Soccer or Football as it is commonly known, is the most popular sport in the world, so why does the United States of America, seem to express little interest in soccer? There are many reasons why the popularity of soccer is lower in the US, compared to other countries.
Essentially many American parents put their kids into soccer primarily because they see it as not as dangerous, or as competitive as other American sports. Mostly US soccer programs for kids are more like fitness activities rather than competition. Kids in the United States primarily only play soccer in gym class, and in youth soccer leagues across the country. They even have soccer moms and dads, but by the time kids hit high school, they lose interest in soccer and get into other sports, especially if they are planning to make sports their career. Professional soccer players in the U.S. make on average about $80,000-$90,000 a year. That’s not bad at all, but when you compare it with basketball and baseball players who sign multi-million dollar contracts, that amount can’t compete, and factors into kids losing interest in their early years.Spending 90 minutes watching a sport, and possibly never seeing a goal scored is high on the list for Americans who love to see scoring. A winning soccer team may only score one goal, and soccer games often end in 0-0 ties, which makes the games less exciting for Americans. Another key factor is, there are almost no breaks. Imagine (From an American point of view) watching a 90-minute game that only took one break, and that break came after 45 minutes of play. America is accustomed to quick breaks every 5 minutes or so, if not sooner. Basketball has its quarters, Baseball has its regular breaks with batters coming in and going out, and American football is a stop-start game.
There are tons of other reasons why soccer’s popularity in America isn’t as high compared to other sports, but the number one reason, according to many soccer enthusiasts may simply be that Americans love a winner. Team USA has never been dominant in the soccer world, or even a serious contender, Americans have struggled to relate to a sport where their team has never been much of a winner. Some people say that there is no room for soccer in the US, some also say that early on in America’s history, they rejected the British-created football, and since American’s didn’t create it, and they’re weren’t very good at it, one or the other would have needed to be higher in order for America to have more passion for the sport. If this way of thinking is truly the reason for America’s low interest in soccer, it seems that since there are so many other countries in the world that are better than the US at soccer, the American people will continue to have little interest in soccer, and only support the sports they are good at, and can dominate across the board.
