Originally posted by Aristotle
Hell. I don't know, something. I was the captain of my high school soccer team, and I loved playing it. It is just boring as hell to watch.
That is one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard. This is the most watched game in the world. It is the kind of game that people kill/fight/die over. There are very very few countries in the world which aren't OBSESSED with this game. (USA, Canada, NZ, Australia are the major exceptions)

I can't explain why a few countries find it boring to watch, but for the vast majority of the world it is THE most exciting game to watch. I think the Olympics might get a slightly higher viewer rating in the world, but they have a fuckload of sports, unlike the worldcup which is just one sport.

It doesn't seem to attract a N.American audience, which is a shame for the money they could contribute, but is irrelevant in terms of sheer audience.

Perhaps it is sports like NBA, NFL MLB etc. that need to take a look at soccer to see what people like, in order to become more interesting games. They simply do not interest people in most of the world. Imagine how much money there would be in those American games if Western Europe, South and central America, Africa and Asia gave a major-league -hotdog about them.

Perhaps the popularity of N. American soccer leagues could be improved by making them more like other N. American sports; but if strange rules like abolishing the off-side rule were introduced into the rest of the world they'd go down very very badly.

-tharun