I was talking to my girlfriend today about Fox winning the broadcast rights to the 2018 & 2022 World Cups over ESPN (who’ve held the rights to every World Cup since 1994). She caught me off guard when she said she didn’t care about the World Cup and found it annoying last year when people were sucked into the excitement. I chalked it up to her general non-interest in sports but enough people claim to not like soccer that I wanted to better understand why.
Yes, I grew up playing soccer and played it through high school; Yes, I was at the perfect youthful age to be heavily invested in the 1994 World Cup that was played right here on US soil; And, yes, I did win a free workout with the New England Revolution when I was a kid. But I feel like I have a pretty good handle on most people’s complaints about the sport: it’s too slow, there aren’t enough goals, MLS sucks and the foreign leagues are too difficult to follow due to TV rights and cable packages. Fine, if that’s the case then these people should also be uninterested in baseball (slow) and hockey (not enough goals). Yet baseball is America’s pastime and hockey is a popular niche sport that certainly doesn’t get ragged on like soccer does. So, why the hate?
To Americans, soccer is a European sport. Football and baseball are pure Americana; Basketball is urban; Hockey is Canadian. Americans haven’t cared much for European things since 1776. And the biggest thing that has carried over that distaste is flopping. Soccer players are known for flopping, which is a terrible but true distinction. But even all the European basketball players in the NBA flop constantly. It’s just what they do. So the manly American men chop it up to soccer players being weak – “It’s not as physical as football” – as their reason not to watch. Of course, that feeling has become so pervasive that people will just use it as an explanation without ever actually giving soccer a chance.
The World Cup is different though. It’s more like the Olympics; a must-see event that captures the world’s attention and cultivates national pride. Is there a better chant than “U-S-A!” “U-S-A!”? I ended up sending my girlfriend the reaction video to Landon Donovan’s goal heard ‘round the world against Algeria. I rest my case.
I went to a Revs game a couple weeks ago and when I got home my dad and I qote said "Those guys are tough-probably some of the toughest athletes around. They only have shin guards!" (He is certainly not a soccer fan-watches the World Cup though.)
ReplyDeleteMy 2 cents-people don't like soccer because thay don't get it. And don't try to get it. Once you understand it, it doesn't seem as slow.
I tried to teach my Irish cousins about baseball because they find it boring (which...it is if you waren't there and it isn't a must win game I think, so alow)-they gave up. Still find it boring, still don't understand it. People are stubborn.