Steve Rushin - Soccer Nazi

That line of thinking makes no sense because baseball and golf are international games, and both MLB and the PGA Tour have tons of non-Americans.  Ichiro is a popular player because he's good and fun to watch.  There are tons of foreign guys on the PGA Tour who are really popular players.  Golf fans love watching the British Open because the courses are different than what we play over here.  So I don't buy the lack of curiosity in the rest of the world remark.

 

This sums it up pretty well, I think.

I don't force someone in France to like baseball, then say he's an ethnocentric neanderthal if he doesn't. Don't say the same about me if I don't have soccer No. 1 on my sports list.

And yes, I do like soccer, but not as much as I like baseball, football, basketball or hockey. And yes, I have spent time outside the U.S. repeatedly.

Sometimes people forget part of why the U.S. was founded in the first place is because it wasn't supposed to be like the rest of the world.

 

Yeah, but the question is, why? Why doesn't soccer interest people who like lots of other sports? That's what soccer fans can't figure out, and I'm not sure I can either.

 

Its ironic that Rushin pokes fun at Sports Center when ESPN has done more to promote World Cup soccer than any US media outlet.

 

Because it's boring.

 

And there's the response that gets soccer fans all pissy. We've come full circle.

 

Glad I could be of service. ;D

 

many Europeans find football (pigskin) boring because of the constant whistles. I had never noticed how little they actually "play" in a football game, and I can see why someone that wasn't raised around the game, didn't know/understand the strategy involved with play calling wouldn't be attracted to the sport.

How long does the average play in football last.......... 8 seconds? Whistle, 45 seconds calling the play in the huddle, line up and run another 8 second play, repeat this process for 60 minutes.

Now, I love football, watch it every weekend etc....but I can understand why others may not like it.



Soccer would be better if they could make more substitutions, changing lines like they do in hockey. Obviously since most players are on the field for the full 90 minutes, they pace themselves. But unlimited substitutions would allow players to go all out every "shift".

Just my 2 cents

 

If there's one thing this thread has proved it is that the sport is now legitimized itself in the U.S. There's no way you would have seen 8 pages and counting of debate had this been a WNBA thread. The fact that an argument exists legitimizes the sport in the U.S. It's still in its infancy, but love it or hate it, soccer now has its place ingrained in American sports culture. Much like NASCAR a few years back.

 

Wonder how Rushin feels about horse racing.

 

It's a good thing you don't play soccer, Charlie Brown.

 

It's
Not
Our
Job
To
Like
Soccer.