Why do Americans think soccer is a girl's sport!?

Question

Hi, I'm a British citizen but I am of greek descent. Everyone in Europe, Latin America and much of Asia is crazy about the sport, and it is (almost always) seen as a sport for men.

Why isn't this the case in the US, I'm just curious because I gather that it's more popular with women over there!

By the way, I'm NOT saying that everyone in America HATES the sport, nor am i saying it's not for girls.

I'm just saying that from what i've seen and heard from americans, it's generally not perceived as a man's sport

Answer 1

Mario, don't let some of my fellow Americans speak for all of us.

- Back on June 23rd, while me & the family were at the shore for vacation, there was a soccer tournament for children 14 and under. There were 10 players per team and 910 teams!

- Most of us Americans (including myself) were raised with American football, baseball, basketball, and others as scholastic sports choices. Only recently have soccer and ice hockey, among others been added. I was fortunate to have been able to play soccer for my high school way back in 1974 before they cancelled the program.

- On the professional level, many of us are attracted to violence in sports. I love playing American football and ice hockey because of the element of physical contact that is a part of the strategy. But too many Americans view soccer as a gentle sport A) because they don't understand the game and B) because they never played it.

- MLS has to compete for American attention because of many other major professional sports. If there were no MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, PGA Tour, NASCAR, and NCAA sports, then most Americans would embrace soccer and it is a safe bet that many guys would play it roughly.

Personally, I feel I have the best of both worlds. I love soccer and football and hope to see soccer be as popular here in the U.S. as it is worldwide.

Answer 2

It's more seen as a girl's or kid's sport because you simply can't make as much money doing it here as in our "Big 3" sports. Even minor league baseball players make more than US soccer players. Also, Football and Basketball are big money sports at American colleges, which means a lot more scholarships are available. Add in that there has never been a great US soccer player for young kids to look up to and it's pretty easy to see why US athletes gravitate towards other sports.

As for it being more popular with women, I don't think that's true. The only remotely successful women's sports league is the WNBA, which loses money and exists solely as an engine to market the NBA to other demographics. Women's soccer had some buzz after USA won the World Cup but I'd say softball is the 2nd biggest women's sport here right now.

Answer 3

Because us Americans stupidly think that if a sport doesn't involve,

A) A lot of contact

B) Non-stop action for our short-attention spans

C) Players that practically take steroids

Then, it's not "a real sport".

I have to say though, soccer is becoming extremely popular here in the U.S now days. No, not as popular as Football or Basketball, but a lot of times when going to the mall or even in school, there's plenty of people with Barca jerseys and many other teams from Europe.

If I could, I would trade American Football for soccer any day.

Answer 4

It's popular here but not mainstream popular like in other countries. It's kind of a catch 22 because U.S. Soccer won't get mass support until it has some notable success. And it won't have success until it gets support.

Really what we need more that anything is a non-U.S. coach that knows the game.

What I don't understand is that the U.S. is made up of immigrants from all the countries that love soccer. So what happened? It's like they came here and forgot the game.

Soccer has this stigma as a foreign sport and Americans resist ideas or customs they perceive to be foreign.

Answer 5

American do not think soccer is only a girl's sport.

That said, there are a lot of females playing, and we've enjoyed much more success on the world stage in the women's game than the men's (2 WCs and an Olympic gold). So perhaps because of that success, you've gotten the perception we think it is a women's game.

Partly due to a law called Title IX (nine), women have gained much more equality when it comes to sports. Our success on the world stage is probably due to the fact we've had more women playing it longer than other countries.

Answer 6

Depends where you are. I work in San Francisco, and trust me last year during the world cup the restaurants showing the matches were packed. A lot of the crowd were immigrants, but the majority were americans. There is an a italian restaurant in north beach that had people standing on the sidewalks looking into to see the big screen tvs. I watched germany vs. argentina at a german restaurant and barely got a seat. In this area it's growing, but we're not typical. As for women's soccer, I don't watch it at all.

Answer 7

I don't think Americans think of soccer as a girls sport. Soccer is played by boys and girls here. Soccer is very popular amongst boys and girls ages 6 through 14. Once people become adults then it is on to America Sports like Baseball for boys and Fast Pitch Softball for Girls. Remember Baseball is America's past time not soccer. But we don't think of it just for girls.

Answer 8

i agree with a lot of yall.. it's not very much of a "contact" sport if you will.. i don't think americans perceive soccer as a girl sport, but most (not all) just don't care for the sport. most people sit here and raise their kids to be great football, baseball, and basketball players cause those are the "all-american" sports.. so that could also explain why our soccer players aren't that great either

i think that women might like soccer better because they can kind of take it in as their own sport without male dominance.. cause american football, baseball, and basketball are typically dominated by men and women don't get as much attention in those sports

Answer 9

Well mate I'm an English bloke (West Ham supporter) and I live in Canada now, and we see baseball (rounders) and basketball (netball) as girls games in England. I think that Americans isolate themselves from the rest of the world sometimes. Americans are not stupid people, they just don't understand the culture and the passion of football (soccer). It may take a generation or two, but eventually America will understand and appreciate the world game.

Answer 10

i have to agree with gabe. americans can be arrogant. the people here put themselves above all other countries without reason (they are not as advanced as european countries in many ways). i wish soccer was more popular in the us because it is my favorite sport to watch and it is so physically demanding. if you look at some of the professional baseballers and footballers, many of them have beerbellies-not exactly a sign of athleticism. In all the soccer players i have ever seen, every muscle is sculpted and they are in very good physical condition. Anyway, americans have way too much pride and since they consider football and baseball "all-american sports" they ignore soccer. Many little boys are brainwashed by their parents-they are told what to like and what to dislike. That's why soccer is internationally accepted as the greatest sport, but not here.