By the time August rolls around every year, the Mariners are almost always out of contention for a spot in the MLB playoffs. Actually, it’s usually about at the All-Star break when I think to myself, “Football season is only two months away.” But within the past two years, I have had a competing notion floating around in the abyss of my head, “Fútbol season is just around the corner.”
I was never much of a soccer fan growing up. I quit in 6th grade so I could focus more on my two main sports, baseball and tennis. Seattle didn’t get a professional soccer team until I was in 7th grade. So, I had no real emotional attachment to any part of the sport. It wasn’t until the 2010 World Cup when I realized how exciting the game truly is. Up to that point in my life, I had never experienced a celebration crazier than the one after Landon Donovan scored against Algeria to put the US through to the knock out stage. After that game, I found myself wondering, “Why don’t I watch more of this sport?” Ever since then I have slowly waded myself into following the most exciting league in all of sports: the Barclays Premiere League.
I know what all you avid NFL (and country music) fans are thinking, “Dude you’re crazy! Soccer is boring and all the players are lame. I just want to watch the Cowboys play, and drink seven Bud Lights!”
Don’t worry, I don’t think those stereotypes are true, but the rest of the world does and they outnumber me, but I digress……
Here are the three main reasons I prefer the Premiere League to the NFL
More playing time
Soccer in general has much more gameplay than football does
A Wall Street Journal study shows that in the average NFL game, there are only 11 minutes of playtime. This is just 18.3 percent of the 60 minutes that the game lasts. In fact, networks shows 56 percent (6.2 minutes) more replays than actual game play.
Another study shows that in the average 2010 world cup match with a winner, there were about 68 minutes of real gameplay. This is 75.6 percent of the 90 minute clock. That means that in a soccer game, 4.1 times more of the game clock is used for actual play. (I know these stats are from the World Cup and not the Premiere League, but that’s why I said soccer in general)
Some people would argue that, although football doesn’t have as much play time, the plays are much more exciting than a “play” in soccer. This leads me to my next point.
Soccer is more difficult
I’ll be honest here. Most people don’t possess enough physical prowess to play either sport. Soccer players are fast. They’re in incredible condition and football players are just plain strong, and also pretty damn fast. Both sports (at the professional level) are undeniably too physically difficult for 99 percent of the American population. But here’s something to think about: if you gave me 10 tries to throw a fade to the corner of the end-zone, I’d get at least a few catchable balls out there, and I’ve never played a second of competitive football in my life. But, if you gave me 10 tries to bend a 25 yard free kick over a wall of defenders and past a goalie, I’d be lucky to even get a shot on frame.
One of the main reasons we watch sports is to watch athletes do things that we mortals can’t. Some of the things that soccer players do seem inhuman. There have been plenty of times where I’ve been watching football and yelled, “Come on, even I could’ve made that play!” While watching soccer, that has happened exactly once. Shout out to Chris Wondolowski.
And finally…..
In the Premiere League, the best team wins the title
In 2008, the world saw one of the best upsets ever. The day after my Bar Mitzvah, the 6th seeded New York Giants shocked the world as they found a way to defeat the 18-0 New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, denying them of the first perfect season since the ‘72 Dolphins (FYI: I’ve already bet multiple people that the Seahawks do it this year).
The Patriots were the best team in the league that season, plain and simple. But, the Giants were declared NFL champions.
In the premiere league, there aren’t playoffs. There are a couple of tournaments that go on throughout the course of the season. Ultimately, the league champion is determined by whichever team has the most points at the end of the season. This means that the best team in the league will more than likely win the championship.
In the NFL since ‘04, a number one seed has won the Super Bowl only three times.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the NFL. I watch every Sunday. But, I think the chief reason why I like the Premiere League so much is that I watch it in hopes of seeing a competitive match, not to root for a specific team.
Like I said, we watch sports to see people do things that we can’t and to see incredible things happen. We watch baseball to see people throw 99 MPH fastballs and hit 400 foot home runs. We watch basketball to see ankle breaking crossovers and thunderous dunks. We watch football to see beast mode runs and circus catches. We watch cricket to see...wait what?
The point is at least for me, the most exciting moments and the most incredible things happen in fútbol.
“It’s John Brooks! It’s John Brooks for the USA!!!”
I still get chills every time…..
