Why is soccer the only sport.....

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

that has an event such as the World Cup. In all honesty this is one of the greatest sporting spectacles that there is and I am wondering why other sports don't have events like this. I realize that it is the "world sport" but sports such as hockey are really becoming international and every year it seems that the gap is narrowed. I realize that we have Olympic hockey, which some may argue is the same so I don't know if it is beneficial to hold an event like this or not. Then again, soccer has Euro cup.

[swedishseven 9]

they have world hockey every year

[timothy1997 0]

hockey has enough with word championships and olympic matchups. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?????

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

It's not so much the fact that I want more, it's the fact that I want the quality more. Players don't take the World Championships seriously enough. I think it would be better to not have those and have only the olympics or the old World Cup. Some of the best memories for Canadian hockey is the Summit series hands down. That's the type of stuff that I want to see, an event that brings out the pride of the nations like the World Cup of soccer does. Don't get me wrong the olympics are great but it seems that even those take a back seat for most players since it is played mid way through the series and a lot of players want to win a Stanley Cup way more than an olympic gold medal.

[akustyk 84]

soccer itself is single most boring team game except for possibly team poker or curling. it's so disgusting to see 22 guys occasionally chasing there and back again for 90 minutes, zero action and zero goals... yikes!

I've been cursed with living in a part of the world where this crap is most popular sport and people barely even realize there are other great team games, where skill counts. unlike soccer where you simply play some variant of trap and win a medal (aka Greece 4yrs ago).

the reason there is world cup of soccer every 4 years is because this $hit is very popular, and FIFA (the soccer association) has huge marketing. a part of the popularity lies in the fact, that you don't need any equipment to play - just some ball. that's all. there's nothing overly cool or interesting in soccer.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Because soccer is the only sport that the ENTIRE WORLD cares about. Hockey will never have participation from Ghana, Argentina, or Saudi Arabia - three countries considered dark horses to do some damage in this year's World Cup. Hockey in South America or Africa? Hockey's participation is limited to maybe 15 countries - if that - that are serious about the sport, and another 30 or so that play in the lower tiers of the IIHF. With soccer, there are about 150 countries that might have a realistic shot at playing in the World Cup.

[Langfan 0]

the reason there is world cup of soccer every 4 years is because this $hit is very popular, and FIFA (the soccer association) has huge marketing. a part of the popularity lies in the fact, that you don't need any equipment to play - just some ball. that's all. there's nothing overly cool or interesting in soccer.

same with basketball....

hell I'd choose soccer over basketball anytime & anyday.

Here's what I think:

-Hockey needs more exposure & support from other nations, if we want to see other countries participate.

-It's easy to be good in other sports. A 25 yr old guy can be good in Basketball/Baseball/Football/Soccer/Rugby...etc. in less than a year with months of practice and play wherelse the same 25 yr old guy would take like a few more years to become good in hockey.

-Most ppl want to be good quickly. Try introducing hockey to them and let them start by basic skating. After hours of skaitng, watch them whine and give up on the sport.

-Hockey is pretty costly especially in developing countries....Like I said, we'll need support if we want to see other countries take Hockey seriously.

[gob 0]

Soccer is the probably the cheapest and easiest sport out there. You only need a friend, a ball and something to shoot at to begin playing. And I don't agree soccer can't be exciting and interesting. Sure, some games can be boring as hell, but others can be just as exciting and exhilirating as any other sport. The zero action and zero goals thing, is the most overly used cliche out there.

[timothy1997 0]

same with basketball....

hell I'd choose soccer over basketball anytime & anyday.

Here's what I think:

-Hockey needs more exposure & support from other nations, if we want to see other countries participate.

-It's easy to be good in other sports. A 25 yr old guy can be good in Basketball/Baseball/Football/Soccer/Rugby...etc. in less than a year with months of practice and play wherelse the same 25 yr old guy would take like a few more years to become good in hockey.

-Most ppl want to be good quickly. Try introducing hockey to them and let them start by basic skating. After hours of skaitng, watch them whine and give up on the sport.

-Hockey is pretty costly especially in developing countries....Like I said, we'll need support if we want to see other countries take Hockey seriously.

Hockey is not even a serious sport in the US....and you want to spread hockey around the world like the bird flu. doesn't make too much sense to me.

[BlakChamber 8]

-It's easy to be good in other sports. A 25 yr old guy can be good in Basketball/Baseball/Football/Soccer/Rugby...etc. in less than a year with months of practice and play wherelse the same 25 yr old guy would take like a few more years to become good in hockey.

-Most ppl want to be good quickly. Try introducing hockey to them and let them start by basic skating. After hours of skaitng, watch them whine and give up on the sport.

That is 100% false. Go out there and try to hit a fastball with no training. Or throw strikes, Or throw a pass into coverage with the biltz coming, etc.

Just because you might not like those sports, doesn't mean they're easy and you can get good at them in a few months.

Anyway, like other's have said. The World Cup is a big deal because its the most popular sport in the world. Pretty simple really. Hockey doesn't have something on the same scale because its levels of participation are so low, when compared to soccer.

[Guvnor1983 0]

there's nothing overly cool or interesting in soccer.

Obviously there is, coz come Friday millions and millions and millions of people will be wtching the World Cup. Except ignorant people like yourself, of course......

[hak 21]

soccer world cup is much bigger than the olympics in alot of contries, its the biggest event there is. alot of contries truly lives for soccer, especially in africa / south america but also in europe. soccer is the biggest sport ever and the fact that the world cup only is every forth year, it gets VERY boosed up. in hockey there is nhl, countries leauges, world championsship (every year), world cup (former canada cup) and olympics every 4th year.. it gets a bit tiring.. also there are alot of countries who doesent have the climate/money to produce players / play hockey much.. just look at the world ice hockey championships, there are ALWAYS the same teams who plays for the top 3.. canada, usa, russia, sweden, finland, cze + maybe 4 more countries who makes an upset sometimes. hockey really isnt a sport for the whole world. its pretty expensive too (especially if you compare to soccer)

soccer involves practically every nation in the world, well its not so hard to understand cus its so easy and cheap to play soccer. i guess thats a big factor its so big in africa/south america

i love soccer, even more than hockey, but i can understand why its not very popular in america. you have your own sports that are ingraved in your culture / way of life such as american football, golf, baseball and basket. in most of the countries outside america, soccer is the absolute biggest sport and people grow up with it, its a big part of the culture.

i have never in my life watched an entire american football game / basket game / baseball game. i have never even played those sports (except a little bit of basket in school), and its the same with my friends

[RockyMountainWingGal 108]

Soccer is big everywhere in the world except for here in the USA. And that's OK - we tend to focus on American style "football", baseball, and basketball. And don't try to convince me that soccer is the up and coming sport in the USA because I have been hearing that for over 20 years. They have thier die-hard fans here just like hockey does. For me soccer is something I'd rather be playing than watching, same as golf. My city even has a pro soccer team - I've never been to a game and they are not televised - so I can't comment on whether I'd like it or not.

[LondonWing 0]

that has an event such as the World Cup. In all honesty this is one of the greatest sporting spectacles that there is and I am wondering why other sports don't have events like this. I realize that it is the "world sport" but sports such as hockey are really becoming international and every year it seems that the gap is narrowed. I realize that we have Olympic hockey, which some may argue is the same so I don't know if it is beneficial to hold an event like this or not. Then again, soccer has Euro cup.

Soccer is not the only sport in the orld with a world cup, it's just that soccer is far and away the biggest sport on the planet so everyone knows about it.

As you mentioned hockey has many international competitions as do basketball and now baseball. There are other sports around the world that have world cups but will recieve litle or no coverage in the USA. Next year the West Indies will host the Cricket world cup, and just this past month the qualifying rounds for the 2008 Rugby League world cup in Australia began.

Tennis has the Davis Cup, golf has the Ryder Cup and other international events. Name a sport and it likely has some kind of international competition.

[CopenhagenWing 38]

It's not so much the fact that I want more, it's the fact that I want the quality more. Players don't take the World Championships seriously enough. I think it would be better to not have those and have only the olympics or the old World Cup.

I'm sure the players who participate in the World's are taking it seriously.

However, there's quite a scheduling conflict to consider. All of the European leagues are over before the NHL regular season ends. If you hold the World's after the NHL playoffs are over, the non-NHL players will not have played for months.

Hardly a recipe for fair competition.

[Langfan 0]

I actually like Soccer & Baseball and I prefer Rugby over Football.

I only put it in a general sense when I meant earlier that "....anyone can be good in Baseball/Soccer/Football/Rugby and etc..."

If you ask me what's a cheaper sport, I think that would be basketball. In Soccer you'll still need a goalkeeper but in basketball, you can make your own court.

[timothy1997 0]

I actually like Soccer & Baseball and I prefer Rugby over Football.

I only put it in a general sense when I meant earlier that "....anyone can be good in Baseball/Soccer/Football/Rugby and etc..."

If you ask me what's a cheaper sport, I think that would be basketball. In Soccer you'll still need a goalkeeper but in basketball, you can make your own court.

So it takes no talent to play basketball??

[Guvnor1983 0]

I actually like Soccer & Baseball and I prefer Rugby over Football.

I only put it in a general sense when I meant earlier that "....anyone can be good in Baseball/Soccer/Football/Rugby and etc..."

If you ask me what's a cheaper sport, I think that would be basketball. In Soccer you'll still need a goalkeeper but in basketball, you can make your own court.

When I was at school we would use 2 jumpers (sweatshirts/jackets) as goalposts - preety sure LondonWIng would agree with me!

Football is possibly the cheapest and most accessible game in the world. Any objects make a goal post and all you need is a round object to kick around. Young Brazilians use empty cans, rolled up paper etc as a substitue for a ball........

[Langfan 0]

Perhaps if we be more specific, yes it does take talent for dribbling in Basketball and precision and the same is probably true for Soccer. But in general imo, anyone can play these sports.

[BlakChamber 8]

Anybody can play hockey too. You just have to figure out how to skate.

Really, anybody can play any sport. Being good at it, that's a whole other story.

[norrisnick 1]

Soccer is like a super-religion with lots of differing factions...

[betterREDthandead 58]

Perhaps if we be more specific, yes it does take talent for dribbling in Basketball and precision and the same is probably true for Soccer. But in general imo, anyone can play these sports.

I still don't see why a sport is better the harder it is to play. That's an annoying thing I see out of some hockey fans - they look down on other sports because "anyone can play them."

[Guvnor1983 0]

Anybody can play hockey too. You just have to figure out how to skate.

Really, anybody can play any sport. Being good at it, that's a whole other story.

How vey narrow minded...... Tell that to the poor kids in Africa etc that A) have no ice and B) would spend their cash on food rather than skates.....

[betterREDthandead 58]

How vey narrow minded...... Tell that to the poor kids in Africa etc that A) have no ice and B) would spend their cash on food rather than skates.....

I think he means that physically, anyone can learn to play, not referring to whether or not anyone has the means.

[BlakChamber 8]

How vey narrow minded...... Tell that to the poor kids in Africa etc that A) have no ice and B) would spend their cash on food rather than skates.....

Way to completely miss the point. Good job