The American’s opinion of Football/Soccer

This is a post Ines and I have planned for awhile, but we just never got around to writing it. It seems like an appropriate time though, because the World Cup just ended and the American Football season is only a few months away. Before I start talking about soccer (I’ll use the word soccer to avoid confusion, not because it is the “right” word for the sport), I must admit something. I love American Football. There I said it. If that makes me barbaric or uncivilized in anyone’s eyes, so be it. In Nebraska, people are wild about football, and I was raised in this tradition. That’s why I was happy to see Nebraska ranked in the preseason top 25 (barely)…go Cornhuskers! Onto the topic of soccer…In the U.S., soccer is the most played sport by children, hence the term “soccer moms”. So why isn’t it more popular? As kids get older, social/peer/parental pressures (not sure if that is the right word) encourage people to stop playing soccer and instead play more popular sports like basketball or football. I don’t really know why that is. Americans have no reason to dislike soccer. Sure it isn’t a full contact sport like hockey, but it does take considerable skill and athletic ability (far more than baseball for example). For whatever reason, though, the reputation of soccer as a “wimpy” sport probably is not gonna change anytime soon (it would help if players weren’t always faking injuries…that’s really annoying). My sister gave me an article that pondered the possibility that the football-soccer divide is just another case of American exclusionism. Probably true. Americans always like to be different, e.g. not using the metric system. Personally, this year’s World Cup helped me learn to appreciate soccer. I don’t know if I’ll ever be passionate about the sport, but I can definitely watch it now and not be bored. That’s a first step. And to end, a Simpson’s quote…TV advertising soccer game: “It’s all here! Fast-kicking, low-scoring, and ties, you betcha!”

Ines´opinion
I´m sorry, I can´t provide a Simpson´s quote to start my story for reflection about soccer/football. But I can say that I, as a German, would never say I LOVE a sport. Even German men say that they like football (in this case soccer) very much, but they wouldn´t use the word "love" ("lieben"). It´s a very strong expression in German, some don´t even use for their partners. Obviously this doesn´t hold true for Americans. Dan loves football (the American version). I´ve made fun of the football-soccer divide since I´ve known him. Everytime I talk about football (British) I "translate" it into the American language. Since the World Cup not only Dan has started to appreciate European football, but also many German women did. And not only because of the good looking German players (well, maybe that was the only reason for some, who knows). I found myself cheering for the German team everytime they played, I had a scarf that said "Deutschland" on it and I even carried a small black-red-golden flag in the trunk of my car (no one saw it though). Before the World Cup, I couldn´t have ever imagined showing so much patriotism. Well, fortunately, it´s over now.
This post should be about American football as well: When we visit the US last Christmas, we watched a Cornhusker game in a sports bar. Dan and me were wearing red sweat shirts (partner look- ridiculous). And I had also bought a red cornhat. I tried to be a "real" Cornhusker fan. I have to admit, it didn´t work well. I don´t understand the rules of the game- though Dan has tried to explainthem to me many times and I even attended a presentation he gave on football. Furthermore, a bunch of red dressed people cheering for players, who play a very brutal looking, not very gracile sport, make me suspicious. Hence, I´ll never be a real football fan. Be it the European or the Amercian version.
But I can see one similarity between the sports, the intellectual ability of American football players enjoys the same reputation in the States (as far as I know from the teen movies:)) as the brainpower of soccer players in Germany.