Why Soccer (Football) Cannot Catch On In North America

Submitted by: Jony Hubert

For the purpose of this article, I will refer to the most widely followed sport in the world, football (invented by the English) as soccer, so as to make it less confusing for the North American reader. I am not inferring that the above mentioned reader cannot understand the term football, but he might inadvertently confuse it with American Football, a sport widely played and watched in the Americas (with the exception on Central and South America, off course).

So why is it that soccer, even though thoroughly introduced to North America, does not have the overwhelming fan base that you would expect by now (2013)? Why does it not rule TV? Why do people in offices, pubs and other social gatherings not talk about it when the topic of Sports comes up? It certainly is not for the lack of knowledge of the sports existence.

The answer, or certainly a good part of it, can be summarized in four main points, arranged below in order of superficiality (i.e. ease of understanding):

1) Competition

2) Greed

3) Lack of Worldliness

4) Rebellion

Competition:

By competition I am referring to the already highly popular main stream sports in the USA and Canada. Among some other minor ones, these are Baseball, American Football, Basketball and Ice-Hockey. To ask a North American to give up his love (or at least diminish it) for one of these and switch to soccer would be a very hard thing to do.

Greed:

Television, radio and live entertainment venues, as well as the retail industry want to make as much money as possible. The easiest and most efficient way is not to re-invent the wheel and switch to soccer, for example, but to stay with what is hugely popular with the common people already. This is logical but also the strongest factor in keeping things the way they are. For another sport to become mainstream it needs to be commercially marketed non-stop.

Lack of Worldliness:

I am using the term worldliness in this instance to describe the fact that a person can know only very little about the world as a whole and his place in it. The common North American tends to stay in their country even if travelling. The USA and Canada do offer a vast array of options for holiday travel and the locals, therefore, are not forced to visit other continents and countries. If they would, it would start to broaden their horizons and that would change their attitudes towards the new and unknown.

Rebellion:

Now to the most controversial point: Rebellion.

The psychological response to pressure and the induction of change is always rebellion of some kind. If you tell a child: Come over here now, we are going home! It will most likely say: No, I do not want to let me stay here.

All this is to say that person will resist change for no other reason than to oppose the pressure applied to his person. On rare occasions this can be a good thing, but generally it is not. To be closed to new things is dangerous and hints at the imminent mental death of a given population.

So, is soccer better than any of its North American rivals? The answer is: Of course not. It is a sport just like any other sport. Given the current state (mentally mostly) of the common North American, it will remain in the background for the time being.

A change could come if the following holds true for Mr. Smith (i.e. the average man in the USA/Canada) and his entertainment suppliers (i.e. the media):

Mr. Smith decides to travel the world and be exposed to different ethnic groups and languages for at least 6 weeks a year. He sees himself as part of this diverse world and not as a tourist visiting Paris or Rom for his honeymoon. In the meanwhile all the major TV and Radio networks cancel the Superbowl in favor of soccer world cup qualifiers.

It takes a lot to change people; actually it is quite impossible. But if, through some unexpected turn of fate, it does happen, it would open the door to a fresh new world. Soccer might only be a part of it.

About the Author: A German living in Canada since 1995. A quiet, nature-loving guy that tends towards the romantic.Owns a Door Store in Richmond, Canada.

moderninteriordoor.com

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=1876162&ca=Sports