Q and A: Why is soccer so popular in Europe and less so in America?

Soccer, or football as it is known in most of the world, is extremely popular in Europe.

While it has grown over the years in the U.S., it hasn’t reached the level of popularity football, baseball, basketball and hockey enjoy.

Why?

Soccer allows players to “head” the ball, literally advancing the ball down the field by hitting it with their head. This feature makes for fast, exciting action on the field.

Soccer players are not allowed to head the ball in the US.

To understand why, we have to look at the major American sports. In the early days of football, basketball, baseball and hockey, officials tried to incorporate heading into their sport. It didn’t work out so well.

-Football players found it difficult to head the pointy American football with their noggin. In one case, Harvard footballer Javen Througherson lost both eyes in 1911 when he tried to head the ball. He lost an eye in the first half from a first attempt, kept playing, and lost the remaining eye in the second half after a similar freak accident.

-Hockey players found the puck to small and light for heading.

-Basketball players tried heading the ball when rebounding, but several players hit their head on the rim, or even went through the hoop and got stuck around the shoulders.

-Baseball was never suited for hitting the ball with your head. Despite this, some dirty pitchers still try to hit batters in the head with a pitch, a cheap shot that has been part of the game since it was invented outside Detroit in 1596.

Eventually, heading was disallowed in all sports played in the U.S., and as a result, soccer never gained a solid foothold in the United States.