How do Europeans feel about this sport? And why do you think soccer never became part of American culture?
2007-11-17 12:12:10 · 10 answers · asked by slickpapa2002 2 in Sports ➔ Football ➔ Other - Football
As an American, I do watch and appreciate many diverse sports. Especially football (soccer, rugby, and gridiron), and ice hockey as well.
I believe that the NFL is taking a very calculated risk introducing the sport across the pond. The UK is one of the few countries where there is a cult following of the sport, and they are trying to cultivate and expand such a niche market.
Personally, I feel that the people across the channel are just a bit too culturally effeminate to embrace such a violent sport, where most of the contact comes from BLOCKING (disallowed in rugby, and hence the need for protective gear-- especially the helmet/face-mask combination in gridiron,to protect against incidental hands to the EYES).
The French may be the one exception, but they are too much into loving rugby and savate (perhaps the only true masculine outlet for white French males), and too much into hating Americans to ever embrace it.
With that said, I believe it is also the set-piece vs. continuous-play schools of thought which separates the American sports-mind (cultivated by baseball) from the European/International sports mind (cultivated by soccer-football).
It's the seemingly drawn-out, continuous flow of play in soccer (as registered to most US minds), combined with a low score and a relative lack of contact, which turns most Americans off to the game.
In the UK, the set-piece, stop-and-go nature of the gridiron (and the lack of understanding about the need for protective equipment), that prevents the game from being embraced by Englismen and Celts alike.
In short, Americans need to be more open-minded about the international game and the British and Irish need to be less opinionated about the American game, in order to overcome cultural biases and embrace football and football for what it is... THE GREATEST SPORTS ON EARTH!!!
2007-11-18 02:43:52 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i'm American and i don't even know what the game is about. it's way to complicated and i find it extremely boring. Soccer on the other hand i do like but that has a lot to do with the fact that i'm Mexican and it's a big sport over in Mexico. i just think it never became big in the U.S. because people had football, baseball, and basketball and just didn't want to embrace another sport.
2007-11-17 20:24:01 · answer #2 · answered by kateecat 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
We were indoctrinated into NFL in the UK back in 1984 on a terrestrial free to air (fta) channel (Channel 4) then it got scooped up by the satellite subscription channels (Sky) and died. There are still a lot of fans here and one fta channel (Five) shows live Monday Night football but you have to set the recorder cos it's on a stupid o'clock in the morning on a workday. Maybe Beckham will be the Genesis of Soccer USA. We'll not hold our breath whilst it's up against MLB, NHL etc.
2007-11-17 20:21:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Boring, boring, boring.
Football/Soccer is a game for women and children, so I can at least give the Americans credit for not adopting it. As with baseball and netball, sorry basketball, Yankees will always move the goalposts to suit their own ideology. Yankee football and baseball are games for wussies. Their attempts at playing sport with the big boys are pathetic. They don't compete at serious team sport 'cos they know they'll lose.
2007-11-17 21:17:35 · answer #4 · answered by mustardcharlie 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
American football seems to have far too many stoppages and standing around imbetween short plays, no buzz in that for me.
I think soccer never took off as many americans seem to think the world starts and ends on their shores so for example have the scenario of the "world baseball competition" with only USA teams in it, hilarious!
2007-11-18 05:50:25 · answer #5 · answered by Andrew D 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It just seems like America trying to shove its culture on the rest of the world like everything else American.
I'm American and I myself don't really understand why soccer never caught on. I find it incredibly excited and you never know what will happen next. American football is just too...I don't know...stop and go with all the same tihngs over and over. No, not for me. Give me real football and rugby anyday
2007-11-17 20:36:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Rugby is best.American football is boring.
2007-11-18 06:03:48 · answer #7 · answered by trooper 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
its a sport for men played by wimps who need to wear armour. Watch Rugby
2007-11-17 20:23:19 · answer #8 · answered by Dickiebo 3 · 2⤊ 3⤋
American football is a girls game.
Why wear all that gay padding, soft gits.
2007-11-18 08:53:30 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
boring
2007-11-19 09:37:53 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋