in Soccer Betting Trends

In Champion’s League action last night, Liverpool overcame a three-goal deficit against AC Milan to win the title1. It was deemed one of soccer’s greatest comebacks and a game for the ages. The match actually went into shootouts and the result was a very dramatic and exhilarating win. The only problem? No one in America cares.

What is it about European soccer that turns Americans off so much? Is it the girly socks, the amount of running, the lack of scoring? The truth is it’s all of the above. For whatever reason, the sport of soccer never really took off on a professional level on our continent. Sure, there are pockets of support sprinkled throughout the country. But, the national interest just isn’t there. Despite the fact that the U.S. played host to the 1994 World Cup; we haven’t fully embraced the worldwide stars of the sport.

There are also cultural reasons why the United States doesn’t fully appreciate pro soccer players. First of all, Americans have a genuine aversion to anything not from their continent. Watching teams and sports being played in Europe just doesn’t whet the appetite of the American man. We want a sport where we have created our own heroes and legends. To try to root for or against a team based in a foreign country is, well, foreign to Americans.

Another reason we don’t follow British or Italian soccer is that out fathers and grandfathers didn’t grow up playing the actual sport. Nor was it very prevalent at the turn of the century and present in our history. Yes, millions of young American kids are playing organized soccer. Perhaps in another 20 years we’ll follow the pros more closely. Until then, it seems like we’d just assume let European soccer stories stay in Europe. If American sports fans are going to have soccer heroes, they want them homegrown.