Why American's Love NFL Football and dislike Soccer.

I like any sport where the object is to put an object past a defender protecting a net, weather it be hockey, soccer or lacrosse...

The issue I have with soccer is the size of the field which dictates the pace of the game... Most of the game is played in the neutral zone and that is no fun to watch... I also don't like the flags - they should let the players get physical...

I like indoor soccer a lot better than outdoor soccer...

I will say I do appreciate how difficult it is to play soccer so I respect the game and like to play it myself when I'm not playing hockey, however from a spectators perspective it can get boring... It at times is like watching the trap era New Jersey Devils play hockey...

 

Not true as rugby players play offense and defense thereby spending more energy than gridiron players.

I once saw a NRL (Australian rugby league) match where there was a sustained series of plays that went without stoppage for 16 minutes as there were turnovers and both teams possessed and exchanged the ball. 16 minutes of continuous action is more action than is made in a typical NFL game.


Don't get me wrong - I love gridiron (American football's actual name) and I'm planning on going to a Division III match this afternoon. But the problem is that Americans often underestimate the quality of sport and quality of athlete that these European sports entail.

 

College Football is a lot of fun to watch.

But the NCAA is taking advantage of College Athletes.

On one hand the NCAA and hundreds upon hundreds of Colleges all over the United States make BILLIONS OF DOLLARS on football game ticket sales and concession sales as well as Multi-Billion Dollar TV Deals.......and on the other hand if an athlete takes a few bucks from a College Team's Booster Fan Club they get banned and can no longer play the game as well as lose their College Sports Scholarship.

I believe that a percentage of the money earned should be used to help former College Sports Players to overcome injuries sustained during their college career as well as spent on Job Placement Programs as only a tiny percentage of the thousands upon thousands of college football, basketball, baseball, hockey, volleyball and soccer players will ever play in the Pro's.

AboveAlpha

 

I think that Soccer could be helped as a game and be more exciting if they got rid of the off sides rules and placed a CLOCK say by giving a team only 20 seconds to get the ball over mid-field if it has not been touched by a player from the other team.

This would add an entire new dimension of tactics and strategy to the game of soccer which really does not have a lot right now to do with tactics and strategies.

Say a team is up 1-0 and they have the ball deep in their side of the field with only a few minutes left in the game.

They have 20 seconds with 2 Minutes and 45 seconds left in the game to get the ball either over mid-field or bounce the ball off a foot or body of a player from the losing team before the 20 second clock runs out and when that happens if they have not gotten it over mid-field nor has the ball touched the foot or body of the other teams players when the 20 second clock runs out a ref blows a whistle and the other team get's possession of the ball on the side of the field they are most close to at the same distance.

This would add some EXCITEMENT TO SOCCER as I have watched too many games that went 1-0 or 0-0 when there was still 5 to 10 minutes on the clock and the team in the lead would sit on that lead by just continuing to kick the ball back and forth and back to their goal keeper in their end of the field.

BOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!!!

Get rid of the off sides rule.....put a 20 second clock to get the ball over mid-field or to have another player from the opposing team touch the ball....and FOR GOD SAKE'S HAVE THE DAMN CLOCK COUNT DOWN AND FORCE THE REF'S TO DISCLOSE ON THE CLOCK HOW MUCH PENALTY TIME HAS BEEN ADDED OR STOP THE DAMN CLOCK WHEN A PENALTY IS CALLED!!!

The clock thing REEEEAAALLLYYY is one of the reasons American's dislike soccer as we feel there is just too much of a chance that allowing a REF to be the one that determines just how much time is left in a soccer game is too much of a threat to allowing people with a great deal of money to FIX THE GAME!!!

Think about it.....you have ONE REFEREE...who has a stop watch that controls exactly how much penalty time is added to the 90 minute game clock in a soccer game.

Imagine BOOK MAKERS coming up to a Referee and saying....HERE IS $3 MILLION....MAKE SURE IF MANCHESTER UNITED IS BEHIND THAT YOU ADD AN EXTRA 1 MINUTE AND 20 SECONDS TO THE ADDED PENALTY TIME!!

Who would know?

It's just ONE GUY....controlling how much time is added.

Too great of a chance to allow fixing of the game.

If a player get's hurt or if a penalty is called simply STOP THE CLOCK!!!

As I said....the way the clock and playing time is managed during a soccer game with it's current rules is IDIOTIC!

AboveAlpha

 

Rugby players PACE THEMSELVES.

I know because I have played Rugby as a friend of mine plays in a local league so when I go over to his home over the years I have been involved in a few Rugby games.

I am 6 foot 2 and 238 lbs of muscle and I am a runner and weight lifter as well I swim 1 mile 2 times a week.

So I am in extremely good shape and I was able to play a decent game of Rugby....although nowhere near as good as my friend and his team mates.

Playing Rugby takes a good deal of strength especially in the scrum but when playing a player does pace themselves as a player must save energy for immediate bursts when getting the ball and attempting to score.

But a Rugby Player DOES NOT PLAY AT 100% CAPACITY during the entire length of a game as that would be IMPOSSIBLE for any Human Being.

In NFL Football a Player does play at 100% CAPACITY immediately from the moment the football is hiked to the moment the ref's blow the whistle and the play ends.

At that point an NFL or College or any Football Player rests for a moment as they walk back to line up again or perhaps are replaced after a certain number of plays because even though a Down Played in a football game last only on average about 7 to 10 seconds....a player is exerting their energy at the greatest level they possibly can achieving 100% Capacity and then a player after about 7 seconds can rest.

A Football player might be doing the equivalent of bench pressing 400 lbs and leg pressing over 1000 lbs as well as placing extreme pressure upon their spine and neck during that 7 second or a little longer or shorter depending on the play.

Excursion of that level cannot be continued by any Human Being for longer than 7 to 10 seconds without immediately resting.

I can bench press a maximum of 385 lbs and I can do it 2 to 3 times depending upon how I feel and this is not inclined as inclined I can press 350.

I can also leg press a maximum with both legs 1080 lbs. and I can do this 2 times.

Now if I am PACING myself I can bench press 250 lbs. 8 times and do so in 6 repetitions.

I would need about 5 minutes between each rep. and by the time I got to my 4th rep. I would need about 10 minutes between reps.

Now I don't weight lift like this because it builds too much muscle mass and as I need to remain flexible I lift to ONLY build MUSCLE DENSITY and not build up the size of my arms and legs.

So I usually only lift the absolute MOST weight I can and lift it in only 2 to 3 times in 3 sets and that's it!!

This is sort of the same thing that Football Players are doing in the sense they are exerting their bodies at 100% capacity and burning energy at the highest possible level a human body can burn energy in the form of calories.

When a person exerts themselves like that they can only do so for a short period of time before needing rest and they must rest before attempting to exert themselves at 100% capacity again.

This is what Football Players are doing between downs and plays.

Soccer and Rugby Players must conserve energy thus they pace themselves during the course of an entire game and Rugby Players certainly are exerting themselves more than soccer players as a Rugby player has to use more than just their legs.

AboveAlpha

 

I don't think it is physically possible at least if a Fan want's to see the level of action they are currently seeing.

It also presents a problem in play calling.

AboveAlpha

 

College Ball having MORE coverage on TV???????

Are you kidding????

I turn on the TV on Saturday and it seems like EVERY CHANNEL has a College Football Game going on!!! LOL!!!

AboveAlpha

 

Now remember I used to be a Goal Keeper but what you should have said is......Soccer means also the tense of the wait....wait.................wait for it...........uhhhh....nope not yet....wait.....wait.......uhhh.....S#!#!...nope...wait.....in just a minute.........uhhhh......RIGHT ABOUT NNNnnnnnnnooooo......wait............here it comes.........almost..........there moving the ball andddd..........nope...wait........ummmm........well......OK.....THEY HAVE THE BALL AND......AND.......and.....nooo.......wait........ahhhhhgh.........mmmm............give me a minute I need to go get another beer...........

AboveAlpha

 

Ah great. When I was a teen I had the habit to follow American football and it was really great ... but because it was in the form of recaps. So I had the impression that it was a fast a furious sport.

Then pay per view TVs came also to Italy and I watched some Super Bowl matches. And I discovered that American football was ...

They start, they release the oval ball, they run a bit, may be they launch it ... may be ... and then ... STOP, advertising ... take a rest. WHAT? When the advertising and the commercials are finished you see odd guys preparing incredible and unpredictable strategies for next action. Problem: usually I recorded a good 60% of success in predicting the incoming attack actions [who trains the coaches in American Football? Mickey Mouse?].

Then, after more than TWO HOURS of a lot of commercials and a bit of American Football I fell sleep. I read about the result of the Super Bowl the following morning on internet.

 

As I said....many European's being so used to Soccer don't really understand the whole stop and start nature of playing Downs in Football.

You have to understand that each PLAY during an NFL Game is very much like a move in Chess.

It takes a bit of time for players to recover as well as no Human alive could perform at 100% Capacity during a whole game without stop.

AboveAlpha

 

When I was a kid there was very little Soccer broadcast in the United States so since I played soccer and wanted to pick up some tips I would have to watch a local SPANISH LANGUAGE CHANNEL as they would have FIFA Games and other soccer games that were broadcast from Latin America.

I and a few of my fellow soccer players would LAUGH OUR A$$E$ OFF when a player would score and the guy calling the game on TV would yell....GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAOAOAOOAOAOAOAOAOAOAOAOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALALLLLLLALALALALALALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLALLLALALLLLLALLALALLALALLLLLLLLLALALALALALLLLLALLLLALLALLALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.......ESPANIA!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!

The announcer would just yell and hold the GOOOAAALLLL out for like a MINUTE...and being young American's my friends and I would just laugh and laugh!!!

When I think about it now it kind of say's something in that how very little scoring tends to happen on average during a soccer game as when even a Jaded Soccer Game TV Announcer who has been calling soccer games for YEARS get's that excited that he actually got to see a goal scored to the point he holds a NOTE while saying GOAL for over a minute without stopping to take a breath of air......well....even HE is excited that someone finally scored!!!

LOL!!!

AboveAlpha

 

Listen, I'm not saying that American Football is something alien like Cricket [!!! I take all the responsibility for this statement, also considering that I spent a certain time in Nepal where Indian Cricket players are considered as deities ...], but if I have to think to a game with oval ball in motion ... EH! There 's Rugby.

Rugby has got well less pauses than American Football [and Rugby players are less protected ... btw].

For Europeans Rugby is better than American Football, no way. Even if I cannot understand why in the Commonwealth they love Cricket ...

 

Rugby is a good game but as I said in Rugby tactics very much depend upon individual play and even a good deal of luck.

Play pretty much is defined by who is able to get at the ball and who comes out with it very much similar to who comes up with the ball in an NFL game when the ball is fumbled.

AboveAlpha

 

Brazilian TV speakers can do better than that [they are really outstanding]. Italian speakers use the hyperbole to comment the actions ... so that when a goalkeeper avoid a goal that's a "miracle", when a forwarder shoots on goal that's a "bomb", a rude intervention of a defender is a "crime for the penal code" and so on ...

BTW: if you Americans don't like soccer, send to Italy some of the soccer players of your Major Leagues ... we will welcome them!

 

Actually there are more soccer teams in the United States then there are in any other country in the world.

Kids begin playing soccer in Pee Wee Leagues and soccer is played in ever school and league in ever town and city of the thousands of towns and cities all across North America.

Soccer is played in Pee Wee, Elementary, Middle School, High School, College and Professional Levels all throughout the U.S. and North America.

It's just that the BIG MONEY exists in Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Volley Ball, Golf, Tennis, NASCAR, Motocross, Skiing and other Winter Sports, X-Games, Surfing and somewhere near the bottom is Major League Soccer.

I will say that Women's FIFA Soccer is widely watched in the States and of course the U.S. Team won the world cup many times now and is always either in the Final Game or close to it.

Men's FIFA World Cup Soccer is gaining attention as the U.S. always seem's to make the cut and get into the World Cup and if any of the athletes that would ordinarily play basketball or football began to concentrate of soccer then the world should look out!!!

Hell....we always get into the World Cup and we are a nation that barely pay's attention to FIFA Soccer so imagine if we actually DID pay attention??

AboveAlpha

 

Female US soccer is exceptional. This makes the conditions of male US soccer even more odd. The only US sport which allows Americans to win real world cups is basketball [Hockey is ok, but Hockey world cups see a not so "world" participation, to be honest], for the rest ... individually tennis and skying can give you satisfaction at planetary level, that's all.

About BIG MONEY ... don't make that mistake. British soccer Championship is one of the richest on the planet, but England produces a really poor national team [not stronger than the US one, believe me!]. Soccer is a very particular sport. It's not said that the most payed players will win ...

 

There are quite a few American Soccer Players playing the game in Europe and in other countries for Big Money and we do have Major League Soccer.....but we already have so many other sports as well.

Because the United States has the NFL....and there are plans to have NFL Teams in Mexico, Canada and in London.....Soccer just doesn't have any chance of competing with NFL Football although it will continue to grow.

The NFL is by far the most prosperous League on the Planet with Multi-Billion Dollar TV Rights and a system of Team Parity that has been developed over many decades of play.

Super Bowl Sunday has become a defacto National Holiday and although American's will watch the U.S. Women's and Men's team play in the World Cup there is a certain STIGMA that surrounds Soccer in general in the United States.

This stigma is very real and soccer in general is considered a...."GAME FOR GIRLS".

Now I personally don't think that but the vast majority of both American Men and Women think this.

No where in the World could Soccer be considered a "GAME FOR GIRLS"....except in an NFL and College Football crazy United States.

AboveAlpha...p.s....even Thanksgiving when an average American thinks of this most favorite of Holiday's is thought of as Turkey, Family and Football. The Sport is that ingrained into the American psyche.

 

In the old days the calls were made by the field captain just like they still do in rugby. That's why gridiron games lasted only about 90 minutes in the old days because there was little or no passing.

- - - Updated - - -

by whom??

 

The old "GAME FOR GIRLS" thing was very obviously prevalent when I was in school as I was tall and because all our tall guy's were playing Basketball I played 3 sports in playing Football as QB....soccer as Goal Keeper...and I played Hockey as well.

I also played Baseball and Tennis but this was all too much so I cut it down a bit and because sometimes Football and Soccer schedules interfered with one another both coaches were on my A$$ to quit one or the other so I told both coaches I would quit if I wasn't allowed to play both so since I was needed they made allowances.

But in playing soccer I would here people saying it was a Girl's Game all the time.

Even now so many years later a large percentage of American's STILL consider it a game for girls.

And when soccer players FLOP.....well that doesn't help the spots reputation any better.

Right now NFL Football lasts exactly the right amount of time for Fan's to make a Game an eventful day.

It also allows the players enough time to recupe in order to be playing at 100% capacity which allows great and spectacular plays and it is also designed for TV advertising.

Because of it's current game structure the NFL is the most successful League in the world and without a doubt the wealthiest.

AboveAlpha

 

I am fortunate.... I have a lot of sports options here. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Rowdies is our soccer team and they play at Al Lang Field in Downtown St. Petersburg and I love the energy of the game. Soccer is so much fun and the fans are vibrant, diverse, and a great group to watch the game with. Other than that, I love heading over to Tropicana Field and watching the Rays. Presently, the Bucs are just trying to finding themselves. I have been to games at Raymond James, but I just did not get the energy I get from baseball or soccer. Then there is a Lightning at Amalie Arena, another interesting experience. I love my boys on the ice, but it is still a different experience. I am more into soccer and baseball, but that is a personal preference. But to add to this, Al Lang Field is completely sold out for all the Rowdies games. The Bucs are struggling to sell all the tickets for their games. They are literally giving tickets away to get people to come to the game. I turned down the tickets to the Jacksonville game last Sunday and I was getting them for free, so what does that tell you?

 

Tells me that you have a great soccer team to watch and it tells me Tampa Bay Buc's Fan's seem to be fair weather fan's! LOL!!!

We are very lucky in New England as I live in Western Massachusetts and over the last 15 years we have had the Red Sox win the World Series 3 Times......the Patriots win the Super Bowl 4 Times and have been in the Super Bowl a total of 6 times since the 2001 season....and seem to be in the AFC Championship Game every time I turn around! LOL!!

We have had the Bruin's win the Stanley Cup.....and been to the Final's several times.

We have had the New England Revolution...our Major League Soccer Team in the Finals several times.

The New England Patriots have sold out every single game since Gillette Stadium was built and they were selling out every single game for many years in Foxboro Stadium soon after Robert Kraft purchased the Team.

Robert Kraft is an NFL Football Fan's DREAM OWNER!!!

Kraft is a long time Patriots Fan and he owned Season Tickets in the old Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium.

The Old Foxboro Stadium was without a doubt the most FAN UNFRIENDLY STADIUM IN SPORTS!!

Everyone had to sit on metal bleachers and when I went I would bring this fold up seat that were sold in sports stores that was designed to clamp on to the bottom of the metal bleacher and this fold out seat had a back rest and a cushion as in the winters in New England it get's BRUTALLY COLD and a person does not want to be sitting on ice cold metal all game.

Kraft bought the Team and them without spending a single DIME of Taxpayer Money he built what is without a doubt the best stadium in sports and I travel a lot!!!

He made sure that every seat is pointed directly at the 50 yard line which caused Kraft to lose about 3000 potential seats due to this geometry but he didn't care.

A Fan does not have to stay seated as you can walk around the concourse where there are places to buy every beer imaginable and Lobster, Mussels, Clams, Shrimp, Corn on the Cob, Steamers, Raw Oysters, Fried Clams and Oysters, BBQ, Brats and all sorts of Sausages, Whole Pizza's, Steak, Pork, Fish, Chicken, Sushi and just about everything a Fan can imagine!!

Kraft also constructed what is called PATRIOTS PLACE which is a combination of a Patriots Hall of Fame with all sorts of displays including retired Patriots and the 4 Vince Lombardi Trophy's in the awesome display room and there are Virtual reality displays and all sorts of games and fun for Fan's to participate in.

There never were any Luxury Boxes in the old Foxboro Stadium so Kraft built these and built a Huge Club where Season Ticket Club Members can go inside and dine and drink and walk out to their seats.

Kraft is a guy who sat on frozen metal just like everyone else did even though he was wealthy because he was a huge Patriot's Fan and when the day came that Kraft had made enough money and the Patriots Owner was threatening to sell the Team....Kraft came in...bought the Team....and did not hold the entire New England Region HOSTAGE like some other owners would have by threatening to sell the Team unless the State went and used Public Money to build a new stadium.....Kraft just bought the Patriots and built the stadium himself.

Because of the way he did this it has payed off for Bob Kraft as Kraft is also dedicated to winning every year.

I and everyone else up here could not ask for a better Owner or a better Team.

AboveAlpha

 

I do not want you to think that I am disregarding the rest of your post because I read it and tells me there is true devotion to the home town teams in much of New England.

For us in Tampa Bay, we have run across several problems. First off, we have so few natives here. In many cases, you will see people from other areas that live here. When you watch the Red Soxs play the Rays, you will notice something very distinctive when your Red Soxs are playing at Tropicana Field. You will hear equal amounts of cheering for the Rays as you will hear for the Red Soxs. Being that the Red Soxs and Yankees have had Spring training in Fort Myers and in Tampa, and have been here, well before the area was awarded the Tampa Bay Rays, you will find many of the games have away team representation. It is just the nature of baseball in the Bay area. Additionally, there has been issues with the location of Tropicana Field. Many people in Tampa state that the games are too far away, but a trip on I-275 from Downtown Tampa to Downtown St. Petersburg takes as little as 15 minutes on low traffic days and 35 minutes on high traffic days, so to me, when people from Tampa state this, I say there is no excuse. You are either a fan or you are not and moving the Rays to Tampa does not equal success.

Then you have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which has been here for 30+ years. Prior to the Bucs coming to town, everyone and I mean everyone, were Miami Dolphins fans and there are still people that live here that are strong supporters of the Dolphins. With the Bucs, they had the Super Bowl in 2002, which was great, but the Bucs have lost their edge. They have burned through multiple coaching staffs, players, and made some drastic changes. Not to mention, for over 4 years, most, if not all, the home games were blacked out on local television and during some of the hardest economic times. In prior years, Raymond James would be easily sold out, but the multiple black outs caused a very unhealthy division between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their fan base. In June 2015, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Jameis Winston had an unfortunate thing to him and it added to the continual rift. Winston decided he was going to Berns Restaurant in Tampa, without a reservation. Berns is Tampa staple, been in business since the 50s. Every single US president since Eisenhower has dined at Berns, so the reputation of the restaurant is highly impeccable and many famous people have dined there. Well, Winston went to the restaurant, the staff asked if he had a reservation, Winston said "No" and quite bluntly, the staff told him to leave because there were no available tables. This raised eyebrows because Winston made quite a stink over it and did the one thing that makes everyone cringe. He asked the staff "Don't you know who I am?" Look, things like this event and others over the last 5 years has been happening in Tampa Bay and every time, it hits the papers and people get thoroughly disgusted. The ownership is not much better. Just recently, the Glazers decided it would be a fun idea to pay $ 75 million to play two home games elsewhere. That is right, the Glazers love the Bucs and the Tampa Bay market so much, that they want the Bucs to play 2 of their designated home games, elsewhere. Along the way, this stuff mounts up and continues to alienate the fans in Tampa Bay.

Finally, we have the Tampa Bay Lightning. Another championship team, but when you think about it, they are just a new team (less than 20 years old). They have energy and a lot going for them. The owner is a great man. Jeffrey Vinik is extremely devoted to Tampa Bay, although he has a small ownership percentage in the Boston Red Soxs. Vinik has done a lot for the Tampa Bay area. He has very deep pockets and he is paying out a lot to Tampa. He is reconstructing the entire Channelside district. He is adding more and more to Amalie Arena, where the Lightning play. He is pouring money into making Tampa's Downtown a more livable area. Even with all of this, a great owner, a great team, and playing in the heart of Downtown, the Lightning still has their problems. Most games do sell out, but the problem is, it is not with Tampa Bay fans. Just like with the Rays, this area has fans from all over that come and see the games, but it does not mean they are Tampa Bay fans. But all in all, this is the only problem I see.

As for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the energy is great. Several championships and they are still going strong. Al Lang Stadium/Field is packed on every game and many are turned away. The stadium only seats 7500 people and that has created problems because there is a stronger fan base than that. In the coming years, more expansion will be done to allow for the Atlanta Braves spring training coming to St. Petersburg, which has led to some ugly comments from the Rays organization. However, the Rowdies can see the potential in this and expand from 7500 to 15000 in attendance, which will be adequate. To add to this, when you go to the Rowdies games, there are only Tampa Bay fans. I have been to three games and I saw no away team support. The Rowdies also has the highest attendance percentage - 106%. Many teams within soccer and other professional sports would love to have that level of attendance.

Anyway, that sums up the BS in Tampa Bay. My contention is we have always been a vacation destination. That is where this area makes it money. Not off of sports.

 

Like you I am troubled by the flopping especially at amateur levels - what's worse is when the referees buy into it and allow penalty kicks against teams victimized by these floppers.

But the idea that is a game for girls is silly - since you played it you know how much physical contact there is in it and how dangerous it can be. I certainly will never forget a game in which two players went for a header and they banged heads - both were bleeding heavily and one had to be carried off in a stretcher.


I will credit the NFL for being highly successful - this because of its great marketing, not necessarily for being the best game in the world. As I wrote before, the league itself acknowledges that there are on average only 10 minutes of action per game. Just imagine the Super Bowl - three hours of pre game talk, a game that lasts four hours, two hours of post game talk = a nine hour broadcast for only ten minutes of action. What GREAT marketing, huh?


But remember that the tv audience for the Super Bowl is only a fraction of the World Cup and UEFA Champions League - together these games generate FAR more revenue than does the NFL playoffs and SB.

 

Your definitely right that Florida is LOADED with SNOWBIRDS and I guess I am one of them as I own several properties on both coasts of Florida.

I have worked very hard my entire life and because of this I am wealthy and I am relatively YOUNG so I travel a lot as I also fly for free due to my association with the U.S. Military and several large Passenger Jet Airline Companies.

I very often travel to see the Patriots play the Dolphin's down there and I have gone to see the Patriots play Tampa Bay every 4 to 8 years when they tend to play each other in the regular season.

Tampa has a really cool stadium with the whole Pirate Ship and I was really happy for Buc's Fan's when they got rid of those GOD AWFUL UNIFORMS and changed up from the whole ERROL FLYNN look to their really cool new skull and cross bone flags.

The Patriots were once like the Buc's in that we didn't win all that much but I can't imagine how bad it must have been for Buc's fan's back in the day as at least the Patriots went to a few Super Bowls and would make the Playoffs prior to the Belichick/Brady era as we played the Bears in the Super Bowl in the 1985 season and played the Packers in a good game in the Super Bowl after the 96 season.

Now with a stadium that has never not been sold out and a Owner who is a Patriots Fan BEFORE he bought the Team....the best coach in the NFL in Belichick and even NFL Fans from other Teams are quick to agree with that...and with the greatest Quarterback of ALL TIME in Tom Brady...a guy who went in the 5th or 6th round at 196 or 197......who ALWAYS has something to prove and I figure we will get at LEAST another 5 years out of Tom Brady....well for US....things don't get any better than this.

That's why I absolutely HATE that the Buc's....an UNDERDOG TEAM....are not selling out and this is a problem created by both the OWNER and the FANS.

AboveAlpha

 

I was not trying to compare all the revenue earned by every soccer team in every league around the entire world.

I was just comparing a single Nations Sports League as the NFL as a single league is by far wealthier and more successful than any other single league in any nation on the planet.

As a Goal Keeper I have been kneed in the groin....head butted....elbowed in the neck, eye, head, ribs...etc.

But I also played Quarterback and Tight End and I have incurred some hits on my body by 6 foot 6 inch 400 lbs. lineman that would KILL....as in DEAD....your ordinary average soccer player.

This is why Football Players wear PADS....because I can tell every member right now if Football Players did not wear pads....there would be DEATHS on the gridiron.

I have played Rugby as well and although Rugby is a rough sport it still is not as violent as Football.

Soccer is definitely NOT just a game for Girls but as I said every time an American Audience see's some soccer player taking a FLOP and practically crying on the field....when they were hardly even TOUCHED....it just doesn't help remove the STIGMA that Soccer is a game for girls.

I was watching the Patriots beat the Colts last night and I am a huge Patriots fan and Julian Edleman...a Patriots receiver either broke or dislocated his finger as the NBC Camera Crew zoomed in on Edleman holding up his finger on the sideline after Patriots #11 Julian Edleman had just made a great catch and play and his finger.....

....HIS FINGER WAS STICKING UP SIDEWAYS AND AT AN ANGLE THAT A HUMAN FINGER SHOULD NOT BE ANGLED AT!! LOL!!!

It looked like his finger was broken in one place and dislocated out of his knuckle but did the Patriots receiver complain? Did Edleman cry?? Did #11 drop the ball or roll around crying in agony on the field???

HELL NO!!!!!

#11 caught the football.....went to the sidelines....showed his broken and dislocated finger to a few Patriots players and while showing them his finger #11.....LAUGHED!!!!

He LAUGHED....taped his finger to the finger next to it and went back in the game!!!

I played Quarterback with a dislocated finger on my throwing hand and a broken foot as on one play as I threw the football and my arm and hand was extended a 6 foot 5 inch 400 lbs. lineman's helmet smacked right into my hand and he ran right over me stepping on my plant foot and he broke it!!!

I came out for ONE PLAY...my coach popped my dislocated finger back into place....and I played the rest of the game after being out for one play with a broken foot!!!!

THAT'S PLAYING FOOTBALL!!!

And when I or other American's see some Soccer Player FLOP and cry and carry on just to draw a yellow or red card or penalty shot...etc.....well because I played soccer to me doing this is just EMBARRASSING!!!

It's embarrassing to watch it happen.

it's embarrassing to be a player.

And it's embarrassing to the game of soccer in general.

AboveAlpha