Everyone Watches Soccer/Cricket/Rugby Union, Except (Of Course) the Americans: Some Reflections
1. Every World Cup, routine pieces appear in the American press explaining why soccer simply _will not do_ for Americans. For a sample from 2006, see here, here, & here. And here is an earlier criticism of soccer.
Needless to say, to these American writers soccer is a peculiar & exotic activity from somewhere beyond the rim of the known [American] universe. It comes into that universe as something which will be forever alien. (Much the same applies to cricket, rugby union, etc.) The general gravamen of the complaints (about soccer) is two-fold: (a) Low scores, e.g., 1-0, 2-1, or even (gasp) 0-0!! In short, all that running around for nothing (just about.) Pointless. And see above, for the _World Cup_, no less: the result determined by alternate kicks at the goal, _after_ the game finished!! Irrational or what? -- American sports, by contrast, are high-scoring, i.e., effort brings its just reward.
(b) In soccer, grown men lie on the grass, clutching their legs, moaning, & rocking about -- _faking_ an ‘injury’ from a supposed foul. When the referee ignores them, they hop up cheerfully & all is normal. He-men ignore their injuries -- which, in red-blooded American games, are _real_, not put on to obtain an advantage.
But is this what aficionados look for in soccer matches? During the game, if (when) a goal is scored, do spectators groan & clutch their heads? Do they shout, ‘No, no’ ? Are they happiest when _no_ goals are made? Are soccer players trained to avoid goals at all costs? And do spectators look to see how well players fake injuries? Is this how soccer-watchers assess & rank players -- the latter’s skill at _pretending_ to be hurt? Is this also an important part of players’ training? -- Those who know soccer will know what the answers are, of course.
What, then, do spectators look for, in a soccer match? They come to see _the game_. Soccer is a _team_ game. Suppose Team A have possession of the ball. Then spectators watch to see:- How the players on that team make their way down the field towards the opposite team’s goal -- how Team A pass the ball around amongst themselves to exploit openings & opportunities as they appear, to confuse the opposing team, avoid their defences & frustrate their attempts to gain the ball. And also: How players on Team B set about gaining possession of the ball, how they block attempts by Team A to move forward, & so on. In short, what one looks for & discusses afterwards, is teamwork. And so:- which were the better team? All this is very broad brush -- inevitably. But it gives some indication of the general framework of the game, within which developments have occurred.
Soccer is also the most widely-played & -watched game in the world. There are some 214 countries & territories with ‘national’ football teams. Such teams consist of the very best professional players who happen to have that nationality. ‘National’ squads come together only for the World Cup, of course. Otherwise, many such players are members of the very best professional teams, in _various_ countries.
The areas that play soccer include all the DCs & the bulk of the LDCs (except for the very poorest/most isolated.) Culturally & socially, such areas run the entire gamut:- from the Netherlands Antilles, Antigua, Kuwait, Qatar, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu etc., at one end, to China, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Russia etc., at the other. Linguistically, they run from Mandarin, Korean, & Ukrainian, to Arabic, German, Portuguese (two types), English & Spanish in all their varieties. Thus in all these vastly different cultures & societies, there is nevertheless embedded a very significant _common_ component, of _mass_ culture.
Professional soccer players & coaches naturally form a _single_ multi-regional pool. The numbers of foreign players on the very top professional teams in England have risen steadily; English players are now a definite minority. So too many coaches come from other countries. And the story is the same for Germany, Italy, Spain & France. Thus ‘national’ squads very often contain players who play professionally in _other_ countries; almost the entire Brazilian ‘national’ team play abroad professionally.
Aside from the World Cup, there are many inter-regional tournaments, many of which are annual. Thus there is the UEFA Cup in Europe, & similar competitions in Latin America.
It is this multi-territoriality which American commentators cannot of course pick up (see further.)
2. Now for cricket. Americans boggle at a ‘game’ which goes on for five -- _five_!!! -- days & then ends in a draw (??!!!). -- There are now ODIs (‘One-Day Internationals’), but the point remains. -- Again, as with soccer, the object of the exercise is _not_ to avoid scoring runs. People are _not_ dismayed when one team actually wins. Rather the game is watched for the way it is played. Bowlers have different bowling techniques; batsmen have differing styles. People watch to see the battle of wits between bowler & batsman -- how the bowler varies his bowling; the batsman’s style in dealing with this; the captain’s strategy in sending out bowlers against batsmen, & vice versa; & so on.
Cricket, too, is _essentially_ a _multi-regional_ team game. The Australian, English, Indian, West Indian, South African, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, & Zimbabwean sides tour regularly. New Zealand & Bangladesh also play ‘internationals’. At present, Australia are the top team; for many years the West Indies held that position. Australian & West Indian players play for county sides in England; some counties even have Oz captains. Sir Garfield Sobers played for the West Indies, Nottinghamshire, & South Australia -- the last during the so-called ‘white Australia’ period. Thus again, an extremely important component of _mass_ culture in all these territories, is one which is _inherently _common_ to all.
3. Finally, rugby union (who??). This is the ancestor of American football. Rugby union is a mass game in New Zealand, Wales, parts of Ireland, the South-west of France, Fiji & Samoa. It is most definitely a middle- & upper-middle class game in England. In Australia, the managers play rugby union, the mass play rugby _league_ (otherwise played principally in the North of England.) Afrikaners dominate the South African game. It is a minority sport in Scotland & Zimbabwe.
Like soccer & cricket, rugby union is a _multi-regional_ team sport. There are regular international tours. The New Zealand All-Blacks are the top team. Until recently, the South African Springboks came next, but the French have overtaken them. Both ‘All-Blacks’ & ‘Springboks’ are known well beyond the rugby world. The All-Blacks open their matches with a ‘haka’ -- a Maori war challenge. Within Europe, the ‘Six Nations’ tournament covers Wales, England, Scotland, France & Italy. Otherwise, Argentina are a major player.
Thus when some crankish Americans took up soccer, cricket & rugby union (yes) seriously, American _teams_ were integrated smoothly into the varying worlds of these team games.
4. The American team sports are American football, baseball, & basketball. The last is played professionally in many other countries, but it is most definitely a _localised_ & a minority sport. Individual players may find careers in the US, but American basketball remains self-contained within the American universe.
Baseball is a popular spectator sport only in Japan. It is a distinct minority sport in Latin America, & a _very_ minor sport indeed in Korea & Australia. (Australians are sports-mad, they’ll play anything.) Again, it is highly localised. Individual American players are members of Japanese teams, & vice versa. Many young Latin American players are brought to the US & some succeed professionally. But American baseball too continues self-sufficient otherwise.
In England, American football is strictly an amateur game, played by English eccentrics, whose dottiness the governing body try hard to contain. E.g., for players’ identity cards, the rules require a proper passport-style photo, with ‘no silly antics’. In Germany, too, American football is very largely an amateur game. And obsessed as the Australians are with sport, they have (so far) drawn the line at American football.
5. In sum: American team sports are completely self-contained. American borders & the borders of these games are identical. These team games are an important part of _American_ popular culture _alone_; they most definitely are not multi-regional. While the worlds of soccer, cricket, & rugby union include DCs _&_ LDCs, American baseball stops at the Rio Grande; it cannot include Latin America (or Japan, for that matter.) And so, for the various peoples of the world, these games are _localised_ minority pursuits.
The team games that dominate the world, are inherently _multi-regional_. Soccer, cricket, & rugby union are major constituents of the popular culture of _multiple_ territories & societies. Thus the borders of the soccer, cricket & rugby union worlds are flexible & permeable. And so American teams joined in easily. For the overwhelming bulk of Americans, however, these particular team sports are peculiar, odd, & isolated minority pursuits.