Okay, since you asked, here’s my American opinion. Soccer will never be as popular in America as football for 3 reasons: 1. The Fake Injuries Players are incentivized to flop because the other team is more likely to get a penalty. In football, it is the opposite. If a player has a real injury, play toughs it out and plays through it, it is seen as heroic. Americans like toughness and grit. 2. Chance Goals Many goals are scored by chance as opposed to skill. The chaos at the net when the ball is near is remarkable. Defenders blocking the goalie’s line of sight. The ball bouncing and ricocheting off of random body parts often determines if the ball goes in the net or out of bounds. In football, there are some elements of chance, but because players are allowed to use their hands, the points are primarily scored based on skill. Less is left to chance. Americans like control. 3. Low Scoring In football, it is still challenging to score, but it happens much more often. Also, every play has a chance for gratification and excitement: a first down, a big catch, a big hit, a sack, an interception, etc American like constant excitement.
