching and west ham looked like they were going to be crowned the winners. Then this happened:
The quality is not good there. Please view the highlights (10 mins) of the whole match) in HD here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm6-S6T_nGk
NFL are just a bunch of jocks. Most big black guys play high school and college soccer. Anyone who is a big and strong plays American Football. In soccer, strength is just one aspect of the game. There is so much more skill involved in soccer.
like it or not it’s the best game in the world
You do make an interesting argument. But, most Americans (including me) believe that our football is more exciting and more fun to watch than your ‘football.’ It isn’t as if we are personally attacking your sport, we just prefer ours. =]
Low scoring = Low interest
sorry
I do like soccer, but it will never be the number one sport in America
I truly don’t mind soccer. I just like football (american) better.
I play soccer for my HS and although this coming school year in September will be my last year for my HS I’ve been playing rec soccer for as long as I can remember.
Different Strokes for Different Folks.
People like different things. Just happens.
You spent a multitude of words, and time, to promote a sport that interests very few Americans. And you want us to watch 10 minutes of a sport we don’t care about. Get real, and give it up, you’ll never convince us. I’ve watched International games, and found the sport boring.
Sarge
personally, i love soccer!! i love playing, but watching american football is just more fun for a lot of people.
Because some of us just don’t like soccer. You could write a full page on your favorite moments in curling and that wouldn’t make me like curling.
Also, a lot of people in America actually like soccer. If more people watch FIFA than the Olympics, you can bet a good amount of those people are Americans.
Me personally, if someone was to kick me in my shins it would be a death warrant for them.
You can’t make people like something just because you and a whole bunch of other people like it, regardless of how much you type and how many arguments you make. Some people like soccer, some prefer tennis, some prefer football, etc. We all differ, but in the US we lie about baseball being “our sport” when, in actuality, it’s football. That’s how it is.
To be honest, I think a lot of why the US prefers some other sports over soccer is because we’re a more racially/ethnically diverse country than many others. And a lot of us want to see sports in which that diversity is reflected, partially because a lot of us are racist. In other words, when we watch sports, we want to see people who “look like us” getting the accolades, being the heroes, winning the awards, scoring the points, etc. Others subconsciously want to see racism play out in sports, i.e. the way that people in positions of control/with the most important positions in the game, such as coaches and quarterbacks, tend to be white but the players in less control tend to be black (and I think this is subconsciously something white Americans like about football/basketball).
These things best lend themselves to football and basketball in the US because those sports have the most blacks. When I think about other sports, including soccer, I think about a bunch of whites on the field and maybe ethnic guys from other countries. I’m black–that doesn’t appeal to me, and it doesn’t appeal to others in the US who are non-white, for the most part. Football and basketball are the only things in the world I can think of in which I can see a bunch of white guys sit around and drool all over black people. The people in the US who do care about soccer tend to be white, but there are a lot of non-whites here.
Its more of a marathon game then a sprint game. By this I mean that while there may be some great moments in Soccer only about 5% of the game is exiting. For the whole thing to be exciting you would have to be able to spot every little move the players make and understand the technical part of the game. For Football it’s exciting about 80% of the time because there is more action involved. Now i would say that the lack of scoring hurts it but I happen to love hockey and they dont score much. The difference hockey is fast paced and well action packed while soccer is not. So like I said there are the kind of people who watch marathons and the kind that watch sprints. Its up to the person to decide and us Americans like action.
It’s simple. Most of the world is inferior to the United States. It’s pretty clear that soccer makes for weaklings. Why else would the US have to keep saving most of Europe from the Germans? And it’s like the Germans are a bunch of manly men. Soccer is boring and watching or playing soccer makes you want to surrender. Why would any sane American want anything to do with it?
Historically, we have not been groomed to watch or follow the game. As a people, generally, we like our sports a little on the rougher side and geared more towards our lifestyle.
”NFL are just a bunch of jocks. Most big black guys play high school and college soccer. Anyone who is a big and strong plays American Football. In soccer, strength is just one aspect of the game. There is so much more skill involved in soccer.”
My friend, you just proved to us you do not ever watch AMERICAN football. Re-word your question once you begin to understand.
Okay 1. Jocks? No, your thinking of some of the positions. Such as Tackle, Defensive end, Tight End, and Fullback. Some of the football players are real skinny, and are not anywhere near ”jocks.”
2. Big and strong is only for the positions listed above really. Football is not just that.
3. Same for Football! You dont need to be a big strong guy. Most Defensive players are actually not that big at all. See, WRs are fast, and they need to be. And they need to be able to catch, have coordination, and be elusive. And Defenders like Corners, Safeties, and some LBs too. Of course, you do need to be strong no doubt. But thats not all of football.
those moments happen once every 40 minutes. how i it fun for the other 39? football player are real men. they prove their strength on the field all the time. you cant train for some of the things they have, youre either born with it or not. its like a battle, the strongest survive. soccer is just a game
2nd video was cool though
It is boring. Running around in a circle, kicking a ball for an hour is not fun. At least in hockey they have sticks to beat each other with.
Americans like action sports where they actully score point.. Although Soccer has action, they just don’t score much. People screaming at the top of their lungs just because a player almost scored a goal is just plain crazy. Most of a soccer match is just watching a bunch of men running around kicking the ball around and bouncing off their heads. Maybe if the made the nets bigger there would be more goals. Indoor Soccer is more exciting because the fields are smaller and the relates to more scoring. In door soccer is still on the boring side, but better than outdoor.