American Sports: Why the NFL Rules and Soccer Drools

I know there's getting to be a lot of talk around here about why soccer just doesn't resonate with Americans. I've left comments with others, but I want to try and clear up a few things for those still lingering. 

Yes, it's hard to project what NFL players, among other athletes, could do if they put their efforts into soccer instead of another American sport of more popularity. 

The reason I bring up the NFL and not other sports is because I think it's the identity that America is assuming. Baseball used to be our national pastime and basketball is ok, but the NFL is what it's all about. Don't believe me? Go look at the ratings. 

It's the NFL, closely followed by college football. And the play in the NFL is the most comparable for players with soccer. You run around on a field and use athleticism to maneuver a big ball. One is primarily with hands and the other uses feet. 

So what is it about the NFL that's so intriguing to Americans?

I believe the NFL is the most intriguing of the mind, and not as much the physical. They say football is 80 percent mental and 40 percent physical. Huh, lol. Yes, I know, the math is off...or is it.

For many, they consider the need to give more than 100 percent. But when you think about it, emphasis on think, the NFL has such a huge playbook, your study in the classroom is as important, if not more, than your play out on the field. It's strategy, and then there's a lot of scoring.

Watching a bunch of guys pass the ball around on the ground before actually making a move is not very fun to most. To the soccer purist, they say you just don't get it.

But there's not much to get. It's simple, and hardly any scoring occurs unless you get some lopsided matchups. It's like watching a pitchers duel.

Americans like offense, and soccer is just a different element. I can appreciate the skill of soccer as much as the next guy, but for anyone to say that we wouldn't fare much better if our best NFL players were in soccer is insane. 

Think if Devin Hester was as good at soccer as he is at making moves past defenders from one end zone to the other. The speed, combined with the skill, would be amazing.

There are plenty of examples to show how America could dominate soccer if it was more appealing than football, but it's a moot point. I don't see us ever seeing that change, unless they change a couple of rules in soccer. But too many stubborn traditionalists can't see the light. 

I, for one, might enjoy it more if they changed one rule, and that's offsides.  Many times I see the forward break right when the ball gets passed, and they call offsides because he's got one foot ahead. It's absolutely ridiculous, and it stops the action and stops my interest.

It just kills the moment of excitement, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. So if you just get rid of it, we won't have to worry, plus it would increase the scoring a lot.

And that penalty kick has to be changed. I actually think that wherever the foul happens, that's where the kick should come from. No more of this inside the box, place it on a specified marker. They should set everyone where they were and give the free kick from the exact point of the foul. 

These are a couple of other things that I think could make it more exciting and fun to watch.

But the NFL is our identity, and it's so cerebral. The strategy of the NFL puts soccer to shame. It's not even close, so don't try to argue. And that's another reason NFL rules in America.

Unlike a lot of sports, the NFL has a way of showing that you don't always need the best talent to win. A well-coached, planned-out scheme can win. There have been countless occasions where the inferior team won because of a well-coached game.

And in America, soccer just isn't going to get it done, monetarily, for the average kid growing up.

Let's face it, until they change a few things in soccer, it will never come close to the appeal of other American sports, much less the NFL, for the average American.

People say that we're getting better in soccer, but that just isn't true. Our best athletes aren't in soccer, and until they change the appeal of soccer, Americans will never take interest.

I think that even if they do change some of the things in soccer, and it becomes much more appealing, the NFL will always be No. 1.