The USA and level of football knowledge?

Discussion in 'BigSoccer Polls' started by Teso Dos Bichos, Oct 5, 2004.

  1. Teso Dos Bichos

    Teso Dos Bichos Red Card

    Sep 2, 2004
    Purged by RvN
    Having looked at several polls here and even worse posts on the other boards, I have decided to see what everyone else thinks. In my opinion, the majority of people from the US know nothing about football, sorry, soccer. A generalisation? Possibly, we shall see. Please don't bad rep me for this, I'm just curious to see what other people think.
     
  2. Val1

    Val1 Member+

    Arsenal
    Mar 12, 2004
    MD's Eastern Shore
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Well, no surprises there. No, most Americans don't know much about the sport, heck I know a lot about the game, but I still persist in calling the game soccer.

    But here's what we do know: we know a lot about competition, winning, building teams, evaluating talent, developing talent, etc. In other words, we have a strong basis for learning more.
     
  3. Marquis de Sage

    Marquis de Sage New Member

    Jul 24, 2003
    Arlington, VA
    Are we talking about people in general, or soccer fans? Soccer fans in the US are just like soccer fans in the UK: some know their stuff, others are more casual fans, and others still enjoy a game but can't explain the offside rule. Yes, the overall population doesn't know that much about the game, but those who are fans definitely do.

    Having studied in the UK for 6 months I can attest to meeting plenty of "soccer" fans who knew less than I did. What I did notice was that people knew how to play the game, whether or not they could name the Engalnd XI. I played left-back on a college team there and the center-back knew how to play a flat-back four and keep me in line. He didn't watch Premiership games that often, but I guess it was instinctual from just playing the game.

    What makes people here different from over there is the way they talk about the games, the metaphors they use, the language. You'll often hear very knowledgeable fans use American sports terms to describe a soccer game. It's just their way of rationalizing, not necessarily a reflection of a lesser understanding of the game.

    Finally, for those who don't know, "soccer" is a British term. It comes from the "soc" portion of Association Football (the original name when the laws were codified in the 1860s), to be differentiated from Rugby Football. When Rugby Football morphed into American Football over here, it made sense to called Association Football soccer. But if you can't stand the term, look inward, not outward.
     
  4. Pattrick

    Pattrick New Member

    Sep 11, 2004
    Utrecht, Netherlands
    In how far are they to blame? They've been brought up with silly pastimes like American football, basketball, etc.

    I think it's very good already that they think it's worthwhile spending time on watching football/soccer and talking about it on these forums.


    I wish people would stop blaming Americans for... well, almost everything that's wrong in this world. But that's something completely different...
     
  5. romagol10

    romagol10 Member

    Jul 23, 2003
    CO
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's true the majority of the American public know nothing about soccer. In addition many American soccer fans don't know about the sport in other countries, this is because international games aren't available unless they subscribe to Fox Sports World and/or GolTV. They get to watch MLS a couple times a week and a champions league game occasionaly. In general American fans knowledge of the game is dependant on how much they are able to watch leagues outside the US.

    So there are really three levels of soccer/football knowledge in America: completely oblivious (over 65% of the American population), casual fans who watch MLS and can name a few big name international players (Real Madrid players and Henry), and the few of us who actually follow other leagues and tournaments the US isn't in (at most 3% of the US population). The percentages are just my educated guesses.
     
  6. He Say Barayna

    He Say Barayna New Member

    Sep 10, 2004
    I grew up playing soccer in St. Louis 40 years ago; I played soccer before I played baseball. While I was never very good at it, I've had a lot of fun. I believe there were only a couple of places in the US where there were competitive youth teams, St. Louis being one.

    When my kids started playing soccer in Minnesota, I found them coached by people that had never played and where trying to coach out of books. It was pathetic. It seemed like there was, and continues today, to be this never ending series of coaching clinics that try to teach how to coach soccer to people that have never played soccer. The trouble is that the demand for coaches far out weighs the available number of experienced ex-players. This is changing rapidly.

    Anyway, I started coaching and ref'ing and had a lot more fun. When I started ref’ing, I met ref’s that had never played. I believe this combination of coaches and ref’s that have never played is a serious impediment to US soccer.

    While there is still a lot of prejudice against soccer here in Minnesota, there is also a lot of kids playing the game. I believe soccer is just more fun than baseball and football. Thus, the kids like it more.

    As more and more of these kids grow up, there will be an increase in the coaching skill levels and fan knowledge and ref skills and the US will develop even more of a presence in the world. I look forward to that.
     

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