Last week I was catching up on my reading and saw the Sports Illustrated issue that had the caption on the cover “THE BEAUTIFUL GAME, What soccer means to the world.” The picture was a number of kids playing soccer on some types of make shift field. I actually liked the picture and the smiles on the kids’ faces.
Here is my question. Or actually questions!
But first a statement…
I don’t get it!
- What am I missing?
- I don’t like to watch soccer on TV!
- I don’t like to go to a soccer game!
- I don’t even like playing soccer!
- Again what am I missing?
I have been to the World Cup game with 80,000 fans and I may have been the only one that didn’t enjoy the game.
Since most soccer games are low scoring games maybe that has something to do with it. The games are about positioning and defense and frankly I would rather go to a baseball game that was 12-10 or a football game 38-35 as opposed to a shutout.
Can you please help me!
- Do you like soccer?
- Did you play as a kid?
- Do you play as an adult?
- Have you been to a World Cup game?
- What is beautiful about the game?
I look forward to reading your comments and helping me understand what I am missing.
Michael Halberstam says:
Never liked soccer. Had to play it in gym in school but thought it was incredibly boring. I have no idea what’s beautiful about it.
Rick Johnson says:
I don’t like soccer either! Euro football…not interested in the World Cup either. Have a nice weekend Merrill!! It won’t be to much longer and we’ll have some “real” football to watch.
Ed Sugar says:
In 1978 I went to my first football match; the 1978 FA Cup Final between Ipswich and Arsenal. From that moment on I have been hooked on football, especially European Club football as oppose to International competition. In fact, I am one of the lucky few who have attended both a FA Cup Final and a World Cup final and I probably have attended more matches at the original Wembley Stadium (3 times) than the average British football fan.
If you are looking for an eloquent description of what makes this game so passionate to 95% of the world’s population, I suggest reading Nick Hornby’s (author of “High Fidelity”and “About A Boy”) “Fever Pitch” ( which was Americanized in 2005 to be baseball movie about Merrill’s beloved Chowd Sox).
Club football in the US is the equivalent of Double A baseball, so if you are basing your judgements by what you see in North America you need to subscribe to Fox Soccer or Setanta and get the true experience.
Football is more than just a sport. It is about neighborhood rivalries that date back hundreds of years; it is about rich vs. poor; one religion vs. another. Football is based on not reaching the thrill of victory, but dodging the unfairness of life. When I travel abroad, instead of spending hours at tourist sites, I prefer seeking out the local football team, whether they are “major league” or “minor league”. In those those two plus hours I will learn more about that city, that country and its people than I could in weeks visiting their museums, cathedrals or palaces.
As I head into my mid-50’s, there are certain subjects I have decided that are useless to defend; 1. Bob Dylan’s vocal talents 2. The use of steroids in baseball and 3. Why football (soccer) is the second greatest team sport on earth.
Roger Fultz says:
I have not always been very interested in soccer (aka football). But in the last few years, as I learn more about the game, skills, and strategies, it has become more interesting.
Probably not enough scoring for most American audiences I think.
But I was once forced to play golf once. By the 5th hole, I could take no more. I attempted suicide by beating myself with a club. Fortunately I failed, and was never forced to do that again.
Don’t find soccer interesting, try golf.
Bob Graham says:
I think it’s fair to say that a European fan would say the same things about baseball when encountering it for the first time.
I became a soccer fan when my kids started playing it. It took time to understand what was going on and what the strategies were, but like everything worthwhile, it was time well spent. I think there are very few sports that an outsider can pick up and enjoy immediately. You have to take the game on its own terms. Once you start to appreciate the nuances, you start to appreciate the game.
I think the biggest barrier to soccer in the US is the way it’s covered on American TV. American video teams did not grow up with and do not understand the game. They try to treat it like American Football, which it isn’t. When you watch soccer broadcast in a land it is the national pastime, you immediately see the difference in the coverage. If the language barrier isn’t a problem for you, try watching a game on Univision and you’ll immediately notice the difference.
But then again, why wouldn’t I like Soccer? It allowed my daughter to attend a fairly prestigious Northeastern College and I only had to pay room and board.
Ed Sugar says:
Good point Bob about TV coverage. ABC/ESPN was aware this and made English football broadcasting legend Martin Tyler their lead announcer for this year’s World Cup
Vaughn Mordecai says:
Soccer is a very simple game to play but an EXTREMELY difficult game to master. I’ve been playing, coaching, etc. for 30 years. I still frequently learn new things about the game.
For the virgin viewer, it’s easy to focus all your energy on the “end-point”…the shot…the goal…or the stop. But, it’s more about the build up and how the team actually got to the point that the shot was possible.
I recently read the book “The Blind Side”. A significant amount of time is spent analyzing the left side of the football field…the importance of protecting the QB’s blind side. The average viewer of American football focuses entirely on the ball, but doesn’t view everything else going on across the field. Soccer is the same.
I was playing some soccer with a group of about 25 kids the other day. One of my favorite players to watch is a 12-year old neighbor girl. When she dribbles a soccer ball, she can do just about anything she wants with it. This neighbor and I played against the remaining 23 players. One of the neighbor boys came up to me during this game and said…when you and “girl’s name” dribble the ball, it looks like you are dancing with it…This is one of the sources for the title “The Beautiful Game.”
When a player is able to drop the ball at the foot of another player, at a dead run…a serious amount of skill is involved. If you watch the movement of the ball when it’s shot…like a knuckle ball in baseball…years of practice are involved in making that happen. Dribbling the ball, so it’s not lost and can move with your body requires constant work. Going up in the air to shoot with your head…or clear with your head…knowing that you’ll likely take a head-butt in the process requires serious courage.
Soccer is an “every-man’s” sport. Players range from 5’4″ to 6’5″ forwards. Different positions require different body structures. You can excel at soccer whether you are short or tall, heavy or thin, rich or poor, from a wealthy country or a poor country. The playing field is leveled. Determination and significant practice is what is required to excel.
The emotion of the game is what makes soccer so interesting to watch. The excitement of an excellent shot on goal, or an excellent save, a hard stop by a defender, or a beautiful dancing move by the forward, the work rate of the mid-fielders (estimated that players run 7-miles in the average game). Goals become events to remember, not just one in a series. Saying that low scoring soccer games are uneventful, is like saying that a no-hitter in baseball is boring to watch.
Soccer teams take on the values, politics, and cultural elements of the cities, countries, etc. that they represent. I’d recommend reading “How Soccer Explains the World”. Sometimes governments take on the cultural elements of their soccer teams. It’s a fascinating look at that geo-political elements of the region. Soccer, when you understand it, is truly “The Beautiful Game”.
Kimberly White says:
Great reply Vaughn! 🙂 I agree with you 100 %!
Ed Sugar says:
Here! Here!
janet says:
Beautifully stated.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Vaughn,
WOW! Ok I will admit you have changed my mind. You clearly have pointed out a number of things that I NEVER thought of. You are right everyone can play soccer, it isn’t a sport that you need to be the tallest or the biggest. I am actually going to try and watch one of the world cup games and truly enjoy the sport.
thanks SO much for pointed out so many things!
Merrill
Ace says:
Merrill,
Did you know that five times as many people in the world will watch the World Cup Finals compared to the Super Bowl?! Soccer at the World Cup level is unbelievably powerful; from a fans view, a geo-political view and as you well know, a marketing view. I am hooked. -Ace
Kimberly White says:
Hi Merrill!!
I’ve played on everything from youth teams to college teams to adult leagues, full field, 11 aside 90 minute games to 40 minute half field 7 aside games, outdoors as well as indoors, on grass, turf or dirt fields, on all women teams as well as coed teams in the US as well as in Japan plus I have played random pickup games in a lot of the countries I have visited including Vietnam, Egypt, Indonesia to name a few…
I am been playing soccer for 33 years and I LOVE IT!!!!
As a player, no matter what the score ends up being, you always get a great work out and you get caught up in watching the players with great finesse. Like Vaughn youth player, there is something about watching someone who can weave through all of the defenders and get that magical shot off on goal.
Like Ed mentioned, it’s a great way to connect with locals when traveling.
Watching soccer games on TV just does not do the game justice as you cannot see how the plays and advances are coming together; you’ve got to go to a live game! You can’t help but get wrapped up in the excitement as the fans chant for individual players and cheer their teams on to victory. I have seen professional games in the States, England and Japan and there’s nothing like it. If you get a chance to go to Japan and you can get tickets to one of their professional soccer games, grab them as you will experience something you will never forget.
Kim
Ken says:
The problem with soccer is that there is too much time with nothing going on. Even in a 1-0 baseball game, every play can change the course of the game…and I really don’t like baseball that much.
Soccer, golf and chess on tv may be the biggest wastes of time imagineable.
Maybe if there was a drinking game associated with it…like everytime you heard a “buzzing” sound during the game you took a drink. Yeah, then it might catch on.
janet says:
I can get sucked into just about any sport (except NASCAR) when played at a high level. I am glued to Curling during the winter Olympics, fascinated by water polo, mesmerized by Nordic Combined. So no, I am not a soccer fan, but yes I will watch and enjoy the US FIFA matches. It’s sport at the highest level and nothing is more exciting than that.