I was watching the finals of the FIBA World Basketball Championship between Yugoslavia and Argentina. One thing i noticed was that the place was jammin like a motherf***er from start to finish. I always knew that Euro soccer fans had enough passion bout their teams to kill someone. but inagine that euros going mad about a sport we made. y cant it be the other way around not just in mls but compared to euros NFL fans(even raiders ones) are plain dull
try certain college basketball teams. For example, Duke. Their fans investigate the opposing players and find out embarrasing little secrets or pick out their worst features and make up chants about them. The whole student body memorizes the songs and come game day, the whole place is chanting against the team or the person. Cameron Indoor is nuts. Those guys rival the passion of Argentine fans, seriously. If they could hang banners and throw toilet paper and light off roman candles, they'd probably do it. Other teams have the same kinds of fans. That's about the only other sport with fans that are similiar to soccers'.
Euro's (and people from just about anywhere other than the U.S.) just generally seem to have more passion for all sports, not just soccer. The Yugo x Argentina game is just one example of it, but I've seen volleyball games on tv with crazy crowds. Some of the Euro hockey leagues have great fans too... The majority of American sportsfans are downright embarrassing.
...or grounded. As in knowing sports, and their results, aren't the end all. Sports might be a worthy escape once in awhile, but they don't determine our self worth nor help us answer the complexities of life.
my word. Perhaps you should researxch some stuff about Americans sports before saying stuff like that (seriously, not trying to be an assh*le or anything). *LSU fans actually caused an earhtquake with the amount of noise they make. *PSU students stay on their feets for the entire game, as they do at many other college stadiums. *The cheese heads and Lambeau Field. Won of the most difficult places to play anywhere. *Arco Arena in Sacramento is absolutly deafening during the playoffs. *The Terrible Towels of the Pittsburgh Steelers *The Homer Towels of the Minnesota Twins (the direct cause for the ending ot the A's 20 game win streak) *The sea of Red at every single Nebraska game (226 straight sell outs i think?) *The Cameron Crazies of Duke. Probably the greatest homecourt advantage in any sport in this country. *Texas A&M and their Yell Practice on the night before games. Watching them on TV at college station is on of the coolest things to watch. *The Swamp at Florida. Speaks for itself (at least when the Ol' Ball coach was there) *Autzen stadium at Oregon where the building actually shakes during games. The fans are so close to the field they can almost jump onto it. *what about Sam's Army and the Chicago Fire fans? They are pounding on those damn drums all game long and singing through the whole thing also I can't imagine anything being too much more passionate. I think the fans in this country are just as passionate for their teams as soccer fans are for their own. We just don't throw stuff like smoke bombs and urine bags at each other. Which I am heartily thankful for.
sorry... but that is nothing new for sudamerican soccer... really... every game here in medellin, even with a 15.000 crowd, shakes the stadium, litterally... same than above... first... urine bags??? geez where did you seen that... i have never seen that kind of stuff in a game here in medellin... or in colombia... about the bombs and pyrotechnics and all... well i like to see this kind of stuff:
I stand by what I said, the majority of American sports fans are embarrassing. Not all are like that, and some of the examples you provided are proof of that. BUT, and that's a huge BUT...much of what you listed above happens on a regular basis in other countries, not just once a year for playoffs, homecoming, free towels, etc... There's more to passion than just standing the whole game, waving a hanky, wearing a ridiculous looking piece of foam cheese...or a certain color t-shirt. It's just not the same. There are far too many people here who go to games just to see and be seen and are indifferent to what's actually going on on the field, ice, court, or diamond. A really good atmosphere at a U.S. sporting event is sadly usually only an exception to the rule.
This is just so ridiculous. I can't think of anything more idiotic to argue about, but you're just so f-ing wrong on both counts here. There isn't such a big difference at all. I wish we could sing a bit, but that's about the extent of the difference.
You're totally correct. I might also add there are different types of passion. I would argue that the baseball fan that watches 200 games a year, spends another hour or two a night going over stats, spends all his remaining money on baseball stuff, ect. To me, that's real passion. Especially compared to getting drunk a few hours twice a month.
Pyro and Paper aren't bad...Urine bags suck tho. We usually only have that problem during qualifiers. I will say this...if you see some of the old highlight films from the 70's and early 80's. You'll see toilet paper being thrown onto the field in both baseball and football. Plus, you'll see basketball and hockey arenas draped all the way around with banners and flags, as was the case with baseball and football. You just can't do that crap now because owners don't want their new stadiums ruined.
This is the dumbest thing I have read in months....... You are wrong on some many levels its not even worth debating.....
Do you follow College sports in this country? The majority of schools have absolutly insane atmospheres. Believe me, they do that stuff every game. They don't just stand theit waving a hanky. Have you ever heard 20,000 people going "OOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH" for an entire game at the top of their lungs? You can FEEl the intesity around you, so much so that you can't even feel yourself thinking or hear your voice shaking. A big dunk, a sack of the QB, a TD and suddenly you and everyone else around you are jumping up and down on 2 feet wide stands, shaking the entire thing until your sure its gonna collapse, if you are even aware of it. The sound of 55,000 people scraeming WE ARE, and then 55,000 more people screaming PENN STATE! from the other side of the stadium. Every game. It almost flattens you at times it can be so loud. 107,000 people in Neyland stadium at Tennessee singing Rocky Top for an entire game practically, every game. The awe one feels of looking at the sea of Red at a Nebraska game. every game. The Cameron Crazies and the students at court side at the Izzone putting up a constant screaming and jumping up and down on the stands for an entire game. every game. Yell Practice before games at College Station and then the insanity in side that box they call a stadium for 3 starigh hours. ever game. This is just a tiny fraction of the tradition that this country has in its college sports alone. Believe me, the passion is here. I've been part of it, and I've felt, and its something you must respect
BUMP! So I can give mad props to our 110,000 INSANE fans that Rocked Beaver stadium for the Nebraska game this past weekend. Now thats what I call passion!!
This is all cause sports in America are deemed as an entertainment outlet more than anything. The passion is just not there in some places.
I will never go to another NFL game as long as I live. Last Sunday I took my wife to Baltimore to watch her beloved Buccaneers play the Ravens. They don't play in a stadium, they play in a beer garden, surrounded by an ocean of beer. It was clear that the game was merely an excuse to get drunk on beer. Everybody was drinking at the tailgates around the stadium. By the second half pretty much everybody in our section was drunk. Sure, they cared about the game and the team, but they were mostly interested in the beer. The vendors only brought beer; if you wanted something else to drink you had to go down to the concession. OK, we were in the upper deck, the cheap seats. But look at what happened the next day at the Redskins game. People got so drunk as the Redskins were getting beat there was mass fighting in the stands, and they had to use pepper spray to subdue people. And these were in the best seats in the house, right behind the benches. Constrast that with the glorious atmosphere at the D.C. United game at RFK. Sure there were people drinking beer, but there was so much passion, committment and love in the stands among the United faithful. And the only problem in the stands was when the Security decided they needed to assert themselves and assaulted members of the Barra Brava. (Oddly enough there's been no problem in that section all season, until right after the Redskins incident -- yeah, these guys read the paper, too.) Like I said, not one more dime to the National Beer Football League. I'm sticking with real football.
I really don't think you're making much sense here. Are you saying that the people who are up on their feet and cheering the whole game are indifferent to what is going on? That's just plain ridiculous, as every sporting event I've been to in the US, from high school basketball up through pro sports, has seen the vast majority of fans focused on the game and cheering their team on. Go to any regular season game for a successful team, and you should be able to get a great atmosphere. Also, there is a very simple reason we don't attract 200,000 fans to many games. There are many other things to do here besides to see a football game! People have lots of choices when it comes to entertainment, and so a lot of them are doing something else with their evenings/weekends. Compared to places like South America or even parts of Europe, people here spend their time in ways other than being rowdy at a game. But to say that because of that, American sports fans are embarassing, just doesn't make any sense. Fans here are just as passionate about their teams as anywhere else.