History Main / SoccerHatingAmericans

The game of UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball is considered by many to be the ''world's sport.'' Nearly every country on Earth loves it. Focus on "nearly".

The attempts to grow the sport in America have also met widespread resistance in some circles. Many Americans just plain don't like the sport -- considering it boring. And this is reflected in the media, where American characters will often go out of their way to bash the sport for all of the above (as well as the players' [[TheatricsOfPain propensity for faking injuries]]). Another problem with soccer in American eyes are the low scores. Baseball and hockey are "low scoring" if they end 3-1. In American Football, a game that does not go into double digits is considered low-scoring, and in basketball, triple-digit games are a common occurrence. In soccer, the tendency over the last decades has been towards ''lower'' scores. The last thing that irks Americans about soccer (and is frequently mentioned in anti-soccer rants) is its propensity for ties. While US sports fans tolerate the occasional tie in hockey[[note]]Not anymore; the NHL and all other professional leagues use a shootout if the two teams are still tied after overtime (in the regular season, playoff games continue to play additional 20-minute periods until someone scores if the score is tied at the end of regulation). The last tie game in the NHL was on April 4, 2004. International and Olympic hockey also use the shootout.[[/note]] and football[[note]]Ties in American football are somewhat rare, being on the order of one or two a season, with the NFL's semi-sudden-death overtime rules heavily favoring one side winning. The overtime rules of college and high school football make tie games impossible, barring extremely rare outside factors.[[/note]], they greatly prefer games where there's a clear winner, and baseball[[note]]While this is still the case, the rule change giving each team an automatic runner on second base in extra innings since 2020 has greatly reduced the frequency of inning counts in the high teens.[[/note]] and basketball[[note]]Along with college football, which is a bit controversial since marathon multi-overtime games in such contact-heavy sport increases the risk of injury. The NFL's "sudden death" overtime rules on the other hand allow for a tie (during the regular season) if nobody manages to score during the overtime period.[[/note]] will go into overtime until there ''is'' a clear winner, however long that takes.

Another thing about Soccer is that, in a lot of ways, it is functionally very different from the "Big Four" American Sports. Baseball, Basketball, American-Football, and Hockey are very much focused on the individual plays & actions of the players; it's not uncommon for teams to turn around a deficit in these sports to win the game. But this is not generally the case with Soccer. Soccer is far more focused on the flow of the game, and while there are indeed plays they hardly affect the outcome of the game. This often goes hand-in-hand with the sport's low-scoring nature and its aforementioned propensity for ties; similarly, turnarounds in Soccer are ''incredibly rare''. As such, many Americans who try to watch soccer are confused by it and find it boring, whereas when they watch one of the other "Big Four" sports they can pick up the general rules fairly easily. It also doesn't help that despite soccer's [[InformedAttribute apparent]] simplicity, there are many hidden and even confusing rules that perplex many Americans.[[note]] The infamous "Off-Sides" rule ''alone'' causes many headaches for fans & non-fans alike, and is especially frustrating to some viewers since [[NegatedMomentOfAwesome it can nullify an impressive goal]].[[/note]]

Funnily enough, Association Football has been the subject of the US's CyclicNationalFascination on three occasions -- in TheSeventies, when several star players (most notably Pelé) signed with the New York Cosmos; in the mid and late [[TheNineties '90s]], when the US hosted the men's and women's World Cups, winning the women's version; and in TheNewTens and TheNewTwenties as a wave of new teams and talent started to foster the idea that America could, just maybe, be good at soccer if it tried.

Another thing about Soccer is that, in a lot of ways, it is functionally very different from the "Big Four" American Sports. Baseball, Basketball, American-Football, and Hockey are very much focused on the individual plays & actions of the players; its not uncommon for teams to turn around a deficit in these sports to win the game. But this is not generally the case with Soccer. Soccer is far more focused on the flow of the game, and while there are indeed plays they hardly affect the outcome of the game. This often goes hand-in-hand with the sport's low-scoring nature and its aforementioned propensity for ties; similarly, turnarounds in Soccer are ''incredibly rare''. As such, many Americans who try to watch soccer are confused by it and find it boring, whereas when they watch one of the other "Big Four" sports they can pick up the general rules fairly easily. It also doesn't help that despite soccer's [[InformedAttribute apparent]] simplicity, there are many hidden and even confusing rules that perplex many Americans.[[note]] The infamous "Off-Sides" rule ''alone'' causes many headaches for fans & non-fans alike, and is especially frustrating to some viewers since [[NegatedMomentOfAwesome it can nullify an impressive goal]].[[/note]]

The Beautiful Game of UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball is the world's ''sport.'' Nearly every country on Earth loves it. Focus on "nearly".

Another thing about Soccer is that, in a lot of ways, it is functionally very different from the "Big Four" American Sports. Baseball, Basketball, American-Football, and Hockey are very much focused on the individual plays & actions of the players; its not uncommon for teams to turn around a deficit in these sports to win the game. But this is not generally the case with Soccer. Soccer is far more focused on the flow of the game, and while there are indeed plays they hardly affect the outcome of the game. This often goes hand-in-hand with the sport's low-scoring nature; similarly, turnarounds in Soccer are ''incredibly rare''. As such, many Americans who try to watch soccer are confused by it and find it boring, whereas when they watch one of the other "Big Four" sports they can pick up the general rules fairly easily. It also doesn't help that despite soccer's [[InformedAttribute apparent]] simplicity, there are many hidden and even confusing rules that perplex many Americans.[[note]] The infamous "Off-Sides" rule ''alone'' causes many headaches for fans & non-fans alike, and is especially frustrating to some viewers since [[NegatedMomentOfAwesome it can nullify an impressive goal]].[[/note]]

* One common joke/meme has someone sitting down [[AGoodOldFashionedPaintWatching watching paint dry on a wall]], [[BoredomTropes bored out of their mind]]... but say it's still more exciting than watching soccer.

Then, there's also the issue of soccer being seen as effeminate by many Americans in its potential fandom. Compared to sports like hockey, baseball or football, where the athletes often hit the balls or pucks (and occasionally each other) with large blunt instruments and/or regularly ram into each other, that sort of contact violence is comparatively lacking in soccer. There's also the [[TheatricsOfPain stereotype of soccer players "diving"]] [[MinorInjuryOverreaction to exaggerate their injuries,]] which makes them look bad when the OnlyAFleshWound mentality found in Football or Hockey is more admired.[[note]]The fact that flopping to get a foul called is ''also'' extremely prevalent in basketball usually gets ignored, or acknowledged in a "See, we don't need ''more'' of that." way.[[/note]] The fact that America's women's teams are so much more successful in international competition than their male counterparts and the sport's previously-mentioned popularity among teenage girls don't help either. Hence soccer in the United States falls victim to the GirlShowGhetto. At best, soccer is seen as acceptable for young boys, but not for older male teens or men.

Another thing about Soccer is that, in a lot of ways, it is functionally very different from the "Big Four" American Sports. Baseball, Basketball, American-Football, and Hockey are very much focused on the individual plays & actions of the players; its not uncommon for teams to turn around a deficit in these sports to win the game. But this is not generally the case with Soccer. Soccer is far more focused on the flow of the game, and while there are indeed plays they hardly affect the outcome of the game. This often goes hand-in-hand with the sport's low-scoring nature; similarly, turnarounds in Soccer are ''incredibly rare''. As such, many Americans who try to watch soccer are confused by it and find it boring, whereas when they watch one of the other "Big Four" sports they can pick up the general rules fairly easily. It also doesn't help that despite soccer's [[InformedAttribute apparent]] simplicity, there are many hidden and even confusing rules that perplex many Americans.[[note]] The infamous "Off-Sides" rule in soccer causes ''many'' headaches from fans & non-fans alike, and is especially frustrating to some viewers since [[NegatedMomentOfAwesome it can nullify an impressive goal]].[[/note]]

Another thing about Soccer is that, in a lot of ways, it is functionally very different from the "Big Four" American Sports. Baseball, Basketball, American-Football, and Hockey are very much focused on the individual plays & actions of the players; its not uncommon for teams to turn around a deficit in these sports to win the game. But this is not generally the case with Soccer. Soccer is far more focused on the flow of the game, and while there are indeed plays they hardly affect the outcome of the game. This often goes hand-in-hand with the sport's low-scoring nature; similarly, turnarounds in Soccer are ''incredibly rare''. As such, many Americans who try to watch soccer are confused by it and find it boring, whereas when they watch one of the other "Big Four" sports they can pick up the general rules fairly easily. It also doesn't help that despite soccer's simplicity, there are many hidden and even confusing rules that perplex many Americans.[[note]] The infamous "Off-Sides" rule in soccer causes ''many'' headaches from fans & non-fans alike, and is especially frustrating to some viewers since [[NegatedMomentOfAwesome it can nullify an impressive goal]].[[/note]]

Another thing about Soccer is that, in a lot of ways, it is functionally very different from the "Big Four" American Sports. Baseball, Basketball, American-Football, and Hockey are very much focused on the individual plays & actions of the players; its not uncommon for teams to turn around a deficit in these sports to win the game. But this is not generally the case with Soccer. Soccer is far more focused on the flow of the game, and while there are indeed plays they hardly affect the outcome of the game. This often goes hand-in-hand with the sport's low-scoring nature; similarly, turnarounds in Soccer are ''incredibly rare''. As such, many Americans who try to watch soccer are confused by it and find it boring, whereas when they watch one of the other "Big Four" sports they can pick up the general rules fairly easily. It also doesn't help that despite soccer's simplicity, there are many hidden and even confusing rules that perplex many Americans.[[notes]] The infamous "Off-Sides" rule in soccer causes ''many'' headaches from fans & non-fans alike, and is especially frustrating to some viewers since [[NegatedMomentOfAwesome it can nullify an impressive goal]].[[/note]]