why do so many Americans hate soccer????

Yeah,well what I want to know is why people only bitch and whine about Gridiron Football being called Football when there's the other codes of Football I mentioned that involve using the hands as well.

A good example is Rugby Football. (the full name of the sport)

 

Eh, I've never lived in a place where that sport was practiced (I know it's practiced in the US, I just don't really see it). So it's pretty irrelevant in my life. I bet if I lived in Australia or New Zealand it would annoy me as much as it annoys me here with the NFL. That is to say it would annoy me, but I'd still conform for the sake of cultural respect.

 

Here in England we refer to those two codes of football as rugby legue and rugby union. You would never hear it called rugby football.

I dont by the 'you play on your feet' idea either. Nearly all sports are.

 

What the hell is that fat bearded c**t babbling on about. I cringed as i watched him spouting his bile. Is it just me or does he look the type that should be wearing an orange jump suit in guantanamo bay? Arrogant bigotted stereotypical fat yank mess! What a total embarrasment to the US. He's f****k clown shoes!

 

As opposed to being played on horse from what I read. I guess there must have been a similar sport (Polo, maybe) beign played on horse back then when football came around. In any case, the game originally was played with both feet and hands. Carrying the ball like in Rugby and Gridiron was all part of it. Eventually it got split into those who wanted it to be played the way it was (Rugby Football) and those who wanted a more clean organized game (Association Football). Initially both Rugby teams and Association (Soccer) teams could play each other's codes. That is until the Association folks remove the use of hands completely from the game. Then the game grew further apart...

 

What does this have to do with the price of fish?

 

"Billy the fish.. Sold to Fulchester in 1983 for, a then record, £63 and a bag of nuts.."

Taxi for dragback!

 

I've posted in this thread before, but it bears repeating.

America has 3 (4 if you count hockey) sports to follow. Add college sports to the fold and the sports landscape is flooded as hell.

Add to the fact that A LOT (and I really mean A L-O-T of football/soccer fans feel the need to point out the flaws in other sports in order to make the case for soccer. All that does is put people on the defensive, and drive them more from the sport. Soccer can stand on it's own merits, so let it. It doesn't need people getting all defensive about someone hating, and everything that goes along with it.

Soccer, as has been said a MILLION times, will never be a major player in America. Won't happen. Even in my life soccer is #3. Baseball (Red Sox) is and always will be #1, then it's the NFL (Patriots) then comes football/soccer (Chelsea). There are many reasons for that, but I don't consider the fact that I like baseball and the NFL more than soccer to mean that soccer isn't great.

And the argument that "well it's the worlds game", doesn't mean shit in America. We're elitist, and could give two shits what the rest of the world think is cool. We like what we like.

And to anyone who gets pissed by the "soccer" word being thrown around, sorry but to Americans football is the NFL.

 

Here's one reason. Check out a video of Dida's stunt during the Celtic match.
American sports fans cannot tolerate play acting on the field of play. If an NFL player did that he'd be drummed out of the league. That shite may fly in the rest of the world, but it damages the image of the sport here in the US. It's the number one criticism of soccer I hear in conversations with fans of other sports.

 

I think SOME Americans hate soccer for the same reason that SOME Europeans hate us for playing it,they feel threatened. They feel that liking soccer somehow is Un-American. This is simply untrue,The US has a longer soccer history than many European countries. In 1885 The US,Canada and Britain played the first international matches outside of the UK.There has always been a soccer culture in America but it hasnt been until recently that it has really become popular,and in my opinion about to explode. There are more than enough people(300 million)in the US to support many dif sports. I am from NY and could prob name 2-3 of the many NASCAR drivers yet they get 150,000 people to the races.Soccer is the next big thing in the US,thats why you see US investors purchasing stakes in foreign clubs,and purchasing the rights to American clubs as well as building stadiums. Many non Americans feel threatened by American soccer b/c they know the quality of athelete that America produces and that if we focus our attention on soccer we will become a force in the sport. I truly believe that in the next 10-20 years US Soccer(National and MLS)will be a major player in soccer both internationally and domestically.

 

I don't know who you are, but I like you already.

Listen to the man. He knows of that which he speaks.

Read this book for an interesting examination of some of the sociological realities that have kept soccer from rising as quickly in the average American's consciousness as many would like.

 

And when/if you hear that criticism from fans of other sports, sit them down in front of the TeeVee and turn on an NBA game. You can even jazz up the evening with a few rounds of "embellishment bingo."

 

again..... why does anyone care that so many yanks hate soccer? I suppose with the US being such a soccer powerhouse we should all take note really move on

 

This thread is well over the 500-post limit, so it's getting closed. I was just waiting for it to get bumped again to do so.

If anyone wants to start a Part 2 of this topic -- regardless that the topic is like beating a dead horse over and over again -- feel free to do so at your own peril.