Why doesn't the USA get Football?

j0217995 wrote:

Why do we have to get football?  Can't we just enjoy other sports?

I would have welcomed the game in my youth, American football was too tough for a little guy like me. Not so with real football.

I am sure I would have preferred it to all other sports besides golf. I will never know.

The USA is a country made up of people from everywhere on this planet. People brought to this country the best their countries had to offer, the dynamic interchange of ideas in America have created amazing things, soccer never made the cut – we play soccer in grade school and high School, but it’s just not as exciting as the sports we have created in the USA, this includes Lacrosse an indigenous American game which is very much like Hurling, an indigenous Irish game.

eagle wrote:

The USA is a country made up of people from everywhere on this planet. People brought to this country the best their countries had to offer, the dynamic interchange of ideas in America have created amazing things, soccer never made the cut – we play soccer in grade school and high School, but it’s just not as exciting as the sports we have created in the USA, this includes Lacrosse an indigenous American game which is very much like Hurling, an indigenous Irish game.

I think the future will only see the game grow in popularity here. The reason is the international competitive nature it offers.

I have seen more and more fields created for the game here, it is a matter of time before it becomes the #1 sport here too.

Sabot wrote:



I think I'm getting this !

You [USA] are comparing sports you like and love to Football.

We [rest of the Earth] are doing the same to your [USA] sports.

Hmmm, I think that we both need to go back to basics to 'get' each others sports.

I'm sorry to say though, that we [the rest of the Earth] would really like you [USA] to get and understand Football so we all can play together. That means that you [USA] is really required to get Football, because it 'was', 'is' and 'will be' the most popular game on Earth for a long time to come and we would like you [USA] to be part of the planets 'national' game because like it or not you are one of us.

So take sometime out USA (or not as the case may be) and learn to love Football. We love Football and we want you to love it to.

I think your label that we [USA] do not understand Football.ToUS() is not accurate. As noted by posters in this thread little kids and youth Football.ToUS() is extremely popular (Football.ToUS() Moms!).  However the lack of popularity at the professional level turns these young athletes to other sports (unless your Adu).

Why I [David] don't get Football.ToUS():

The diving. Already stated above and it is good to hear that all leagues are not like this.

No Instant Replay.

Not enough legal violence

No cheerleaders

Matches can get boring *cough* England *cough*

Our announcers at least for the WC sucked. I mean muting your TV because they sucked so bad.

Not enough scoring

I agree that the 45 min no commercial halfs scare networks

In all honesty I was impressed enough with the WC that I will probably check out a MLS game and attempt to watch some Champions league whenever it starts back up.

The HDTV argument is a bit much.

eagle wrote:

The USA is a country made up of people from everywhere on this planet. People brought to this country the best their countries had to offer, the dynamic interchange of ideas in America have created amazing things, soccer never made the cut – we play soccer in grade school and high School, but it’s just not as exciting as the sports we have created in the USA, this includes Lacrosse an indigenous American game which is very much like Hurling, an indigenous Irish game.

Lacrosse is nothing like hurling.

You'll also notice that all the popular sports in America are one's from their continent. So they could be the best in the world?

My view on why America doesn't get football is that they try to apply the philosophies of their other sports to it. Football is all about individual brialliance not about how many sacks or yards someone carried the ball. Sure tactics play a part but the best bits happen outside that. In addition probably some of the best players in the world probably can't even spell tactic nevermind understand them but just have an eye for the game. When I lived in America i went to a few training sessions and what struck me was how regimented it was. People were practicing the basics over and over. There was noone doing dragbacks or step-overs. I could be way off base here but that is what I found.

One more thing, permit me this little rant. Skip the rest if have a sensitive disposition. 

For goodness sake it's called extra time not overtime and we don't have MVPs. It's player of the tournament and this is not to be abbreviated to POTT and a penalty kick is not a PK.

Okay I'm done thanks, I needed that.

Have you ever owned a Hurly or even seen a Lacrosse match?

European football is on cable TV in the USA all the time; it’s just so boring that nobody watches.

You’ve gota see the Simpson’s episode where Springfield gets a Soccer team – they have ties! Everyone is so board they start behaving like the English and start fighting in the stands.

PaoloM wrote:



 had a billion viewers...

Half the world was in bed and most people outside Europe lost interest.

Rossj wrote:

.... alternatively it isn't as popular there (yet) because kids *weren't* brought up playing it, I think this'll change as apparently it is now very popular with kids ...

This is something I've wondered about.  From the largest cities to the smallest towns there are soccer fields everywhere.  On just about any evening you can see the "Soccer Moms" with their mini-van full of kids heading off to the soccer game.  And this has been going on for many years.  And yet, professional soccer is nearly non-existant.

I've always found this quite odd, that you can have miilions of children who grow up playing soccer but at some point they lose interest and it just seems to "go away".

Heywood_J wrote:



Rossj wrote: .... alternatively it isn't as popular there (yet) because kids *weren't* brought up playing it, I think this'll change as apparently it is now very popular with kids ...

This is something I've wondered about.  From the largest cities to the smallest towns there are soccer fields everywhere.  On just about any evening you can see the "Soccer Moms" with their mini-van full of kids heading off to the soccer game.  And this has been going on for many years.  And yet, professional soccer is nearly non-existant.

I've always found this quite odd, that you can have miilions of children who grow up playing soccer but at some point they lose interest and it just seems to "go away".

We don't have good teachers in the US, as was pointed out above.
How can I teach my kids if I don't know the game?
The "soccor moms" leagues don't take the kids into advanced techniques as was said above -- not that I've ever seen.

Sabot wrote:

I think I'm getting this !

You [USA] are comparing sports you like and love to Football.

We [rest of the Earth] are doing the same to your [USA] sports.

Hmmm, I think that we both need to go back to basics to 'get' each others sports.

I'm sorry to say though, that we [the rest of the Earth] would really like you [USA] to get and understand Football so we all can play together. That means that you [USA] is really required to get Football, because it 'was', 'is' and 'will be' the most popular game on Earth for a long time to come and we would like you [USA] to be part of the planets 'national' game because like it or not you are one of us.

So take sometime out USA (or not as the case may be) and learn to love Football. We love Football and we want you to love it to.

No. I like soccer, I really do, but not enough to watch it professionally. Oh, and cricket still blows as a sport.

I heard a commentator on the radio mention something today on the way home from work and it made sense...football (soccer) is boring because it most games are usually very low scoring.

Compare that with football, baseball, basketball,etc...there is usually a lot of scoring going on there. Hockey is sometimes low scoring, too, though, but usually you get more than "1-0" or "2-0" games all the time.

Cornelius Ellsonpeter wrote:

I heard a commentator on the radio mention something today on the way home from work and it made sense...football (soccer) is boring because it most games are usually very low scoring.

That really depends on what you consider boring, though:  football (soccer) has a lot more back and forth action going on than football (US) does and a lot more time spent with the ball in play.

CannotResolveSymbol wrote:



Cornelius Ellsonpeter wrote: I heard a commentator on the radio mention something today on the way home from work and it made sense...football (soccer) is boring because it most games are usually very low scoring.

That really depends on what you consider boring, though:  football (soccer) has a lot more back and forth action going on than football (US) does and a lot more time spent with the ball in play.

Don't get me wrong...I like certain types of low scoring games...sometimes a low scoring football game is a sign of two really great defenses battling each other. With baseball, it may mean the pitcher is doing a great job.

I've also heard it said that it may be a lack of recognizable "stars", too, but I'm not sure.

We don't have an appreciation for the game because we don't play.

JohnAskew wrote:



Heywood_J wrote:  Rossj wrote: .... alternatively it isn't as popular there (yet) because kids *weren't* brought up playing it, I think this'll change as apparently it is now very popular with kids ... This is something I've wondered about.  From the largest cities to the smallest towns there are soccer fields everywhere.  On just about any evening you can see the "Soccer Moms" with their mini-van full of kids heading off to the soccer game.  And this has been going on for many years.  And yet, professional soccer is nearly non-existant. I've always found this quite odd, that you can have miilions of children who grow up playing soccer but at some point they lose interest and it just seems to "go away".

We don't have good teachers in the US, as was pointed out above.
How can I teach my kids if I don't know the game?
The "soccor moms" leagues don't take the kids into advanced techniques as was said above -- not that I've ever seen.

I think it has more to do with the popularity and availability of other sports as kids get older. Unless you live in a larger city it is unlikely to have a Soccer team in JH and HS. In college, thanks to Title IX, soccer is rarely a sponsored sport (although usually there is a club team).

I guess there is some good news the ratings for the World Cup this year were up 108% on ABC:

Bloomberg wrote:



The U.S. audience for World Cup on ESPN is up 55 percent this year from the 2002 games, with the average match reaching about 1.6 million households. ABC ratings increased 108 percent to an average 2.77 million households.

This probably has to do with the much stronger marketing on ESPN (which owns ABC) and our open border.

I get it..now

I started typing up my response, but it become long and I wanted to preserve it on my blog here.

AdamKinney wrote:



I get it..now

I started typing up my response, but it become long and I wanted to preserve it on my blog here.

Shameless.

I'll have to remember that one...

eagle wrote:

Have you ever owned a Hurly or even seen a Lacrosse match?

Yes I have and do own a hurley. some of us spent quite an amount of time living in the country you seem so hopelessly patriotic about.

Where are these similarities exactly?

eagle wrote:

European football is on cable TV in the USA all the time; it’s just so boring that nobody watches.

Baseball and American football are on all the time around the world and nobody watches, what's your point? I think we have established that football (not gaelic or american) has a much bigger audience than your variety. And can you speak for everybody? To be honest I'm not suprised as the game did originate in Britiain and we all know how you feel about that place.

eagle wrote:

You’ve gota see the Simpson’s episode where Springfield gets a Soccer team – they have ties! Everyone is so board they start behaving like the English and start fighting in the stands.

I did see that episode, and it was as much a parody on how Americans don't get football as it was making fun of the game itself. Did you see the episode where they go to a baseball game an leave after the national anthem?

And it's not a tie, it's a draw. Sheesh!