Isn't it funny how soccer is seen as unpopular in America when it is the most popular sport to play here?

From Wikipedia:

Association football, or soccer,[1] has long been a mainstream sport in the United States. It is the MOST POPULAR recreational sport for both boys and girls and has been so for more than 30 years.[2] However, as a spectator sport it is exceeded in popularity by baseball, American football, ice hockey, basketball and NASCAR.



And according to FIFA, there are 18 million soccer players in America: http://usa.usembassy.de/sports-soccer.ht鈥?/a>Isn't it funny how soccer is seen as unpopular in America when it is the most popular sport to play here?
That means within 30 years, America WILL win a World Cup.



You heard it here first.
Doesn't that nullify the only real excuse that American fans use when asked why they've never presented any form of threat in any major competition?



I mean don't get me wrong, I've got a lot of respect for the USA team and I understand that it's a growing sport and the team will improve. But the consensus among American fans has always been that they don't have a great team because the sport isn't that big in America.



I also don't understand how NASCAR is considered a better spectator sport than football. But I guess that's something I'll never really be into.Isn't it funny how soccer is seen as unpopular in America when it is the most popular sport to play here?
It is the older generation - people born in the thirties to forties in particular, influenced by dickheads such as Jack Kemp and McCarthy.
I love soccer; played it since I was 9, but understand why so many people think it sucks. It does.

1) They should have similar rules of defending in soccer that they have in basketball (no leaving 10 defenders in the penalty area unless there are 10 attackers there).

2) The refs should call diving and hand out yellow cards to repeat offenders.

3) There should be shoot-outs in the event of ties, with the winner getting 2 pts. and the loser 1. A team that wins outright would get 3 pts. as it does now.

4) The ball should be heavier and have less air in it to improve accuracy. Compared to shooters in basketball and hockey, these guys can't hit the broad side of the barn.



FIFA depends too much on tradition %26amp; devoted fans and doesn't bother to try to change the game for the better. They should!Isn't it funny how soccer is seen as unpopular in America when it is the most popular sport to play here?
Apart from the fact that I wouldn't trust Wikipedia to pick a name for my dog...



In Australia, soccer has been the most popular football code as far as participants is concerned for about 30 years also. However, like the US, it doesn't translate into spectators at matches. Soccer is the sport we like to play, not to watch.



The main reason for this is that soccer is perceived as a low skill, no contact sport. This means people are happy for their kids to play it because they are much less likely to get hurt than if they play something like rugby, and most adults see it as a recreational, social activity rather than a competitive sport.



But given its popularity participant-wise, soccer admin in Oz have had stars in their eyes for decades. Twenty years ago they truly believed that by now soccer would be the dominant football code with the biggest professional league, and in fact nothing has changed.
I'm just LMAO at jake. WHAT A F^CKING IDIOT.

Let's take the stupid pads and helmets away from American Football players.

Let's take those silly big gloves away from baseball players.

Now how stupid do i sound?