You don't have to watch. This is what I don't get about some of you guys. I don't like golf. I don't watch it. I don't like to play it. There are plenty of people who do like it and plenty who don't. But when the Masters are on, I wouldn't post a thread saying "If you want me to watch golf, just make the hole 12 inches and make everyone run the course and make punching your opponents legal. Then, whoever can make it the 18 holes the fastest wins." Why wouldn't I post this? Because nobody cares. Soccer is doing fine without the viewers who don't like it. If no one was interested in watching it the way it is, it would change. If golf needed me to make money, it would change. But it doesn't because it doesn't need to.
Well, I kind of meant overall.
Didn't mean it in the wrong way and I wasn't referring to the USA only I was talking Canada, Japan, Russia, all the countries that don't concentrate solely on soccer and aren't that interested in it because of the other sports.
We don't disagree much kidman but cmon we all know when our best our present in basketball we can't be touched.
For example, most of USA's top players won't be present at the Upcoming Worlds.
So it they get knocked off the other countries will make a big deal out of it as if something was accomplished.
Then come the Olympics all of the US' top players will be back to set the record straight once again.....
i think international soccer is very entertaining, if you really wanted to improve soccer in my opinion, you would need to get rid of some teams or lesser leagues, that way the over all level of talent would rise per team. The mls is horrible to me, you have very few top players and is not very open.
Also soccer is not very big in america because the talent level of people playing here is not very good, if you moved the top english leagues into us cities, soccer would be huge here, but its hard getting behind a team and sport that is not local, not on tv very much, and time difference
Also soccer is not very big in america because the talent level of people playing here is not very good, if you moved the top english leagues into us cities, soccer would be huge here, but its hard getting behind a team and sport that is not local, not on tv very much, and time difference
I think to get more people in this country to watch it there has to be more offense. 0-0, 1-0 or 1-1 games just don't get American people to the TV. Think about it, every other sport has put an emphasis on offense. Hockey scores are up, the NHL changed some rules in 2005 that make scoring easier, football changes rules that favor offense almost yearly, NBA puts in a 3 point line, a 24 second clock and call every thing that looks like it could be a foul, there is no doubt baseball has built smaller parks and using better equipment to favor the offense. The big 4 sports in this country all changed rules that lead to more scoring hence more excitment to the average american fan. More people would watch soccer in this country if the final score ended 4-3 as opposed to 1-0. I'm not saying soccer should do this just stating the facts why the average american could not care less about the game.
You guys think football is boring because you havent grown up with the game. I try to get my friends to watch american football with me and they find it boring as hell. Too many stoppages is their usual complaint. You have the breaks in between the plays, timeouts, challenges etc. Games last 3+hours with an actual playing time of what 30-40mins? The game doesnt flow like they are used to. Even worse when I try to get them to watch baseball. Im a sports junkie so I watch everything going and I can appreciate each sport for the skills needed to play it.
Oh yeah, please dont make a suggestion like getting rid of offsides. Thats just plain stupid, and really shows you understand nothing about the sport.
Oh yeah, please dont make a suggestion like getting rid of offsides. Thats just plain stupid, and really shows you understand nothing about the sport.
Two reasons, cheapest sport to play, you just need a ball, no equipment needed like North American sports
second reason easiest sport to understand the rules. 17 laws of football which includes field size and scoring and that's it. Just look at all the ignorance and stupidity rampant in the world. You really think people want to take the time to learn how to play another sport?
Except I think football and baseball are usually boring, too. Try only about 20 minutes of action in a three hour football game. But if there is something else to distract me, they make for perfect background noise. I understand the difference a third down incomplete pass makes compared to a completion for that drive, and in turn the effect it will have on the scoreboard. Likewise when a leadoff hitter reaches base, it changes the chance of scoring that inning from 30% to 50%. Again, when a soccer player makes a great move at midfield, it seems to change the game virtually the same as if he did nothing
I guess if I grew up with Sports Illustrated and ESPN telling me about it every week I would understand things better. But the rare times I've been exposed to rugby, I can see how different plays change the way the game is going. SI and ESPN have both been hyping these games pretty heavily and it's still hard to figure these things out
The problem is not the sport itself. I'm avid sports fan but I would say 95% of time most sports are actually boring. Baseball/Football have so much dead air when nothing is happening. Hockey is similar to soccer in that most of the action is away from goal. No point in watching basketball until last few minutes of the game.
What makes sports exciting is the drama/situations/attachment leading up to the game. It is the anticipation/worry/excitement of the result (ala gambling). Most Americans can't get into soccer because its the result usually is irrelevant to them. They haven't grown up with the history/attachment to players/clubs/national team. They don't understand how big of deal it is when Barcelona/Real Madrid meet or when Arsenal/Tottenham. Or when Argentina/England, etc. If you don't understand the story/history behind this, than yeah it is boring sitting through 90 minutes of game when really they'll be only 2-3 talking point of the game. If you care, than its the anticipation of these talking points that make it worthwhile.
One advantage that soccer has is that its national team sport played by majority of the world. I think when countries face off, its a great sporting event. More exciting than professional leagues. There is nothing like cheering for your country. I think it even beats when you have $$ on the game.
What makes sports exciting is the drama/situations/attachment leading up to the game. It is the anticipation/worry/excitement of the result (ala gambling). Most Americans can't get into soccer because its the result usually is irrelevant to them. They haven't grown up with the history/attachment to players/clubs/national team. They don't understand how big of deal it is when Barcelona/Real Madrid meet or when Arsenal/Tottenham. Or when Argentina/England, etc. If you don't understand the story/history behind this, than yeah it is boring sitting through 90 minutes of game when really they'll be only 2-3 talking point of the game. If you care, than its the anticipation of these talking points that make it worthwhile.
One advantage that soccer has is that its national team sport played by majority of the world. I think when countries face off, its a great sporting event. More exciting than professional leagues. There is nothing like cheering for your country. I think it even beats when you have $$ on the game.
