America in general we all know, does not like soccer. Compared to football or baseball or basketball, soccer is a mere tiny little baby compared to those big name ones here in America. I started thinking why. Maybe because it's a sport where you actually have to sit down and watch for more than 5 or 10 minutes without a break? Maybe because people do not understand the game? Or the rules? I think the typical, American, football-loving person would say all these things. They would not like to dedicate themselves to sitting down for such a long period of time. Also the rules of soccer could be complicated, for example, the offside rule is a tough rule to understand. Maybe this is why people do not like soccer? Maybe there isn't enough hitting or bashing of players? This usually gets lots of people attention in football, but there isn't as much body-to-body contact in soccer compared to football.
Another reason why people may not like soccer is because it's still dealing with problems internationally. FIFA have always had a problem with racism in the sport of soccer all around the world. Since a lot of countries in 2012 still haven't gone through a Civil Rights fight in there history, there are still many racists out there in the world and since soccer is the most popular sport in the world, it gets a lot of negative attention because of the racist fans. I believe that the majority of people still don't like the idea of racism in a sport so they decide not to watch it and therefore, not like it. FIFA is making rules and policies towards racism and it is helping not just the sport evolve but the world too. People don't want to banish there favorite team because of the racist things they've said during a match, they'd rather watch their team play than say these racist things. But in my opinion this racism issue is a large one, that many people don't like about it.
Or maybe people just don't like kicking and running? Maybe they'd rather watch a water sport, or a ice sport. All people have their opinions and that could lead them away from liking soccer. Soccer is the sport where you do the most running in. Maybe people would rather watch racing? Such as cars, or motor bikes. This could be their hobby and not people just running around a field for 90 minutes.
I've tried to touch on most of the perspectives of the sport of soccer and, of how people view it and if they like it. I talked about my opinion and a lot of the world's opinion that it's the most entertaining and skillful sport in the whole world. I touched on an American's view point. I also talked about the issue of racism and how people despise the sport for still having racism in it. I lastly touched on one's view of just not enjoying land games and liking swimming or racing sports. These are the perspectives that I could think of, and I realized when thinking of these I could understand why someone would not like soccer. It has helped me realize that my point of view isn't the only point of view out there. There are many and this assignment helped me think about that.
Dear Taso,
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I am that big of a fan of soccer. In fact, even though I know the rules and positions I consider that I know nothing of the sport. For example, I can't list more than five soccer players in my head right now and i definitely didn't know that racism had its tendrils in soccer.
I want you to also know however, that I am not a big fan of any other sport either. Overall, I don't know sports as I am not a sporty person. This means my opinion is unbiased I believe. So I will explain why people look at soccer the way through the lense of my own voice and opinion.
The united states has a view of being very orientated on destinations. "It doesn't matter how you do it, just do it." This view in my opinion is what makes sports like football and baseball so much more popular than soccer. These sports are "destination sports" They are made up of quick bursts of movement that push a team forward or backwards. It is very easy to see who has the advantage and it is very easy to see who has achieved their goal of either pushing forward or scoring.
Soccer is not crafted this way. Soccer is constant struggle. It, in my opinion embodies the lives of Europeans more than that of people living in the U.S. In Europe people don't say "I will be rich." They say "I will push on." They keep grinding at their jobs and lives, living day to day instead of in the future. Then if they make it of their rut the crowd goes crazy! Getting that point or leaving the pack and running up the field shows a break from normality. It shows a break from the everyday, and this is the dream of Europeans. They dream of bigger and better things while pushing on with their everyday. While in America they push to get farther and forward, while putting less attention on their current position. That is why soccer isn't as popular in the U.S as it is in other places around the world.