To non-americans - Why is soccer such a popular spectator sport?

Are illegal immigrants allowed to answer?

As long as your not from Mexico.

Just kidding.

We illegal aliens will answer the posts you americans are too lazy to answer!

Soccer is cheap, almost no equipment is needed. It is the only sport most people in 3rd world countries play.

It is also the easiest sport to drink to.

It also takes actual athletic talent to play soccer. You have to be a well conditioned athlete and not some big fat 400lb blocker.

As mentioned earlier i think soccer can be easily played anywhere in the world. For instance Pele played soccer in the streets of brazil with a ball made of wound up old clothes. But what makes it really exciting to watch is the simple fact that a professional's precision with the ball (be it passing, shooting, etc.)is something that we the masses wish we could do with the ball. Fans find appreciation in these small enities of "football" while Americans are mostly interested in seeing only scoring.

mush wrote:

What do you feel is the main draw for soccer?

Is it the:

Action of the game

National/Regional pride playing out on the soccer field

A good place to get smashed and act foolish

Lack of mass participation in other sports, thus lack of interest in other sports

Heritage

The "if you build it they will come" idea that implies people will fill your stadium if you build it, regardless of size

all these things make up the soccer culture. you can't separate any of them as the most important, like you can't separate the aspects of college football or NASCAR.

sure, NASCAR might appeal to some hardcore gearheads, but in the south it's also a family tradition, a way to get smashed, a way of doing business (in case you didn't notice), part of a community, part thrill of crashes, and a social event.

ditto with college football: part regional/local pride, part drinking, part athleticism, part community, part family, part boredom with other parts of life.

look - any pursuit that has gained a large number of followers takes on that role. you'll find people who follow chess tournaments all over the world, guys who grow beards, people who drink pepsi.

as for the popularity of soccer across many countries, it has to do with economics my friend, plain and simple. countries that play soccer were colonies of countries that played soccer. simple as that.

the americans did the same with baseball, with latin america and the far east.

football hasn't caught on because most of us are too young to remember when football wasn't all that popular in the U.S. Pro football didn't get big until the 70s, and by then the US was finished owning any colonies. College football was popular in the south and midwest only. It was banned on more than a few NE campuses (damn liberals) and the Pac-10 had only a handful of competitive teams. Not much exporting you can do there.

Interestingly, soccer is the most watched game in the world, but basketball is the most played game in the world. Good job by the NBA, whatever you may think of the league now, making it a global sport.

esudoc wrote:

Fans find appreciation in these small enities of "football" while Americans are mostly interested in seeing only scoring.

Dude. That's an awfully big assumption on your part. You sound like an American making a generalization like that. How do you know that Americans are "only interested in seeing only scoring"? Are you in their heads while they watch a game? How can you know why each and every American watches a game and what they are thinking while they do?

And if I'm not mistaken, I see people from other countries go apeshit when their soccer team scores a goal. They go so apeshit that it's not uncommon for people to riot and beat the hell out of each other. Are you saying they do that because they are so enthralled by the intricacies of the players' footwork?

Furthermore, why the hell are people constantly trying to prove why their country's sports are better than another's? Is it not possible that soccer AND basketball are both good sports? Quit being 8 year olds.

Back when I lived in Hamburg (Germany) I went to the games every weekend. The atmosphere is amazing and if you have a favorite team you would live and die for, the games are a lot more exciting. It also helps if you know the players from both the teams.

if americans weren't only in it for the scoring, hockey would be the most popular sport.

Where else can you have a stampeed and run over a few of your fellow countrymen after the game for fun?

yup, exciting and amazing.

Well, I don't go to football (soccer) games anymore but I watch them regularly on TV. The reason I stay home is the fear of being smashed, stampeded, or beaten to death- that's the downpart of soccer. Otherwise, I am perfectly fine with 0:0 tie, if the teams and players perform at a professional level and show some amazing footwork craft. It's pleasure to watch them- knowing from my own 8 year experience as a club player, how hard it is to master the fine technique.

As for the fans, I had several experiences from US baseball games- those spectators didn't care very much for the game- they were there to socialize, stuff themselves with disgusting junk food and drink beer or pop. Not much of an appreciation of athletic ability (if there is much of it in baseball). NBA games were a similar experience, albeit the spectators were more into it, and as for the american "football" (thats the name for soccer, excuse me, we Europeans were first), I had never watched the whole game- that's the proper word- game, it's not a match... that sport is very boring and sooooo well describes the US mentality. US people are in majority homophobic, yet they enjoy to watch "tough guys in gear" to touch their buts, hug themselves and lay on each other... such hypocrisy.

tradition, and it is cheaper. as someone said.. you can play in the street.. you just need a ball. so more people play it. more people are familiar with it.

Nonsense, soocer is the most watched and played game in the world. There are many nations not even interested in Basketball. The NBA flops in many leagues around the world.

Pro sports are a waste, we should be preserving the environment and dealing with the planet's overpopulation problem (of human beings) by practicing celibacy and meditation.

The first poster is obviously a southerner to bring up only college football and leave out the pros.

[quote]hadd about enough wrote:

basketball is the most played game in the world. quote]

no offence mate but i find that very hard to believe.

in europe soccer is chauvinism the way i see it. Show the local hero's and hope they are sperior to the ones from the

other coubntry(win).

2/ history that geos into soccer my grandpa did soccer. So my dad would to. And as kid we all play soccer on the streets here. After that it is easy to make it a commerce. And tehy do out here. And in turn that gives even more enthousiasm.

ALso many schools dont have the american system here.Some important point. That is why in europe athletics aint as famous. We go to school to teach and get 2 - 4 hours physical education. That has all sports due to the whole year.A cooper test.Some other athletic stuff,basket, dance, volley,... All teh rest in school is 7 hours math, languages, otehr borring stuff... we cant chose like you guys do.

We arent thought of other sports and we dont have many other clubs out here.But every town has a soccer club(most 2 - 3).

Some soccer competitions are between pubs.Again chauvinism.But out of that comes talent. The more people who play the better.FOr example or town has 0 athletic clubs a small sand track. but it has 4! soccer clubs. The next town 3 miles from here has an athletics club,triathlon club,swimming club the town after that again only soccer clubs. (now don get a western image of towns miles away it is quite modern) just a little more nature and silent roads.

that is 2 - 4 hours a week and we o to school 5 days a week from kids on we have a day with a bit less lessons. And the rest is 7 hours of lessons a day.If we are 7 - 12 years old we somethimes also go to the pool to learn to swim so make that 7 hours of sports a week then. After 12 it is 2 in most schools and 4 in some.Whern your 18 and decide to keep studying all sports fall away. It is like in teh pot of joncheray.That is or university. JUst study,study,study... Ofcourse soccer is ideally afterwards you see it on tely you playerd it as a kid and you see your old friends.And you could become a hero...