Not Understanding Soccer

[JHT]

Most people who don't play golf don't like watching it on TV.

Soccers pretty much the same.

[az2tx]

My youngest plays select soccer and loves it, I attend the games, eat my sunflower seeds and wonder why the clock is moving so slow.
Last year he booted a ball real hard and hit a kid in the chest knocking him flat, I cheered like at a football game, everyone else was silent and looking at me. I don't belong there

[Colton]

I played soccer for 15 years and it's a lot more fun to play than it is to watch. I only ever watch it during the World Cup to cheer on team USA

[NotJose]

Hockey you have fights on the ice, soccer you have fights in the stands until they collapse. The camera should be on the fans at a soccer game and the shaky stadiums.

You hit the nail on the out of bounds! Just think how much more action you would have if they had glass sidewalls like hockey! Bounce that ball back into play! See how tired they get then! Oh, and then the fights in the stadium could be seen up against the glass (opposite of hockey) LOL!

Yes, I'm thinking OUTSIDE the box.

That's called indoor soccer..

[Limbwalker]

I played soccer for 15 years and it's a lot more fun to play than it is to watch. I only ever watch it during the World Cup to cheer on team USA

I played for 13, and I couldn't agree more. Lots of fun to play, but like watching grass grow if you're a spectator.

The only reason they pack in stadiums is so people can get drunk and behave badly, because frankly, you don't have to pay attention to follow the game like you do in football or baseball.

[Caprock]

I've tried to watch soccer but have come to the realization that it's not for me. It's extremely boring and hard to follow. Its so popular in other countries because they don't have real football and in the poor countries it's the only game they can afford. Golf, tennis, hockey, baseball, football, rugby, lacrosse,basketball, all better sports than soccer.

X2

[bigdaddy590]

I'll admit that it must take a lot of skill to play it. However just because it takes skill doesn't make it fun to watch for me. I'm sure that badminton and basket weaving both take a lot of skill but I'm not going to watch the basket weaving final four tournament.

[HillCoBowHunter]

You'll Never Walk Alone

[Johnny quest]

Watch it at the professional level and It wont go out of bounds very much. No more than football games. I watch Budaslega,Mexican,English Premire, and Brazil soccer. Its alot like golf,If you dont know much about it its hard to appreciate.

[Goldeneagle]

You should have seen us back in "70. It was the first year soccer was in the Dallas ISD. The coach just gathered up the football players and told us we were going to play soccer. None of us even knew what soccer was. Including the coach. All we were told was to kick the ball into the othere teams goal. We kept getting kicked out of games because we were hitting and tackling. Made some good clean hits too! It was a sight to see.

[Legdog]

Lots of good reasons to watch.

[BigRed323]

I've tried to watch soccer but have come to the realization that it's not for me. It's extremely boring and hard to follow. Its so popular in other countries because they don't have real football and in the poor countries it's the only game they can afford. Golf, tennis, hockey, baseball, football, rugby, lacrosse,basketball, all better sports than soccer.

That was a funny read. "real football"

Don't get me wrong I love AMERICAn football, but soccer is a different set of skills. I played both sports and in football you play for 10 seconds, take a break, play for 5, take a break. you gotta be in top cardio shape to play soccer cuz you play 45 minute halves straight and have to be able to sprint at any time, dribble, check someone, and shoot even, even after youve been playing for 80 minutes. I'll admit I do get bored watching the game sometimes as well, but once you understand what is actually happening and what players are trying to do, it'll make a whole more sense.

Also, don't judge soccer based of the MLS and other North american teams, i personally am not a fan of US teams besides the national team and sure do not like Mexican leagues cuz of their divers. Try watching European or South American soccer.

[TXDean23]

It is hard to explain to someone who has never played or understood competitive soccer why it is enjoyable. I played select soccer for 16 years until an injury my freshman year of college took me out for good. I love watching soccer as much as I love watching football or baseball. rladner had the best response so far, in my opinion. Most people in this country decry soccer because they don't know it. If you go into without being "pre-biased" about it then you might enjoy it. It has a stigma in this country that is waning, but it will not go away as long as there are individuals who criticize the game because they think it is "inferior" due to the fact that there are third-world countries that play it...

[TXDean23]

And by the way, I also played football for 7 years and, by far, the three worst injuries I had were from soccer and not football and the worst hit I ever put on someone was in soccer and not my 7 years as a corner back.

[TxTyler]

I think it's a sport you have to grow up playing to really appreciate. I grew up playing so I know what to watch for. Yeah the ball does go out of bounds some, but the clock doesn't stop. It's two 45 minute halves of non-stop movement. You can't really say that about football or any other sport. It's kind of nice to not have to sit through so many commercial breaks.

Like others said, the fans can get unruly and it's pretty entertaining to watch. Just a couple of months ago a referee in a Brazilian league, gave a player a red card for a dirty play and when the player wouldn't vacate the field, the referee drew a knife and stabbed the player to death. The fans watched the whole thing unfold. The fans then bum-rushed the field and decapitated the referee. Talk about some crazy, sh...stuff.

I remember when I was 16, one of our parents got beat up after a game by 3 dad's from the other team bc of a disagreement. It was quite entertaining.

I wouldn't say it's a poor man's sport, since Manchester United brings in about the same revenue as the Dallas Cowboy's. The sport brings in more money than one can possibly imagine. Just hasn't caught on in the states.

I went to a Panama vs. Canada World Cup qualifying game not too long ago in Panama. Let's just say I got a ton of dirty looks seeing as I probably looked Canadian. Thank goodness I was wearing a Panama jersey. It could have been ugly for me Go to a game in another country and you will see how exciting the sport can be. It was amazing.