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Appreciate ‘The Beautiful Game’

When it comes to being a sports lover in the United States, I fall in the minority. I grew up kicking a ball rather than throwing one; I grew up as a die-hard soccer fan.
Don’t get me wrong, I love watching the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL but not as much as I enjoy skipping all afternoon activities to watch the UEFA Champions League or getting out of bed early on a weekend morning to catch matches in the English Premier League.

A lot of criticism falls to soccer fans like myself, especially on social media. For example, you could go on any soccer post created by ESPN, and I’m sure you’ll find ignorant comments stating soccer is “not a sport,” “a boring sport” or that “nobody cares.” I’m sure you get the point – soccer isn’t appreciated in the U.S. like it is in every other country around the world.

Fortunately, this country is warming up to “The Beautiful Game.”

More and more mainstream sports fans are welcoming soccer. The MLS is bringing in more teams to its league and sports icons and news outlets around the world are promoting the sport.

Ironically, I love soccer for a lot of the reasons why Americans don’t: The games are typically low-scoring, 90 minutes long and involve a lot of what may seem like pointless running.

Why would I enjoy a low-scoring sport? Well, when goals do happen, it’s way more exciting. When you’re there for that specific moment during the game, it’s special. And when you’re lucky enough to watch a game that has multiple goals, you’re even more fortunate.

Soccer is obviously not a sport entirely focused on when the ball goes into the net. And for a person who watches basketball regularly, where points are scored on most possessions in-game, I can see the frustration in watching an average soccer match during which scoring may not even exist. Trust me, when a game ends in a 0-0 draw, I’m not pleased either.

When it comes to the timing of the game, I’m a huge fan of 45-minute halves and one 15-minute halftime break. Why? No commercials, The only commercials I get to see are during the break. The clock is also continuous and doesn’t stop, which keeps the continuity of the game, even when the ball goes out of play.

The “running around” bit can be boring for a lot of people. But since I’ve played soccer my entire life, I see the things non-soccer fans probably don’t. I see how the players are moving, making runs on and off the ball, finding better positions and preparing to score. It’s amazing to see how impressive the players are when executing those things.

Soccer is not for everyone, but it doesn’t deserve to be criticized the way it is in the U.S. as “not being a sport,” when it’s the most beloved sport everywhere else in the world.

The World Cup is coming this summer, and with the U.S. men’s national team sadly failing to qualify, now may be the best time to find a team to temporarily, or even permanently, support.

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