#what would the sport of soccer need to do for you to watch?

If you could change the rules to soccer to make it more interesting (or just more appealing), what would you change? Does it need to change?

I think if they added a second ball, it would be tons better. There could also be a goal suspended in the air and there is a second goalie attached to a harness that can fly around the defensive side of the field.

Allow steroids. In truth, that needs to apply to all sports in order to make them a bit more interesting.

Those are all horrible suggestions. Football is just fine as it is.

What if they made the ball change colors while in play? Every minute, it changes between white, yellow, and red. When it is red, goals are worth 2 points which would make teams want to shoot more and make the game interesting. When it's yellow, you get 0.5 points if the ball is volleyed in the air 5 times consecutively between at least three different teammates.

That would be awesome to watch.

Give me a local team that will be on TV every game and get rid of the English announcers.

Nothing. It's fine as it is. Soccer matches are one of my favourite things to watch at the gym.

Eliminate the offside rule !

The losing team would have one of their teammates randomly selected to be killed in front of the whole crowd.

Eliminate the offside rule !

:D , man this makes it so childish !

Now this is epic !

Look I think the sport is fine because obviously it is by far the largest sport in the world, but it really barely holds my attention compared to American football and basketball, and I don't watch it nearly enough to know how it could even be improved.

Everyone always focuses on steroids as performance enhancing drugs, but they have some SERIOUS side effects like a significant increase in blood pressure, major disruption of sleep, stunted growth, and by far the worst is muscle atrophy upon discontinued use of steroids.

I hope you're kidding because what you are proposing is highly reckless/dangerous.

I personally am intrigued at the idea of using growth hormones in sports and notable sports figures such as Mark Cuban support the idea of using them in sports.

In part. They have all these rules and regulations against it and I'm sure they are aware of the consequences of long term use yet they still dope up.

Women in scantily clad outfits!

In all seriousness, I don't think they could do anything to make me follow soccer. I'm sure it's fun to play, but as a spectator it is one of the most boring sports to watch, in my opinion. In fact, that's how I feel about most sports, except NFL (that's the only sport I follow).

I don't think anything really. There are just some sports I don't like watching (at least on TV)-soccer, rugby, lacrosse. The only thing that might work is a smaller field, I think the thing with soccer for me is all the passing and running, but even then it would be like hockey only slower. Maybe some sort of a shot clock like in basketball, or that combined with a shorter field. I like seeing skilled players handle the ball, take shots, and block shots, but I hate watching teams pass it back and forth for minutes on end.

I don't like the away goal rule. Other than that football is perfect and by far the only sport worth watching.

maybe they should allow off-sides, but if you're in an off-side position, you cannot move from your spot except for pivoting on one foot if the ball is passed to you. Essentially forcing a perfect pass and shot to any off-sides player.

I like it.

At halftime, somebody should try to land a commercial aircraft on the field. The players will have to play through what remains of the field afterward.

allow fighting on the field, but limited only to open hand bitch slapping

host an annual international female lingerie tournament, or one with uniforms but they're airbrushed on

allow injury reviews with booth refs and red card fakers, and kicking them out of the game sends them to the stockades for public shaming

If I was paid to watch, I'd consider thinking about maybe watching.

Well that would definitely grab my interest.

This topic is funny, considering how football is the most popular sport in the world. But I guess if a sport doesn't involve ramming violently into other players then some people are just not interested.

Its the most popular sport in the world and will be for the foreseeable future, Maybe other sports need to change?

Nothing. the FIFA World Cup is my favorite event followed by NFL season. The NHL comes in 3rd followed by NCAA basketball.

Yes. Most sports should preferably not appear on my TV ever.

Personally my disinterest in soccer isn't for lack of respect of the sport. I just don't like it.

more offensive.

All the ties and low scores i.e. 2-3 after two hours, make it boring.

uh... this

Well yea different people have different strokes. I used to be an avid fan of the sport when I was much younger. Nowadays I have better things to worry/care about. But the sport in itself is entertaining nevertheless and quite popular and has such a longstanding tradition that it kind of baffles me when somebody ridicules it as a sport.

Eh, I watched a hockey game last week where there was one goal in the first period and nothing for the rest of the game and I loved it. Ties aren't the problem, IMO, a lot of dead time passing the ball is the problem.

FTFY

@TruthTellers said:

uh... this

Meh, I've seen Triple H shirtless before.

Part of it, I think, is cultural. During Ken Burns' documentary on baseball he threw in some comments by British cricket enthusiasts demeaning baseball and Teddy Roosevelt throwing some quips right back. Anyway, I don't think this is demeaning it, I think it's just someone trying to figure out what exactly people who don't like soccer don't like. When I say what I don't like about soccer I don't feel like I'm insulting it, I just feel like I'm being descriptive. Maybe soccer should change, maybe I'm just more partial to basketball and hockey. I don't really know, I'm just describing what I do and don't like.

Cheerleaders

@4myAmuzumament:

you can use your hands

@theone86 said:

@TruthTellers said:

uh... this

Meh, I've seen Triple H shirtless before.

but, she doesn't have the muttonchops

My favourite sport to watch is hockey. It has its share of violence, but I like it because it's more fast paced. Yet, hockey goals are still relatively rare enough that you can make a big celebration out of each goal, unlike, say, basketball.

So, I would say soccer could be more interesting if they made the field smaller. It seems like for most of a game, not much happens because the ball is often in the middle of the field. When it does get near the net, the ball moves around clumsily between players, but rarely do people actually get a quality shot.

That said, I prefer playing soccer than ice hockey. First of all, I can't skate well. Second, too much equipment needed for hockey.

eh, i like the sport well enough. the only thing i'd change is having refs actually enforce the diving rule. even there, diving isn't just a soccer thing.

still, i don't watch that much soccer. i mean, i get into international tournaments but i'm not much for the european leagues. they have the high level of play that i want to see when i watch soccer, but i hate the idea of simply picking a team to support. like i wouldn't pick a bad team, but then only picking a team because they're good is bandwagoning. i could pick by players, but they move around and i don't like the idea of supporting a player rather than a team. there's style of play, but that changes a bit too. basically, i want MLS to have a higher level of play so i can support a local team.

I hope not in favour of American ones. Most English announcers know what they're talking about at least.

@4myAmuzumament: Soccer needs to sanction fighting just like hockey, but to keep the cardinal rule in tact- no hands. Somebody gets tripped, kick boxing ensues. Way entertaining.

pay me.

Smaller field of play.

I read "asteroids" like 3 times! >_<

Then again, after TC proposed that football should be turned into quidditch, asteroids wouldn't be too far off...

for me to be in the game

this works too

The only way to get me to watch some boring ass soccer is if it was a game my kids were playing in.

Nothing. It is perfect how it is.

And the reason Americans don't care about the sport has nothing to do with the actual game. Though I do find it funny how European leagues have the most cut throat capitalist policies but American ones are way more socialist in nature.

Nice generalization there. Must feel good being so certain that there is absolutely no chance that people might just not find the sport entertaining or interesting.

As for me? What would make me watch soccer? If it was baseball or basketball.

Way to be so literal. I'm sure there are some who just don't find it entertaining but the main reason is cultural and soccer is as popular as it is mostly due to European colonialism. Another is due to tribalism like in England where pretty much every neighbourhood has a team that plays in a league on the FA pyramid. America's version of this is College sports.

The MLS sucks too

This is a big thing for me.. Games like Basketball and hockey feel alot more fluid to me in which there is constant battling in each other's red zones.. Meanwhile in soccer it feels like just getting to those scoring positions takes up 75% of the game of them running back and fourth in the middle of the field..

Other than that I can't stand the constant diving and acting.. Of course all major sports have this to a extent, just haven't seen it anywhere near the level as I have seen it in soccer.