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The typical American sports, in my opinion, are the ones that are boring. I find it quite boring to watch baseball--I read somewhere that the ball is in play for an average of about 2 1/2 minutes during an entire 3 1/2 hour game (!!). Football players can't go for more than 15 seconds without taking a break and huddling. The coaches tell them what to do--they are told exactly where/how to run and everyone except the quarterback and whoever has the ball has no creative input into the game. They're a bunch of chubby robots with TONS of protective equipment (I'd pay admission to see them try to last one minute in a rugby match). I also don't like watching guys wearing tight pants rolling around on the ground with each other and smacking butts. Not my cup of tea... Basketball--the taller the better. Shaq has ZERO skill but still dominates due to his mass. (Side note: can you imagine how good he'd be if he had any skills? If I were his size, I'd kick myself if I couldn't get 50 pts. and 30 rebounds every game.) I do enjoy watching basketball due to the sheer athleticism of most players but I think it pales in comparison to the demands of soccer. 48 minute games??? That's usually how long one half of soccer lasts and we don't get any timeouts.
I think one of the biggest reasons most Americans don't "get it" is a complete lack of a sense of nationalism. The only athletic competition where the U.S. seems to support its athletes on an international level is during the Olympics. The Olympics is comprised primarily of sports no one really cares about except every four years when network TV crams it down your throat. The "World" Series is anything but that. Football is all but unknown outside of this continent. Basketball is catching on overseas but it's not even close to approaching the importance of soccer.
Having been born abroad (Peru-South America) and coming from a country rich with soccer tradition, I know what it's like to have a true passion for the game. It's a feeling that can't really be described.... I guess that also comes from being a lifelong soccer player. There's something very powerful about a national team. In a struggling country, those 11 players carry the weight of the nation and can make people forget how miserable they are if only for a short time. Again, this is hard to understand if you've never seen true poverty firsthand.
I've actually played with and against quite a few of the American players on the national team through the Olympic Development Program that's run by the U.S. Soccer Federation and various tournaments/training camps. While I'm now too old and too far into law school to consider a career in soccer, there's nothing like putting the ball in the back of the net. I can't imagine what it must feel like doing the same thing while wearing your team's national jersey in front of 100,000 people.
One last fact before I put this long argument to rest.... The Super Bowl is watched by 30+ million people each year. The World Cup championship game is watched by 3+ BILLION. Just imagine what that statistic would be if everyone owned a TV in the poorer countries.
I'm not trying to say that Americans SHOULD become soccer fans... I just want people to understand why the rest of the world finds it so captivating.
GO ARGENTINA!!!
Charlie
91 900TC
posted by 156.56.7...
, Thu, 6 Jun 2002 20:10:06, Wed, 5 Jun 2002 13:28:32
, Wed, 5 Jun 2002 03:13:26, Tue, 4 Jun 2002 22:30:26, Wed, 5 Jun 2002 04:16:36
, Tue, 4 Jun 2002 20:18:50
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