Why doesn't the USA get Football?

I've read Robert's recent post on how Football can become more popular in the USA, here, but I think he's close but not there yet.

Robert believes the perhaps the solution to getting more Americans following football can be done by advances in technology which allowed him to discover some of the intricacies of the game, in what was happening off the ball.

In other posts Robert links to, discusses the lack of instant replays and advertising, perhaps even a comment about culture for the lack of broad adoption in the States

Well my response to that is very simple. How come almost every country has a Football team? Football has nothing to do with culture.
Football is popular because it is a simple to understand and play. All you need is some space, an even number of people to divide into two teams, jumpers for goal posts and a ball or even an object you can kick around. You don't need to be rich or clever to be good at Football.

The other main attraction for me is that it's team based, not only playing, but supporting. Footballs divisions can be broadly drawn around social groups i.e. friends, school, club or country. Funnily enough social divisions such as class can be transended by the support of a mutual team.

As it's a game played by many, playing and winning against another group has a great meaning of success. Whats the point of being good at a sport that only your country plays? Can you imagine the feeling of being an Italian right now, their team is the world champions in a sport that almost every country plays!

Football reflects who we are, our aspirations, our dreams, our hopes and fears.

Because the majority of the US doesn't get Football I can't help but think it's not just Football is it? Perhaps the US isn't intune with the rest of the world?

I believe the stats put footy as the number of participation sport, but around 7th or 8th in terms of spectating, in the US.

I have heard bad things about commentry in the games in the US. If people want it to become popular, it needs a push from. Maybe we could export Motty?

Sabot wrote:

Because the majority of the US doesn't get Football I can't help but think it's not just Football is it? Perhaps the US isn't intune with the rest of the world?

Nice try. Actually, "football" (over here it is soccer, because "football" over here is something different) is still big at the grade school, high school and even the college level. Professionally, it was bigger in the 1970's...why it's popularity dropped off, I'm not really sure.

Why doesn't baseball sweep the globe? It's big over here. Why doesn't football (the kind with the brown ball) sweep the globe? It's big over here. I don't get it myself, but hey...

Beacuse there are enough other sports to get behind and enjoy?  Seriously where would football fit into the already crowded sport schedule?

American Football covers October through the end of January
Baseball covers  April through October
NASCAR  covers  Feb  through October
Hockey covers  from (don't know when) to June/July
Basketball covers from (don't know when) to June

So when would football fit into things?

As to American sports, I only watch NBA, I never watch any other boring games such NFL or NHL, they are really boring.[A]

Sheva

j0217995 wrote:

Beacuse there are enough other sports to get behind and enjoy?  Seriously where would football fit into the already crowded sport schedule?

American Football covers October through the end of January
Baseball covers  April through October
NASCAR  covers  Feb  through October
Hockey covers  from (don't know when) to June/July
Basketball covers from (don't know when) to June

So when would football fit into things?

Those sports do cover a lot of time...I always find it odd when the baseball season is underway, hockey is still going into the summer (an ice sport of all things) and basketball is still going. I guess that's why you don't see a whole lot of two-sport athletes (anybody remember Bo?). Then again, I'm not a hockey or a basketball fan. Soccer is pretty much a spring/summer/fall sport...and we have that covered with baseball. When will Brits "get" baseball? Or does "cricket" count as your baseball over there?

Cornelius Ellsonpeter wrote:

Why doesn't baseball sweep the globe? It's big over here. Why doesn't football (the kind with the brown ball) sweep the globe? It's big over here. I don't get it myself, but hey...

American Questionaire:
Q: Why Sadam Hussein and his subjects didn't appreciate the democracy we have here, it's big right here(In America)?
A: That's why we invaded them.
Q: Why aren't people on the planet all Americans?, you know we are the only beacon of freedom on the planet.
A: That's why we spread our democracy across the world with deadly arms and mass killings.
Q: Why doesn't baseball sweep the globe? It's big over here.
A: That's why we don't watch soccer games.

The logic is the same, the mindset is the same.

Sheva

Cornelius Ellsonpeter wrote:

Why doesn't football (the kind with the brown ball) sweep the globe? It's big over here. I don't get it myself, but hey...

Because everywhere else they play Rugby. Which, in my opinion, is more of a "mans game". The excess padding the players wear in U.S. Football makes it a real weak sport in the eyes of everyone I think. Do you think those big Football players would last 10 minutes in a scrimmage with an Irish team.

Cornelius Ellsonpeter wrote:



Sabot wrote: Because the majority of the US doesn't get Football I can't help but think it's not just Football is it? Perhaps the US isn't intune with the rest of the world?

Nice try. Actually, "football" (over here it is soccer, because "football" over here is something different) is still big at the grade school, high school and even the college level. Professionally, it was bigger in the 1970's...why it's popularity dropped off, I'm not really sure.

Why doesn't baseball sweep the globe? It's big over here. Why doesn't football (the kind with the brown ball) sweep the globe? It's big over here. I don't get it myself, but hey...

Believe me, we all know you call Football, "Soccer" so do we sometimes, perhaps your comment demonstrated my point about not being in-tune.

Baseball and American Football don't enjoy the same mass appeal because they aren't as easy to play.

j0217995 wrote:

Beacuse there are enough other sports to get behind and enjoy?  Seriously where would football fit into the already crowded sport schedule?

American Football covers October through the end of January
Baseball covers  April through October
NASCAR  covers  Feb  through October
Hockey covers  from (don't know when) to June/July
Basketball covers from (don't know when) to June

So when would football fit into things?

So in a country of 250,000 million people, these are the only sports you enjoy? Of course not. Because Football is so easy to play you can play it all year round, indoors or out. I'm sure it's possible for you to like more than one sport at a time.

Sabot wrote:

So in a country of 250,000 million people, these are the only sports you enjoy? Of course not. Because Football is so easy to play you can play it all year round, indoors or out. I'm sure it's possible for you to like more than one sport at a time.

Why don't more people run then?  Think about it... Running is the only sport that really doesn't require anything other then a pair of shoes (of course in some countries they don't even use shoes).  Track and Field, Marathon's, Cross-Country and other running sports require a lot less gear then soccer does.

Easy of entry doesn't neccesarly mean more people will play it.  If that was the case why do so many people follow NASCAR?  It's the fastest growing sport in the US, yet to field a NASCAR team requires multiple millions of dollars and lots and lots of people and equipment.

Yes, but the rest of the world follows F1 instead, and ignores NASCAR.

It honestly seems that, apart from track and field, the USA is happy to keep its self to itself in terms of sport.

Except for basebal and latin america and also in Japan.

Americans are different, they do a lot of things backwards.

Americans like golf though, don't they? That's something at least...

Rowan wrote:

Americans are different, they do a lot of things backwards.

Americans like golf though, don't they? That's something at least...

golf a sport for masacists who want to intentionally frustrate them selves into cussing and have cause to drive themselves to drinking.... why wouldn't we americans love it! lol

Ohh and for the record... i get Football (NOT american football... i still don't understand that)

Sabot wrote:

As it's a game played by many, playing and winning against another group has a great meaning of success. Whats the point of being good at a sport that only your country plays? Can you imagine the feeling of being an Italian right now, their team is the world champions in a sport that almost every country plays!

That's what the Olympics are for, no?

Sabot wrote:

Because the majority of the US doesn't get Football I can't help but think it's not just Football is it? Perhaps the US isn't intune with the rest of the world?

It's a combination of a lot of things.

First off, our kids play just as much soccer [yes, I know it's football to the world, but work with me as I'm trying to ease confustion in the post] as they do [US] football or baseball, while growing up.  It's in our primary schools, high schools and universities - we've even got a pro league - it's just not always the primary sport to watch for us.

Second, we have more leagues here than we know what to do with: NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL span an entire calendar year.  That leaves out NASCAR, MLL (Lacrosse), MLS (Soccer), AFL (Arena Football) not to mention all of the minor league leagues out there.  ESPN can only do so much.

Third is the game itself.  I watched the entire match yesterday... the constant running clock is something that I like but it's also misleading... you hit 45 minutes and then there's an extra 1-2 minutes that comes in?  That threw me.  The goals are also completely unpredictable; baseball and football have build up... you know when something is going to happen.  Soccer?  You go pee and you could easily miss a goal.  Then there's the "PK kick off" if there's a tie... the NHL does this now too, but I feel so bad for the keepers.  Goalies (in hockey) have a chance; keepers have to just be lucky during a PK.

Game play wise I also found it disturbing that soooo many players would get tripped up, take a face plant into the pitch, and then stay there, looking up at the ref with a "What?  No call?"  I mean at least 2/3's of all the falls had that... that just didn't sit well with me.

Finally, I think the world would be furious if the US focused on soccer... I mean, we're in a no win situation.  If we win, we suck b/c it's the US.  If we lose, we suck b/c it's the US.  If we don't send a team we'd get called "poor losers" and be considered aloof; if we send a power team "there go those Americans, taking over everything".

Best to just let us not care all that much about the sport, neh? [6]

Harlequin wrote:

Because everywhere else they play Rugby. Which, in my opinion, is more of a "mans game". The excess padding the players wear in U.S. Football makes it a real weak sport in the eyes of everyone I think. Do you think those big Football players would last 10 minutes in a scrimmage with an Irish team.

They play rugby here, too, on the college level I think. Have there been any paralyzed Rugby players? Any of them have career ending injuries? Most NFL football players when they retire are pretty banged up and arthritic.

And they do pain reliever commercials.

Sabot wrote:

Believe me, we all know you call Football, "Soccer" so do we sometimes, perhaps your comment demonstrated my point about not being in-tune.

You are cranky today. Somebody put a couple of knocks in your car?

Sabot wrote:

Baseball and American Football don't enjoy the same mass appeal because they aren't as easy to play.

Baseball = ball, bat, glove. Simple enough...an outfield, an infield, a pitcher a catcher. Nine positions in all. Sure there are some quirky rules (like the fact that you can hit an endless amount of foul balls as long as nobody catches them...but the first two can count for strikes). Tennis has quirky rules, too. luv, 10, 20, 40? And many kids play "stickball" in the streets...lots of kids play baseball on area ballfields in the summer.

Rowan wrote:

Americans are different, they do a lot of things backwards.

Americans like golf though, don't they? That's something at least...

As an avid golfer who views the Ryder Cup as the Holy Grail of the sport, I would say that the Americans don't get golf either these days... U.S. golfers have been shot with Tiger tranquilizer darts and can't win the Ryder Cup to save their pride.

Soccor is obviously one sport that American culture has tried to kill off long ago, ergo the mis-nomenclature and the substitution of "rugby with pads" as "football".

The NFL is much easier to watch in my culture than soccor.

TV analysts don't get the game of soccor, at least not that they can convey to viewers like me. I, for instance this past Sunday watching Italy vs. France, had thoughts that the commentators never voiced. Perhaps they assume we already know more than things like "boy the French sure outplayed the Italians, but they didn't 'want it' badly enough to win". That was evident to me.

I would like more soccor here in the US, but Sabot said the rules are easy, er, um, what are they anyway? It is our culture that ruins the game and the established sports venues actively combat soccor growing in viewership as it would affect their income-base. We don't use the metric system either except to find a wrench for a foresaken import car...
:O