Nice article. Funny maybe I missed something, the author talked about how the youth of america has embraced the game and then finished with that no soccer player will eclipse our traditional sporting heros. Im sure there are American kids out there right now who are looking at Landon, DeMarcus, and Freddy as their heros and will hold onto that feeling to their dying days. Hopefully, in the near future that wont be as odd... actually I now that'll be the case.
Makes perfect sense to me. And Chile, I had a different understanding of his 'soccer players never replacing other sports heroes ' comment. I took it not to apply to people in the U.S. who are growing up watching Donovan, Twellman and Dempsey.
"And for the record, most soccer leagues these days use either overtime periods or shoot-outs to determine winners if the game is tied at the end of regulation. Next item." Huh? As far as I can remeber, most leagues still end regular season games in a tie. Even MLS got rid of the shootout. Only exceptions I can think of are tournament and playoff games where a winner must be determined. I don't know. Maybe I am wrong.
The guy writing the article doesnt seem to have a clue and can some one tell me what is so funny about this... "Yes, soccer has had problems with off-field violence, particularly in England, where soccer fans are known as football supporters (don't laugh)."
in my high school regular season games we play two 5 minute overtimes if its still tied after those, the game ends with that result... its ok i guess. club soccer always does the normal system.
people of our country also have to adapt to watching a game(any game) for 45 minutes straight. All of the TV coverage of all the major sports in our country are based upon commercials and breaks. 3 outs/commercial. tv timeouts in basketball and hockey. golf-imagine a golf fan watching(being at a golf event is something else) just one player on the tv for 45 minutes straight. Instead our golf coverage shows 5-7 shots every minute of different players. american football has 3 timeouts a half for both teams, end of the first quarter, half-time, end of the 3rd quarter, 2 minute warning(sorry football fans this is to make sure the sponsors have their advertisements shown) adds up to 16 stoppages that go to commercial break. let's consider the 35 second clock. Someone did a study that timed the actual amount of time that a ball is alive during an american football game and i want to say it was less than 20 minutes. that means there are 40 minutes in which nothing is happening. It's a different mind set, this country's fans are used to breaks I have watched soccer since i was young(only on sundays either italian or german league game and now watch soccer everyday. Think about substitutions in our major sports and the breaks that offers the fans. only baseball has any simulation to soccer substitutions. Since there are only 3 subs,I believe it forces the soccer coached to coach during practice. The manager is imperative during a practice session. other sports coach on the go with so many stoppages it will take time but my children will grow up watching soccer first and some other sport second. Also consider our professional players are now having children. this will be the first generation of american kids growing up( NASL not withstanding) with american soccer parents who played professionally and so many others who have played collegiantly. the mls will surivive and will see a surge in viewer in 5-7 years. rant over? i just get upset when non-soccer people say soccer is boring.
This is absolutely true... but it's also a main reason why most Americans don't like the game. They don't know anything about it, and they just see the ball get kicked around until it "finally" goes into the net. Thus they claim that it is "boring" and "nothing is going on" and stop watching...
Soccer is a tough sell to Americans that don't already watch it. I had never watched a game in my life until at age 16 I saw TNT's coverage of the world cup and the young and overmatched US national team. I sweated out the Italy game and I've been a fan for the next 16 years and probably the rest of my life. It has to grab you emotionally at some point. I guess all sports are the same way. You can't teach anyone to watch or be interested in a sport until they are emotionally invovled.
You have it my friend american sports are start and stop affairs and the american fans love it that way. But the biggest thing americans love is drama and suspense which is all american sports to a degree. two minute drill in football, bottom of the ninth in baseball, last five minutes in basketball(which lasts half-hour) pulling the goalie in hockey, last five laps in NASCAR. Now in soccer no one knows when the game is going to end and americans are denied our countdown, it's like crack we have to go ten...nine...eight............
I disagree about the innate suspense of soccer. It's a lot more suspensful than football or basketball. There's a lot of suspense in football and basketball when the game is close at the end and it comes down to a final drive, or a final kick in football or a final play or final shot in basketball. But MOST games aren't suspensful at all. They are decided by a margin of more than one score so there's not really and any suspense at the end. Most games the clocks running down in the 4th quarter and the outcome is already obvious. Even an exciting final drive in football with the game on the line more often than not ends anti-climactically - false start, a sack and then a couple of incompletes that have no chance and then the other team runs it up the gut or takes a knee. Now in soccer the games are usually lower scoring so as the game is winding down one goal will either tie or win the game. If one team is trailing they are likely to take more chances and throw players forward. Sure most attacks where a defender or the keeper pump the ball forward don't amount to anything, but even in those attempts there are times where the ball bounces the right way or is controlled just right to set up an amazing sequence that leads to the late game-tying or game-winning goal. And complaints that nobody knows exactly when stoppage time is ending because only the ref knows don't make any sense. There is MORE suspense because you don't know - in a movie is it suspensful when you know the killer's coming but you're not sure when he's going to jump out? Why don't they just say here comes the killer in 3...2...1? For suspense soccer's more likely to deliver than basketball or football.
"supporter" as in a jock strap. I don't know what they're called in english-english, but in american-english an athletic supporter is a jock strap, used to keep the ol' twig and berries from bouncing off your knees. which tends to smart. or in other words, you were right in the first place: it wasn't funny.
Hes talking about older people who didnt grow up playing soccer, he means that older people will never view soccer players on the same level as Stan Musial and Joe Montana and Larry Bird, because they werent their sports heroes growing up That doesnt mean they wont be heroes to younger kids who grow up playing soccer.
In my opinion, all of this stuff about Americans not liking soccer because its low scoring, or lacks suspense, or a countdown, or because its 45 min straight, or whatever else you want to say is just complete bull shit. The only reason a person doesnt like soccer (or any other sport) is that for some reason the sport just doesnt appeal to the person (which is understandable) or they refuse to give the sport a chance.
I started taking a serious interest last year...and have become totally addicted. Now I have season tickets to the Dynamo and watch EPL matches as well as other leagues/World Cup much of the time. (and I'm female!) Once you understand the sport, you can really appreciate it. As the MLS grows in the US and more folks tune into FSC...and with more kids growing up playing, the popularity and understanding of this great game should grow. Watch out America....a different brand of football is on the rise...just give it time.
American football fans still get mad if i call my football a football lol But lots of people knows that it called football and ask me why i call it soccer then i say, " i dont want to confuse you."
I have a bit of a missionary zeal regarding soccer. I coach my kids in AYSO and I make it my personal philosophy to make the US a soccer nation one AYSO team at a time. Contrary to popular opinion, there are indeed some good coaches in AYSO. But not enough for all the AYSO kids to really learn the game. That's why when I get them, even if they are 13 years old, I have to assume that they don't know much. Right now I'm coaching a U10G select team. It has been a blast. We've played in 3 tournaments and have won 2 championships and lost this past weekend in overtime in the final. 2 out of 3 ain't bad. What's my point? Well, I find that in breaking kids of their bad habits and replacing them with good habits is not just a way of teaching kids about soccer, it is a way of teaching their parents. I'm talking about simple stuff--moving without the ball, delaying on defense, settling the ball, passing from the back and not just clearing haphazardly. Almost every assistant I've had has been a well-intentioned but clueless soccer mom or dad. They, and the sideline coaches (the parents) don't get what I'm trying to accomplish in practice because it doesn't look like the soccer practices they are used to seeing. But when they watch my teams in games when they finally "get it" they can see the difference between ugly AYSO kickball and the beautiful game. And, I can say with as much humility as I can muster, my U10G's are playing beautiful soccer. And so many parents are telling my how much they appreciate soccer now and are very eager to check out the Galaxy. It can be done. One AYSO team at a time.
I've been involved with the game a lot longer than you, but you are right, it can be done. Years ago it was so bad that when I started coaching the parents were complaining about how my team had to play positions instead of "Beehive" around the ball soccer. I had the kids wear color-coded armbands: Green for forward, Yellow for midfield, and Red for Defense. They knew that the reds shouldn't be up by the Greens, etc. etc. Eventually the parents came around, and to make a very long story short, over the years every little one that I once mentored eventually got soccer money for college. My own daughter played on a national collegiate championship team. My son and his friend’s love - love the game and today he plays in two leagues. We've converted many a skeptic to our side, because this IS the beautiful game. It's designed for the expression of passion; it's violent chess. Keep doing what you are doing, but don't forget to pass the torch. The championships, hah, I've won many, but that’s not the goal. The goal is in developing players that will carry on the skills and love of the game to their children. That is where our success will be, not in feathering our own trophy cases. Put up a picture of every kid that you've impacted with the love of the game, those are the priceless trophies.
Well said. I've had several discussions with my parents about my philosophies. I also worn them that reteaching the game may result in a string of losses until they get it. Some of the parents aren't keen on seeing their kids lose games. My regular AYSO teams don't usually win medals, but they usually are good playoff teams and even if they don't win any medals, they usually end up playing better soccer at the end. In the end, I'm not after the medals--I'm after the whole experience. This is my first experience with a select side, and I get pretty much the same lack of skills and knowledge with these kids, even though they are bumblebees when I get them, they were the bumblebees that came up with the ball and put it in the back of the net. Reteaching these kids has its own challenges. Some of these kids have never been corrected in their lives, some of them never played any position besides "offense". Some of them didn't even know the offside rule, much less the offside trap, even though most of them are going up to U12. But it has been rewarding and the trophies are a bonus. As far as passing the torch, I believe my next challenge should be to help other coaches become better teachers of the games. I respect and am thankful for the moms and dads that come out, even though they are clueless. Of course, I lose my tactical advantage if they know what I'm teaching, but in the end it is better for the kids and for the game. Halleluiah!
I like calling my football a football. I do it all the time undoubtly it is a football and american football fans better get used to it. Well with the kids loving in and all maybe we will takeover the USA MUAHAHAHAH!!!