why isn't soccer as popular in the U.S. as it is on the rest of the world?

Answer 1

I guess the US know they can not win at Soccer(~~)

Answer 2

Okay who said American Football was faster paced?? I'll admit I love football or soccer or whatever anyone wants to call it (I'm Australian so I also love Aussie Rules Footy) but anyone who says American Football is fast paced is brain dead!

When they're actually playing (Time-on or whatever the equivalent is) it's a quite entertaining game...sorta like smacking your brother on the side of the head with a foam bat, these guys are wearing that much padding that it's got to be fun to run full tilt at someone :P but there are waaaaaay too many stoppages in the game to be considered fast paced. When I do watch I spend all my time yelling at the TV telling everyone to just pick up the ball and play for crying out loud!...Gotta say it looks like a heck of a lot of fun to play though :D

As for the question, the reason the yanks don't play soccer at any great professional degree is probably the same reason us Aussie's don't. There are too many other 'major' sports that dominate the publics interest. The American's have baseball, american football, motorsport (Don't even get me started on that :P), ice hockey and basketball...I think if the US ever gets a superstar player, a Beckham, a Ronaldo or a Zidane they'll have someone to follow right to the top and the interest in US Soccer will increase hugely...just my 10 cents worth :D

Have a happy World Cup people...Good Luck everybody!!

Answer 3

Colin Cowherd addresses this question frequently on his radio show, and he said some things that make a lot of sense... Americans, on the whole, enjoy faster paced things these days. Not just with sports, but life in general. Americans are busier than they have ever been and are increasingly ambitious and goal-oriented. The nature of soccer is direct contrast to contemporary American ideals. It's slow-paced, compared to, say, NFL games, which is to say not only that the game moves faster, but also that the guys are always pushing to score, whereas in soccer, a team will get up 1-0 and then essentially play keep-away a lot. There's also something inherently entertaining about seeing guys tackle one another. If I told you that the people at your work place or school or whatever were going to be tackling one another all day, you'd probably be more interested to go there and probably gawk at it out of morbid curiosity. Soccer nerds will tell you that we (Americans) aren't sophisticated enough to get it, but I tend to disagree. They play soccer in third-world countries where the populations are largely uneducated, and we aren't less sophisticated than they are. It's just a matter of tastes, not the ability to understand the game. Probably a lot of people would argue that American football is more complex than soccer.

Answer 4

The general picture that is portraited by the media in the USA is that it is a girl's sport. I remember David Letterman in his show once making fun of the way you can use your head to play the ball, saying that you should use your hands, fanny!

It is remarkable coming from a country where they play their own kind of football (American) while being wrapped in all sorts of protective materials not to get hurt. Isn't that a bit girlish as well?

Answer 5

Not really, its picking up but at a slow pace.
On the other hand, who really cares when the rest of the world loves soccer!!!!

Answer 6

It just all about taste...
And they play football with their hand???

But anyway I support the USA team in the World Cup, if they success the American will understand the meaning of football.

Answer 7

The rules are too complcated for American minds.

Answer 8

Simple... Americans are clueless.

Answer 9

'Cos Americans developed their own sports.

Answer 10

The USA is a soooper power .... HAS 2 b DIFFERENT !

- if u don't know it .... know it now !