Things Soccer Could Do to Become More Popular

[hockeysc23]

I don't really have the energy to respond to all your ideas, but as for the team names I'll say a few things....

The united in DC United signifies the unifying of the fans and the organization. If you've ever been to a DCU game you'll see how much the team and its owner appreciate the fans and vice versa.

As for Chivas USA, they're owned by a Mexican dude who also owns a Mexican team whose nickname is the goats (which = chivas in spanish). So that's where their name comes from.

As for Real Salt Lake, I have no idea where their name came from.

As for everyone else, I think the majority of teams such as San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, etc. are all pretty clearly "American".

Regarding sponsors on jerseys, I'm not sure how else you expect the MLS to support itself without sponsorships. Jersey sponsorships (just like stadium sponsors), bring in a ton of money. And did you ever see the early MLS jerseys??? They were "Americanized" (bright and flashy as opposed to clean and classic) and looked like ****.

I was listening I think to Tommy Smith or one of the other ESPN talking heads about names and they said United use to come from when there were several club teams representing an area. Eventually to bring in more fans and get the players they would unit the clubs. Several smaller clubs playing together.

Ala Manchester United ....

As for the rule changes I don't think a number of them would help. Soccer when played at a high level can be entertaining to watch. The problem is MLS is at a lower level of skill and the horrific refs make it hard for people that have better options to choose soccer over NFL or NHL etc.

Get better refs to call the penalties as is: diving and off-sides and when the game is at a high-level then it will be enjoyable.

[darklight1216]

Put on some pads and helmets and start hitting. They should also have a designated player who will pass the ball (which should be more oblong) and kicking should only occur during kick-off.

[Harwich Hog]

The number of fans "seduced" by most of these changes would be out-numbered 100 to 1 by existing fans who disagree.

Anything that promotes greater fairness, like retrospective punishments for cheating and goal-line technology.

Introduce a salary cap and stricter regulations on youth recruitment.

[renaissance]

I was listening I think to Tommy Smith or one of the other ESPN talking heads about names and they said United use to come from when there were several club teams representing an area. Eventually to bring in more fans and get the players they would unit the clubs. Several smaller clubs playing together.

Ala Manchester United ....

That's correct traditionally.

[Riggo-toni]

Arm the goalies with tasers, but only enough juice for 3 zaps.

Recruit strippers for cheerleaders, a la "The Replacements"

Promote the game to "Creationists/Anti-Evolutionists" by explaining now they can finally watch a game that doesn't require the use of opposable thumbs.

[Riggins77]

How about these:

1. Not suck so much

2. Shorter halves

3. Not suck so much

[Destino]

Destino, I like your offsides idea. And I think the NBA has all sorts of problems, but I don't think the commonality between them is an attempt to appeal to the casual fan. Hell, a few of the changes I'd make if I were David Stern would still be targeting the casual fan. Fewer timeouts, for example. The last two minutes of the game shouldn't take half an hour. What is it about appealing to casual fans that you think is ruining the NBA?

The NBA's favoring star players, having terribly inconsistent refs that routinely favor the home team (and thus extend series play) makes the NBA a joke. Casual fans love larger then life stars to pretend they watch. Real sports fans can't stand uneven application of the rule book.

[Bubble Screen]

How about these:

1. Not suck so much

2. Shorter halves

3. Not suck so much

1. and 3. are definitely not possible.:pfft:

[NavyDave]

Allow pads and hitting. Also 11 men on the field for each team, one side offense, one side defense. Passing and running with the ball should also be allowed.

How about these:

1. Not suck so much

2. Shorter halves

3. Not suck so much

The only recommendation I have is for it to not exist.

Best three ideas out there and I had nothing to do with them.

[Sticksboi05]

The NBA's favoring star players, having terribly inconsistent refs that routinely favor the home team (and thus extend series play) makes the NBA a joke. Casual fans love larger then life stars to pretend they watch. Real sports fans can't stand uneven application of the rule book.

Yup but really every sports league is screwed up.

NBA is fixed.

NFL is softened and wants no more defense.

MLB can't get easy calls right.

NASCAR isn't even a sport.

NHL refs are insanely inconsistent.

FIFA is stuck in the past with no replay at all.

At least they got rid of the pass back in 1992. Then the World Cup would be mind-numbingly boring.

[Bubble Screen]

Yup but really every sports league is screwed up.

NBA is fixed.

NFL is softened and wants no more defense.

MLB can't get easy calls right.

NASCAR isn't even a sport.

NHL refs are insanely inconsistent.

FIFA is stuck in the past with no replay at all.

1. How exactly is the NBA fixed? Not saying there aren't things that can't be improved. But I would be interested to know why you think this.

2. Don't really agree with this either. In fact, there's nothing they can do to the NFL that would ever "soften" the sport. You must be confusing it with the "other" football.

3. Ok, now this is just stupid. Its a sport. And it just so happens to be one with the highest ratings, outside of the NFL.

4. Don't care about the NHL. And don't really follow it enough to know (or care) what needs improvement.

5. FIFA, and any form of soccer, just sucks. Nothing really they can do to change that. Americans are never gonna embrace such sissiness.

Edit: Forgot to comment on MLB. Not much needs changed, other than maybe allowing each manager a challenge. Something like that could have prevented the Tigers pitcher from having a no-hitter taken away.

[joeknows]

to make it more watchable..... arm the players and mine the field!

ok no really though....make the filed a bit smaller and reduce the length of the game.

90 minutes is too long to watch a ball get kicked back and forth for only 2 goals a game. and if the filed was smaller it would create more intense competition.

i have played soccer and i have watched many games.... live and on tv ..... but my favorite has always been indoor soccer. the smaler field of play makes it much more intense.... not to mention the banks off the walls and glass.

[Sticksboi05]

1. How exactly is the NBA fixed? Not saying there aren't things that can't be improved. But I would be interested to know why you think this.

2. Don't really agree with this either. In fact, there's nothing they can do to the NFL that would ever "soften" the sport. You must be confusing it with the "other" football.

3. Ok, now this is just stupid. Its a sport. And it just so happens to be one with the highest ratings, outside of the NFL.

4. Don't care about the NHL. And don't really follow it enough to know (or care) what needs improvement.

5. FIFA, and any form of soccer, just sucks. Nothing really they can do to change that. Americans are never gonna embrace such sissiness.

Edit: Forgot to comment on MLB. Not much needs changed, other than maybe allowing each manager a challenge. Something like that could have prevented the Tigers pitcher from having a no-hitter taken away.

1) Any league where over half the titles are won by two franchise needs to be questioned. Also, Tim Donaghy ring a bell?

2) Sorry, the NFL has made it clear they want 50-40 average games. The QB is almost untouchable, cornerbacks may as well just let receivers catch the ball.

3) It is a sport because there is competition but they are not athletes and the fact that it's the second most watched sport in America is a testament to how dumb even the greatest country in the world can be. Granted I did like Jeff Gordon and my NASCAR game for Windows 95 over 10 years ago but nevertheless...

4) Of course you don't. You always talk about loving sports with contact yet you don't watch hockey but love baseball.

5) Soccer has sort of progressed like the NFL. It used to be much more physical and they let alot more go. Good tackles are now considered fouls. But that's fine, FIFA will not suffer from you thinking soccer sucks.

[Destino]

1. How exactly is the NBA fixed? Not saying there aren't things that can't be improved. But I would be interested to know why you think this.

Problems with NBA refs have been known for a long time now. Bill Roland on 106/7 the fan called 6 of the 7 games in the finals by looking only at the ref teams working the games.

Also lets forget fixed let's just look at the application of the rules. What sport do you know in which the rule book changes depending on the player involved other than the NBA? The stars get away with murder in the NBA.

[Elessar78]

Ugh. Why should MLS change everything and appeal to your average american? If the league wants to be taken seriously from other countries doing everything you just stated will do the complete opposite of that. I understand your point of trying to get more fans and make it more "user friendly" for americans but going that route is all wrong. The league already tried Americanizing the sport. It didn't work. I would rather not speak of "the shootout" which would happen if the teams were still tied at regulation. What an abomination that was. If the league wants to grow even more and attract good foreign players then you might want to stick with the rules and regulations that other leagues around the world use. Nobody is going to want to play for a league where the rules are different than the biggest competitions such as the World Cup.

The average American makes movies like transformers a box office hit. Average Americans make books like DaVinci Code and Twilight best sellers. Average Americans choose to drink Budweiser. Average Americans are responsible for bands like Nickleback and Creed having careers.

I'm not saying that average Englishman, Paraguayan, Korean, or Spaniard knows what's better. But really let's use a higher standard than "the Average American" when choosing a demographic to appeal to.

The majority of responders to this thread are going to be a) soccer haters or people who won't like the sport ever, soccer fans who like it as it is. The average American doesn't give a rat's--- about the nature of the sport. It's not worth it to change the sport for the handful of people "in the middle" who might come to like it.

Change doesn't happen overnight. It's not going to be like a light switch that just comes on and then the majority of America loves soccer. It's going to be gradual over decades. Soccer in America has already made dramatic leaps since 1994. The funny thing is that it's all the non-soccer fans that want to change the game.

[Stophovr6]

I think the title should be renamed "Things Soccer could do to become more popular in America for one or two games until they all realized they'd rather watch a 'Jersey Shore' marathon AND ruin the game for the millions of people that already enjoy it."

[endzone_dave]

What would happen if they scrapped the offsides rule? I know it would drastically changes things. It would open up the game and let the players show off their skills. You'd probably have some pretty high scoring games.

[FunBunch7]

They should have 9, ten minute periods. Have a 2 minute timeout in between each. This would give the sport some commercials which in turn would bring revenue into the sport.

Also, limit the number of players in the box on corner kicks (way too crowded)...this could open up scoring.

Instead of yellow and red cards, insitute a 10 minute power play or some version.

[Destino]

They should have 9, ten minute periods. Have a 2 minute timeout in between each. This would give the sport some commercials which in turn would bring revenue into the sport.

Also, limit the number of players in the box on corner kicks (way too crowded)...this could open up scoring.

Instead of yellow and red cards, insitute a 10 minute power play or some version.

Soccer is a game that takes shape over time. It's not a sport built for breaks. Ads in soccer belong on the shirts and around the field. You could break it up into quarters if you absolutely had to. Anything more than that would ruin the game.

Yellow and reds are needed. People that don't play soccer don't realize this fact: Shoulder checks look manly but do a lot less damage then attacks to the legs in terms of being able to keep playing. Can't encourage damaging attacks at all if you'd like players to last even half a season. You can go with a cracked rib, you can't even walk with a damaged knee or ankle.

[Elessar78]

See why would a fan want ads?

Sponsors have 90 minutes of exposure on the field. Plus the shirts offer even more opportunity for brand awareness. Most advertisers at this level aren't products trying to get their name out. It's just more brand awareness.

[Destino]

See why would a fan want ads?

Sponsors have 90 minutes of exposure on the field. Plus the shirts offer even more opportunity for brand awareness. Most advertisers at this level aren't products trying to get their name out. It's just more brand awareness.

TV breaks in sports aren't a good thing for the sport... imagine playing basketball with your friends and having to stop every 5 minutes to hear about subway subs. Does that help the flow of the game or just annoy the **** out of everyone? Exactly. The less I have to watch that stupid lizard push discount car insurance on me the better.

You know how a team calls a time out when the other team is doing great to stop their momentum? Ever wonder why they don't talk about the fact that a TV break does the same thing? It's because they don't want to anger the networks but it does exactly that. TV breaks aren't good for sports.

[Sticksboi05]

They should have 9, ten minute periods. Have a 2 minute timeout in between each. This would give the sport some commercials which in turn would bring revenue into the sport.

Also, limit the number of players in the box on corner kicks (way too crowded)...this could open up scoring.

Instead of yellow and red cards, insitute a 10 minute power play or some version.

What kind of sports fan would advocate for TV breaks. It's bad enough watching an NFL game where there's a commercial every five minutes. That's one of the good things about the World Cup. No breaks, constant play.

[Major Harris]

.

2 - Eliminate "off side" once the ball crosses a certain point on the field. Defenses slow the game and prevent scoring too well by playing strikers off sides. Once the ball passes midfield (could be any zone) the attacking players should be free to run wild. This will increase scoring without crazy things like making the nets bigger.

this has been my rallying cry, though i think mid field is too much, it almost eliminates off side since you can't be off on your half. once the ball is inside the 18, off side should be eliminated, imo.

[GSF]

No offense, but these suggestions are terrible. The worst suggestion is to eliminate the offside rule. That would ruin the game.

The simple truth is that a lot of Americans just don't enjoy soccer. That's just how it is. To try to Americanize the game with some of these changes would just ruin the game for those of us that do understand and enjoy the game.

I really love watching the Redskins, but I also love to play and watch soccer. I understand that soccer will never be a big time sport in the US like the NFL, and I'm fine with it.

[SkinsTerps26]

these suggestions are so lame.

there isn't enough time to break down the OP's ridiculous ideas.