Every once in a while, a caller on one of my favorite radio shows will call in with something good. The latest was during a discussion on soccer in which a caller called in and said "Soccer is the metric system of sports." Besides being funny, it is absolutely true. Both have been crammed down our throats forever, both with the ridiculously stupid argument of "the rest of the world is doing it", and in both cases, most Americans are not on the bandwagon.
The thing that amazes me is that this seems to bother a lot of soccer fans (for that matter, the fact that we don't use the metric system seems to annoy a lot of the loon-jobs who push that, too). I have never understood why. OK, I am only a casual soccer fan. I don't really have the time to follow all sports that I like, and baseball and auto-racing have to take precedence. Still, I do catch some MLS games, and some of the European leagues' games when I can, and I have been watching quite a few of the World Cup games. Still, I am not going to get all bent out of shape because I am the only one of my friends and coworkers who actually gives a shit.
Are the rabid US soccer fans that shallow that they actually care that 95-99% of the other US sports fans don't really care about their sport? If so, why?
3 comments:
Too funny and true!!! I coach competitive soccer and I've yet to attend a Colorado Rapids game, or even watch one on TV. About a month ago the Denver metro area was basically chewed out by the Rapids for not supporting soccer more. There is a VERY HIGH participation rate of kids playing soccer in this area and not supporting our local pro club bothers them. My husband and I have yet to figure this out. I love watching the kids play, it gets very competitive, but on a pro level it just doesn't work; I can't explain it. I do somewhat care about the World Cup, they even played some games here in Denver; but even with that level of players in my backyard, we still didn't go. I don't know, let me know if you ever figure it out.
I think the reason soccer hasn't really caught on is simply that we have already invented our own, better, sports that most people here find more interesting.
I still want to know, though, why a segment of the soccer fans in this country get so apoplectic that others don't share their love for the game. They seem to think that just because the rest of the world loves the game, we need to too.
Seems silly to me. Can't they enjoy the game without everyone else having to be on board? I know I do...
Tennis may be a euro-trash sport, but it is at least somewhat popular in this country. Maybe third tier...
First - Football, basketball, baseball
Second - NASCAR, Hockey, Golf
Third - Tennis, IRL & Champ Car racing (IRL having the edge)
Soccer may rise to that third tier within the next decade or so, but I have a hard time seeing it compete with the sports on the higher tiers...
Post a Comment