can someone explain the appeal of soccer?
 

I know I'm like most Americans and just can't get into soccer/football/whatever you want to call it.

To me, it just doesn't have enough excitement. I love hockey and baseball. Hockey has the more fast paced excitement and baseball is more cerebral and more of a "thinking man's sport".

Soccer, for me, just doesn't fall into either of those categories.

Maybe if they put land mines out there on the field? Maybe exploding goal posts or even the ability to smash another player with a stick or weapon of some type?

So, soccer fans, can you explain what it is that's so fascinating about the game?

I admit, I do like to watch a good soccer fight in the stands, but they don't have enough of those these days...

I think its a tribal thing at the root of it, you have your team and you will follow them to the end. It isnt as fast as ice hockey but there are definate elements of thinking involved. Its a balance between the two really, but having said that, if you get a great footballer who is a master of the game it can be wonderful to watch. For me, Zinedine Zidane was sheer pleasure to watch, so skillful and graceful with a football at his feet that I virtually always wanted to see him win, even when playing for France (coming from an England supporter that says a lot).

The reality of it is though you arent brought up on it, like a lot of Europeans struggle with your football and baseball. Theyve tried European leagues with US football and after the initial fanfare it fizzled out, similar to the first incarnation of the North American Soccer League despite having players like Pele and Beckenbauer at the time.

It will be interesting to see if the Beckham effect will sway many over... If anything the man is a marketing phenomenon and the LA Galaxy shirt sales are gonna go through the roof worldwide. It may help the game develop but I think the ethnic minorities hold the key really.

I can only think of it as a game elementary school kids play. I know it's a cultural thing and if we were raised seeing it as an adult, professional sport, we'd probably be apeshit about it like the rest of the world.

I live in a very warm area of the South, so hockey is nonexistent. When we suddenly got a few hockey teams in the Southeast awhile back, I went to some games and really enjoyed it. I had no fucking clue what was going on, how it was played, or what any of the rules were (along with virtually every other person there), but it was fun to watch and I could see myself really being into it if I had grown up in a cooler climate. For some reason, I can't see that happening with soccer, lol.

Come on Sykk...guys with tight bodies, in short shorts, and knee high socks...what is there NOT to love about the sport?

its simple. The rules are simple, the game is simple.

Simple works.

How many rules does basketball have again?

yeah, I'm thinking maybe it's the cultural thing too...I've given it a couple chances and have even watched a couple games on Telemundo to see if excited spanish announcers can kick up the fun factor, but just couldn't get into it.

eros, you're a disturbed man ;-)

European and International soccer is waaaaay faster paced and exciting than MLS or US soccer. I mean just yesterday I believe Mexico beat Paraguay 6-0 in the Copa America. It was a very fast-paced exciting game. Granted, those 0-0 or 1-0 games are pretty boring no matter what, but so is a 1-0 baseball shutout..

:2 cents:

you think baseball is more exciting then football? :error


football is all about: speed, technique, strength and teamplay



some videos showing incredible skills

best freekick ever (imo):
https://youtube.com/watch?v=W5XpXU8TBoo

best dribbler nowadays:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=b3HNX3JIS_o

amazing controll and speed:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tg9wmcOUXRw

yup, but in a different way...I'm a stats junkie, so that part of baseball appeals to me and I also enjoy the way a battle can take place between pitcher and batter and sometimes the way that battle is handled can change based upon something that happened before...almost like a big chess game

fucking-around-and-business-discussion/749928-beckhams-arrival-los-angeles-countdown.html

Most watched sport in the world by far :)

Adrian is a soccer nut. Maybe he has some insight...

My thoughts exactly ! He says football isn't exciting enough, yet likes baseball ?? :1orglaugh

Baseball is sooooooooooooooooooo slow. You wait five mins for someone to actually connect with the ball, only for a guy in the field to catch it with incredible ease.

Amercians don't get football (soccer) because they aren't one of the leading countries in the sport.

Go to Brazil, they crave it. Argentina, same. Almost anywhere is Europe, they all love it, and it's their number one sport.

Yet Americans always have this "soccer sucks" attitude. Just because they don't get it, yet the rest of the world do...

i don't want to say football has to be liked by everybody.

like you just said different people have different tastes.

the stats junkie, the action junkie the junkie just going there for hot cheerleaders:)

it is a matter of what you expect of the sport you are watching.

i for example think formula 1 is boring as hell.

baseball is more exciting on a cerebral level, again, like a big chess match...

I wasn't jumping on the "soccer sucks" bandwagon so much as having someone who enjoys it explain the appeal...should I be looking for something from the sport that I don't see? Are you saying because we're not good at soccer that we hate it? For Brazil, Argentina, etc. is it a cultural thing? If they grew up with baseball the same way they grow up with soccer would that change their perception of it?

[QUOTE=UniversalPassLorence;12727665
Most watched sport in the world by far :)[/QUOTE]

i think part of that has to do with the fact that more people can play it because it doesnt take much equipment (and therefore money) to play it. you just need something you can kick around.

you don't need to have a helmet, a glove, or a bat, etc...

I think it is 100% cultural. Kids in Europe get taken to see the game by their Dads, play it at School, talk about with their mates etc. When they grow up they go with their mates and talk about it in the pub. Its built into people that football is a great game so they grow up loving it.

I dont know, but Id guess thats exactly the same reason why people in the States love the games they do. They grew up with it as a cultural thing.

Yeah, and going to watch something as slow as a chess match has no appeal to me at all. Even if there is a 'skill' factor involved, i want to be entertained, not pay money and sit around waiting for a single piece if action. But yeah, i also am not trying to convince people into a certain sport. People have their own tastes which of course is fine.

Should you be looking for something in soccer which you don't see ?? Well, i think a large part of it will be the fact you aren't actually supporting any particular team might have something to do with it. Some games are quite boring, no doubt. So maybe you've watched a few boring games, where you didn't care who won anyway. Try making a bet on a team, and watch that game. I did it with the NHL the past few months there. Was much better watching it while actually following a team. :2 cents:

I'd say to get interested in it you need to pick a team to follow. If you like Manchester United (www.manutd.com) follow up on the goings on or pick another team. Maybe even pick a team for the Fantasy Premier League (http://www.premierleague.com/splash/...y/fantasy.html). Without a team to follow you are never going to be into it as you really do not care who wins. See if your cable company offers the Fox Soccer Channel too. In season they have the games live (http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer).

Premier League website - http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.ra...tPage=homepage

The appeal of football is simple. Sports men fit as hell, competing against other sportsmen. These guys train hard to keep at the top, they have 100% passion for doing what they do. I have a season pass for my team where 60,000 people turn up for every home match. When the ball goes in the net and all those people are instantly happy at one point. Nothing else in the world can touch that.

I would love to take you to a Celtic v Rangers match. The biggest football derby in Europe in my opinion. The atmosphere in immense. Its electric.

Wouldn't it be even more exciting if the men on the field had weapons? ;-)

Maybe it is something that needs to be experienced in person rather than on a tv set...

The only people that think baseball is boring are those who don't fully understand the game. 1-0 games aren't boring, they're pitching duels. That just means that the two teams are evenly matched for the day. I enjoy World Cup alright and playing soccer is an awesome way to get/stay in shape, but overall, it just doesn't really follow it.

watching european football can give you heart diseases ... soccer its definitely more exciting

Living in England soccer is ramed down our throats, I hate soccer, its a pansys game when they get kicked in the shin they fall down in pain and lay on the pitch for hours pretending they have had their bones splintered, and they wear shin gaurds, bunch of poofters, They should put soccer(fairys) players up against a rugby team, then they would know what real men are, stupid arse holes, They are all gay, and i hate soccer, its a stupid game for stupid people

As an American that's what I've always liked about soccer ( football ), the passion the fans have for the sport and the level of excitement when someone scores, both on the field and in the stands. I think that excitement exists because of how hard it is to score - it's like the harder they have to work for it the more meaningful a goal is.

I think soccer is a good game, I do agree that the reason its so popular is that you dont need any equipment or anything. You have good soccer teams from poor countries that couldnt compete in any other sport. People usually like the sports they grow up with. They do come off like pussies though....I watch a hockey game where a guy gets hit in the face with a puck, bleeds everywhere, then gets 15 stitches in his face on the bench to get back out there. Then you flip over to soccer and some duchebag is rolling around on the ground because he took a headbut in the chest.

soccer can be boring sometimes but i grew up with it and played it for a couple of years myself. so i love it - can't do anything against that :winkwink:

and baseball is about as exiting as watching grass grow

I find soccer to be more interesting than, say, the first half of any basketball game. I'd have to say the best thing about it is that since there aren't many great scoring opportunities in a given game, when a team's in a scoring position people stop breathing and stand up and just pray it converts, which makes for one hell of a lot of pressure, even in the beginning of a game. The worst part about soccer is how people fall at the slightest touch, do a fake roll-over and grab their knees hoping that the ref calls a free kick or a yellow card. Very gay.

Another thing,

the atmosphere at many football (soccer) games simply puts other sports to shame.

Americans seem to give each other 'high-fives' when a home run is scored for example. And that's about it.
Then they go back to having their burger and coke.



Here's what happens at a typical goal over here : https://youtube.com/watch?v=5fGCs...elated&search=


You simply can't beat it !!! :pimp

That my friends, is what following a sport is about.

Not about saying "oh yeah bro, gimme a high-five we just scored"


:winkwink:

for the soccer fans: fucking-around-and-business-discussion/749989-football-soccer-fans-whats-favourite-team.html

Hmmm, I'm thinking of something soccer related that would appeal to American fans: a DVD of nothing but great soccer fights...not amongst players, but in the stands...

Are soccer hooligans really despised or do they actually bring a little attention to the sport? Are they kind of folk heroes or just a bunch of rabble rousers?

I don't get it myself.... but I just dismiss it as something that doesn't appeal to me personally. People go more crazy at soccer games than any other sport, so there's something to it.
I'm just not getting it.

probably the first goal in about 4 months:)

American sport is really just that .. American sport. Most of the world doesn't really identify with American sports eg Baseball, Gridiron or whatever you call it, and basketball etc. We have a similar thing here in Australia where its mostly Rugby, Aussie rules and cricket.

Nothing can rival the crowds soccer pulls.... the atmosphere and sheer excitement is something you will never find in any other sports. Plus the game is pleasing to the eye ... its enjoyable to watch.

How can you not like football...... and to the person who says you cant see kids playing it in schools or whatever, come to the UK....its played every day at every school...

plz dont compare baseball to football either LMAO thats just insulting

Footy is the beautiful game. How can billions of fans be wrong?

It would be great of the US took the game more seriously - they could then compete on the world stage instead of just playing games that nobody else plays in the world.....

Football, rugby, cricket - all internationally played across europe, africa, asia, australasia

Baseball, basketball, American "football" are all pretty much exlusive to the US - come on yanks, what are you scared of???

It is just not understandable to most Americans/Canadians period. I hated the game my whole life till I came to live in Spain and learned how great it was. A great read is "How Soccer Explains the World" by Franklin Foer.

"The global power of soccer might be a little hard for Americans, living in a country that views the game with the same skepticism used for the metric system and the threat of killer bees, to grasp fully. But in Europe, South America, and elsewhere, soccer is not merely a pastime but often an expression of the social, economic, political, and racial composition of the communities that host both the teams and their throngs of enthusiastic fans."

football is passion and culture an d a way of life

If you kick it, than you love it, you can play anywhere, anytime, with anyone don't need anything at all to do so. It's a combination of all, tactics, skills, moral, physics, I would really believe most importantly you got to play that to get hooked into, and almost every man here does.

Soccer is the best sport in the world. Baseball and hockey are way too boring. But growing up in norway, that is a natural opinion.

Passion I can understand, but if a bunch of dudes kicking around a ball is culture and a way of life, you need a life... and some more culture. :1orglaugh

soccer is awesome..especially the world cup...

say that in europe and you will by hanging from a tree by your neck

lol that is just so wrong

I'll fucking say it anywhere I please. :1orglaugh

Also I question the sexuality of males who like to watch other men in shorts running around. Sounds like something a fag like Boy Alley would be into, not a heterosexual male.

I am weird in both countries because I like baseball and I like football/soccer. In both it isn't something that I can really explain but at some point I get sucked into the drama of both games even if they aren't super fast matches. Football and baseball are both sports that have long traditions of father/son bonding that then builds into a lifelong passion not just for the sport in general but for a team in particular. Some of the best individual matches of any sport I have seen have been football matches..the drama can be intense at times.