*** Official Soccer Sucks Thread ***

[Enhance]

This all really boils down to each to his own.

 

People like sports for different reasons, but I know probably the biggest reason I don't watch/enjoy soccer is because I didn't grow up with it. My family is Husker football first, everything else second. Soccer doesn't even really show up as a blip on my family radar. I firmly believe that this has a lot do with it.

[Husker_x]

This all really boils down to each to his own.

 

People like sports for different reasons, but I know probably the biggest reason I don't watch/enjoy soccer is because I didn't grow up with it. My family is Husker football first, everything else second. Soccer doesn't even really show up as a blip on my family radar. I firmly believe that this has a lot do with it.

 

That's the reason I think it isn't more popular in the US. People in Europe and the rest of the world have been playing and watching this sport forever. Deep rivalries developed and success in sport is a feedback loop. The more attention a sport gets, the easier it is to attract more followers. I think soccer could make it in the US, but it would take something like ringing success at the world cup to get the ball rolling (ooh, there's a pun).

[Enhance]

This all really boils down to each to his own.

 

People like sports for different reasons, but I know probably the biggest reason I don't watch/enjoy soccer is because I didn't grow up with it. My family is Husker football first, everything else second. Soccer doesn't even really show up as a blip on my family radar. I firmly believe that this has a lot do with it.

 

That's the reason I think it isn't more popular in the US. People in Europe and the rest of the world have been playing and watching this sport forever. Deep rivalries developed and success in sport is a feedback loop. The more attention a sport gets, the easier it is to attract more followers. I think soccer could make it in the US, but it would take something like ringing success at the world cup to get the ball rolling (ooh, there's a pun).

I see what you did there.

 

And I agree. U.S. soccer isn't going to get the resounding attention it needs to thrive without doing something great first. As bad as it sounds, U.S. soccer needs to get very, very good in order for people to start paying attention to it more. And kids need to get interested in it at a younger age.

 

Right now, big time money and big time opportunity is viewed as coming from football, basketball, and baseball. When people think of getting out of a trouble youth situation and going to college, soccer doesn't seem to pop up as the first choice. It's just not appealing to the masses.

[Enhance]

This all really boils down to each to his own.

 

People like sports for different reasons, but I know probably the biggest reason I don't watch/enjoy soccer is because I didn't grow up with it. My family is Husker football first, everything else second. Soccer doesn't even really show up as a blip on my family radar. I firmly believe that this has a lot do with it.

 

That's the reason I think it isn't more popular in the US. People in Europe and the rest of the world have been playing and watching this sport forever. Deep rivalries developed and success in sport is a feedback loop. The more attention a sport gets, the easier it is to attract more followers. I think soccer could make it in the US, but it would take something like ringing success at the world cup to get the ball rolling (ooh, there's a pun).

I see what you did there.

 

And I agree. U.S. soccer isn't going to get the resounding attention it needs to thrive without doing something great first. As bad as it sounds, U.S. soccer needs to get very, very good in order for people to start paying attention to it more. And kids need to get interested in it at a younger age.

 

Right now, big time money and big time opportunity is viewed as coming from football, basketball, and baseball. When people think of getting out of a trouble youth situation and going to college, soccer doesn't seem to pop up as the first choice. It's just not appealing to the masses.

[Jadler]

This all really boils down to each to his own.

 

People like sports for different reasons, but I know probably the biggest reason I don't watch/enjoy soccer is because I didn't grow up with it. My family is Husker football first, everything else second. Soccer doesn't even really show up as a blip on my family radar. I firmly believe that this has a lot do with it.

 

That's the reason I think it isn't more popular in the US. People in Europe and the rest of the world have been playing and watching this sport forever. Deep rivalries developed and success in sport is a feedback loop. The more attention a sport gets, the easier it is to attract more followers. I think soccer could make it in the US, but it would take something like ringing success at the world cup to get the ball rolling (ooh, there's a pun).

I see what you did there.

 

And I agree. U.S. soccer isn't going to get the resounding attention it needs to thrive without doing something great first. As bad as it sounds, U.S. soccer needs to get very, very good in order for people to start paying attention to it more. And kids need to get interested in it at a younger age.

 

Right now, big time money and big time opportunity is viewed as coming from football, basketball, and baseball. When people think of getting out of a trouble youth situation and going to college, soccer doesn't seem to pop up as the first choice. It's just not appealing to the masses.

 

I don't know about the east side of the state but on the west side in the smaller communities soccer is the first game we start playing as children.

[VA Husker Fan]

I know many former soccer players who played football and will tell you that soccer it's 10 times harder than football due to the endurance factor.

These guys were place kickers in football, right?

They say that on average a soccer player runs the equivalent of 10 miles a game, I'm sure some do more and some do a little less, but that is a lot of running.

OK, seriously now, there's no way this is correct. 10 miles in 90 minutes is a 9 minute mile, which would mean constantly moving at a decent pace. So I googled and the first hit was a soccer doctor who had heard the same "they say" amount and didn't believe it either, and found that it's actually about 5.5 miles on average. http://www.active.com/soccer/Articles/How_far_do_you_run_during_a_soccer_game_.htm

 

In the next 10-20 years the "kids need to grow up playing it" argument will be proven one way or another, because today's generation is growing up playing soccer first.

 

I played a few years of rec league soccer so I know a bit of what's going on out there. I enjoy watching the world cup, mostly because other than the Olympics there seem to be few truly international team competitions at this level.

 

The Cameroon - Denmark game going on right now actually has a lot of back and forth with scoring opportunities switching ends in a matter of a few seconds. I suppose a soccer purist might say it's not a very well played game (or maybe it is, I really can't judge), but it is a fun one to watch.

[Husker_x]

This all really boils down to each to his own.

 

People like sports for different reasons, but I know probably the biggest reason I don't watch/enjoy soccer is because I didn't grow up with it. My family is Husker football first, everything else second. Soccer doesn't even really show up as a blip on my family radar. I firmly believe that this has a lot do with it.

 

That's the reason I think it isn't more popular in the US. People in Europe and the rest of the world have been playing and watching this sport forever. Deep rivalries developed and success in sport is a feedback loop. The more attention a sport gets, the easier it is to attract more followers. I think soccer could make it in the US, but it would take something like ringing success at the world cup to get the ball rolling (ooh, there's a pun).

I see what you did there.

 

And I agree. U.S. soccer isn't going to get the resounding attention it needs to thrive without doing something great first. As bad as it sounds, U.S. soccer needs to get very, very good in order for people to start paying attention to it more. And kids need to get interested in it at a younger age.

 

Right now, big time money and big time opportunity is viewed as coming from football, basketball, and baseball. When people think of getting out of a trouble youth situation and going to college, soccer doesn't seem to pop up as the first choice. It's just not appealing to the masses.

 

I don't know about the east side of the state but on the west side in the smaller communities soccer is the first game we start playing as children.

 

The issue here is that even though as a kid I, too, started playing soccer before other sports, there was no reinforcement in our culture. I played soccer because it was fun and I liked sports. Now when it comes to something like basketball, kids are talking about being the next Jordan, Bryant, James, etc. That doesn't really exist in America, that saturation of professional clubs and superstars. And what happens? Kids reach a certain age and if they're good enough they tend to play football, basketball, baseball, or in the north hockey.

 

The problem soccer has in the US is that it's competing now with long-established and insanely popular sports that have billions of dollars and millions of fans. You think by signing David Bekcham you can compete with that? Best of luck.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

That's why it's so popular world-wide. It's simplistic in that all you need is a ball to play it.

 

Same as football...or basketball...or baseball...or tennis...

 

Soccer isn't simplistic to those of us who've played. It's setting up your pass...setting up your cross...defensive and offensive schemes. Soccer is one of those sports where you either like it...or you hate it. I hate basketball, NASCAR, baseball, tennis, hockey, pro-football, underwater basket weaving...but I love to watch soccer. I can typically figure out what the player is going to do just by watching how they set up the pass or handle the ball.

[Enhance]

This all really boils down to each to his own.

 

People like sports for different reasons, but I know probably the biggest reason I don't watch/enjoy soccer is because I didn't grow up with it. My family is Husker football first, everything else second. Soccer doesn't even really show up as a blip on my family radar. I firmly believe that this has a lot do with it.

 

That's the reason I think it isn't more popular in the US. People in Europe and the rest of the world have been playing and watching this sport forever. Deep rivalries developed and success in sport is a feedback loop. The more attention a sport gets, the easier it is to attract more followers. I think soccer could make it in the US, but it would take something like ringing success at the world cup to get the ball rolling (ooh, there's a pun).

I see what you did there.

 

And I agree. U.S. soccer isn't going to get the resounding attention it needs to thrive without doing something great first. As bad as it sounds, U.S. soccer needs to get very, very good in order for people to start paying attention to it more. And kids need to get interested in it at a younger age.

 

Right now, big time money and big time opportunity is viewed as coming from football, basketball, and baseball. When people think of getting out of a trouble youth situation and going to college, soccer doesn't seem to pop up as the first choice. It's just not appealing to the masses.

 

I don't know about the east side of the state but on the west side in the smaller communities soccer is the first game we start playing as children.

Husker_x pointed this out, but I figured I'd give my response as well.

 

The first two sports I started playing were baseball and soccer. But, there was absolutely no reinforcement to continue soccer. Baseball and basketball were what all my friends wanted to play, nobody in my family was overly interested in soccer, there were more competitive teams to play against in the other sports, and soccer wasn't a sport I saw advertised everywhere.

 

Football, basketball, and baseball on the other hand, are all sports that encircle us. I had no real soccer influence in my youth, but I had tons of influence with the other sports, and I listened to much of my family complain about how lame soccer was. I was conditioned, if you will, to simply not enjoy soccer.

 

I'm at the point where I care about whether our U.S. team does well, but I'm not about to sit down and watch a game of soccer. It isn't appealing to me.

[VA Husker Fan]

I'll tell you what, if soccer was half as physical as a lot of players pretend it is with all of the dives and fake injuries, it would be the roughest sport on the planet. But it's not. Some of those guys are pathetic, like the Ivory Coast guy who drew the red card on Kaka. I give credit to the announcers though, they are calling him out.

[Igetbored216]

As requested, here are the reasons I like soccer (both playing and watching). Keep in mind that I like a good number of different sports for various reasons, and none of this means I think soccer is superior to other sports. This also only applies to soccer at a high level like we'll see during the World Cup.

 

Soccer is a team game and it's played on a huge field. It's really more about what you do while you don't have the ball than what you do with the ball. That's a very appealing aspect for me, but it also makes soccer hard to watch for many that don't know what to look for. While the best players are obviously very good with the ball, they're equally good (or better) without the ball.

 

In that way, it's also a game of patience, which I enjoy. You don't get many subs, so attacking players are often looking to wear the defenders down throughout the game so they can take advantage of what they hope is superior conditioning at the end of the game. All the passing has a point, as the team is looking for a shift in the defense so they can work the ball deeper into their opponent's side of the field. And like our own football, time of possession often relates to winning games.

 

Soccer is an elegant game. The tiniest step or shift of your weight can be enough to get you the space you need. Defenders have the advantage in soccer, so often it becomes a "game of inches" in that you only need to create half a foot of space to get the right pass off (usually a cross in front of the goal in these cases).

 

The game requires huge amounts of time and dedication if you're going to be good. Gaining the required endurance, strength, foot work, vision of the field, and skills with the ball is an ongoing commitment. Surprising to most is that your entire body needs to be strong, both lower and upper. The lower body is obvious, but upper body strength is required to maintain your balance and fend off opponents who try to muscle you off the ball. Soccer is actually a very physical game - far more physical than it looks while just watching it (nobody should compare it to something like football, though). None of that is really any different from other contact sports, but it still applies to soccer.

 

It's a strategic game, but a dynamic kind of strategy. Once you're out on the field, you're out there until halftime or the game's end. While the coach can yell a few directions, make a few changes, and so on, it's pretty much up to the players to adapt to what's going on. Tiny shifts in formation can make a huge difference in how your team plays. This also has a lot to do with movement off the ball.

 

I've already touched on this, but it's really the little things that matter in soccer. Mistime your run by half a second and you're offsides rather than 1v1 with the goalie. Force the defender to shift his weight wrong just a little and you win yourself that extra 6 inches needed to make the perfect cross. Mishit the ball by just a centimeter and you miss the goal by 10 feet rather than putting it in the corner. Don't make the right type of run to support your team's attack and all of a sudden their great series of one touch passes that shreds the defense ends with them losing the ball and being scored on with a counter attack. Very small things can have a quick and lasting impact on the game.

 

The one negative thing I will say about soccer is the diving, though believe it or not, it's gotten better in this WC. Diving is far worse than hamming up an injury to get a call, though that is still annoying. I will say that often collisions in soccer (like hard sliding tackles) really do hurt - especially if the spikes are up. There is a reason tackles with the spikes up is illegal...it doesn't matter where you get hit, being spiked in soccer is immensely painful for a little while and very dangerous. Unfortunately, people like Cristiano Ronaldo, who is one of the best and most popular players in the world - you can see him play for Portugal in the WC, will go down almost anytime they're touched. All they're doing is hurting the sport and being little bitches.

 

I'll go ahead and stop there. I'm sure I could list more reasons, but I think that's enough.

 

And this was what I was wondering, although after watching more games and paying closer to attention to the players that don't have the ball, I would have to say that soccer no longer "sucks" to me but is entertaining. Will I start watching it on a regular basis? No, but I have been watching all the World Cup games I can.

 

I also like how brutally honest and not politically correct the announcers are. The stuff they say cracks me up.

 

Anyway, very good post.

[Igetbored216]

I'll tell you what, if soccer was half as physical as a lot of players pretend it is with all of the dives and fake injuries, it would be the roughest sport on the planet. But it's not. Some of those guys are pathetic, like the Ivory Coast guy who drew the red card on Kaka. I give credit to the announcers though, they are calling him out.

 

Yeah, this is one thing that annoys me a fair amount. However, I would point out that the "flops" aren't limited to soccer. Basketball can get pretty ridiculous in that regard too and I have seen alot of faking in football too.

[Igetbored216]

Igetbored, why do you like the Huskers? Tons of teams play football, it's not that hard to pick up, and there are more successful teams than Nebraska out there. You following the Huskers makes as much sense as someone liking soccer, or hockey, or basketball, or anything under the sun.

I'd like an answer to this, if it's not too difficult for you.

 

This is probably the easiest question I have ever been asked. I like the Huskers because they are "my" team. I have lived in Nebraska all of my life and have a love for the state, and one of the main ways this state is identified is through Nebraska football. It's kind of a big deal around here. My dad has been a fan since forever, and while I wasn't into it as much as I am now, I still remember watching all the games that were on TV, way back as early as 1990 (I was six at that time).

 

So, like many fans in this state, the Huskers have a special place in my heart.

[Jadler]

Igetbored, why do you like the Huskers? Tons of teams play football, it's not that hard to pick up, and there are more successful teams than Nebraska out there. You following the Huskers makes as much sense as someone liking soccer, or hockey, or basketball, or anything under the sun.

I'd like an answer to this, if it's not too difficult for you.

 

This is probably the easiest question I have ever been asked. I like the Huskers because they are "my" team. I have lived in Nebraska all of my life and have a love for the state, and one of the main ways this state is identified is through Nebraska football. It's kind of a big deal around here. My dad has been a fan since forever, and while I wasn't into it as much as I am now, I still remember watching all the games that were on TV, way back as early as 1990 (I was six at that time).

 

So, like many fans in this state, the Huskers have a special place in my heart.

 

I know you grew up here but why do you "LIKE" the huskers?

[Igetbored216]

Igetbored, why do you like the Huskers? Tons of teams play football, it's not that hard to pick up, and there are more successful teams than Nebraska out there. You following the Huskers makes as much sense as someone liking soccer, or hockey, or basketball, or anything under the sun.

I'd like an answer to this, if it's not too difficult for you.

 

This is probably the easiest question I have ever been asked. I like the Huskers because they are "my" team. I have lived in Nebraska all of my life and have a love for the state, and one of the main ways this state is identified is through Nebraska football. It's kind of a big deal around here. My dad has been a fan since forever, and while I wasn't into it as much as I am now, I still remember watching all the games that were on TV, way back as early as 1990 (I was six at that time).

 

So, like many fans in this state, the Huskers have a special place in my heart.

 

I know you grew up here but why do you "LIKE" the huskers?

 

I know this is a smartass question, but I like the Huskers because I am emotionally involved with how well the team does...specifically in football and to a smaller extent, basketball & baseball.