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| quote: | Originally posted by Zewad
ok ill put the superbowl, champions leage cups, world cups, etc.. all aside, ill just compare the 2 sports,... (first lets use the word soccer b/c american football has no other name unlike your football) i played soccer for 5 years as a kid growing up even before i knew how to play football,... but as i got older soccer grows out of interest with people here,... i mean my university didnt even have soccer as a sport for men,.. but football brings in millions and millions of dollars to our school,.. i mean my old school's football stadium holds 90,000 people,.. and the Bucs (football team now in teh superbowl) holds 70,000 people, i know that some massive stadiums like mayday in Korea or out way out east there are some big ones,.. ok but back to the sport,.. football is so much more game planning and film studies and knowing your opponent and the type of plays they run,.. soccer is just a bunch of athletes running around chasing a ball,.. yes i realize there are set up type plays etc.. but nothing like football, its like a cult phenomonen over here,.. im obessed with it and like for intramural sports at my school few years ago there are 400-500 football teams vs. 50 or so soccer (my school held 47,000 students),... ok im getting off subject,...teh fact that i can think about football and planning set plays and execution of plays during off time is fun in its self,.. but for soccer its just put on some cleats and head out,.. nothing to think about really inbetween games,... plus like i said before, where is the scoring?? i do want to hear your insite as well,.. merci |
I know how unimportant 'soccer' is in the US, the rest of the world knows this and some think it is ashame, some aren't bothered either way. Soccer has really grown in Africa in the last 10 years and the Asian sides gave everyone a run for their money in the last world cup. In Australasia there is a small but growing following (although cricket/rugby are bound to be their national sports for a long time to come) and of corse the South Americans and Europeans have worshipped football for a long time now. It seems the US is the missing piece in the jigsaw, and you can understand why some people think the US is isolationist. They're not necessarily talking about foreign policy or politics.
As I say, I don't fully understand the rules of American football, but there are a few things I dislike about the sport already. Firstly, it is the stop/start nature of the game. I am used to the constant flow of play in soccer, and I find it frustrating to see play stopped again, and again, and again. This I consider boring more than anything else. I can understand why many Americans find soccer 'boring', if I watch two random soccer teams play I am completely disinterested, unless I know who those teams are or they are playing a fluent and engaging game. Another thing I dislike about American football is the frequency of touchdowns, though this is more of a petty issue. When I go into pubs full of Americans and they are showing American football I see people talking during the constant breaks, and clapping, maybe cheering, when a touchdown is scored. But there are so many touchdowns that people don't go absolutely mental when one is scored. With soccer, a goal is a very prescious thing, and when someone scores the bar goes absolutely mental, everybody is jumping up and down and shouting, people begin to chant songs,, and you'll nearly always get someone's beer spilled all over you in the celebrations. As I say though, this is a petty issue and I really fail to see your point. An awful lot of scoring, not much scoring, it's all dependant on context. Yes there is more scoring in American football, but also each 'score' is worth less than a goal in soccer, so it works out the same, it isn't really an issue.
I disagree that there is much more planning in American football. I would say it is very difficult to compare because they are completely different sports. You could probably write reams about planning in American football, likewise so could I with soccer. The sportsmen in soccer and American football possess very different qualities. Wheras in American football they are often stocky men with a very specific role, soccer players must have boundless energy, endless stamina and must be proficient in many aspects of the game. Soccer players must be very flexible to deal with the changing nature of any game.
Lastly, there're the little things which bug me. For example the cheerleaders, men in the stands selling food etc. People here won't tolerate that, people go to the game to see the game, the support behind soccer and American football is different too. I'm sure there are things you would dislike about English support too, for example we simply don't have room for such extravagant stadiums, and fans prefer to make their own celebrations.
I am not "bashing" American football, the two sports are very different and have stemmed from different cultures. As somebody who grew up with a completely different sport in a different sporting culture, I hope you can understand why American football differs in so many ways to the game I love. Likewise, I understand why soccer is something you do not relate with with the same passion, because it is a different nature of game to your own. Each to their own.
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