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Pretty much in agreement. MLS is very hard to watch, but I could watch EPL all day.

Youth soccer is HUGE in the USA. One of the great things about soccer for little kids is that not being able to use your hands really evens the playing field for children, who develop hand-eye coordination at very different speeds. So until kids are around 12, soccer is much more inclusive. At around junior high age or so, most boys and some girls stray from soccer to either more traditionally American team sports or to individual sports and nowadays to extreme sports. For girls and women, soccer remains the number one sport. Maybe that's why the USA kicks ass in women's soccer...

Do you ever wonder if Michael Jordan had been born in Italy or England or Brazil if he would have been the greatest soccer player ever?

What makes soccer (even if i am not big fan, i follow only my team Panathinaikos), is that you need very little to play it. Just a ball, and empty space...You can play it everywhere, and i think that this is the biggest reason that is the most popular sport on the planet.

Do you ever wonder if Michael Jordan had been born in Italy or England or Brazil if he would have been the greatest soccer player ever?

I wonder if he would have been greatest handball player ever:] Every time I watch handball (few games a year) I wonder how would LBJ play and I'm pretty sure he or similar players would be just awesome.

He would crab dribble... and Im not sure how refs would like that:)

I wont watch American soccer (MLS). It lacks everything that is soccer.

Pretty much in agreement. MLS is very hard to watch, but I could watch EPL all day.

Ever seen some of the lower level EPL/Serie A/Bundesliga/etc games, or you just tune in for the Real-Man U-Milan types? There's plenty of fans of soccer in the US to support a top level league, unfortunately many of them would rather tune in to support some team thousands of miles away.

Go watch Hull slog it out with the Wolves on TV and tell me how much more exciting that is then actually being at an MLS game.

Last edited by brian at 3/11/2010 8:18:07 AM

Ever seen some of the lower level EPL/Serie A/Bundesliga/etc games, or you just tune in for the Real-Man U-Milan types? There's plenty of fans of soccer in the US to support a top level league, unfortunately many of them would rather tune in to support some team thousands of miles away.

Well thats global. I have some favorite NBA teams, i like some Spanish or English soccer teams, even if i am defined Panathinaikos fan.

An other big deference that i see USA sports fan vs European sports fan, is that Americans sees the sports as a pure show. In Europe a soccer team is much more than just an entertainment organization. Almost every team represent either political ideas, or areas etc, or group of people that have common characteristics

On an interview that an English coach had (i forgot his name), they asked him if football is matter life of death something like that he answered, no. Is much more that that. (If someone remembers exactly what happened on that interview please correct me), but i am giving the meaning.

We have seen in last few years 2 teams in NBA that they moved, and the rumors saying that will be more in the future. Is something that you cant do with the historical teams in Europe. Some tries that happened in Greece, those teams died.

Those are some reasons why soccer is so popular in Europe, and maybe they are some reasons why in US doesnt work very well.

An other big deference that i see USA sports fan vs European sports fan, is that Americans sees the sports as a pure show.

Depends on the sport though. NBA has become much more of a show over the years as they work to attract casual fans that can afford to pay the ridiculous prices of tickets. American football also charges astronomical prices but there is a huge demand for tickets and the fans are likely more "die-hard". It's possible that the most committed fans of NFL/NBA/MLB are the ones that are priced out of going to the games.

On an interview that an English coach had (i forgot his name), they asked him if football is matter life of death something like that he answered, no. Is much more that that. (If someone remembers exactly what happened on that interview please correct me), but i am giving the meaning.

That was Bill Shankly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Shankly)

At the bottom it says:

On the official Liverpoolfc.tv website, it states that the official quote is "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

Last edited by El Duderino at 3/11/2010 9:32:43 AM

Believe me, ''die-hard'' fans in US are like kids fighting on the school compared to hardest gang gun fights. Latin America is similar. I am not saying that is good, i dont like people getting murdered, but the atmosphere that has a classic derby in soccer is something that the average US fan cant even imagine...In Spain we have Barcelona vs Real Madrid, in Greece Panathinaikos vs Olympiacos, Argentina River against Boca etc.

And yes i prefer 1980-hand checking rules NBA. Now NBA became so soft compared to that legendary years...Anyone who has speed and quickness can penetrate easily, thats why the back to basket big men now are role players.