Originally posted by iam416
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Only with soccer, there is an especially annoying dynamic at work. There is the lobby of pretentious douchebags who like to sniff their own farts and insist that they are somehow more intelligent or more sophisticated than the rest of us American bumpkins because they "understand" soccer and we don't. Apparently dumbass Americans like me have to stick with simple sports like football instead of intellectually challenging ourselves with the complex game of soccer (the sport of choice for countries where running water and literacy are luxuries).
When it comes to "understanding" the sports, I would argue that the opposite is true. Other countries haven't embraced American football because they don't understand that sport. It is incredibly complicated compared to other sports, if you stop and think about it. That means that there are large barriers to entry for somebody watching it for the first time. Without the huge cultural backing like what we have in America, it's virtually impossible for it to catch on. And, of course, there are economic barriers (but I would point out that those barriers haven't kept hockey from becoming popular in Eastern Europe). But the complexity is what keeps people addicted to it once it catches on. The constantly evolving nuances of the game keep it fresh and provide for hours of analysis and discussion.
Originally posted by iam416
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