What is it About Soccer that Just Does Not Catch on in America?

It would be foolish to say that soccer has not gained momentum over the last couple years in the United States, but realistically it will never ever reach the heights that other sports have. What is it about soccer that just does not catch on in America? Well here are the top 5 reasons why soccer will never be as dominating in the United States.

1. Not nearly enough violence. Sure, you can argue that baseball does not have much violence either but tell that to the batter who gets hit in the head with a 90 MPH fast ball. Take a look at football, UFC, boxing, and basketball, there is a great degree of physical contact in these sports but not as much in soccer. Soccer has violent moments or spurts, but overall it is a sport of finess and control. With America's obsession with violence, soccer will never be a large competitor in the media market. The occassional slide-tackle just is not enough to keep Americans enthralled.

2. Soccer is imported and Americans can't stand it. Soccer has incredible traditions in other countries. Thousands upon thousands of people attend and watch soccer matches around the world and it is the biggest sport overall in the world. Americans have just started catching on to soccer and we do not like the fact that we are behind other countries. Our mens soccer teams hardly scratch the surface in world competitions and Americans cannot stand being beaten in anything. So, instead of just getting better at soccer, Americans typically sweep soccer under the rug and call it a wussy sport. And importing players like David Beckham does not really help either (even though it does sell a ton of jerseys).

3. The pace of play is not fast enough. Okay, soccer is much faster than baseball but look at the time it usually takes to build up to a goal and it is way too long. Americans like constant action and even in baseball there is always offense happening, it is not always like that in soccer. Even when the offense has the ball in soccer, it does not necessarily mean that they are going to try and score immediately. Soccer is more about possession and building up to the point where a goal can be scored. This is a completely different feeling than most sports and requires some getting used to it.

4. Not enough scoring. Many soccer games end up being 1-0 or 1-2. That is just simply not enough scoring for 90 minutes of play. Look at how much scoring there is in basketball and football, even baseball scores average higher than soccer scores. The scoring is directly related to the pace of play. So combine the pace of play with low scoring and Americans get bored.

5. The field is too big. You can think I am crazy if you want but think about it! The camera angles never show the whole field because it is too big. Americans love seeing everything that is happening. Soccer cameras focus on where the ball is but soccer is all about what is happening away from the ball. Soccer strategy is to spread the offense as far as possible, which is to spread the defense and create gaps. So, when players spread out and are running routes away from the ball, the camera does not pick it up because it is concentrated on the ball. Only the people in the stands really see the whole game as it is but a lot of American culture is based around being able to watch sports on television together but what is the point if you can't get the whole picture.

Soccer will stick around and grow in popularity but it will never reach the heights that football, basketball, and baseball have. Americans did not invent it and do not dominate at it yet, so they will not like it until they can win world competitions regularly. Even after continous wins, there is no promise that soccer will grow in the U.S.

Sources cited:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/index?cc=3888

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/worldcup/2006-07-06-soccer-in-the-us_x.htm

http://web.mlsnet.com/index.jsp