Soccer Over American Football example essay topic

Soccer - or football as it is called by the rest of the world outside the United States - is the most popular sport in the world. The regional popularity of soccer can be attributed to the exposure of its championship games. Every four years the World Cup (the world championship of soccer) is watched by billions of people all over the world. This is much more than the amount of people who watch the American Super Bowl.

ESPN estimated that 1.7 billion television viewers watched the World Cup final between France and Brazil in July of 1998. Which brings me to the question: Why is soccer the most popular sport in the world and not so in the US? In reviewing different articles on the subject and going on my previous knowledge of the American sports scene, there seems to be several reasons as to why this may be the case. One reason seems to lie with the role of the mass media in coverage of soccer in America.

In fact, since the World Cup's creation, the series had never been hosted by the United States until only recently in the summer of 1994. This perhaps, is one of the reasons why the sport of soccer has never quite caught on in the United States. The World Cup, is a genuine "world championship", involving teams from 32 countries in the final rounds, unlike the much more simple and misnamed World Series in American baseball (that doesn't even involve Japan or Cuba, two baseball hot spots). Although soccer has become important in the American sports scene, it seems that it may never be as popular as football, basketball, hockey, baseball, and even tennis and golf. I. The Role of the Mass Media One reason that soccer may lack mass appeal in the United States is that it does not conform easily to the demands of television. Basketball is enormously popular in America because it regularly schedules what it calls "television time-outs". In addition to these "television time-outs" there are also the time-outs that the teams themselves call to re-group.

There are also half-times and, on the professional level, quarter breaks. Those regularly scheduled breaks are very convenient to television because television coverage is the lifeblood of American sports. In contrast, Soccer, except for its half-time break, has no time-outs; except for half-time. The only other breaks in the game occur when a goal is scored and this can happen infrequently or not at all. Television coverage has also dictated the pace and feel of American football.

Even at USC, Coach Holtz will reschedule a football game to accommodate being broadcasted on television. Anyone who has attended a live football game knows how commercial time-outs slow the game and sometimes, at its most exciting moments, disrupt the flow of events. There is no serious objection, however, because without television, football knows that it simply would not remain in the spotlight to Americans. College basketball coaches and players live for a games scheduled on CBS or ESPN. The media plays a big part in the success of a sport even at the level of the players.

Highly recruited high school players are more likely to go to a team that regularly gets national television exposure. Second, Americans love violence, and soccer does not have violence the way that American football and hockey do. There are occasional spurts of violence, but fans cannot expect the full-time menu of bone-crushing carnage that American football and hockey can deliver minute after minute, game after game. In soccer, players are actually singled out and warned -with "yellow cards", for acts of violence and duplicity that would be smiled at in most American sports other than tennis and golf. Soccer does not have the physical violence and confrontation that exists in American football.

Part of the explanation for preferences for soccer over American football for other countries such as Asia can possibly lie in the less confrontational aspects of soccer, which is preferred in many Eastern cultures. Third, it is difficult to score in soccer. Action is valued highly in The United States and many fans cannot get excited over soccer games with scores of 0-0. America loves its football games with its high scores like 49 to 35. Likewise, professional basketball games with scores below 100 are regarded as a defensive bore.

In soccer, on the other hand, scores like 2 to 1, even 1 to 0, are commonplace and desirable; games scoreless at the end of regulation time happen all the time. (In the 515 games played in the final phase in the history of the World Cup games through 1994, only 1584 goals have been scored for an average of three per game.) If there is no resolution at the end of overtime, the teams resort to a "shoot-out" that has more to do with luck than with real soccer skills. It is also possible for a team to dominate in terms of pure talent and "shots-on-goal" and still lose the game by virtue of a momentary lapse in defensive attention, a stroke of bad luck, or the opponent's break-away goal. Things like that can happen in baseball, but the problem somehow evens out over baseball's very long season of daily games.

Also, the soccer field is enormous. It is considerably larger than the American football field. Americans are accustomed to having action condensed, in a small field of vision In soccer, on the other hand, there is a premium on "spreading out", not infringing upon the force field occupied by a team-mate, so fancy foot maneuvers are possible. This spreading out across the soccer playing field does allow for easy close television camera scrutiny.

The role of the mass media in American sports is huge. Another role the mass media plays in the popularity of soccer is that in other countries is it more widely televised. Therefore, when children in Europe, Asia, and Latin America grow up learning how to play soccer in school, watch soccer on television, and know that soccer is the national sport of their country; they will naturally develop into superior soccer players over those from the United States. Similarly, children from the United States who are exposed to football at school, in college, and on television, grow up being exposed and immersed in the sport. They also grow up with role-models in the respective sports. In the US, children look up to football, basketball and baseball players.

In Latin America children look up to soccer players as their role models. This fact alone impacts the sport's popularity in the US. II. The Role of Economics While the mass media plays an extensive role in the popularity of soccer in the United States, there is also the issue of economics. Soccer's popularity in Latin American, Asia and Europe can be explained by economics. Soccer enthusiasts will attest to the fact that soccer uniforms cost considerably less than football uniforms.

A soccer player's jersey, shorts, socks, and shoes total approximately between fifty to one hundred dollars. In contrast, a complete football uniform consisting of helmet, pads, jersey, pants, socks, and shoes totals in the vicinity of five hundred dollars or more. The difference is astounding considering the number of players on either a soccer or football team (a full squad of American football players can easily approach 45 or 50, over three times as many as are on a typical Soccer team). Therefore, with an economic cost one tenth or one-twentieth of that of American football, it is easy to understand why many third world or underdeveloped countries such as those in Latin America and Asia have embraced soccer over American football.. Conclusion & Other Thoughts One last thought as to how we could improve soccer's popularity as a spectator sport in the US is that we must continue to create American soccer heroes. Whether it be Michelle Akers or Cob i Jones, they did not achieve their level of soccer brilliance by mere participation.

They are recognized for playing the game well. Soccer is a dynamic sport that certainly deserves increased attention and popularity in the US. While soccer is gaining popularity in the US, without the help of the mass media - it may never reach the popularity of American football or basketball.

Bibliography

Lit sky, Frank. "Soccer". The World Book Year Book. 1995. web web.