Response

To SteveA, cross posted on SoccerBlog.com (well, attempted to post, network error)!

My apologies for the ADD comment, which was mine (I said that US fans are basically like ADD kids, needing constant stimuli in their sports, not having the patience for a beautiful game). I merely meant to indicate that American fans (of which I am one) tend to like quick and interesting and high action sports, and cannot understand nor really retain the patience for a soccer game that has 88 minutes of plotting and setting up and 2 minutes of real action. Think of the spurts of action that hold the american public captive in those sports you mention: the pitch and hit in baseball, the football play, also look at hoops with the 24 second shot clock, not to mention my favorite team sport, hockey. Quick, fast paced action, constant bursts of energy...not a lot of time testing, pressing, looking for chinks in the defense's armor. At least that is what I've heard in my travels. Your experience might run different, but think of it this way; if you had a 2-1 soccer game (equalling a 14-7 football game), how much fun would you have if there were a boatload more shots on goal than currently? How many plays does a football team get during the course of a game? How many pitches in a baseball game, with all the budding excitement that might happen with each throw? Basketball possessions that do NOT end in a shot are even sometimes exciting. And hockey... How many shots on goal do you see in the typical World Cup match? MAYBE 10 total between the teams? I think it fundamentally boils down to "a lot activity without much exciting action accomplishments". And I'm a FAN of soccer.

You can go to youtube.com and Google Video and see astounding goals scored by players. But the OVERALL game must be made more exciting as a matter of course, or else we'll never capture the imagination and interest as much as we'd hope. Remember, we are not trying to impress those who already play hookey from work to watch the World Cup, we are trying to attract people who don't know much about it. Those are the people we need to get into the game...

My humble opinion.