Do you enjoy watching soccer?

[kiyoat]

Self-explanatory poll.  Just curious, since there has been a good deal of World Cup coverage in the media this year.  Don't take this as a shot at our Women's Soccer program, just a point of discussion.

As a Gen X South Dakotan that has never played the sport, my opinion on this is probably colored by my lack of exposure.  I have a hard time enjoying it as a spectator sport.

I haven't seen the data, but I assume younger generations of Americans are more into the sport than I am.

[sdyotefan]

Soccer wasn't around in western SD when I grew up--decades ago --so I didn't play. Have coached for over 20 yrs and refed for 12, so I enjoy watching soccer. My favorite sports to watch on TV are football, college basketball then soccer. Things I like about soccer: there is almost constant action since no time outs, no clock stoppages, constant switch from offense to defense and low cost for equipment.

For those who didn't watch the world cup final you should. High stakes with great drama especially 2nd half, OT and PK shootout.

If you've never played soccer find a player who has and go at it for 10-15 minutes on a small
field (or longer if you can).

[Yotes]

I watch a fair amount of soccer. I always watch the US men when they have competitive matches (never bother with friendlies), and occasionally on Saturday mornings I'll watch whatever Premier League (England) game is on. I've made it a point to watch the Champions League and FA Cup finals the past couple years. I watched as much of the World Cup as possible and it almost always paid off. I definitely want to get to KC and see a match in 2026 when we host it. Don't care which countries are involved.

I would watch more soccer if America had a good league. We have a league 50% larger than the best European leagues, and with significantly less talent. I just can't find a rooting interest for any team and watching it casually isn't very fun when you know the best players are all on a different continent. I also am miffed that there isn't promotion/relegation.

I find the league format of soccer fascinating (outside of the US). Teams that finish at the bottom of the standings get relegated to a lower league and are replaced with the top teams from that lower league. No one is safe. Traditional English power Everton is in danger of relegation this year. Manchester City is on top of the world right now but it wasn't very long ago they were stuck in England's 3rd division.

Then there's also the domestic cup competitions. Literally every team in the country is in direct competition for the trophy in a playoff format. We do have that in the US. You get fascinating David v. Goliath type matches in the cups. Omaha has a semi-pro team that made it all the way to the quarterfinals this year, beating the MLS teams in Chicago and Minnesota on the way. You don't get that kind of stuff in any other pro sport.

I can go on. Lots of stuff I wish American pro sports would borrow (who disagrees with the idea of punishing perpetually hapless teams? Kick the Browns out of the NFL rather than rewarding them with the 1st draft pick all the time).

All that being said, I recognize soccer can be hard to watch. It gets better when you learn the strategy. Nothing can save the low-tempo 0-0 draws though. Those are 2 hours of your live you aren't getting back. I also wish they'd fix the stupid clock. Players get rewarded for wasting time and it grates on me so much. On the whole I find the sport entertaining. I'd take it over NBA and MLB games for sure.