Elmuzamil Suliman

April 26, 2015

UWRT 1102
Final Reflective Essay
Final Reflective Essay
Popularity of soccer in US vs. Europe
Although soccer commenced in Europe first, it ventured to America and since then has
had a significant impact in the sports world. Soccer gained its major popularity in Europe during
1815. In this time soccer made its way to universities, colleges, and schools. On the other hand,
soccer didnt make an impact in the United States until after the civil war. Throughout this period
the rules of soccer were being debated, triggering a rulebook to be published in 1866.
A general debate within my discourse community was about the popularity of soccer
between Europeans and Americans. The way I assessed the popularity of soccer in these two
nations was through culture. In European soccer culture it is a common belief that the fans win
the game. It is the goal of the fans to put pressure on the players by cheering louder and louder so
that their energy renders onto the field. Many people use bias they have been taught to believe to
sway their opinion on this matter. For example, before the inquiry process I believed a stereotype
that many Americans trust as well. The stereotype is soccer is not a contact sport. I was surprised
to find out through observation that the game of soccer is very physical and demanded a great
deal of contact. Ive learned that a factor that contributes to the popularity is the differences in
advertising in Europe and America. Everywhere from commercials to labels on popular drinks,
soccer advertisements have been embedded into the culture of Europe. I was informed that the
advertisements used by Europe are known as soccer politics.

For one of my menu items I interviewed a local soccer player of Hispanic descent. I
wanted to interview someone that wasnt fully American so they could describe the culture of the
game from a different point of view. I asked him how playing in another nation differs from
playing in America. He stated that in Mexico (which is where he is from); the game of soccer is
more free flowing. He continued by saying that as a kid he remembers that anything could be
turned into a soccer ball, certain locations such as the street were used as a site for a quick game
and that games were started all the time, no matter the age. When Jonathan came to America at
the age of eleven he felt that Americans were more focused about the rules of soccer and that few
people care or even understand the game. After considering what Jonathan was talking about,
Ive realized that it is probable to say that soccer is more popular in his home nation than
America because of how it represented his life and how his surrounding environment interacted
with the sport. However, I cant ignore the fact that compared to other viewing figures for other
major sports in America; soccer is the only one increasing exponentially. A significant reason is
the fact that forty percent of soccer attendees at MLS (Major League Soccer) are Hispanic and
the Hispanic population makes up the fastest growing demographic in the United States.
I also interviewed an American local soccer player. Matthew has grown up in North Carolina
and has played soccer since he was young. When asked how he views the popularity of soccer in
America he responded with, There are more and more soccer fans in this country everyday but I
believe that the game isnt nearly as popular as it should be. In fact, statistics used by analysts
show that fans abroad have a lower standard for Major League Soccer and believe that it is just a
place for older players to get a final paycheck. He went onto say that he considers soccer in
America to be a huge melting pot where different cultures come together and play the game.
Matthew also stated that he doesnt find communication within the different ethnicities difficult

because he believes there is a universal language when playing the game. I noticed that although
Jonathan and Matthew grew up with different backgrounds in relation to soccer, this made me
realize that perception plays a major role in determining whether a person decides if their nation
favors the sport more than the other.
The fact that Scottish players were imported into Englands professional league
influenced European soccer by allowing clubs that arent as big obtain better players. This made
each team better. Holland, West Germany, and Italy soon became the top teams and are still
viewed highly in the sport of soccer today. This impacts the popularity of European soccer
tremendously because not only do they have many more club teams than the United States now
but this made the game more entertaining to watch for the fans because of the better players
being featured in the games. I learned that many people categorized Europeans as dominating the
sport of soccer just because of their ethnicity but when you think about the fact that hundreds of
players are traded between nations it broadens your perspective on why these teams are getting
so much support. The documentary History of Football- the Beautiful Game- Origins gave me
a new perspective on the popularity split between Europe and America. It showed and explained
how although the world thinks of Europe as the top dogs in the soccer industry, Asia contains
more powerhouses and the growth of soccer is increasing there at a faster rate than that of
Europe.
After creating a Storify I learned more about the subculture of soccer fans. According to
BBC News, As Americans it is hard to appreciate a game that is low scoring and not as fast
paced when compared to sports such as basketball and football. The introduction of football in
America also is a reason the popularity of soccer didnt expand in America as much as Europe.
An article explained to me that since there arent large franchises for football in Europe, the

community there generally clutched onto soccer more. As I got further into my research about
the popularity split I found out that some of the stereotypes were proven true. The stereotype that
the main reason Europe is dominated by soccer culture is because there are way more people
living there than the United States is true. This is due to Europe having more diverse countries
where they dont just speak one language and where the sport has been there longer.
The autobiography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic allowed me to gain insight from a professional
soccer player who has played soccer all over Europe his entire life. The autobiography explains
how Zlatan fought his way out of a challenging background, to now being known as one of the
best players to ever play the game of soccer. Major League Soccer has given him a chance to
come over and play soccer in the United States numerous times, and he finds the deal to be very
interesting. Zlatan stated, If I ever get a chance to play in front of the Americans, I would try to
do my best to convince them, show them the type of soccer they like to see. What this will do to
the popularity of soccer in America is amplify it because of all the fans supporting the popular
soccer star. I learned that this happens a lot because in soccer, fans usually follow and cheer
along their favorite players instead of teams. This is because players get traded so easily and
contracts are usually not as long for star players. Zlatan says if the opportunity for him to come
to the United States is still open he hopes to become like soccer legend Thierry Henry. This
legend fascinated thousands of soccer fans in America as he came from top clubs in Europe,
including Barcelona and Arsenal to play for the New York Red Bulls. I was expecting that when
Thierry Henry first came to play in Major League soccer that he was going to get slandered and
his reputation as one of the greats end. However, as he won titles in this league his name grew
bigger and popularity of soccer in the United States sprouted more.

In conclusion, soccer is without a doubt more popular in Europe than the United States.
Currently, I do not see the discourse of these two nations about the sport of soccer coming to an
end anytime soon. I didnt try to focus my evidence on the opinions that different people had in
relation to European soccer dominance but more on why the statistics prove this to be true.
Looking back on the inquiry process, I learned that everything from advertisements to what the
game of soccer means to every individual personally can impact their judgment on how they
view which nation considers the sport to be more popular. Also I took in that I couldnt analyze
how popularity works within these two nations without examining culture.