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Why soccer will never be big in the USA....... (1 Viewer)

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Footballguy
We are too politically correct in the USA. I hate this for the most part but when it comes to soccer, I am all for it. If you are at an NFL, NHL, MBL, NBA or MSL game for that matter, game and someone throws a banana on the field and you are in the stands what do you do?

Most our athletes are black. That does not play here. We are racist in USA but not that racist where you can chuck banana against our favorite players and not take a beat down. How do they let that crap go over there? Not leagues, the fans.

 
It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.

 
I'd like soccer more if they got rid of offsides. Everytime there's an awesome play starting to develop, the ####### ref holds up his flag.

 
Hot Sports Takes thread is here
I get what you are saying, I just always think that Europe has been around much longer and learned more. And it is just sad to me that this stuff is so prevalent.

Not trying to troll.

 
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If I wanted to troll I would say soccer fans in the USA are nuts, it is a slow game with very little action but it is a game everyone can play regardless of hand eye coordination.

 
It won't be big because there aren't constant commercial breaks like all the major American sports have so the networks largely want nothing to do with it. Same goes for hockey.

:tinfoilhat:

 
It won't be big until athletes can start making serious money playing it.
Bit of a chicken and egg issue there. What the the LA Galaxy paying Beckham do for the sport?
Beckham's not one of ours. It needs to be our amateur athletes deciding to get into this. We'll need that Jim Brownesque collegiate who accels at football and soccer and who decides to go into professional soccer. To that, I can't see him doing it for anything but money.

 
Hot Sports Takes thread is here
I get what you are saying, I just always think that Europe has been around much longer and learned more. And it is just sad to me that this stuff is so prevalent.

Not trying to troll.
Black players have been racially taunted during European basketball games. So will basketball also never be big in this country?
Different the best players in the world are here for basketball.

 
Hot Sports Takes thread is here
I get what you are saying, I just always think that Europe has been around much longer and learned more. And it is just sad to me that this stuff is so prevalent.

Not trying to troll.
Black players have been racially taunted during European basketball games. So will basketball also never be big in this country?
Different the best players in the world are here for basketball.
Plus go to the Heat game tomorrow and start throwing banana's . Not at anyone just in general and see what happens.

 
I'd like soccer more if they got rid of offsides. Everytime there's an awesome play starting to develop, the ####### ref holds up his flag.
I used to think this also... then smarter people at soccer than me educated me on why you just HAVE to have the offsides penalty.

Now... I do inherently agree that soccer needs more scoring so that there are less ties (the worst outcome in all of sports) and so that scoring seems like less of a luck based thing.

Sports that have the lowest number of upsets are games in which there are a high number of scoring opportunities (like the NBA where there are almost no appreciable upsets)... whereas sports with low numbers of scores have higher upsets... football, baseball, hockey

So after discussing how to fix soccer ad nauseum with several experts in the field, I determined the best way to accomplish things without compromising the game too much was to increase the goal size by 15%.

Done. Soccer fixed

 
Hot Sports Takes thread is here
I get what you are saying, I just always think that Europe has been around much longer and learned more. And it is just sad to me that this stuff is so prevalent.

Not trying to troll.
Black players have been racially taunted during European basketball games. So will basketball also never be big in this country?
Different the best players in the world are here for basketball.
Plus go to the Heat game tomorrow and start throwing banana's . Not at anyone just in general and see what happens.
Bet you that Donald Sterling would laugh

 
Black players have been taunted at hockey games in Canada. I think the sport is pretty big there though.
And Boston slurred PJ on Twitter when PJ killed them. And the have black players. If you are in the stands with one of your boys, and they start yelling the n word, what do you do? Let's say this game happened in Buffalo.

 
I'd like soccer more if they got rid of offsides. Everytime there's an awesome play starting to develop, the ####### ref holds up his flag.
I used to think this also... then smarter people at soccer than me educated me on why you just HAVE to have the offsides penalty.

Now... I do inherently agree that soccer needs more scoring so that there are less ties (the worst outcome in all of sports) and so that scoring seems like less of a luck based thing.

Sports that have the lowest number of upsets are games in which there are a high number of scoring opportunities (like the NBA where there are almost no appreciable upsets)... whereas sports with low numbers of scores have higher upsets... football, baseball, hockey

So after discussing how to fix soccer ad nauseum with several experts in the field, I determined the best way to accomplish things without compromising the game too much was to increase the goal size by 15%.

Done. Soccer fixed
I don't want more scoring, just more scoring chances. Soccer is basically 90 minutes of kicking the ball back and forth with very few great moments in between.

That said, the fact that it's by far the most popular sport in the world leads me to believe its my problem to get over and that it doesn't need fixing.

 
I wasn't entirely joking about the gay thing. Or maybe effeminate is a better word.

Soccer will never be popular with Joe sixpack USA as long as midfielders are making "delightful crosses" or "lovely backheels"

 
I'd like soccer more if they got rid of offsides. Everytime there's an awesome play starting to develop, the ####### ref holds up his flag.
Seriously. Their should only be offsides outside the 20's and it should only be if a person is 5ft beyond the defender.

 
I wasn't entirely joking about the gay thing. Or maybe effeminate is a better word.

Soccer will never be popular with Joe sixpack USA as long as midfielders are making "delightful crosses" or "lovely backheels"
Didn't get a reaction the first time so you thought you'd try again? We get it, you think soccer is gay. Now will someone please take the bait and get angry at him for it?

 
It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.
Just about everything in the bolded is flat out wrong, except that the people that throw bananas are the equivalent of mouth-breathing racist rednecks

 
I wasn't entirely joking about the gay thing. Or maybe effeminate is a better word.

Soccer will never be popular with Joe sixpack USA as long as midfielders are making "delightful crosses" or "lovely backheels"
So you are saying you need better commentators?

 
I wasn't entirely joking about the gay thing. Or maybe effeminate is a better word.

Soccer will never be popular with Joe sixpack USA as long as midfielders are making "delightful crosses" or "lovely backheels"
Didn't get a reaction the first time so you thought you'd try again? We get it, you think soccer is gay. Now will someone please take the bait and get angry at him for it?
It's a serious comment. The style doesn't appeal to the average sports fan in the US. Look at the testosterone-infested marketing of the NFL.

 
It won't be big until athletes can start making serious money playing it.
Bit of a chicken and egg issue there. What the the LA Galaxy paying Beckham do for the sport?
I realize you are just trolling in the thread and don't really care about the facts but in case others are more interested I will answer your question. MLS Specific:

Pre Becks: Expansion Fees were $10m per team

Post Becks: The NY expansion team just went for $100m last year

Pre Becks: MLS had to pay money to be on TV

Post Becks: MLS just signed a $90m a year TV contract with ESPN, Fox and Univision

Pre Becks: Stadiums were relatively empty across the league

Post Becks: The league is closing in on 19k average per game now. Teams like Portland have not played to an empty seat since they started. Seattle averages over 40k a game, KC plays to standing room only crowds, Toronto is expanding their stadium by almost 40% to handle demand.

Soccer Specific:

Pre Becks: WC TV contract for 2002 and 2006 went for $40m

Post Becks: WC TV contract for 2018 and 2022 went for $1Billion

Ratings for the EPL are strong and growing every year

Ratings for Liga MX continue to be amazing, bigger than MLS or EPL

Ratings for the Champiobs League games on Fox continue to draw excellent numbers even with horrible time slots

Attendance for non MLS games has sky rocketed since Becks came over. US games, Mexican games and a host of European country's and clubs play to huge audiances

Ratings for the WC have grown significantly since Becks. They will peak this summer.

In short, the sport before 2006 (pre Becks) and what it looks like today could not be more different in terms of every measurable item. How much of this can be attributed to Becks alone is imposdible to guage but MLS would sign that deal again in a heart beat knowing what it did for the league and the sport.

 
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Meh. In America there's soccer games on TV from somewhere in the world practically every day of the year. The "soccer will never be big here" opinions are basically irrelevant at this point.
Agreed.I will accept people saying MLS an entity is not big, but people who think the sport itself is not big (MLS + EPL + World Cup + Champions League + Liga MX etc etc) are just plain uninformed.

 
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It's a serious comment. The style doesn't appeal to the average sports fan in the US. Look at the testosterone-infested marketing of the NFL.
Luis Suarez literally eats people on the field. If consuming your enemies to gain their powers isn't the most masculine expression of testosterone-fueled rage, then I don't know what it.

 
I'd like soccer more if they got rid of offsides. Everytime there's an awesome play starting to develop, the ####### ref holds up his flag.
I used to think this also... then smarter people at soccer than me educated me on why you just HAVE to have the offsides penalty.

Now... I do inherently agree that soccer needs more scoring so that there are less ties (the worst outcome in all of sports) and so that scoring seems like less of a luck based thing.

Sports that have the lowest number of upsets are games in which there are a high number of scoring opportunities (like the NBA where there are almost no appreciable upsets)... whereas sports with low numbers of scores have higher upsets... football, baseball, hockey

So after discussing how to fix soccer ad nauseum with several experts in the field, I determined the best way to accomplish things without compromising the game too much was to increase the goal size by 15%.

Done. Soccer fixed
I don't want more scoring, just more scoring chances. Soccer is basically 90 minutes of kicking the ball back and forth with very few great moments in between.

That said, the fact that it's by far the most popular sport in the world leads me to believe its my problem to get over and that it doesn't need fixing.
I am a big fan of soccer and I too would love more scoring chances (bigger goals is the last thing the sport needs).

Of course I think all of us could make improvements to really any sport.

Your last sentence is pretty healthy. I don't like baseball but it does not bother me that people enjoy it.

As another poster said, it is fantastic we have such great choices.

 
A thread was started about how we don't like soccer because we wouldn't allow bananas thrown at black players, and I'm trolling? lol, ok

Soccer isn't as popular here because it doesn't match our sports culture, there isn't enough scoring, and you can't just throw money at players to make it a top sport.

 
I wasn't entirely joking about the gay thing. Or maybe effeminate is a better word.

Soccer will never be popular with Joe sixpack USA as long as midfielders are making "delightful crosses" or "lovely backheels"
Didn't get a reaction the first time so you thought you'd try again? We get it, you think soccer is gay. Now will someone please take the bait and get angry at him for it?
It's a serious comment. The style doesn't appeal to the average sports fan in the US. Look at the testosterone-infested marketing of the NFL.
Back heel=behind the back pass, cross=lob...people seem to like basketball just fine. Nobody calls it gay.

 
It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.
Just about everything in the bolded is flat out wrong, except that the people that throw bananas are the equivalent of mouth-breathing racist rednecks
Then I would like to understand how the bananas and monkey noises are condoned if there isn't some unspoken acceptance of that behavior much greater than we'd ever see here.
 
It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.
I think we need to step up our football hooliganism. Except for Philly....our football fans are a bunch of cheese and brie eating, jersies tucked into our jorts d bags.

 
It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.
Just about everything in the bolded is flat out wrong, except that the people that throw bananas are the equivalent of mouth-breathing racist rednecks
Then I would like to understand how the bananas and monkey noises are condoned if there isn't some unspoken acceptance of that behavior much greater than we'd ever see here.
It's not.A possible exception is Russia which is one of the most racist countries in the world

 
It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.
Just about everything in the bolded is flat out wrong, except that the people that throw bananas are the equivalent of mouth-breathing racist rednecks
Then I would like to understand how the bananas and monkey noises are condoned if there isn't some unspoken acceptance of that behavior much greater than we'd ever see here.
We have had a known racists owning an NBA team for years.

Why did we accept Donald Sterling for so many years?

I don't think the average European condones any more than the average American condones the KKK.

 
I'd like soccer more if they got rid of offsides. Everytime there's an awesome play starting to develop, the ####### ref holds up his flag.
I used to think this also... then smarter people at soccer than me educated me on why you just HAVE to have the offsides penalty.

Now... I do inherently agree that soccer needs more scoring so that there are less ties (the worst outcome in all of sports) and so that scoring seems like less of a luck based thing.

Sports that have the lowest number of upsets are games in which there are a high number of scoring opportunities (like the NBA where there are almost no appreciable upsets)... whereas sports with low numbers of scores have higher upsets... football, baseball, hockey

So after discussing how to fix soccer ad nauseum with several experts in the field, I determined the best way to accomplish things without compromising the game too much was to increase the goal size by 15%.

Done. Soccer fixed
I don't want more scoring, just more scoring chances. Soccer is basically 90 minutes of kicking the ball back and forth with very few great moments in between.

That said, the fact that it's by far the most popular sport in the world leads me to believe its my problem to get over and that it doesn't need fixing.
I am a big fan of soccer and I too would love more scoring chances (bigger goals is the last thing the sport needs).
i spent a lot of time thinking about this and put legit thought and discussion into this. You dismissed it pretty rapidly.. whasuup

 
I'd like soccer more if they got rid of offsides. Everytime there's an awesome play starting to develop, the ####### ref holds up his flag.
I used to think this also... then smarter people at soccer than me educated me on why you just HAVE to have the offsides penalty.

Now... I do inherently agree that soccer needs more scoring so that there are less ties (the worst outcome in all of sports) and so that scoring seems like less of a luck based thing.

Sports that have the lowest number of upsets are games in which there are a high number of scoring opportunities (like the NBA where there are almost no appreciable upsets)... whereas sports with low numbers of scores have higher upsets... football, baseball, hockey

So after discussing how to fix soccer ad nauseum with several experts in the field, I determined the best way to accomplish things without compromising the game too much was to increase the goal size by 15%.

Done. Soccer fixed
I don't want more scoring, just more scoring chances. Soccer is basically 90 minutes of kicking the ball back and forth with very few great moments in between.That said, the fact that it's by far the most popular sport in the world leads me to believe its my problem to get over and that it doesn't need fixing.
I am a big fan of soccer and I too would love more scoring chances (bigger goals is the last thing the sport needs).
i spent a lot of time thinking about this and put legit thought and discussion into this. You dismissed it pretty rapidly.. whasuup
They have done experiments with larger goals both in college at at lower pro levels in the 90's.

There was no real evidence that the scoring rate went up at all and then when that was coupled by the monstrous cost to replace every goal in the world (think about that undertaking for a second), it died on the vine.

 
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If the USA really wanted to it could win a World Cup in the next 12 years. That said it would need to be a country wide effort and someone would have to put hundreds of millions into it. You can tell me how great the rest of the word is till your blue in the face. But if Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, AJ green, Lebron James, Etc Etc of all the truly great US athletes and athletes to come took ten years and dove head first into winning a World Cup I'm sure we could do it.

 

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