Soccer has not and will not ever become a marquee sport in the United States.
But if you tell people that you “love” sports, then I suggest you start turning on some matches. After all, it’s hard to be a “sports nut” if you claim to hate the world’s most popular game.
Right now, we’ve got the World Cup. And everybody – yes, everybody – should watch. I mean, this event comes once every four years. Remember the person you were in 2006? Neither do I.
Plus, standard American criticisms of soccer are bogus. U.S. sports fans deride soccer for a variety of different reasons, but the complaints are more indicative of their impatience than the game’s deficiencies.
1) There’s not enough scoring: I’m sorry, but grow up. This is an acceptable argument from an elementary schooler, not anybody that claims to be sports-knowledgeable.
“But Jim Rome makes this argument,” you say.
Exactly.
2) The game is too slow: In the NBA, each team is entitled to six timeouts in regulation play, with three more in overtime. Add 10 TV timeouts over the span of the game. Substitutions are unlimited.
In soccer, the clock never stops after the first whistle, and the game only pauses for a foul or when the ball is kicked out of bounds. Teams are limited to three substitutions per game with no re-entry for the substituted player.
A 90-minute soccer game usually takes no more than 100 to complete. A 48-minute basketball game often takes more than three hours to finish.
I’m sorry. Did you say that soccer is slow?
3) Soccer players are wimps: Part of this argument is reasonable. Diving – embellishing a foul that may or may not have occurred – has entrenched itself into the game. It’s a problem that plagues soccer. Americans hate it and label players “wusses”, “wimps” or other less-than endearing nicknames.
Now consider that an average midfielder in professional soccer runs about 10 kilometers per game if they play all 90 minutes. Tell me the last time you ever saw Vince Carter or Amar’e Stoudemire dive on the floor for a loose ball or break into a sprint. I sure as hell can’t remember.
Do you want to learn more about certain countries’ culture? Then watch international soccer.
German soccer is much like a BMW: Perfectly engineered, structurally sound and powerful.
Brazilian soccer is like their native Samba music: Light-hearted and aesthetically beautiful.
Italian soccer is like, well, everything Italian: Very, very dramatic.
Author Grant Farred wrote that “soccer is a game that makes political conflicts accessible.”
The soccer pitch is an international medium. A country’s importance is not determined by real GDP or military firepower. There is merely a ball, two goals and 90 minutes to properly represent your nation.
It is an opportunity for downtrodden nations to rediscover hope through competition.
Unknown players are offered the opportunity to shine on the world’s greatest stage and permanently etch themselves into their country’s lore.
I’m not telling you to dust off the old American flag sweatpants and discover your most nationalist tendencies. (Leave that behavior to the Arizona state legislature.)
I am saying that despite its lack of American popularity, you’re not a true sports fan unless you make some attempt to embrace the World Cup.