Soccer (Football) is the number one sport in the world. It is estimated that over 4 billion people are fans of soccer. However, it is only the 5th most popular sport in America, behind American Football, basketball, baseball, hockey and then soccer.
Soccer has it's following in the US. But it has some problems that will prevent it from ever being a major sport here.
First, it is not exciting enough. It doesn't have enough action. This could be fixed with small tweaks in the rules. I know, I know, you soccer fans think soccer is the best, the rules are there for a reason, blah, blah, blah........ I know, rule changes have been proposed by a lot smarter people than me, trying to fix soccer. But if it has been suggested so many times, there must be a reason.
So, rule change number 1. The midfield line, once crossed by the attacking team with the ball, cannot be breached again unless the ball is kicked over by the defensive team. This will prevent the teams from wasting time by kicking the ball back to their goalie. Slow play is what makes soccer so unappealing to most excitement driven americans.
Rule change number 2. No stoppage of play for injury unless a red or yellow card is issued. Far too many "B" actors and actresses are on the soccer field. You would have thought they were shot the way they act. I have seen better acting at grade school plays. You also need more penalties for this type of fakery. Maybe if they fall down with an injury, causing stoppage of play, they have to be removed for a mandatory 15 minutes. I don't know. But it is embarrassing to see this kind of childish, obvious acting. What kind of message does that send to young people? Maybe your governing body of soccer could look into it.
I will stop at two rule changes. I don't know if these would help, or ever be implemented. But something needs to happen. Soccer is just too boring to watch. The endless passing backward to their own goalie is the worst thing for me. It is a time waster. If a team is ahead, they could continue to waste time ad nauseum.
Speaking of wasting time. The extra time is so.......unofficial. Americans like to be exact. We have shot clocks in basketball that go down to a tenth of a second, time clocks on the field in american football that have a clock operator. To keep EXACT time. Maybe soccer can get with the 21st century and do that also.
Also, it is so annoying to see the soccer ball go out of bounds, and someone run over to pick it up. Then they move up or down the sideline. It looks like they don't have a time requirement to throw the ball in, nor do they seem to care to throw the ball back in at the exact spot it went out of bounds. I have seen someone take up to 30 seconds to throw a ball in. Seconds count in sports, but I guess not in soccer.
Last, but not least, the endless sponsors on the soccer shirts and shorts. It looks amateurish to have that many sponsors. This shirt is an old one from Liverpool. A goalie shirt from 1996-1997.
Here is a better one from the World Cup of Russia this year. I have to admit, they are getting better looking. Maybe they are learning.
There is one thing I like about soccer. The penalty shootout if the game is still tied after regular time and overtime. That is exciting stuff. If the soccer big-wigs make the rest of the game as exciting as the penalty shootout, soccer might just make it here.
These are the main ones that I have thought of. If you have suggestions, please enter them in the comment section.
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