Even though the Simpsons video above is about as accurate as can be, here's a more conversational take. Soccer is already on TV in America. MLS obviously. But ESPN2 shows international soccer somewhat often. I personally only follow the sport during the World Cup. America likes sports where you can score multiple points at once. 2-3 point shots in Basketball, 2-4 RBI hits in baseball, field goals and touchdowns in Football, eagles in Golf. We also secretly prefer HTF in AC because you can score 2 points at once.
Star Power is embedded in American Culture. Beckham was supposed to change the view here, but he wasn't special enough to stand out from the other MLS players. We like saying 'Can LeBron put up 40 points tonight to carry them for the win?' 'Can Tiger birdie the final two holes to win this tournament?' 'Can Flacco lead the team down the field for a touchdown with 20 seconds left and no timeouts?' 'Can A-Rod get a hit in the play-offs without 10 pounds of steroids in his system?' Soccer, Hockey, etc. can't do that as much. I never saw them say 'Donovan needs 2 goals for America to win this game.' It's 'blabla can they counter this and do this?' It's too team oriented, there aren't as many chances to be star players that we can talk about, criticize, praise, etc.
That is why I prefer AC to Soccer. More conversations about if the stars will step their game up. As seen by this post, the pressure is on the stars in the Summer Cup.
http://forum.cubers.net/thread-6751-post...#pid129182
If |oNe| loses, it won't be 'the better team won', at least from the American spectator view. It'll be 'Waffles blew it, and can't come up big on the big stage.' Or 'Undead is old and washed up and should retire.'
Star Power is embedded in American Culture. Beckham was supposed to change the view here, but he wasn't special enough to stand out from the other MLS players. We like saying 'Can LeBron put up 40 points tonight to carry them for the win?' 'Can Tiger birdie the final two holes to win this tournament?' 'Can Flacco lead the team down the field for a touchdown with 20 seconds left and no timeouts?' 'Can A-Rod get a hit in the play-offs without 10 pounds of steroids in his system?' Soccer, Hockey, etc. can't do that as much. I never saw them say 'Donovan needs 2 goals for America to win this game.' It's 'blabla can they counter this and do this?' It's too team oriented, there aren't as many chances to be star players that we can talk about, criticize, praise, etc.
That is why I prefer AC to Soccer. More conversations about if the stars will step their game up. As seen by this post, the pressure is on the stars in the Summer Cup.
http://forum.cubers.net/thread-6751-post...#pid129182
If |oNe| loses, it won't be 'the better team won', at least from the American spectator view. It'll be 'Waffles blew it, and can't come up big on the big stage.' Or 'Undead is old and washed up and should retire.'