Ask any italian or german or brazilian or chinese or indonesian or [insert nationality that isn't american here] about the NFL and american football. Their response will be: American football is boring, no one likes it, very uncool sport. You get the same response regarding soccer from america. People find what isn't their culture to be "boring".

I am English and everyone tells me that we designed the sport (i somewhat doubt). Unfortunately soccer is slow and uneventfull. It also encourages hooligans - dont know why but its a fact. You may have stopages in the American sports but when in play you have to pay attention all the time unlike soccer.

I am an American woman who grew up overseas, playing soccer (poorly), listening to games on the radio, and watching them on TV. Whoever thinks the sport is boring hasn't taken the time to learn the game and its strategies. I believe Americans don't like soccer because it's more of a team sport, not a one-man show—as men's professional basketball seems to have turned into. In soccer, one person can't take the ball from one end of the field to the other and score, like you can in basketball. Americans seem to associate skill with scoring, but a limited number of soccer players are in positions where scoring is easily accomplished. Soccer at its most beautiful is an art; there are many people playing on the field but only a few artists. There are some great soccer players, but few beyond the ones scoring get any recognition in the US. I also really don't understand the problem with televising. Countries all over the world have the commentators put in the advertising plugs whenever they can during the match.

We did defeat Mexico 2-1 for the Gold Cup at the end of June for the second consecutive year, despite US fans were out ranked 25 to 1. So the quote "We never win anything and our team usually embarrasses itself in the process." is crap! Also, I wish people would talk about Landon Donovan who is a great American soccer player and quit being up English David Beckhams bum! Soccer is so under appreciated... can you run for that long period of time without stopping and try to get a goal while defending yours? Americans are fat and can't stand to watch people run!

Well, I don't think soccer/football is as hated as you would have us believe. I agree with much of what Mr. Hammer says about American sports. However, he runs to absurdities whenever he states "experts" say MLS is minor league. Not the top league in the world, that is true. But "Little League"? Oh, come now. You might want to know that the great Pele himself has been quoted as saying the league is much tougher than the dismissive Euro press claims. I would take his word over these "experts" mentioned. I follow MLS and I can tell you that it is not all that much inferior than a middle bracket Premier team. Say, Wiggan? I don't know what you can say when Chelsea was beaten by the MLS all stars last year. And even though it was preseason for these great players don't forget the MLS team HAD NEVER played together as a team! Football/soccer is a sport where the attack is always on. This is what most Americans fail to understand. It never stops...ever. Follow the MLS and get into it. I think you will find, as any sport, there are games that are woeful, but more than not they are very entertaining and the skill level is far greater than people realize.

I don't think Americans "hate" soccer. They simply are indifferent to it. It's not a high-scoring, highly commercialized product like (American) football or Basketball. As a parent of two kids who have been playing soccer since they were toddlers, I can say that I would MUCH rather go to a soccer game than a Pacers, Fever or Colts game. I believe that kids who are growing up today will have a much better appreciation for the game than kids of my generation. I never saw a soccer ball until I was in my 20's.

Soccer in america is starting to get better ratings than baseball on a regular basis. The copa america games buried last years baeball playoffs. we don't hate soccer...the corperations do because they have a hard time whoring it out. thus, we've been told to hate it.

Growing up in Indiana, I remember having two team sports with any real community connection and support behind them - baseball and basketball. Soccer and swimming were sports that required a bit of money behind it to allow involvement - YMCA or private club memberships, lessons, summer camp exposure, etc. Soccer was inaccessible and exotic to me and my friends and to those I knew and encountered growing up in Indiana. The same is true in many areas of the United States. The inaccessibility of soccer is a primary reason for its relative lack of break through success in the United States, in my opinion. This is all slowly beginning to change though. The generation of kids after me and those just slightly younger than me as well as the kids of today are raised with soccer as a primary focus in their group sport activity. There is still a drop in accessibility to the sport once kids out grow the youth leagues that are so standard now in every community. This leads to a gradual decline in involvement and subsequent disinterest later on. I think this is all very important in realizing why soccer here simply isn’t what it is elevated to in the rest of the world. In the UK and all of Europe, soccer or football clubs are local institutions and every region has a club with a passionate legacy of followers. Regional loyalties and the rivalries that grow between close neighbors are things that get in to the blood of those raised in these environments. The rivalries are clan like and based powerfully and primarily upon where you were born and or raised. The nationalistic following of teams in Europe in the rest of the world makes sense with that one factor taken in to consideration. Here, in a spread out, huge country with endless sporting options, the vital regional and nationalistic link to the sport is lost and lost on the fans. We don’t attach our identity to a soccer club and our national loyalties can be spread out over many different sports, ie college sports of all kinds, the NBA, NFL, etc. Elsewhere, soccer is tied in to personal identity in a way that can’t really be fathomed unless you have been abroad and experienced it. For these reasons, I think that the elevation of soccer to a national past time and passion on par with the rest of the world is far off in the future, if it happens at all. Keep in mind, Pele, one of the greatest ever, couldn’t elevate the sport here in a way that even kept professional clubs viable in the 70’s. For now, Beckham will be regarded as a beautiful novelty in the twilight of his career. Here’s hoping his ankles and general physical health can be maintained in good health that keeps him in top form necessary to keep or draw the fickle American interest.

I do not hate the game but I do find it to be a bit boring. Why must we love it? The athletes are skilled and have refined their talents, an enviable talent. Bowling also takes a lot of practice and skill but it too is boring and I do not watch it either.

Low scoring, not only that but lots of missed shots. Try watching a women basketball game, lots of shots and lots of misses. American suck at soccer because our great athletes are playing other sports, other wise we would dominate. Right now most kids in America that play soccer are there because they couldn't make the baseball or football teams.

1) Americans have a VERY SHORT attention span, they want EVERYTHING yesterday. 2) There are no cheerleaders in soccer, which mean the fans don't have any sets of titties and asses to watch when there is a TV timeout. 3) Soccer requires ALOT of teamwork, which goes against the grain for american sports. (Unless you are talking about the high school and college level) Americans hate soccer, because..... I could on here, but I won't.By the way, before all the chest thumping flag wavers start on a rant, I am an American.

I tuned to ESPN last night and found they were showing the Galaxy vs. Chelsea game. It was hilarious. The Galaxy sucks. They suck worse than a Rod Dowhower coached Colts team. They are going to get their ass kicked day after day against anybody outside of Little League. I predict that the major interest when the Galaxy plays will be wagering on which opposing player will stomp on Beckham’s ankle to put an aging has been player out of action for good. Now that would be a thrill for any soccer player. It would be like lighting a Cuban cigar with a $250 million bill.

I was ready to dismiss this Beckham thing as a meaningless publicity stunt. Because even if Beckham's team wins in the MLS, it's still just a minor league, despite the name. But apparently the owner of the Galaxy is setting up games with real soccer teams. When the Galaxy starts beating teams like Real Madrid and Manchester United then maybe this will mean something. And if ESPN and the average sports fan in the USA ignores it, so what.

I would rate soccer right around men's figure skating or celebrity bowling in excitement. Call me Mr. Short Attention Span but it is really hard to get excited about a game where the final score is probably likely to be 1-0 after two hours! Who cares if the athletes spend most of their time jostling for position or planning a strategy - whats boring is boring.