Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Got it. I've been told that my whole life and I believe it. But it was never for me. I would only really watch it when the World Cup came around every four years and once USA got knocked out I would usually stop caring. I had the typical American sentiment towards it. It's too low scoring. There isn't enough action. Players take dives too easily to try and draw fouls.
But I knew there had to be something there, because everyone around the world loves it. So last Friday I went to see France vs Romania in the opening match of the 2016 UEFA Euro Cup. My friends wanted to go and I had nothing else to do that night and at the very worst, I would get to take in the insane spectacle of watching a Men's National Team play in front of their home crowd in the second biggest tournament in the world.
And now I understand.
I have a new found appreciation for soccer that could only come from going to that stadium and sitting down and watching a soccer match.
One by one all the thoughts I had about soccer going in were wiped away or justified.
It's too low scoring. France won 2-1. How many hockey or baseball games have I seen end with a final score of 2-1? Probably a ton.
There's not enough action. Yeah but when there is, my God does it feel important. You cherish every little opportunity because they're somewhat rare. Not to mention, watching the little battles in the mid-field can be just as interesting as a scoring chance. Another thing to mention about the scoring chances, European crowds have much different reaction towards them than American crowds do. In hockey, if a player gets a great look at the net, you hear a lot of people in the crowd get mad and say he should have scored in. In soccer, the crowd just enjoys the play that got the man open for a good look at the net, and then cheer because it was a good chance. They appreciate the play for the play, and aren't angry when nothing comes of it.
They take dives too much. Yeah, they do. But just like how Americans hate when basketball players take flops, the European crowds hate when soccer stars take dives. Maybe even more so than Americans hate flopping.
But I think my favorite part of the match was that you had to watch the field. America is obsessed with massive jumbotrons and when I go to football games, I find myself not watching the field sometimes and looking up at the screen, for soccer, theres just two screens and each are about half the size of one of the massive ones you see at football games. So you have to watch the field.
And that gave me an even bigger appreciation for the game. You get to watch in person all the little battles between players and truly see how technical the game of soccer actually is. England calls it "The Beautiful Game" and yep, it is.
And even as a someone who can't even call himself a casual soccer fan, I picked up on the game really fast. I knew that France was favored, but didn't know why or who any of the stars for the French team were. But within the first 15 minutes of the game I could tell that France was quicker and more technically sound than Romania. You don't have to be a huge soccer fan to pick that up.
So I would like to take this time to apologize to soccer. I'm sorry for doubting you. It won't happen again.
