July 11th, 2006 by Jimmy Bones
Why Soccer Will never Catch on in North America (or the last article I write about soccer for 4 years)
The World Cup finals was watched by about a bazillion people worldwide even a few million on this side of the pond. Soccer is once again in the forefront around here, it had the front page of ESPN.com, top story in countless stories and leading off every TV newscast. But come next week, no one around here will give it a second thought. The MLS will continue to draw NHL like ratings in the States and besides the few diehards, soccer will fade away for four more years.
So why is this? Why can’t league soccer capture the attention of the mainstream in North America?
Well let us list the ways:
- The constant diving and faking injuries obviously goes to the top of the list. North Americans, especially males, are taught and expected to be tough. Unless something is seriously wrong, your dad is telling you to ‘walk it off’. Hockey has their divers and there are floppers in the NBA, but these players are hated by opposing fans more than anyone. There is nothing worse label for an athlete in North American than to be called soft. In soccer, being soft is a key element to the game.
- The ambigious foul/penalty system. NFL fans will argue for days about bad calls, but at least all rules are set in stone. In soccer, fouls and cards are handing out in what seems like a completely random fashion. One ref will hand out 10 yellow cards and the next game will feature a ref who doesn’t call anything. Random calls, just don’t cut it around here (one reason why the NBA and NHL struggle drawing new fans).
- The ridiculous grandstanding referees. Maybe back in 1920 it was necessary for these guys to have cards and flags, but now a days, I’m pretty sure there is better way than to have the ref wait 2 minutes until all the cameras get on him and then yank a card out of his pocket. The refs should stay in the background of the game, that’s how we like it.
- The limited substitution rules. There are no continious action sports (i.e. not including baseball), where you’ll just see players openly dogging it. Why only 3 substitutions? What is the point of this, I don’t understand. Let the players get off and rest for a bit so they are fresh when they do get involved in the action.
- The pure insanity is that is penalty kicks. Could you imagine the Super Bowl being decided by a field goal contest? The Stanley Cup by shootout? The NBA title by a free throw contest? Do we honestly know what team is the better soccer team after that game on Sunday? No, but we sure know who can do penalty kicks best.
So in 3 months, when some sports guy is asking, where are the soccer fans? Just link em here, and show them. They are all doing something better with their time.
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