Why is soccer so uncool to us and so cool to Europeans/foreigners (football, leagues)

[Miaiam]

Oh Goodness, please read my post. I said not solely focused on the score.

If the score did not matter, why would people play in the first place?!

People who appreciate soccer have high standards regarding the players, so they don't just expect goals, they want to see the show too.

After the match, people comment on the score, but also on the players' ability.

As I said before, youtube guys like "Van Basten" and "Garrincha". They scored and performed beautifully as well.

Including myself, I like to see a show. And there is nothing boring about it, at least not for me.
Soccer players become legends not just bc they scored; most of them are remembered for the great performance/ability they had.

[ian6479]

Originally Posted by Interpol76

I disagree somewhat.... In soccer you are only allowed a handful of substitutions per game. Most of the players are out there for the entire game with only a small break for halftime. In basketball you get to go sit down and rest during commercial breaks, time outs, or during a regular substitution. Plus the court is like 4/5 the size of a soccer field.
I've been playing competitive hockey since I was a little kid, and I'm here to tell you...soccer takes a hell of alot more out of you than hockey. In hockey, sure you "spint" for a full shift, but shifts only last 2-4 minutes usually (or in the case of the NHL, 50 seconds- 2 min.) and then you get to go sit down. In baseball, players are just standing still or sitting down 90 precent of the time. Same thing with football where you run a play for 5 seconds and then get to stand still for 30 seconds or so...then jump over to the bench and sit down while tv commercials are rolling or the offense, defense or special teams are on the field.

Soccer players run around 5/6 miles per game on average - thats actually not much. Also, if you watch one player, they aren't moving as much as you might think. I do agree though that you have to very fit to play soccer, especially at a professional level, but I personally don't see them as 'athletes' compared to the likes of basketball or US football. The players in those sports are huge, very defined, and train for power - the whole package you get in those sports is a lot more impressive than just endurance.

To answer the OP - the truth is that soccer is part of the culture in many countries in Europe. Its a very simple game with very few rules (all of about 17 I think), and can be played with little equipment and no membership to a club. That is why its so popular. Soccer just simply can't compete with the NFL, NBA, or NHL in terms of razzmatazz, and as a sporting spectacle. The other big issue is the salary caps in US sport. There is no cap in soccer and so the English premier league is actually only competed between 4 or five clubs.

[Huckleberry3911948]

bek most can run and kick a ball, but few can bowl over 3 guys with a 325 lbs body slam.

[Miaiam]

On a side note, let's consider the Olympic Games just for a moment... aren't the so-called "more simple, less rules to learn, less paraphernalia" sports the most popular ones, in general?! I am not stating anything, just asking a question.

Also, what is the definition of an athlete for you guys? Some sports demand more skills, others more strength, they are different.

It is unlikely that a soccer player can do the job of a football player, and vice versa.

There is no such thing as cool or uncool sport, every person prefers a different one, and that is perfectly fine.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

Yeah, but most soccer players aren't running the entire length of the field. If you're on defense, and the ball is on the side of the field with your forwards, you're really just an onlooker at that point.

HAHAHA.

You can't be serious. Unless you are a goalkeeper, you are never just an onlooker. I played defensive mid and fullback nearly my entire soccer career and I was constantly involved in the attack and making runs to support the attacking players. Any defender just standing around needs to be taken off the field.

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

In basketball, you're always engaged as long as the play is alive. All players have to play both offense and defense. Also, there aren't too many plays in soccer where you engage in an all-out sprint.

Did you watch the US/Algeria game? Did you see how fast that last play that lead to the goal took place?

Every single player on the field is constantly engaged. You have to be or you are screwed.

There arent too many plays in soccer that involved an all-out sprint? Really? That's just foolishness. As someone that has played for 2 decades, I can tell you that is completely false. Defending a counterattack usually always involves an all out sprint.

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

In basketball, you're running a fastbreak and pushing the ball as often as possible, and you get winded very quickly. There's also the added element of fighting for position in the post, which takes a great deal of upper body strength. Strength is a much more significant variable in basketball than it is in soccer.

I guess in soccer they dont fight for position on corner kicks or free kicks, right?

I've had my nose broken twice due to fighting for position inside the box. It's no different than fighting for position in the post.

I've played soccer and basketball competitively. Basketball takes a lot of skill, finesse and physical ability and I love the game but you can play basketball in a lot less physical shape in soccer. Most of the guys that I played basketball with would not have lasted 30 minutes on a soccer field without being stuck in the middle of the field with their hands on their knees sucking air. On top of that, most of them would have been knocked on their ass every single time they touched the ball.

Back in the mid-90s, The Sporting News published a study done by a major university that's goal was to determine the most grueling sport.

Of the 5 major teams sports in the US, soccer was the only sport that made the Top 5. I believe basketball and hockey made the Top 10 and baseball didnt even make the top 20. Football fell somewhere in the teens.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by ian6479

Soccer players run around 5/6 miles per game on average - thats actually not much. Also, if you watch one player, they aren't moving as much as you might think. I do agree though that you have to very fit to play soccer, especially at a professional level, but I personally don't see them as 'athletes' compared to the likes of basketball or US football. The players in those sports are huge, very defined, and train for power - the whole package you get in those sports is a lot more impressive than just endurance.

Wow, just wow. This paragraph is so full of ignorance, I dont know where to start.

First, they usually run more than 5-6 miles a game. 5-6 miles is more than most baseball or football players could run in a single day much less during 90 minutes.

Being huge doesnt mean you are in physical shape. Let's use the example of professional bodybuilders. Those guys are among some of the most unhealthiest people in the world. Let's also take a look at a 300lb lineman. If football consisted of anything more than 6 seconds of play followed by 40 seconds of rest, they wouldnt be able to play. A good chunk of the players in the NFL are not in good physical shape. They may have a ton of muscle but that is only one small piece of the equation when it comes to physical shape.

Endurance is one of the most difficult physical traits to achieve. There are lots of meat heads at your local gym that are loaded with muscle but couldnt run a single mile if you asked them too. If you think power is more important than endurance then you most still be a virgin!

Originally Posted by ian6479

To answer the OP - the truth is that soccer is part of the culture in many countries in Europe. Its a very simple game with very few rules (all of about 17 I think), and can be played with little equipment and no membership to a club. That is why its so popular. Soccer just simply can't compete with the NFL, NBA, or NHL in terms of razzmatazz, and as a sporting spectacle. The other big issue is the salary caps in US sport. There is no cap in soccer and so the English premier league is actually only competed between 4 or five clubs.

Any sport can be played with little membership and no gear. You can play football with a $5 ball, you can play baseball with a .99 cent baseball and a big stick found in the woods, you can play hockey with sticks and a .99 cent tennis ball.

WTF is rassmatazz.

Do you have any clue what the hell you are talking about?

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

HAHAHA.

You can't be serious. Unless you are a goalkeeper, you are never just an onlooker. I played defensive mid and fullback nearly my entire soccer career and I was constantly involved in the attack and making runs to support the attacking players. Any defender just standing around needs to be taken off the field..

It's not that you're standing around, it's just that you are not running the entire distance of the field. In situations where the play is concentrated near the other team's goal, you're not doing that much running.

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

There arent too many plays in soccer that involved an all-out sprint? Really? That's just foolishness. As someone that has played for 2 decades, I can tell you that is completely false. Defending a counterattack usually always involves an all out sprint.

You sprint much more in basketball than you do in soccer. You sprint pretty much on every single play. That's why coaches have basketball players run "suicides." When I played soccer, we ran laps, but never suicides. That's because there's not as much of an emphasis on first-step explosiveness and cutting.

In soccer, if you're defending a counterattack, yes, you'll probably have to sprint. But a good bulk of the action in any soccer match takes place in the midfield. So you're not sprinting that much, although you're in motion most of the time.

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

I've played soccer and basketball competitively. Basketball takes a lot of skill, finesse and physical ability and I love the game but you can play basketball in a lot less physical shape in soccer. Most of the guys that I played basketball with would not have lasted 30 minutes on a soccer field without being stuck in the middle of the field with their hands on their knees sucking air. On top of that, most of them would have been knocked on their ass every single time they touched the ball.

Half-court basketball takes less physical conditioning than organized soccer. Five-on-Five, full court, basketball on a regulation court, on the other hand, takes a h*** of a lot of fitness, my friend. You get tired much more quickly because of the sequence of events: shot, rebound, fast break, sprint down court, turnover, sprint back up court, shot, miss, fastbreak, run back down court. After a minute of doing that, most people will have their hands on their knees sucking air, including soccer players. If you're playing man-to-man defense on top of that, you will really be spent. Man defense in basketball wears you out in a way that it does not in soccer. You're in constant physical contact with your man, and you're also trying to fight through screens with guys who may have 100 pounds on you.

I don't think soccer takes more endurance than basketball, even though you're running longer distances. In basketball, you're running shorter distances, but you're running hard much more frequently. Basketball also places more emphasis on strength and strength training than soccer. Do you think there's really a soccer player out there who can put Lebron James on his bum? Doubt it.

From a fitness perspective, boxers and other fighters are far more fit than both basketball and soccer players.

[BajanYankee]

Again, brute strength and power are much more important in basketball than they are in soccer. Can you find any soccer players who are this powerfully built?

[velodrome]

got to wonder how many of those fellas would last an 11 hour tennis match

[JJG]

Boy, this dead horse is takin' one hell of a beatin'....