Explain the allure of soccer to me.

[ArizonaBeagle]

The US had better get used to it as within a generation Soccer will grow in popularity here in the USA.

Yeah.......They said the same thing about the metric system too......

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[Aragorn243]

The US had better get used to it as within a generation Soccer will grow in popularity here in the USA.

When I was in high school they said the exact same thing. They also said as the previous poster mentioned that we would be using the metric system within 10 years.

I graduated high school nearly 30 years ago. The metric system is still only used to measure soda (they used it more then in reality) and soccer is still ignored by everyone other than the parents of young children and said young children.

Our daughter's high school has a championship caliber boys soccer team. No one cares. They also have a football team that has not won more than 2 games per season in the last 5 years. The bleachers are packed, the boosters dominate all other sports with the possible exception of band (yes, considered a sport, scary isn't it) and when they introduce the various teams in the fall, most comments revolve around how much the football team would benefit if the losers on the soccer team weren't mommas boys.

Soccer is slightly more popular now than then and I expect a slow increase in interest will continue but I doubt it will ever reach the popularity of a dozen other sports that currently are regularly broadcast on network TV including golf, tennis, NASCAR, football, basketball, college basketball and college football and odd as it may sound, beach volleyball.

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

Well, actualy everybody else calls it football since you use your feet and every other part of your body EXCEPT your hands.
Even though I favour Arsenal over Man U Nobody ever started a WAR over a American football game (two south american countries) and no football fans have ever been barred from attending games in Europe except those yobbo Manchester United supporters.


Of course there are those cute litte shorts the players wear

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

Metric system: there is or was one 60 mile stretch of road between Tucson and Nogales Mexico that was signed in metric. (apparently the mexicans are supposed not to understand MPH even though they drive American cars.)
The decision was made this year to take down those signs and replace them with MPH signs.

Haven't been to Nogales in years, since when the cartels start shooting at each other, some bullets may have "to whom it may concern"

[ArizonaBeagle]

Haven't been to Nogales in years, since when the cartels start shooting at each other, some bullets may have "to whom it may concern"

Or as the shirt my nephew wears that says, "Innocent Bystander".......
Don't want to be one of those.......

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[burpgun]

I think there's something to the notion that once you have played soccer the odds that you will enjoy being a spectator of soccer improve. I supppose in my case since I'm now old and broken I will never have the perspective of a soccer player. Soccer just wasn't something I was ever exposed to when I was younger.

On the other hand, I never played ice hockey(or even ice skated) but I still think it's exciting to watch because of how fast the game moves.

My gut feeling is that over time soccer will eventually gain more of the US market. I would love to see the fine game of rugby become more popular instead. Sadly, I doubt this will ever happen due mainly to the soccer moms instinctive aversion to a bit of blood and guts.

Soccer mom watching junior play rugby -->

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

Football; unarmed combat
Hockey; Armed combat

OrI went to a fight and a hockey game broke out!

[enfield303t]

Personally I think soccer is great, players are very talented and in great physical condition. I have always cheered for Man U and have no idea why I picked them over 50 years ago, but obviously it was a good pick. I think many fail to realize that it is a national sport in so many countries as it is so easy to play and unlike most sports cheap to start... and as stated previously all you need is a ball and a open field. Think about trying to have hockey in South America or Africa. Beats watching basketball, I remember when the ref. actually called a player for "travelling"???? Basketball in my opinion is only fast due to the lack of enforcement of the original rules, and oh yes it was invented by a Canadian.

[dastier]

The allure of soccer - simple - anyone that can run and kick a ball (or rolled up rags) can play. Its the great equalizer and if you have talent, can lead to fame and fortune. Look at Diego Maradona, coach of Argentina and voted one of the greatest football players. He was born poor in an Argentinian slum.

[mack]

OK, a little perspective on US played soccer.

Before Title IX, you couldn't find a soccer ball around an American high school. When the women were offered soccer as their alternative sport to men's football, there was a bunch of guys who didn't like the jock aspect of American-style football but still wanted to play something more manly than tennis. Hence, we have soccer today and, unfortunately, soccer moms and their over-protective attitudes towards their little darlings.

I was teaching high school then and that's the way we got into soccer in the US. At my school, soccer didn't have enough ticket sales to buy a jock strap let along pay for refs, uniforms, construct fields, cover bus transport to away games or even provide Gatorade for the team at practice. Guess where all that cash comes from!? Men's football and basketball. These two sports carry all the others. If American football didn't pay for the other sports in high school, there wouldn't be any other sports.

As some have said, anyone can play it and that's usually what you get....anyone who can't play other sports. Sorry to be tough on soccer players. There are some really good ones, but, unfortunately, many, many poor ones.

As for the Manchester U or some of the other silly names that these teams call themselves when they aren't in a brawl, we can sort out the newcomers to town by those who have a flag plastered across their mini-van's rear window declaring themselves supporters of their child's "team." As though anyone except themselves care.