I am tired of people thinking that football (aka soccer) is slow, daunting, and low scoring. Anyone that watched the USA defeat Portugal 3-2 knows that it was an exciting game with a number of goals (same number as scored in last night's NHL Stanley Cup Final game). Infact, 16 games have been played so far with a combined 47 goals scored for almost 3 goals per game on average. 3 goals a game would be considered fantastic defensive battles in hockey. World Football gets a bad rap in America.

GO USA!

- Jeff

Sure I know what I'm missing. Soccer, fun to play, boring to watch.

Note: I also find Baseball fun to play, boring to watch. Basketball, well, that's just boring no matter how you look at it.
Football (REAL Football, you only get to use one name for your sport, or maybe we should start calling Football Soccer just to confuse things further) and Hockey on the other hand are great sports to watch.

They've been trying to cram Soccer down the throats of Americans ever since I can remember (30 some years). Believe me, we know what we are missing and we are missing it for a reason...because we don't like it. Even Volleyball is more exciting to watch and play.

> Believe me, we know what we are missing and we are missing it for a reason...because we don't like it.


No kidding, in this country, nobody but a parent of a player enjoys watching soccer & even that is a stretch!! My son played on an undefeated soccer team for one season & even that sucked, thank god he finally got on a Pop-Warner football team instead. .

"Football (REAL Football, you only get to use one name for your sport, or maybe we should start calling Football Soccer just to confuse things further)" Thats funny as hell, Myk..... :) :) :)

The round foot ball has been being played LONG before the flat foot ball (NFL type).


David C Abernathy

Only about 50 years longer Dave, I would hardly call that a LONG time

Its more exciteing to watch grass grow than a soccer game in my opinion.


Garbru

You know, I used to think just like the both of you; until, one day I sat down and watched the game without any preconceived notions stirred up by the popular American media which was spread by the common American. When I did that, I found a very enjoyable, exciting game. Sure, you do get some stinker games (but don't you get those in every sport?).

I challenge everyone to take a look at the game again without any previous negative stereotypes commonly associated with the sport.

- Jeff

That's like telling me to watch Basketball without any preconceived notions. I'm not going to like it no matter how many times I see it.

I think what makes a sport for me is rules. If they have too many stupid rules I can't stand watching them. Football (or is it Soccer now? :) ) has gone that way with me. I used to always watch it, 2 games every Sunday. But they kept on changing and adding rules and I finally got sick of watching it. Now if I'm home and a game is on I'll watch it but I don't make an effort to see them.

It's sure not the excitement of the sports for me because I can watch an Archery shoot and enjoy it.

It seems the most popular and for that matter all sports played and recognized with significant fan support in the US, demonstrate superior hand/eye coordination. It is yet to be determined that US sports fans will embrace a foot/eye coordination sport. And I like many in the US I consider soccer slow, low scoring and far, far to lengthly a game. And I for one, can make the same argument regarding baseball and hocky.

nomad48

"far, far to lengthly a game" 90 minutes is a lot shorter than 3-4 hours for a NFL football or a baseball game.
David C Abernathy

Soccer too lengthy?? At least when they start a game they basically play until it's finished. American football is the second most drawn-out sport in the world, after cricket.

Make that third. Chess!

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Paul D

Actually fourth, don't forget basketball...where you can have 10 seconds on the clock and use all of the time outs, by the time the game is over, 10 seconds was actually 10 minutes.

A close finish in an American Football game is much, much more exciting than a 1-0 soccer game(at least in my opinion - and yes I've both watched and played in both). And like chess, there is much more strategy involved in American Football than there is in soccer. You could write an encyclopedia on the different strategies available in American Football. Not to say there isn't a number of strategies involved in soccer, but nothing compared to American Football. Its a much more evolved sport than soccer.

Over-evolved!
Running out a complete new team when you lose possession is ridiculous. In all other codes you need far more all-round skill than in American Football.

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Paul D

I'll concede that soccer players are in fact better overall athletes than many american football players, but the skill position players in the NFL represent some of the most superb athletes in the world. If you had ever played american football you'd know how necessary it is for those players to go off the field after each possession do to the fact that they are going full bore(except Randy Moss) every play.

If soccer had been invented here and football in england instead of the other way around I'm sure this conversation would be completely reversed, but I'm biased and I much prefer football :D

In about 3 weeks, check your pay TV for the Rugby League game between Queensland and New South Wales (this is Rugby League's Rose Bowl).
These guys need defensive AND offensive skills, are built along the same lines as NFL players, and go pretty well non-stop for most of the game. With only four reserves, each player averages 60 minutes of an 80 minute game. And without a complete suit of body armour!
And give us a break. Even when a team is in possession, there's as much stoppage time as there is play time in NFL. I saw a televised game once that took 3 1/2 hours to complete.

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Paul D

Soccer players can't take the punishment that football deals out, with modern equipment the carnage is real, of course I'm talking the line, not those sissy positions.

Stand toe to toe with a 300 plus monster trained in boxing, karate who almost daily lifts his weight.

American football and soccer are different games, I suggest we settle the age old question by playing LaCrosse, as the Indians did. No helments, pads, gloves, the only variation is allowing sneakers.

Only problem is that we would be giving the Irish a stick and telling them it's ok to whack somebody.

Let's see a few hundred players trying to score, better have EMS ready!

Still working on that pitful sig of mine, my pardon.

Hell, let's have a riot anyway!

"same number as scored in last night's NHL Stanley Cup Final game"

That should make it exciting, and I'm even a hockey fan.

Dave

I played soccer for 8 years when I was a youth and I have to say that I was even bored playing THAT OTHER FOOTBALL, let alone watching it. The best thing that ever happened was when I got into highschool and could play REAL Football instead :+

The REAL Football IS what Americans call Soccer.

We stoled the name football and applied it to one of our sports (which ironically has very few plays in which the ball is touched intentionally by a foot).

- Jeff

As I said, you only get one name for your sport. The name of that sport is Soccer. Search Pele and you'll find he was a Soccer player, not a Football player.

It seems these countries all agree, and isn't the name "World Cup Soccer" and not "World Cup Football"?
http://www.italian-soccer.com/
http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/
http://www.jvc-victor.co.jp/english/soccer/index-e.html
http://www.ireland.com/sports/soccer/
http://www.soccerleague.co.uk/
http://www.african-soccer.net/
http://www.rsssf.com/nersssf.html
http://www.soccercentral.ie/
http://www.egyptiansoccer.com/
http://soccer-europe.com/
http://www.europeanwomenssoccer.com/
http://www.socceraustralia.com.au/homepage/default.sps
http://www.albertasoccer.com/
http://www.canadasoccer.com/
http://soccer.macedonia.org/
http://www.soccerway.com/europe/netherlands/
http://www.argentinesoccer.com/indexen.html

Try the OFFICIAL WEBSITE for the governing body of football (what Americans call soccer):
http://www.fifa.com

FIFA stands for: Fédération Internationale de Football Association

That can be found on the 'Brief History of FIFA' page of that site:
http://www.fifa.com/fifa/index_E.html

Notice Soccer is not in the organization's name but football is. Nor is soccer found anywhere on the brief history of FIFA page. Nor is soccer mentioned on the history page of the sport (http://www.fifa.com/fifa/history_E.html).

You can't get anymore official than the official governing body of the sport. The sites you mention are not the official representatives of the sport. I rest my case.

- Jeff

Doc, there is no disputing the fact that what Americans call Soccer is definitely known to the rest of the world as football. Actually the official name for it is association football. Americans, being the great people that we are, took england's soccer and rugby, combined them and made them into the more exciting game to play and watch, American Football.

EDIT: We didn't steal the name, we just added our name to it.

Let's not forget the Mayan game of chop off your opponent's head and run around with it. That was long before these other games, but maybe it was called headball. :)

My tolerance for watching sports is basically limited to watching the highlights on the news. That way I can see a few home runs, a few nice cathes, a couple good runs, a few slam dunks, a couple right hooks and knockouts , a few spiked tenis balls, a few slap shots and so on. This way I dont have to zap up all my time with the boreing parts of the games. I guess I just have to many other things that I would rather be doing. If all sports were played by attracive well tanned women in bikinis I might watch more. ;) ;)

Garbru

I wholeheartedly agree that SOCCER is extremely boring to watch.With that said,I disagree that baseball is boring to watch.The strategies involved before and during EVERY SINGLE pitch can be mind-boggling...that is until you understand the reasons behind them.Until you do that,it probably will strike you as boring.
In soccer,I fail to see the presence of much strategy at all.

Because you don't understand FOOTBALL.

- Jeff

Don't really have the desire to understand "SOCCER".But now that you mention it,what would some of those strategies be.Whatever they are,I gaurantee you they don't hold a candle to the strategies involved in a baseball game.

I understand Football perfectly well. I even understand Soccer. Maybe that's the reason I don't like one and have lost interest in the other.

I don't understand the rules of Rugby, maybe that's why I would like to see more of it.

Don't worry about that. Most Rugby Union players and referees don't understand the rules either. There are just too many of them.

Incidentally, how many of you realise there are two distinct games with different rules - Rugby League has 13 a side and simpler rules, and is played in Australia, NZ and Great Britain. Rugby Union has 15 a side, more rules than many small nations, and is played more or less throughout the world, including the above three.

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Paul D

I know exactly what I'm missing, and I certainly don't need some Soccer/Football fanatic to explain it to me. Sports are like foods, there are just some that you don't like. Granted, your assertation seems to be that Americans haven't ever tried Football/Soccer, but unfortunately you are wrong in that assumption. I see absolutely no point in this entire conversation, its just people telling you that they don't like watching the sport, and you telling them they are wrong? Is your I.Q. above 6? Do you realize how moronic you look, trying to convince someone that they really like that which they have said they don't?

Thanks for the insults. Very mature DoctorMidnight.

I was simply trying to convey the point that people listen to the popular media which says the sport is boring. I listened to it at one point and bought it hook, line, and sinker.

But, one day I decided to take a fresh look at it, pushing out the pre-conceived notions from the media. I was very surprised what I was missing. It was not this low-scoring, boring game the media tries so desperately to convince me and everyone else of. Instead I found a fascinating game with a lot of excitement that was fun to watch.

Excuse me for trying to help people break free of the popular thinking and show them the joy of the sport. How stupid of me, huh? Sorry to have insulted you, DM. I beg your forgiveness.

Funny, I thought this was America where we had the right to freely communicate ideas; and yet, when we convey something that isn't currently popular, we get ridiculed and insulted. I guess that is also a part of free speech; but, not a very nice part of it (although a very American one).

- Jeff

-- Edit --
By the way, I am not a fanatic (at least not in the bad way the term can be used) . I just happen to have found the joy of the sport and hoped someone could also find the joy I found. Is someone who enjoys American football a fanatic? Not necessarily. But, I was labeled as such for this sport. Again, thanks for the insults.

Your problem is that you assume everyone that says "I don't like soccer" is some sort of automaton, unable to make their own decisions, and controlled directly by the media. News Flash, the media has been advocating soccer as a multi-national sport (and that is its true greatness, the fact that it is played by nearly every culture in the world). If you see yourself as some sort of savior of free minded people, you are definitely in the wrong place. The majority of the people you find here are doing just fine on the independance front. Just look at Nomad! :)

Doc, your the one insulting all of us by continuing to badger us with this B.S about the media shaping our opinion about the sport.

The media has nothing to do with it. Espn IS sports news in America and they televise and give scores for the MLS, or at least used to. Simple fact is Americans don't like soccer because we think it is boring and choose not to like it. We all think for ourselves. That is why neither you or the media can do a damn thing to make me like soccer.

It's not BS. A lot of people believe what they see or hear from the media because the media is suppose to be the trusted source. And, when the media gives very little time to, or ridicules a subject (which is common for football/soccer), it isn't important. So, it becomes not important for most people. You can tell me different; but, that is how it works.

- Jeff

OK OK No one can force someone to like a game any more than ssomeone can force me to like WWF. I don't even like American Football. Why?
Because I wasnt brought up on it, never played it at school. No doubt if I had, or if I was American, I would love it. Personal preference is just....personal¬! :-) but...please just bear in mind one thing. Soccer (ie the round ball version , is universally popular throughout the world, whereas American Football is more or less a domestic game limited to the US. That is not to knock it because of that, the reason I mention it is THIS:

Today, in this sport watched by millions all over the world, and worth billions, the united States of America, against ALL the odds, heroically and decisively beat one of the top three teams in the world ie: Portugal. I watched it, couldnt believe my eyes, and neither could anyone else. Your boys did you proud. At the end of this game, ironically watched by millions throughout the world ~EXCEPT in the country where those footballers live and work, the commentators mentioned that this result would hardly get a mention in the American Media. I found that a great shame, because if Americans needed reasons to feel positive and pride in the spirit which got them through last year, they would have seen the same spirit alive today in Japan, and they would have been very proud.

Joe, ya gotta stop talking about balls. BTW, the American Press has mentioned it a lot and there are several reports during the day with replays featuring different matches. Also we have a whole new culture growing here in the Colonies that enjoys soccer quite abit (does Soccer Moms ring a bel?). As for me I could care less, cause I'm a Redskins fan.

"the American Press has mentioned it a lot"

Good :-)

Yes, Sonny, funny things balls, they're the root of mens passions!

}>

They may mention the sport more but a lot of satire and ridicule goes along with that reporting. Local news channel this morning made fun of the USA - Portugal game this morning. I wasn't laughing. It was beyond me why they would ridicule one of the biggest upsets of World Cup history, especially when it was our team that won the upset.

- Jeff

Die hard,D.C. born skins fan here too,Sonny.REAL football,not soccer,rules!I'm still waiting for Doc to present/compare the strategies involved in SOCCER as opposed to those in baseball...even though I know there is no comparison.

Popular media tells Americans to like Soccer. I don't know where you've been. I've already told you that they've been trying to ram it down American's throats for over 30 years.

I've watched games where the announcer gets overly excited about a goal. I see no reason for the excitment.

I'm sorry, but I don't let the media tell me what I like.

If you want to pick up a media underdog pick the shooting sports. Look at how the Olympics told us they never showed them because they were boring. The most exciting thing I saw this year (other than hockey) was the Biathlon events.

Cheese with that w(h)ine,sir?

Well I've read the whole thread now and have come to the realization that you are all wrong.

Hasn't anyone ever told you people that if it doesn't have a minimum of 600 horse power it is not a sport. :P :P

NASCAR now there's a sport. Name me one other sport that draws the kind of attendance that NASCAR auto racing does? :D

As much as I hate to admit it,and love NASCAR...soccer does.

Well there are a few NASCAR events that draw around 250,000 and most are close to 200,000 so you mean soccer draws that many too? Well I'll be danged. :+

Maybe I should have said 2 sports. :D

Well even if they do at least the fans don't kill each other at NASCAR races and it's an older sport. Chariot races were before soccer were they not? These are just modern day chariots. :P

I, for one, don't think football is slow or boring at all. I'm a rabid enthusister of any game that has so many cheerleaders. Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders are second to none except maybe the Vikings but it's so cold up there in Minnisota they have to dress warmly while the Miami cheerleaders are all in bikinis.

I never could understand why they have all those big hunky guys running around out there on the grass while the crowd is trying to concentrate.
'Course, on the other hand, maybe some of the crowd is watching the big hunky guys... especially up here in the City....

Come on now Old Dude -- The Vikes play in a dome, its never colder than 75 degrees in there... the cowboy cheerleaders are much better looking :9

Don't forget Spezi, that in the sport of Nascar, if something goes out of bounds, it's not coming back ;)

LOL. Yeah I know "survival of the fittest", you gotta love it. :D

Spezi..."NASCAR now there's a sport. Name me one other sport that draws the kind of attendance that NASCAR auto racing does?"

To a single event...surely Nascar
Worldwide...obviously soccer

I wasn't clear on how you meant it.Soccer is still boring!

Here ya go Spezi,forgot I had this one!

Now I know what happened to Spezi's pick'em up. He burned all the tires off and didn't want to scuff those 80 dollar rims....so know he drives that old ice cream truck around.

I'm gonna start a special fund for some monster tires for the truck.
You shoulda' said something guy......

I'll take Lakers basketball.

You're quite welcome Spezi,here's another one that I had;

Hmmmm

When the players in Soccer can get to speeds of 35-40 mph and can kick the ball at speeds exceeding 100 mph....than I might see it as approaching the excitement level of Ice Hockey...