Americans often say the reason why they dont like football(soccer) is because of low scoring. Why?

Question

If you look at the English league or Spanish league, or infact most other leagues you usually get scores of 2-1 or 3-2 or even higher, why is it Americans complain about this. If you look at the english league you only see a couple of 0-0 draws over many weeks. In American football a game can last up to 4 hours and over that time the score are often only in the 20s or even less.
Do Americans not realise that the reason why the points difference is so big is due to the fact that you get 6 points for a touchdown and then an extra point for the mighty hard part of kicking a ball over and between an unguarded goal, also another point for doing the same thing in open play. A game of football lasts at most 1 hour 50 mins(from start to finish) and you only get 1 goal(point) for a goal. Australia beat Samoa 31-0 in soccer yet the highest score I can find in NFL is Washington (72)vs. N.Y. Giants (41),if you break it down, this is only 10-5 touchdowns at best.Why do you say this is the reason?

Answer 1

It's because we are "conditioned" to high scoring in all our major sports. It isn't because we chose to be that way. Many teams in all sports do surveys based on the input of their season ticket holders. They have surmised - especially, and unfortunately - in the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball that fans want more goals and more runs scored.

Generations of Americans are nurtured to believe that offense wins games. I say hogwash.

The only thing I care about is that my teams come out on top.

It is interesting to me as well why my fellow countrymen complain about low scoring. Low scoring to me is like calling an incision a small cut. Scoring is scoring, a cut is a cut, there is no need for more description. My point is that fans of football and fans of soccer may never understand why they are the way they are, all that is important is that we try to be ambassadors of our sport.

I have the best of both worlds. Go Eagles. Go DC United.

I am a huge fan of soccer and football. My advice to anyone is, that if people are intentionally putting down other sports, just point out to them what they are missing. If they don't like a sport don't let them think that it is acceptable to put it down.

Answer 2

Most likely, Americans judgment on "boring" low scoring games are from past viewed world cup matches. Those are tightly played games and unless you get a powerhouse vs. a very weak club the score is likely to be 1-0 or 1-1.
It's just an excuse to make themselves believe baseball, football and others are that much more exciting and different.

The truth about close games is it keeps you watching till the end. Most people leave or tune out when its a blowout.

But in the US, ratings for the last 10 min of a show is not counted, it's the first 10-20 min., and nobody cares if half a sellout crowd leaves before the end because it was a sellout. Theres no partial refund for leaving early.

In the UK and Europe, misses are also a highlight along with actual goals. Very Very rarely does sports news show the "almosts". The closest would be an outfielder catching a ball that would have been a HR but that in itself is a highlight.

Again, a huge reason soccer is looked down on in the US is the media and word of mouth. Enough people say dumb ignorant things about it and people start to believe it as if they thought of it.

Answer 3

I can't speak for all North Americans, but I think part of the reason why soccer hasn't caught on here is that its pace is seen as boring. It's not just the scoring, but the whole speed of the game. Watching players bring the ball up through midfield, and watching them take time to set up plays in the other's end, is a little too subtle for many here, in my opinion.

Part of it is a cultural thing, and some has to do with the other sports that have already gained a foothold. We tend to like sports that move very quickly from end to end like hockey and basketball, or those involving a lot of speed and violence like football. North Americans, in general, aren't exactly the most patient and leisurely people in the world, so watching soccer is sometimes a difficult thing for people.

Your comparison with NFL scores using touchdowns doesn't really work, because Americans love the action that precedes a touchdown. A big run, a great reception, or a big hit - whatever it is, they're always in the game. In fact, Americans love even a low-scoring football game because it can still provide plenty of excitement. On the flip side, they can't understand how a 0-0 soccer match could possibly be exciting, because only goals seem to get people excited about soccer here.

Soccer is a great sport, and I'd like to see it catch on more here. I had a chance to attend some of the U-20 games here recently, and I was encouraged by the turnout. However, it's going to be a very uphill battle for it to gain a foothold in North America.

Answer 4

It is just an excuse not to watch. The real reason they don't like soccer is they just don't know the game well enough to appreciate it. It also has a hard time attracting the casual fan. The vast majority of fans for Baseball, American Football or Basketball are casual fans who know enough of the game to watch important games and playoffs. These games also can be watched with lots of breaks and do not require your attention for the full time. American's love of soccer will take time, 20 years ago the only soccer shown on TV was in Spanish and broadcast to Mexican immigrants. Today you can see MLS games on multiple channels virtually everytime they are played. With the Fox Soccer Channel you can see games from around the world played 24/7. The rest of the world has a 100 years of history with soccer and the US has maybe 30. The yanks are coming they just may take another 20 years.

Answer 5

Good question,

I think Americans don't like ties more than the low scoring, while a tie can happen in American football it is rare.

There is a lot of set up in Soccer (from what i see) while it is being done on the fly, there is movement all over the field for positioning, unless you are watching this as it happens live at the stadium you miss the rest of the action.
If a sport has a hard time being translated onto the TV then Americans don't warm up to it.

Answer 6

Well i don't get it. Personally I think low scoring is better... it makes things more exciting whenever a goal is actually scored or is close to being scored. I also agree with you in am. football teams will have a score of 28-14 and they don't realize in REAL football that the score is only 4-2. I think the reason is that people in america are like ADD. They have to see a score every 5 mminutes or they get bored and change the channel or go to sleep.

Answer 7

I think that it's all in the eye of the beholder. I'm an English bloke but I live in North America and I find American (gridiron) football very boring. A game that has a 60 minute playing time and takes 3 or 4 hours to play, well! what does that tell you? I think that alot of Americans dislike for the game is because they don't understand it. They also see it as a foreign sport. I don't know! all I can do is try to educate our colonial cousins about the beautiful game.

Answer 8

Excellent question and post . It is high time as the man said we need to put the Dept. of Education under " a magnifying glass " . The no child left behind has done nothing more than using our kids as test dummies for Federal funds . I maintain that the dept. should be closed and the funds AND control of the schools be returned to locally or state wide . $ 70 billion for what . The tenure rule should also be removed entirely . I've been on both sides of the issue ( labor and management ) and nobody in the private sector hides from the boss for long and when fired the union tells him / her they are an embarrassment to the trade and sit in line and think about it ..

Answer 9

Its just an excuse. They simply cant understand our offside rule so say the scoring is dissapointing.

Answer 10

soccer is frikin awesome
americans are just screwed up
rest of the world loves it
why not htem