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yes it is american thing try to mimic europe football with care free attitude with how europe sees the these rivalries and things so to me becomes really funny seeing americans want to be passionate as euro fans but activl and consciously hold back type of insults euro fans dish to opposing teams and fans so to me merican rivalries are just for lol
my experience in Canada with Soccer fans, or at least the ones who would like to consider themselves soft Ultras (passionate and belonging) is the opposite of what I remember from Europe - in North America today the fans are anti racist, pro LGBTQ mostly young ( less than 30) and liberal - the hard core fans I encountered in Europe in the 80s ( with the exception of some left leaning fans from clubs like St Pauli, Livorno, Celtic etc.) were the polar opposite of that mind set
my experience in Canada with Soccer fans, or at least the ones who would like to consider themselves soft Ultras (passionate and belonging) is the opposite of what I remember from Europe - in North America today the fans are anti racist, pro LGBTQ mostly young ( less than 30) and liberal - the hard core fans I encountered in Europe in the 80s ( with the exception of some left leaning fans from clubs like St Pauli, Livorno, Celtic etc.) were the polar opposite of that mind set
The demographic in the stands at Gillette when the New England Patriots play is quite different from when the Patriots play. Other than in The Fort behind the goal on the lighthouse end, it’s heavily under-18 and family-oriented. The Patriots skew much older and a lot more socially conservative.
The demographic in the stands at Gillette when the New England Patriots play is quite different from when the Patriots play. Other than in The Fort behind the goal on the lighthouse end, it’s heavily under-18 and family-oriented. The Patriots skew much older and a lot more socially conservative.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bus man
Soccer is insanely popular among suburban children (where do you think the label "soccer mom" came from?), but it seems to fade away when they grow up. Why that is, I honestly don't know. I would think that its popularity would continue as the players age out of children's leagues. Maybe that's why we're seeing an uptick, because many of today's young adults grew up immersed in the sport.
Personally, I think that "football" is a much more appropriate name for this sport (which is, after all, mainly played using one's feet), and that what we call "football" should be called something else, maybe "tackle ball." Don't know if it'll ever happen, but I think it would make a lot more sense. It also might help integrate American fans into the greater worldwide community of football fandom, which in turn might help grow the sport's popularity in this country.
Now the interest in youth soccer is also being challenged by the popularity of "Ultimate Frisbee." My oldest grandson is into that now, we went and watched a match a couple of weeks ago. When there are conflicts with his soccer games he sticks with the frisbee. It has had even more of a negative effect on youth baseball.
He, and many of his friends have given that up. With the number of people from India here now, even Cricket leagues are up and running, and our "state sport" is now Pickleball! The Seattle Sounders soccer fans we have selling out the stadium here are mostly millennials that grew up playing, or immigrants from countries where soccer (football) is the major sport. When the current batch of kids become teens and adults I expect the soccer interest to drop off again.
If you think soccer isn't popular in the US you've clearly never walked or driven past a city park or schoolyard in the last 20 years.
Where do people come up with this stuff?
I suppose if your definition of "popular" is "vast numbers of people sitting on their asses watching it on TV", OK, but if "hundreds of thousands of kids playing this sport with enthusiastic support from parents and peers", only by having buried your head in the dirt for the last 20 years could you claim soccer is not popular in the US.
Sorry. My jibberish was meant to compare the MLS fans in the stands against the NFL in the same stadium. The Revolution is squadrons of youth soccer players. Part of it is the price point and availability of tickets. The demographic is very different.
I was born in 1994.
For me, Soccer was a sport that I played as a kid until I was allowed to play football enough to play (10). I never looked back. It's sort of viewed as a kids sport or a womens sport (popularity of the USWNT) or a European sport. And the main drivers of the sports industry and consumerism are adult and teenage men. Its not action-packed enough for most American tastes, were always looking for over the top.
Exactly! Soccer is like daily life in a "Korporate anthill"; long hours of tedious, demanding, physically tiring activity; elaborate defense mechanisms to prevent immediate or substantial change (it is nearly impossible to overcome a three-goal lead), and little recognition for most individual participants -- hence, the emergence of "participation trophies", and similar non-recognition.
It smells just like life in petty, vicious, bloody, egalitarian Europe to me, and it stinks!
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 06-02-2023 at 08:23 AM..
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The Seattle Sounders soccer fans we have selling out the stadium here are mostly millennials that grew up playing, or immigrants from countries where soccer (football) is the major sport. When the current batch of kids become teens and adults I expect the soccer interest to drop off again.