OK United States, tell Queenzone who beat you at Olympic qualifying soccer

I wasn't saying that to insult your sport, I was providing the reasoning for lack of interest in the US. It has to be BAM BAM BAM or we lose it.

But saying it is the most popular sport in the world? Where do you come up with that? The most watched (televised) sporting contest EVER was a regular season NBA Basketball game. Does that make Basketball the world's most popular sport, No.  Yes, it did happen to be the Dallas Mavericks... not the Lakers or the Heat.  There's many ways to skew something into the "Most Popular".  Remember, Freddie was not the most popular front man... Bon Jovi was... according to a poll.

Maybe soccer would become more popular if their fans started eating BURGERS, HOT DOGS, and BEER.  But then the fans might spill their urine bombs onto their food, thus ruining it.

Most popular sport sport in South America is soccer, in Europe it's soccer, in Africa it's soccer, bottom half of North America it's soccer. Just ask our fellow Queenzoners here from various part of the world what the most popular sport is in their country.

More people buy Cowboys jerseys in South America, more people buy Cowboys jerseys in Europe, more people buy Cowboy jerseys in Africa. Only in China do NBA jerseys outsell Cowboy jerseys AND soccer jerseys.

More people watch Baseball on TV.

Like I said, depending onhow you skew it we could go at this for days.

Fact remains, it's a very boring sport. What exactly is exciting about it? You kick a ball and run around chasing it. The only skill is the 7 or 8 times PER GAME that it's actually kicked at the goal.

Plus, what sport do little kids start out with? SOCCER!!! Because it's so easy. You don't see too many 5 year olds putting on the pads for football or hockey.

I think most in the USA are pretty much A-OK with other countries wiping the walls with us in soccer.

Most valueable Sports Franchises
1. Manchester United  1.87b
2. Dallas Cowboys  1.81b
3. New York Yankees  1.7b
4. Washington Redskins 1.55b
5. Real Madrid 1.45b
6. New England Patriots 1.37b
7. Arsenal 1.19b
8. New York Giants 1.18b
9. Houston Texans 1.17b
10. New York Jets 1.15b

That's 6 NFL teams in the top ten...  only 3 Soccer teams.  But overall, I'd say it's about a push.  Soccer is played all over the world and can't generate more revenue than a sport played in one country.

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[b]Micrówave wrote: [/b]  Plus, what sport do little kids start out with? SOCCER!!! Because it's so easy. You don't see too many 5 year olds putting on the pads for football or hockey.[/QUOTE]
Most parents here are like me - they have a sentimental knot of about 8 pairs of soccer shoes in their basements they haven't been able to bear throwing out. The main benefit of soccer or t-ball for small children over hockey or football is not the 'easiness' but the minimal equipment.  They grow like weeds and all you have to replace are shoes annually  and shin pads less often than that.  I think that's why most parents choose soccer for little ones here, along with the low pressure and great exercise.  It's pretty much what everybody does who wants to avoid 6:00 am arena slots for hockey.

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[b]Micrówave wrote: [/b]  I think most in the USA are pretty much A-OK with other countries wiping the walls with us in soccer.[/QUOTE]
I think that's it right there: nothing succeeds like success. Right now the sport has some local interest and general cachet in the US and Canada as an elite spectator sport and/or counter-cultural response, but when they start to win, the mainstream attention will come.   Case in point, this thread wouldn't exist were it not for an upset.

[QUOTE] [b]Micrówave wrote:[/b]
What exactly is exciting about it? You kick a ball and run around chasing it. The only skill is the 7 or 8 times PER GAME that it's actually kicked at the goal.[/QUOTE]


How many skills per game do you get in football? 2/3 of the running game is to run straight into the people that are trying to stop you. What about in baseball? Stand around and get a ball thrown at you and try to hit it with a stick (I'm not saying its easy, but that's ONE skill). What about basketball? Trying to make a ball into a basket that is 10 feet high with players whose average height is about 6'5".

Just like you said, the arguement can be skewed into any way we want it to. You have the right to say that soccer is a boring sport, but you cannot generalize that into the rest of the world. How does buying Cowboys jerseys in South America and Africa equate that its is a very popular sport in those regions?

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[b]greaserkat wrote:
[/b]
How does buying Cowboys jerseys in South America and Africa equate that its is a very popular sport in those regions? [/QUOTE]
Great point.  People just like buying American crap.  I chose a hotel in Seoul one time for it's proximity to a large traditional Korean street market.  I couldn't wait to get there and explore.  First thing I saw was a seemingly endless glut of American crap.  NY Yankee hats, Vegas this, LA that.  I sat on a plane for 14 hours for this?  And a bunch of food with eyes? No I did not!

[QUOTE] [b]Micrówave wrote:[/b]
Most valueable Sports Franchises1. Manchester United  1.87b2. Dallas Cowboys  1.81b3. New York Yankees  1.7b4. Washington Redskins 1.55b5. Real Madrid 1.45b6. New England Patriots 1.37b7. Arsenal 1.19b8. New York Giants 1.18b9. Houston Texans 1.17b10. New York Jets 1.15bThat's 6 NFL teams in the top ten...  only 3 Soccer teams.  But overall, I'd say it's about a push.  Soccer is played all over the world and can't generate more revenue than a sport played in one country.[/QUOTE]

... And the value of these franchises is determined by the same financial masterminds who brought us the recent financial crises.

The simple fact that soccer is played in virtually every country of the world makes it more popular than football which is only played in some countries.

Americans play baseball and football because they don't want to be beaten by pesky foreigners.
And honestly? As much as I like my American chums, no one gives a shit what they think about "soccer".

A bit snitty, you soccer fans. Figures.

Ok, to address some of that, since you all aren't very aware of the "business" of sport...

How many skills in football? Dude, you really need to learn a little about the sport you talk about. If it were simply just"run up the middle and go", there would be no practices, no draft, no coaches, no plays. But in soccer? Right. There are only 2 or 3 if you call them "Skills".

How come Cowboy jerseys determine popularity? Because of the marketing genius. They aren't buying their own team's jerseys. It's not a matter of an "American" jersey... it's a cowboys jersey or a Yankee hat. Not a Manchester U silky top.
And from a sport that's played in ONE country... not worldwide. That's saying something.

[QUOTE]And the value of these franchises is determined by the same financial masterminds who brought us the recent financial crises. [/QUOTE]

Ummm... still, that's the value.  And the LA Dodgers were just purchased for 2 Billion Dollars!!!  By Magic Johnson, by the way.  The financial "crises" has nothing to do with that.  Do you think anyone would plop down that much cash for a soccer team?  Not if they wanted to make money.

2 billion for any sports team is obscene. And it's no reason to suggest that soccer is a less popular or less important sport because similar business deals haven't gone down in Europe or any of the other 150 countries it's played in.

[QUOTE]How come Cowboy jerseys determine popularity? Because of the marketing genius.[/QUOTE]
And marketing is certainly no reason to make such a suggestion either. Do you think a kid in Ghana will love soccer more if he gets a new Chelsea jersey? More broadly, do you actually think every country and culture in the world values money above all else?

Think before imposing your myopic views and complete ignorance of cultural anthropology on everyone who doesn't see the world as you do. Soccer is the world's most popular sport, and money has little to do with it. Cricket is in second place. Field hockey is third.

American football requires no more skill than soccer or any other physically intensive sport. Exactly what scale would you like to measure that on? The number of muscles exerted? The number of litres of water consumed per match? Number of injuries per month?

Either way, don't talk about skill in any sport with such an arrogant tone when the second-most popular sport in the US is driving around in a circle for several hours.

That said, it's likely the overall simplicity of soccer that makes it the most globally cherished sport. American football is played in about 20 countries. Soccer is played in virtually every country. 30 billion people watched the 2006 World Cup in Germany (obviously this figure includes people watching more than one game). No other sport comes remotely close.

We already had this discussion during the last World Cup. No need for you to lose the same debate twice.

[QUOTE] [b]Holly2003 wrote:[/b]
Americans play baseball and football because they don't want to be beaten by pesky foreigners.
[/QUOTE]
Bingo. Championships with only American teams (and occasionally a Canadian team) are called "world championships." Self-aggrandizing to the extreme.

[QUOTE]American football requires no more skill than soccer or any other physically intensive sport.[/QUOTE]

Spoken by someone who doesn't know much about the sport.   Go ahead a continue to sling insults... you're not doing much good.

Running and kicking a ball.   So it's more difficult than Rugby, too I guess.  Those guys just take it easy by knocking each other all over the field.

Field Hockey?  Are you kidding me?  You live in a strange world.

All you can say is it's the worlds most popular sport but no data to support it... as usual from you, Bob.  But like I said, it's easy to skew a "world's most popular" into anything... you just don't understand that.

And you obviously don't understand the business side of sport.  This thread wasn't about kids playing soccer, unorganized, in dirt fields in Ghana.  This was about a LEAGUE.  FIFA is not the most popular LEAGUE in the world because a bunch of kids play soccer, unorganized, in dirt fields in Ghana.

Perhaps if we start a thread about "What sport do most people play" then your statements would be fitting.  Unfortunately, in this context, you are lacking intelligible dialogue to continue.  You should really stop.

[QUOTE]second-most popular sport in the US is driving around in a circle for several hours.[/QUOTE]

What an idiot.

Have you ever heard the term "The Top 4"?  It's a very common sports term, FOOTBALL, BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, and HOCKEY are the top 4 sports in the US.

Go figure a foreigner to guess it was Nascar!!!  You read too many slanted opinions of America, dude.  No wonder why you think I have a horse and shoot pistols.  You're a fucking child, intellectually.   I got some news for you too.  No matter how many records Queen sold in the UK doesn't matter... it's how many you sell in the US.  But somewhere, in your fantasy world, you're really pissed off about that too.  Damn Americans.

Why don't you lose your bigotry towards America.  I don't insult whatever country you live in but all you do is shit on America.  [QUOTE]30 billion people watched the 2006 World Cup in Germany (obviously this figure includes people watching more than one game). No other sport comes remotely close.[/QUOTE]

Again, what an idiot.

Why don't you find out what the most watched single game.  It's an NBA game you dork.  Not a soccer game.  

BOB:  Here, let me dig up a 6 year old stat and add up every game and then brag about 30 billion people.

By the way, next time you make that up, keep in mind there's only 7 billion people IN THE ENTIRE WORLD you fricking idiot.  You're John Simon, aren't you?