(11-16-2016 03:24 PM)BurlingtonApp Wrote:  Why does no one in the deep south have soccer? Seems so odd to me. Even the SEC schools.

Because..it's soccer....

To each their own, but I doubt it ever catches on here really.

Just seems un American to some degree. Has a "globalization" feel to it. The whole "fut-ball" thing doesn't help. Outside of bigger cities, almost nobody of ticket buying age grew up playing it in the South, so it is very un-interesting to most of us. Even a % of those that care (I'd guess the majority in the South), only care because their University's name is on the product and only care about what it can do for their school OR their kid plays soccer.

To quote Hank Williams Jr. : "I'm a football fan, not a soccer man"

Congrats to CCU, any championship is good for their program. Hope we win one soon, but even if we were 10x straight national champions (is there such a thing in soccer?), I still wouldn't go to a game or match or whatever they call it. Unless maybe I lived across the street, just happen to be home and admission was free.

(11-17-2016 06:37 PM)The4thOption Wrote:  

(11-16-2016 03:24 PM)BurlingtonApp Wrote:  Why does no one in the deep south have soccer? Seems so odd to me. Even the SEC schools.

Because..it's soccer....

To each their own, but I doubt it ever catches on here really.

Just seems un American to some degree. Has a "globalization" feel to it. The whole "fut-ball" thing doesn't help. Outside of bigger cities, almost nobody of ticket buying age grew up playing it in the South, so it is very un-interesting to most of us. Even a % of those that care (I'd guess the majority in the South), only care because their University's name is on the product and only care about what it can do for their school OR their kid plays soccer.

To quote Hank Williams Jr. : "I'm a football fan, not a soccer man"

Congrats to CCU, any championship is good for their program. Hope we win one soon, but even if we were 10x straight national champions (is there such a thing in soccer?), I still wouldn't go to a game or match or whatever they call it. Unless maybe I lived across the street, just happen to be home and admission was free.

My son (40) and daughter (38) both played soccer as kids. Son played or his HS for 2 years. I guess they, and the myriad teams in and around Austin, were nobodies.

(11-17-2016 09:38 PM)CatMom Wrote:  

(11-17-2016 06:37 PM)The4thOption Wrote:  

(11-16-2016 03:24 PM)BurlingtonApp Wrote:  Why does no one in the deep south have soccer? Seems so odd to me. Even the SEC schools.

Because..it's soccer....

To each their own, but I doubt it ever catches on here really.

Just seems un American to some degree. Has a "globalization" feel to it. The whole "fut-ball" thing doesn't help. Outside of bigger cities, almost nobody of ticket buying age grew up playing it in the South, so it is very un-interesting to most of us. Even a % of those that care (I'd guess the majority in the South), only care because their University's name is on the product and only care about what it can do for their school OR their kid plays soccer.

To quote Hank Williams Jr. : "I'm a football fan, not a soccer man"

Congrats to CCU, any championship is good for their program. Hope we win one soon, but even if we were 10x straight national champions (is there such a thing in soccer?), I still wouldn't go to a game or match or whatever they call it. Unless maybe I lived across the street, just happen to be home and admission was free.

My son (40) and daughter (38) both played soccer as kids. Son played or his HS for 2 years. I guess they, and the myriad teams in and around Austin, were nobodies.

Didn't say they were "nobodies". Don't take it personal.
I wouldn't know who that Beckham guy is if he didn't do commercials or wasn't in some shows.
Simply an honest answer to a question.

Besides, "in and around Austin" is big city. You're really proving the point. Close to big city and your kids played. Sure they are now ticket buying age and they played, so there is your niche audience. Not exactly representative of the rural South. My high school still doesn't have soccer. Never did as far as I know, and only very recently has the rec department began to have some teams. The only time I've ever seen soccer live and in person was at summer camp.

Look, me saying that it probably won't "ever" catch on is probably not accurate. It probably eventually will, but it's going to take a long time. It's going to take it spreading a lot and the next generations growing up like your kids did and have played. I was saying that the majority of my age folks in the deep south are lost as a fan base for the sport in large numbers. But maybe my kid will start playing it at some point and I might get into it? Maybe it will take grand kids for some. But mostly it's going to take growing up with it to get a majority of people who are going to care enough to plan around it, buy season tickets and travel to those kind of games unless their kids are playing in the games.

I have a very good friend who was an All American soccer player at Mercer in Macon, GA. He spends a lot of time coaching the sport and Macon, GA is "eat up" with soccer. But even Macon is "big city" and not far from Atlanta compared to a lot of the state and the part I'm from.
It's going to take time and propagation of the sport. There just isn't much mass interest in the sport in the deep South right now, and this is my opinion as to why that is and why it's going to take a while to see increased interest.

I go to 2 or 3 of our matches a year

Mainly because we are good at it

The reason I get frustrated with soccer and I bet I'm not alone in this- hence the reason for its lack of popularity

I'm sitting at a soccer game and by all accounts we are dominating them yet the half time score is 0-0 as opposed to football if you are dominating it's 28-3 at the half

When CCU played Clemson this year ( they are or were top 4) we dominated the entire game- the ball was in there end all night

Yet final score 0-0

You "win" but have nothing really to show for it

(11-18-2016 11:08 AM)Tealblood Wrote:  The reason I get frustrated with soccer and I bet I'm not alone in this- hence the reason for its lack of popularity

I'm sitting at a soccer game and by all accounts we are dominating them yet the half time score is 0-0 as opposed to football if you are dominating it's 28-3 at the half

I follow our soccer because we are good. I think it can be pretty tough to sit through at times when it isn't a good match - but when it is good it is great. I've come to appreciate more of the strategy that I would have overlooked earlier. The goals are fun but few and far between most of the time.