DBWI: Soccer Not Just an American Sport

Anaxagoras

Banned
Americans love their soccer (which they refer to as "football") more than life itself. However, the rest of the world just gives a big yawn and could not care less about the game. How can soccer become more than just an American sport?
 
Well, all sports are big in the US, except cricket. But how could soccer hope to compete in Europe, North Africa, or the Pacific when American servicemen brought over the awesome sport of gridloin? That just snowballed to the point where it's bigger in other countries than the US.
 
I think the main reason is that American colleges and universities picked up soccer in the 19th century. That lent it the kind of respectability that made being a fan less of a lower-class thing. Young scholar athletes competing for their city, county or state was just the kind of thing the United States public craved, especially after the terrible times it had been through, and the media was more than happy to feed the whole craze. I mean, the whole concept of 'league tables' is something we owe to the Americans. The rest of the world was perfectly content to keep score of individual matches.

The other thing, of course, is competition from cricket, base ball and rugby football (interestingly, it really is much more logical to call soccer 'football', wouldn't you agree? I mean how often do our footballers actually kick the ball?) If America had more of a worldwide profile, its sports would also likely be more popular. Outside of bits of Central America, I guess - isn't there a Bolivarian Cup somewhere in Nicaragua?

edit: apologies. My post crossed with the previous. No intent to derail.
 
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Soccer succeeding outside of the U.S.? You might as well postulate motorized polo leaving the South and picking up non-white aficionados. Not that NAMPS fans aren't colored already in the Daytona sun, particularly around their necks, ha ha ha.
 
Then we in Sweden would have something to watch in the summertimes. We only got Athletics in the period between april and october, otherwise we have bandy, icehockey, basketball and handball to watch.

Last year the bandy superfinal was the highest rated sporting event in the world. I heard lots of americans who watched the entire game online. Maybe soccer could be just as big around the world as icehockey
 
Then we in Sweden would have something to watch in the summertimes.

It is not a problem in Finland, as (apart from most of European countries) we got our own football here, Finnish football or potkupallo as it is known. Not as big as ice hockey is, certainly, but it does give a sports fan something to follow during the summer months.

created in the 1920s by Lauri "Paitsio" ("Offside") Pihkala, the game is basically American soccer (with some diverging rules) adapted to a smaller field and allowing more physical contact. Intially Pihkala conceived the sport as a part of military training for the rightist Civil Guards organisation and the army, but since the war it was taken up also by the larger society.

Some say Pihkala was influenced by Finnish immigrants returning from America between the wars, and certainly the game is something that connects the Finnish diaspora in America with their mother country. Due to the similarity of the game, there have also been some players able to cross over to the "bigger field" (both in a concrete and metaphorical sense) in the NFL. Attacker Jari Litmanen, of New England Patriots fame, and Aki Riihilahti, the long time captain of Chicago United, are as much national heroes here than our beloved hockey stars.

You might have noticed Svenska Spel picking up some potkupallo games in the summer to bolster their lean betting lists... Although played by some Finnish immigrants in Sweden, you know the game never gained popularity in your country.
 

randomkeith

Banned
For soccer to succeed outside of the US it would have to be far less violent. I heard about one game in Chicago that recorded 21 dead and 67 wounded.

It is awsome to watch though i really like the New Orleans Overlords tactic of using a tank in goal rather than as a striker. Although the San Fransisco Slayers tactics of shouting Banzi and charging into the machine gun nests are getting boring, and they havn't won a game in 3 years. But thats probally due to the high amount of Japanese players they have.

I just can't imagine soccer taking off in europe for a start the strict fire arm laws would prohibit it. Although some Eastern European countries could put together a team or too.

On a side note i totally agree with the Boston Bloodsoakers coach General Colin Powel when he complained about the use of Claymores in the rescent game against the Miami Sharks, most unsporting his light infantry where obliterated seconds after kick off
 
. Attacker Jari Litmanen, of New England Patriots fame, and Aki Riihilahti, the long time captain of Chicago United, are as much national heroes here than our beloved hockey stars.

ooc: Another ATL, Jari Litmanen not injured for years(like he was at Malmo FF and only played regulary for the finnish national team):)
 
ooc: Another ATL, Jari Litmanen not injured for years(like he was at Malmo FF and only played regulary for the finnish national team):)

ooc: Quite so. At the time, there was some talk in the Finnish press about him putting a big strain on the sustainability of Swedish public healthcare...And Riihilahti making it at such a high level, a long time captain even...;) Though I based his role a bit on Saku Koivu, as players I see them very similarly, both as intelligent, tenacious leader types, loved by fans.
 
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Think about how team games games are scored. The answer lies there.

If the difference between winners and losers is 10, 20 or 50 points, then if one side or the other gains or loses a few extra points purely by chance, it won't affect the outcome - the better rated team will still win. Rugby, cricket, baseball, grid iron all fit this model.

In soccer however, the difference between winning or losing is often just 1 or 2 goals. Chance plays a huge role. The better team may get some unlucky decisions or hit the crossbar or posts, and thus lose to a worse team who gets some luck. In other words, the plucky underdog still has a decent chance.

And that is what appeals to American psychology. Americans like plucky underdogs to have a chance, even if it's because of luck. This is also why Star Wars for example was a huge movie in the US (one farm boy defeated an entire Empire!) - despite being a damb squib virtually everywhere else. This rooting for the underdog is why soccer is popular in the US.

In contrast, most other countries like to focus on the beauty and skill in sport. They believe the better team deserves to win. They believe it would be a travesty if the better team lost because of bad luck. Hence higher scoring games like grid iron and rugby are popular, but soccer is disliked, even despised.
 
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